Abstract

Interpretative Trends in Taiwan's Scholarship on Chinese Business History: 1600 to the Present

This essay focuses on business history as the human dimension of commercial history, that is, how mercantile activity has been perceived by society; how merchants accumulate their capital; the relations among merchants and between merchants and government; how merchants manage their enterprises; and their rise or fall. Transportation, currency, and market structure will not be included. I will cover Taiwan studies of the Chinese mainland from 1600 to 1949, studies of Taiwan from 1600 to the present, and some studies of overseas Chinese.