Smokeless Sugar The Death of a Provincial Bureaucrat and the Construction of China's National Economy
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Biographical note
Emily M. Hill is an associate professor of history atQueen's University.Smokeless Sugar The Death of a Provincial Bureaucrat and the Construction of China's National Economy
Part history, part biography, and part mystery story, SmokelessSugar reveals how the concept of a national economy took shape inChina by investigating the 1936 execution of Feng Rui, a provincialofficial who introduced modern sugar milling in Guangdong.
Examining the circumstances of Feng Rui's arrest on charges ofcorruption, Emily Hill traces the construction of a Chinese nationaleconomy through cross-border interactions between industry andagriculture and between China and Japan. She makes the case that Fengwas, in fact, a scapegoat in a multi-sided power struggle in whichpolitical leaders vied with commercial players for access toChina's markets and tax revenues. This illuminating studychallenges conventional wisdom about the effectiveness of theRepublican state in promoting national unity during the Nanjing decadeand highlights continuities in official economic policies from the1930s to the Communist era.
Introduction
1 The Formation of Agricultural Expertise: Feng Rui'sEducation and Early Career
2 Public Service in Guangdong, 1931-36: Economic Nationalism andProvincial Planning
3 Rice and Revenue: Guangdong's"Benefit Agriculture" Import Taxes
4 White Sugar: Global Business and Provincial Enterprises
5 Bitter Experiences with Sugarcane
6 Brokers, Smugglers, and the Official Sugar Monopoly,1934-36
7 National Reunification and the Punishment of Feng Rui
8 Provincial Sugar Industry Programs, 1945-58
Conclusion: Shaping China's Economic Nation on the Eve ofWar
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Part history, part biography, and part mystery story, SmokelessSugar reveals how the concept of a national economy took shape inChina by investigating the 1936 execution of Feng Rui, a provincialofficial who introduced modern sugar milling in Guangdong.
Examining the circumstances of Feng Rui's arrest on charges ofcorruption, Emily Hill traces the construction of a Chinese nationaleconomy through cross-border interactions between industry andagriculture and between China and Japan. She makes the case that Fengwas, in fact, a scapegoat in a multi-sided power struggle in whichpolitical leaders vied with commercial players for access toChina's markets and tax revenues. This illuminating studychallenges conventional wisdom about the effectiveness of theRepublican state in promoting national unity during the Nanjing decadeand highlights continuities in official economic policies from the1930s to the Communist era.
Introduction
1 The Formation of Agricultural Expertise: Feng Rui'sEducation and Early Career
2 Public Service in Guangdong, 1931-36: Economic Nationalism andProvincial Planning
3 Rice and Revenue: Guangdong's"Benefit Agriculture" Import Taxes
4 White Sugar: Global Business and Provincial Enterprises
5 Bitter Experiences with Sugarcane
6 Brokers, Smugglers, and the Official Sugar Monopoly,1934-36
7 National Reunification and the Punishment of Feng Rui
8 Provincial Sugar Industry Programs, 1945-58
Conclusion: Shaping China's Economic Nation on the Eve ofWar
Notes
Bibliography
Index