Beyond Market and Hierarchy : Patriotic Capitalism and the Jiuda Salt Refinery, 1914-1953

Overcoming my reluctance, he insisted on receiving me in the garden of the Tianjin Municipal Hospital where he was awaiting surgery. As Professor Guo shared enthusiastically everything he knew about Jiuda and Yongli, location of various archival sources and the major issues to be explored, what I intended to be a brief visit stretched into hours. His passion rekindled my interest in the subject, and we agreed to collaborate on our research. That was the last time I saw him. The collaboration, however, continued with his students Professors Zhao Jin, Gu Yun, and Li Jianying, resulting in a five-volume set of selected archival sources on the conglomerate. Also at Nankai University, Professor Liu Foding made available archival materials left unpublished from the five volume set on modern China's salt administration, which he helped edit. Generous grants from ACLS, the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation, and the Charles Phelps Taft Memorial Fund financed research trips to China, England, and Taiwan. The anonymous reader for Palgrave Macmillan provided an insightful critique and suggested many helpful ways to improve the manuscript. Judith Daniels suffered through my insufferable prose to make the book readable. My wife Liz and son Tim tolerated my disappearance into the basement and frequent absence from home to visit the various archives. I dedicate this book to my mother. Ever patient waiting for my infrequent and brief visits, she always insists that my work comes first. All errors, of course, are mine alone. "When thinking about modern China's chemical industry, forget not Fan Xudong," declared Mao Zedong. Why would Chairman Mao praise a champion of private enterprise? As a paragon of the national bourgeoisie, did Fan's conglomerate survive on patriotism alone? What role might social and political networks play in economic development? Based on extensive archival research, "Beyond Market and Hierarchy" reconstructs how Fan waged modern China's war of salts. Led by his Jiuda Salt Industries, the nascent refined salt industry battled revenue farmers who, as a group, monopolized the production and distribution of evaporated salt. The struggle pitted him against the bureaucracies of the Northern warlord regimes, the Nationalists, and the 'synarchy' of the Salt Revenue Inspectorate in competing visions of state and nation-building. In the process, Fan practiced his blend of 'Chinese' capitalism: less for personal gain but for the good of the country "Cover"--"Title" -- "Copyright" -- "Dedication" -- "Contents" -- "List of Tables" -- "Acknowledgments" -- "List of Abbreviations" -- "Introduction" -- "1 The Institutions" -- "2 The Networks" -- "3 Breaking into the Market" -- "4 The Price of Success" -- "5 Cartel as a Business Network" -- "6 Relationship with the Nationalist State" -- "7 At War" -- "Postscript" -- "Appendices" -- "Notes" -- "Glossary" -- "Selected Bibliography." Front Matter....Pages i-xiv Introduction....Pages 1-7 The Institutions....Pages 9-23 The Networks....Pages 25-42 Breaking into the Market....Pages 43-60 The Price of Success....Pages 61-76 Cartel as a Business Network....Pages 77-93 Relationship with the Nationalist State....Pages 95-114 At War....Pages 115-133 Postscript....Pages 135-139 Back Matter....Pages 141-234