Modern China’s Network Revolution : Chambers of Commerce and Sociopolitical Change in the Early Twentieth Century

## List of Illustrations ix Preface: In Search of a Broader and More Dynamic Network Approach to Chinese Studies xi Ac know ledg ments xvii Abbreviations xx xiv Preface My critical reading of the existing literature in network analysis, however, also confi rmed my worries about its methodological defi ciencies. Although this approach promises to examine social relations from the whole to the part and from structure to individual, "social network analysts often study personal networks rather than whole networks." 5 The scholarly tendency to stress interpersonal ties at the expense of their institutional structures fi nds typical expression in a "classic" defi nition of personal relationships: 6 A relationship involves a series of interactions between two individuals known to each other. Relationships involve behavioural, cognitive and aff ective (or emotional) aspects. Formal relationships are distinctive from personal relationships. By contrast, institutional analysis, especially historical institutionalism, indicates that "institutions" include "both formal organizations and informal rules and procedures that structure conduct." 7 That is, institutional structures comprise not merely formal organizations, or gan i za tion al principles, and interorganizational relations. They also include socially established "rules" at the personal level, ranging from formal marriage to informal customs in interpersonal relationships, which further involve the interpersonally behavioral, cognitive, and aff ective interactions beyond institutionalized "rules." Thus, historical institutionalism confi rmed my previous perception that institutional structures would not necessarily wipe out interpersonal relations like Chinese guanxi. Their formal frameworks could also incorporate, extend, and transform the latter, but such a pro cess of relational institutionalization has not received attention from network analysis of Chinese guanxi or or gan i zation al analysis of chambers of commerce. An examination of my documental record for this book project in its early stage also made me realize that the conventional network approach has analytical strength in describing social relations but paradigmatic weakness in explaining relational changes. As an advocate of this paradigm in Asian studies admits, "social network analysis does not handle change well unless one can do repeated iterations of the net over time." 8 Even if historical data allow such research, it is still hard to reveal dynamics for network changes. Thus, it became evident that I could not simply apply the network theory and its jargon to my research. Rather, I had to refi ne the preexisting theory and develop new concepts through my own network analysis of data. Consequently, the painstaking pro cess of research for this book project also became an exciting journey in search of a broader and more dynamic network approach. As a result, this book is fundamentally diff erent from the preexisting or gan i za tion al analyses of Chinese chambers of commerce. It also xvi Preface a large number of small cities and market towns had few parallels in other regions of China during the early twentieth century. 10 In view of the specifi c character of the Lower Yangzi chambers, this book explores and employs a wealth of local historical sources, such as archives, statistics, gazetteers, newspapers, and magazines, as well as personal diaries, memoirs, biographies, and anthologies that include previously untapped information about lower-level chamber networks. It also makes full use of quantitative analysis to pro cess such historical data. The combination of local historical analysis with a broad and dynamic network approach enables this book to focus on the regional characteristics of the Lower Yangzi chambers of commerce but also to shed light on their nationwide connections, infl uence, and signifi cance. However, due to the primary mission of this historical research, I have tried to follow basic principles of network analysis while avoiding its technical jargon. Moreover, my network approach also abstracts new concepts from empirical research and adopts useful notions from or gan i za tion al, institutional, and class analyses, as well as other research methods in disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, business studies, and po liti cal science. It is my hope that this full and dynamic understanding of Chinese social networks may off er a key intervention into scholarly discussions about class and elites in Chinese historiography and about Chinese guanxi, informal politics, civil society, and the public sphere across the social sciences. Such historical understanding also has practical signifi cance for China today because it points to a new way of building the public sphere, civil society, and societystate relations on the solid basis of institutionalized networks, which certainly could include institutional checks on unhealthy guanxi in Chinese society and politics. Therefore, this book is not only about China's past but also about its present and future. Due to the decade-long nature of my work, I have benefi ted from the help of too many individuals and institutions to acknowledge them all here. I would fi rst like to thank Mark Granovetter, a pioneer in the fi eld of social network theory. He recommended my manuscript to Stanford University Press and further encouraged me "to move network analysis away from a purely interpersonal framework, into one where history, culture and institutions interact with networks in a mutually causal way" (e-mail message to author, August 31, 2009). Two anonymous reviewers for the press also off ered encouraging and insightful comments. Their advice helped shape the fi nal version of the manuscript and sharpen its central theme. Two editors of the press, Stacy Robin Wagner and Jessica Walsh, showed equal enthusiasm about the book project and guided me during the fi nal revision through their professional, effi cient, and patient work. Sincere thanks are also due to the following colleagues and friends who had read all or parts of the manuscript in its diff erent versions: Gregory Blue, Chambers of commerce developed in China as a key part of its sociopolitical changes. In 1902, the first Chinese chamber of commerce appeared in Shanghai. By the time the Qing dynasty ended, over 1,000 general chambers, affiliated chambers, and branch chambers had been established throughout China. In this new work, author Zhongping Chen examines Chinese chambers of commerce and their network development across Lower Yangzi cities and towns, as well as the nationwide arena. He details how they achieved increasing integration, and how their collective actions deeply influenced nationalistic, reformist, and revolutionary movements. His use of network analysis reveals how these chambers promoted social integration beyond the bourgeoisie and other elites, and helped bring society and the state into broader and more complicated interactions than existing theories of civil society and public sphere suggest. With both historical narrative and theoretical analysis of the long neglected local chamber networks, this study offers a keen historical understanding of the interaction of Chinese society, business, and politics in the early twentieth century. It also provides new knowledge produced from network theory within the humanities and social sciences.