"From College Station to Shanghai: Mu Xiangyue and the Introduction of Taylorism in China"

In 1911, Frederick Winslow Taylor published his seminal text, "The Principles of Scientific Management." ‘Taylorism’ quickly blossomed into a theoretical cornerstone of the emergent discipline of ‘management’ across the United States, Europe, and later the Soviet Union. Just five years later, the book was translated into Chinese by Mu Xiangyue (穆湘玥, 1876-1943), a Shanghai native who had recently completed degrees in scientific agriculture at the University of Illinois and Texas A&M University. During his time as A&M’s first Chinese student, Mu became enthralled by Taylor’s theories of hierarchical organization, task fragmentation, and time management. He even struck up a correspondence with the celebrity. After returning to China, Mu not only completed his translation, but also established three cotton spinning mills and consciously implemented Taylor’s theories. He also promoted these ideas through publications and elite Shanghai social organizations.
Through Mu’s memoir《藕初五十自述》(1926), contemporary pamphlets, and the Chinese- and English-language press, this paper analyzes the transmission and evolution of American ideas of “scientific management” in 1920s China. In no uncertain terms, Taylorism was both a utopic vision and a fraud. Although scholars have since demonstrated that Taylor’s purported experiments never took place, during his life Taylor successfully convinced audiences around the world that “scientific management” was a panacea for worker idleness, abusive employment practices, and labor-capital disputes alike. As such, its introduction into China represents a fascinating thread in both the intellectual ferment of the early Republican era and the longer history of Sino-American trade and exchange. By examining Mu’s understanding of Taylorism, his attempts to implement these ideas, and their public reception, this paper explores intersections between science and business, and between American higher education and Chinese capitalism.