Chinese business groups in Hong Kong and political change in South China, 1900-1925

MAS Modern Asian Studies MR Millard's Review ## NCH North China Herald 'How much can one earn from investing in land?' Lu asked. 'About a hundred per cent,' said his father. 'How much can one earn from speculation in pearls and precious stones?' Lu asked again. 'About a thousand per cent,' replied his father. Lu asked the third and final question: 'How much can one earn by financing a person to become a ruler of state?' 'That goes beyond what can be calculated.' 1 Politics can be a profitable business investment. Where the risk is high, the profit is great. Politics can be a profitable business investment. This can be found in Republican era Canton amidst a politically fragmented China. Competing merchant groups in Hong Kong sought to finance the regional government in Canton in return for financial concessions. Colonial Hong Kong made these attempts possible because it offered the merchants a haven to which they could retreat. Merchants in modern China, different from their western counterparts, remained dependent on the political authorities. This patronage system made commercial endeavours dependent on politics and, significantly, it embedded business in politics - a phenomenon that still exists in China today Traces the rise and fall of two competing groups of Chinese merchants who were residing in Hong Kong but were politically active in Guandong politics during the period. Major themes are the development of a national orientation in politics outside the colony by Cantonese in British Hong Kong, the part of overseas Chinese in the creation of political ideology of modern China, and politics as a business investment in Republican Guandong. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or. Front Matter....Pages i-xix Introduction: Business and Politics....Pages 1-20 An Immigrant Community and its Leadership, 1841–1900....Pages 21-33 Hong Kong Merchants in New China, 1900–11....Pages 35-58 Finance and Politics in Guangdong, 1912–16....Pages 59-74 Hong Kong Merchants and ‘Canton for the Cantonese’, 1917–23....Pages 75-98 Military Confrontation and Retreat....Pages 99-126 Conclusion: Business, Politics and Civil Society....Pages 127-132 Back Matter....Pages 133-188 Politics can be a profitable business as can be found in Republican era Canton amidst a politically fragmented China. Competing merchant groups in Hong Kong sought to finance the regional Canton government in return for financial concessions. This patronage system made commercial endeavours dependent on politics and embedded business in politics. This text examines how politics can be a profitable business investment. It can be found, for example, in Republican era Canton amidst a politically fragmented China