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DTSTART:20250101T000000
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20260129T173000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20260129T183000
DTSTAMP:20261026T183546
CREATED:20260128T173747Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260416T102952Z
UID:97402-1769707800-1769711400@ihss.hku.hk
SUMMARY:Entrepreneurial Giving Empowers People & Communities
DESCRIPTION:ABSTRACT\nIn this session\, we are thrilled to hear from Joy Lo Cheung\, Chairwoman of Lo Kwee Seong Foundation\, on her family’s evolving philanthropy strategy\, on women’s philanthropy\, and on the future of philanthropy in Asia. Joy’s grandfather\, Dr. Lo Kwee Seong\, CBE\, JP\, was a Hong Kong entrepreneur\, art collector\, and philanthropist who founded Vitasoy\, the leading brand of soymilk in Hong Kong. In 1991\, the Lo Kwee Seong Foundation was founded to promote vocational and technical education\, general education\, learning culture and the arts; to alleviate poverty\, sickness and improve health; and to promote social welfare and charity. \nDr Lo’s creativity taught Joy that philanthropy\, like business\, is about finding niches that uplift people and communities. Joy’s parents also instilled in her both the drive for practical achievement and the grace of love and kindness. As she co-creates impactful solutions from soybean research to biomedical sciences\, from digital careers to entrepreneurship\, Joy sees philanthropy not just as giving\, but also about nurturing character\, sparking innovation\, and creating pathways for lasting change. For this event at HKU\, Pauline Yeung\, adjunct associate professor at the Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences\, will begin with a presentation that gives a global overview of family philanthropy before moderating what promises to be an illuminating fireside chat and Q&A session with Joy on her vision and mission as a pioneering woman in philanthropy. \n\nABOUT THE SPEAKERJoy Lo Cheung is Chairwoman of the Lo Kwee Seong Foundation who leads with entrepreneurial giving as a transforming catalyst of people and communities. Her grandfather Dr. Lo Kwee Seong envisioned soybean as ‘the cow of China’ and founded Vitasoy\, which nourishes generations. His legacy of giving through education and culture continues to enrich our community. \nInspired by Dr. Lo’s passion to transform ideas into multipliers of economic\, social\, educational and cultural value\, Joy moves beyond charity to create innovative and pivotal pathways for change. LKSF’s patented climate resilient soybeans boosts farmer incomes\, improves soil quality and nutrition among communities in China\, South Africa and Pakistan. Light Be’s upward mobility social housing repurposes warehouses into homes and fosters families’ stability and resilience. Incubating and seeding entrepreneurs prepares a pipeline of talent for value creation and human flourishing. \nJoy’s family supports six areas of philanthropy: Art & Museum\, Scientific Research\, Education\, Future Careers\, Entrepreneurship and Community. The newly built Lo Kwee Seong Pavilion and Art Ambassador Scheme at the Chinese University of Hong Kong serve as a hub of cultural scholarship\, regional exchange and community education. \nFor Joy\, the essence of philanthropy is acting kindly\, paying it forward\, and empowering others for good.
URL:https://ihss.hku.hk/events/entrepreneurial-giving-empowers-people-communities/
LOCATION:Lecture Hall\, G/F\, May Hall\, The University of Hong Kong\,\, Hong Kong
CATEGORIES:HKU Family Wealth Series
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20260129T160000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20260129T173000
DTSTAMP:20261026T183546
CREATED:20260128T170210Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260416T102838Z
UID:97390-1769702400-1769707800@ihss.hku.hk
SUMMARY:清代江蘇士人的家世、仕進與社會流動 Family Background\, Official Advancement\, and Social Mobility of the Jiangsu Literati in the Qing Dynasty
DESCRIPTION:DESCRIPTION\n清代江蘇士人的家世、仕進與社會流動 \n科舉制綿延1300餘年，對傳統中國的方方面面產生了重大影響，其中科舉與社會流動的關係尤為惹人注目。 上海交通大學歷史系教授蔣勤利用量化方法研究科舉人物履歷的傳統，根據《通靜二庠題名錄》建立了清代南通和海門兩縣（學）6486名生員資料庫。 研究發現，在科場上，生員層次的社會流動性（階梯寬度）要高於舉人和進士層次，但士紳家庭的競爭優勢體現在各個層級的概率和通過時機上，晉陞階梯實際上在逐階地收窄。 在官場上，由於入仕以獲取中高級科名為前提，那些跨過科舉門檻的平民家庭士子們，在入仕率方面並不顯著低於生員、監生和士紳家庭出身者; 不過士紳家庭出身的舉人更易獲得中高級官職，且就任於州縣官等重要職位，而平民和生監家庭出身的舉人則更易就職於州縣教諭、訓導等學官。 \n在本次量化歷史網上講座，蔣勤將首次基於一個地區的生員總體，從科舉和仕途兩方面，提供一幅清代士人完整的科舉仕進圖，並且證明科舉確實提供了社會流動的空間，而家世影響更多體現在托舉子代通過科舉獲得更高科名，較難在入仕方面的作用提供直接説明，卻又隱蔽地起作用。 最後，講座還將簡單比較無錫、常熟兩地生員錄和南通生員錄所反映情況的異同。 \nFamily Background\, Official Advancement\, and Social Mobility of the Jiangsu Literati in the Qing Dynasty \nThe imperial examination system\, which spanned over 1\,300 years\, exerted a profound influence on all aspects of traditional China\, particularly regarding social mobility. Qin Jiang from Shanghai Jiao Tong University constructs a database of 6\,486 licentiates (shengyuan) from Tongzhou and Haimen counties during the Qing Dynasty\, based on the tradition of quantitative research into the social origins of examination candidates. He reveals that social mobility at the shengyuan level was higher than at the juren and jinshi levels. However\, the competitive advantage of gentry families manifested in the probabilities and timing of advancement across all levels\, effectively narrowing the promotion ladder.\nIn official careers\, since entry into the bureaucracy required obtaining mid-to-high-level examination degrees\, candidates from commoner families who crossed the examination threshold did not exhibit significantly lower entry rates compared to those from gentry or scholar-commoner (shengjian) families. Nonetheless\, juren from gentry backgrounds were more likely to secure mid-to-high-ranking positions\, including crucial posts like county magistrates\, whereas those from commoner or shengyuan families tended to be appointed to roles such as county instructors (jiaoyu) or assistant instructors (xundao).\nIn this Quantitative History Webinar\, Qin Jiang offers\, for the first time\, a comprehensive depiction of the examination and bureaucratic trajectories of Qing literati based on the complete cohort of students from two county schools. Qin Jiang will also demonstrate that while the examination system indeed provided avenues for social mobility\, the influence of family background was more evident in elevating descendants to higher examination degrees. Such influence offered less direct advantage in bureaucratic appointments\, though it continued to operate subtly. Finally\, the webinar will also briefly compare the similarities and differences reflected in the shengyuan registries of Wuxi and Changshu with those of Nantong. \nDiscussant: Max Yu Hao\, Associate Professor in Economics\, Peking University \n*This webinar will be conducted in Mandarin. \n\nABOUT THE SERIESThe Quantitative History (QH) Webinar Series aims to provide researchers\, teachers\, and students with an online intellectual platform to keep up to date with the latest research in the field\, promoting the dissemination of research findings and interdisciplinary use of quantitative methods in historical research. The QH Webinar Series\, now entering its sixth year\, is co-organized by the Centre for Quantitative History at the HKU Business School and the International Society for Quantitative History in partnership with the Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences. The Series is now substantially supported by the Areas of Excellence (AoE) Scheme from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region\, China (Project No. [AoE/B-704/22-R]). \n量化歷史網上講座系列由香港大學陳志武和馬馳騁教授聯合發起，旨在介紹前沿量化歷史研究成果、促進同仁交流，推廣量化方法在歷史研究中的應用。本系列講座由香港大學經管學院量化歷史研究中心和國際量化歷史學會承辦，及香港人文社會研究所全力支持。從2023年開始，系列得到中國香港特別行政區研究資助局卓越學科領域計劃的重要資助 (項目編號[AoE/B-704/22-R])。 \nConveners: Professors Zhiwu Chen & Chicheng Ma (HKU Business School)
URL:https://ihss.hku.hk/events/%e6%b8%85%e4%bb%a3%e6%b1%9f%e8%98%87%e5%a3%ab%e4%ba%ba%e7%9a%84%e5%ae%b6%e4%b8%96%e3%80%81%e4%bb%95%e9%80%b2%e8%88%87%e7%a4%be%e6%9c%83%e6%b5%81%e5%8b%95-family-background-official-advancement-and-s/
LOCATION:Via Zoom
CATEGORIES:Quantitative History,Quantitative History Webinar Series
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20260127T123000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20260127T133000
DTSTAMP:20261026T183546
CREATED:20260227T101220Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260416T102952Z
UID:97839-1769517000-1769520600@ihss.hku.hk
SUMMARY:Knowledge for Lineage: Queen\, Keju and Social Mobility in Tang China
DESCRIPTION:ABSTRACT\nAs a Western foothold at the southern tip of China\, Hong Kong has played a crucial role as China’s interface with the rest of the world since the nineteenth century. The appeal of Hong Kong must be understood within a broader regional and national context. While a jurisdictional boundary separates Hong Kong from mainland China\, its currency highlights the city’s unique status while simultaneously linking China to the global economy. \nOriginally a “local currency” authorized by the colonial regime\, the Hong Kong dollar has seen its circulation expand beyond the city’s borders\, first into the neighboring region and then deeper into Chinese territories. Central to the circulation of the Hong Kong dollar is its role in mediating China’s exchanges with capital markets worldwide against a shifting geopolitical backdrop. \nGeopolitical dynamics and economic forces have shifted the linkage of Hong Kong’s currency from silver to the pound sterling\, and then to the US dollar. Despite these challenges\, the creditworthiness of the Hong Kong dollar and its relative appeal in China have persisted. The role of the Hong Kong dollar as a mediator for China in global capitalism underscores Hong Kong’s evolution into a cosmopolitan nexus and its enduring significance in the face of new geopolitical configurations. \nABOUT THE SPEAKER\nJohn D. Wong is Associate Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Professor in the Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences at The University of Hong Kong. John D. Wong’s research focuses on the flow of people\, goods\, capital and ideas. With a particular interest in Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta/Greater Bay Area\, he explores how such flows connected the region to the Chinese political center in the north as well as their maritime partners in the South China Sea and beyond. \nStudying the China trade in the context of early-nineteenth-century global exchange\, his first monograph— Global Trade in the Nineteenth Century: The House of Houqua and the Canton System (Cambridge University Press\, 2016; Chinese edition\, HKU Press\, 2025)—demonstrates how China trade partners sustained their economic exchange on a global scale long before Western imperialism ushered in the era of globalization in a Eurocentric modern world.  In Hong Kong Takes Flight: Commercial Aviation and the Making of a Global Hub (Harvard\, 2022; Chinese edition\, HKU Press\, 2023)\, John explores the development of commercial aviation in Hong Kong as the city grew into a powerful economy after WWII.  By not accepting Hong Kong’s development into a regional and global hub as preordained\, this study aims to describe globalization and global networks in the making. \nABOUT THE SERIES\nThis series aims to introduce a wide range of cutting-edge research in various disciplines and areas. If you have any questions about this webinar\, would be interested in giving a talk\, or would like to be removed from this mailing list\, please contact Professor Ghassan Moazzin (gmoazzin@hku.hk).Light refreshments will be served for registered participants attending the seminar in person.
URL:https://ihss.hku.hk/events/knowledge-for-lineage-queen-keju-and-social-mobility-in-tang-china/
LOCATION:Rm 201\, May Hall\, The University of Hong Kong (Map)\, or Via Zoom
CATEGORIES:Interdisciplinary Research Seminar Series
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20260120T163000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20260120T180000
DTSTAMP:20261026T183546
CREATED:20260227T103140Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260416T102835Z
UID:97844-1768926600-1768932000@ihss.hku.hk
SUMMARY:True Colors of China: Yellow\, Blue\, and Red
DESCRIPTION:ABSTRACT\n\nContrary to perceptions of Chinese culture as static or monolithic\, Professor Yu Xie of Princeton University argues that it is profoundly dynamic\, multilayered\, and continuously evolving. In his latest work\, Professor Xie proposes that contemporary Chinese culture emerges from the synthesis of three foundational sources\, each with distinct historical and ideological origins. To distinguish these sources\, he assigns them symbolic colors: Yellow\, Red\, and Blue. \nThe Yellow source draws from China’s deep historical legacy—its imperial traditions\, Confucian values\, and millennia-old civilizational continuity. The Blue source represents Western influences that entered China—initially via Japan—beginning in the late 19th century\, bringing modernization\, scientific rationalism\, and liberal democratic ideals. The Red source stems from Soviet influence and the revolutionary doctrines of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)\, which have fundamentally reshaped governance\, ideology\, and social organization since 1949. \nDuring this lecture\, Professor Xie will explore how the dynamic interplay of these Yellow\, Red\, and Blue elements—sometimes conflicting\, sometimes synthesizing—has created a uniquely hybrid cultural system that distinguishes contemporary China from any other society and explains both its remarkable adaptability and its internal contradictions. \nJoin us for an engaging IHSS Public Lecture by Professor Yu Xie as he explores the dynamic evolution of Chinese culture and society. The lecture will be followed by a panel discussion featuring economist Professor Michael Zheng Song and historian Professor Guoqi Xu\, moderated by Professor Zhiwu Chen\, Director of the organizing institution. The panel will offer diverse insights into the lecture’s key themes. \n\nABOUT THE PANELISTS\n\nProfessor Yu Xie – Speaker\nYu Xie is Bert G. Kerstetter ’66 University Professor of Sociology and has a faculty appointment at the Princeton Institute of International and Regional Studies\, Princeton University. He is also a Visiting Chair Professor of the Center for Social Research\, Peking University. His main areas of interest are social stratification\, demography\, statistical methods\, Chinese studies\, and sociology of science. His recently published works include: Marriage and Cohabitation (University of Chicago Press 2007) with Arland Thornton and William Axinn\, Statistical Methods for Categorical Data Analysis with Daniel Powers (Emerald 2008\, second edition)\, and Is American Science in Decline? (Harvard University Press\, 2012) with Alexandra Killewald. Xie joined the faculty Aug. 1\, 2015\, after 26 years at the University of Michigan\, most recently as the Otis Dudley Duncan Distinguished University Professor of Sociology\, Statistics and Public Policy and a research professor in the Population Studies Center at Michigan’s Institute for Social Research. Xie’s main areas of interest are social stratification\, demography\, statistical methods\, Chinese studies and sociology of science. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences\, Academia Sinica and the National Academy of Sciences.  His appointment is part of a University initiative to deepen the regional studies curriculum in the social sciences. The Center on Contemporary China is part of PIIRS\, and Xie’s appointment marks the first joint faculty appointment by PIIRS and a department in the social sciences. \n\nProfessor Michael Zheng Song – Discussant\nMichael Zheng Song is Wei Lun Professor of Economics and the Department Head at the Department of Economics\, Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)\, a Co-Director of CUHK-Tsinghua Joint Research Center for Chinese Economy\, a Co-Director of CUHK-Zhejiang University Joint Research Center for Digital Economy\, a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Tsinghua University and Zhejiang University\, and special-term professor at Peking University. He received B.A. from Shanghai Institute of Foreign Trade (1997)\, M.A. from Fudan University (2000) and Ph.D. from Stockholm University (2005). Before joining CUHK\, he was an Assistant/Associate Professor of Economics at Chicago Booth (2011-15)\, a Visiting Scholar/Assistant Professor of Economics at CUHK (2009-11) and a Research Fellow at Fudan University (2005-09). He is a Senior Fellow of ABFER and a Fellow of Luohan Academy. His research focuses on Chinese economy and macroeconomics. His papers were published by leading academic journals including American Economic Review\, Econometrica and Journal of Political Economy. He won Sunyefang Economic Science Award in 2013. He is an Associate Editor of Econometrica\, Review of Finance and was a Co-Editor of China Economic Review. He sits on a number of academic advisory boards such as China’s Economics Foundation and Hong Kong Institute for Monetary and Financial Research. He is also a Currency Board Committee member of the Hong Kong Exchange Fund Advisory Committee. \n\nProfessor Guoqi Xu – Discussant\nGuoqi Xu was born in China and taught both in Asia and the USA before joining the University of Hong Kong’s History Department. He writes and has published widely in both Chinese and English on various topics. Professor Xu is a leading authority of transnational and shared history of modern China and the world. His research topics include First World War Studies\, roles of Sports in China and the world\, history of US-China relations\, the idea of China\, among many others. He has served as a visiting professor at many prestigious institutions such as Harvard University\, Yale University\, Cambridge University\, the University of Melbourne\, and King’s College London. He has received many awards such as the Shigemutsu Fellowship for scholarship in global cultural affairs from the Global Culture Center of the Japan Society of Boston and the best book award from the International Society of Olympic Historians. \n\nProfessor Zhiwu Chen – Moderator\nZhiwu Chen is Chair and Cheng Yu-Tung Professor in Finance at the University of Hong Kong (HKU). He currently serves as director of both Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (IHSS) and Centre for Quantitative History (CQH). His research covers finance theory\, the sociology of finance\, economic history\, quantitative history\, emerging markets\, as well as China’s economy and capital markets. He was a former Professor of Finance at Yale University (1999-2017) and a Special-Term Visiting Professor at Peking University and Tsinghua University. Professor Chen started his career by publishing research papers in top economics and finance journals on topics related to financial markets and theories of asset pricing. Around 2001\, he began to expand research beyond mature markets by investigating market development and institution-building issues in the context of China’s transition process and other emerging markets. He successfully led efforts to construct historical financial and social databases from China’s historical archives and has written on economic/social history topics. In 2013\, he started the annual Summer School for Quantitative History cum International Symposium on Quantitative History at Tsinghua University and continues to organize them at Peking University\, with the goal of promoting quantitative research on the history of China and beyond.  He has received research awards including the Graham and Dodd Award (2013)\, the Pacesetter Research Award (1999)\, the Merton Miller Prize (1994)\, and the Chicago Board Options Exchange Competitive Research Award (1994). \nOrganizer \n																														 \nSupporting organization
URL:https://ihss.hku.hk/events/true-colors-of-china-yellow-blue-and-red/
LOCATION:Rayson Huang Theatre\, HKU
CATEGORIES:IHSS,IHSS Public Lecture
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20260116T150000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20260116T163000
DTSTAMP:20261026T183546
CREATED:20260228T083318Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260416T102953Z
UID:97890-1768575600-1768581000@ihss.hku.hk
SUMMARY:Buddhist Manuscript Studies in Southeast Asia: The case of Luang Prabang\, Laos
DESCRIPTION:ABSTRACT\nThis lecture explores Buddhist manuscript cultures in mainland Southeast Asia through the case of the old royal Lao capital of Luang Prabang\, drawing on more than fifteen years of research conducted in collaboration with the Buddhist Archives of Luang Prabang. While over ninety percent of surviving Lao manuscripts are written on palm leaves using the religious Dhamma script\, their material forms\, uses\, and social functions reveal a remarkably rich and diverse manuscript culture.​ The lecture introduces the broader Tai manuscript tradition\, including its characteristic biscriptality\, and situates Lao materials within regional scholarship. It then presents the results of extensive digitisation and cataloguing projects supported by international institutions\, which together document more than 3\,500 manuscripts from major monasteries in Luang Prabang.​ Particular attention is given to the structure and function of colophons as sources for understanding manuscript production\, monastic education\, and merit‑making practices. Colophons reveal the roles of scribes\, sponsors\, and donors\, and illustrate how manuscripts sustained Buddhist learning and merit across generations.​ The lecture also examines modern transformations influenced by new writing tools\, printing technologies\, and changing material preferences. Despite these shifts\, Lao Buddhist manuscript culture remains vibrant\, reflecting both continuity and change within the Lao cultural landscape.\nABOUT THE SPEAKERVolker Grabowsky is Professor of Thai Language and Culture (Thai Studies) and Head of the Southeast Asia Department at the Asia‑Africa‑Institute\, University of Hamburg. A specialist in the history and culture of the Tai ethnic groups of mainland Southeast Asia and Southwest China\, he previously held a professorship in Southeast Asian History at the University of Münster (1999–2009) and served as a DAAD visiting lecturer at the National University of Laos (1996–1999).​ He has published widely on Tai manuscript cultures\, Buddhist literary traditions\, and regional historiography. His works include major studies and translations of Tai Lü chronicles\, such as the Chronicles of Chiang Khaeng (2008) and the Chronicles of Sipsòng Panna (2012).​ Since 2011\, he has led several research projects on Tai manuscript cultures; his most recent edited volume is Manuscript Cultures and Epigraphy in the Tai World (2022).​
URL:https://ihss.hku.hk/events/buddhist-manuscript-studies-in-southeast-asia-the-case-of-luang-prabang-laos/
LOCATION:201\, May Hall\, The University of Hong Kong\, or Via Zoom
CATEGORIES:ASIAR
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20251209T173000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20251209T190000
DTSTAMP:20261026T183546
CREATED:20260228T084603Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260416T102953Z
UID:97898-1765301400-1765306800@ihss.hku.hk
SUMMARY:Wealth Transfer in China: Insights from an Institutional Investor 中國家族財富傳承—來自機構投資者的觀察
DESCRIPTION:ABSTRACT\n\n中國正處於財富代際傳承的新階段，家族企業在治理、繼任與價值延續方面面臨新的思考與選擇。 \nCPE源峰將結合研究與實踐，分享對家族傳承的觀察，探討如何以長期、穩健的方式協助家族實現可持續發展。 \n  \n\nABOUT THE SPEAKER \n劉樂飛先生– 畢業於中國人民大學經濟學，並取得中歐國際工商管理學院工商管理碩士學位 – 現任 CPE 源峰董事長兼 CEO – 曾任中國人壽保險股份有限公司首席投資執行官 – 曾任中國人壽保險股份有限公司投資管理部總經理 – 曾任中信產業基金董事長 – 曾供職於中國國家財政部綜合司 – 中華人民共和國第九屆、第十屆、第十一屆全國青聯委員
URL:https://ihss.hku.hk/events/wealth-transfer-in-china-insights-from-an-institutional-investor-%e4%b8%ad%e5%9c%8b%e5%ae%b6%e6%97%8f%e8%b2%a1%e5%af%8c%e5%82%b3%e6%89%bf-%e4%be%86%e8%87%aa%e6%a9%9f%e6%a7%8b%e6%8a%95/
LOCATION:G01\, May Hall\, The University of Hong Kong
CATEGORIES:HKU Family Wealth Series
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20251205T123000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20251205T140000
DTSTAMP:20261026T183546
CREATED:20260228T085435Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260416T102953Z
UID:97905-1764937800-1764943200@ihss.hku.hk
SUMMARY:Studying Elite Politics through Conversation Networks: Elite Conflicts and the Making of the Chinese Reform
DESCRIPTION:ABSTRACT\n\nIn this talk\, I propose a new approach to studying elite politics by focusing on changes in network structures that emerge from elites’ informal conversations. I apply this method to solve two interrelated puzzles from China’s early reform era (1977-1992): on one hand\, why did intense political conflicts frequently occur (often among reformers) despite their common reformist goal? On the other hand\, why did economic reform persist despite these intense power conflicts? To tackle these issues\, we employ network analysis and narrative to analyze an original dataset of elite conversations and primary sources that have only been made available recently. We find that elite conflicts were contingent on the relational structure of their conversational interactions. Meanwhile\, the persistence of reform was the result of a dynamic process of elite clashes and the rise and fall of mass politics\, leading to compromises on economic policy while ultimately restricting the possibility of political pluralization. By integrating micro-sociological theories\, historical sociology\, and network analysis\, this project offers significant methodological and theoretical implications for unpacking the black box of elite politics and its role in macro-historical change. \n  \n\nABOUT THE SPEAKER \nYang Zhang is an Associate Professor in the Department of Global Inquiry at the School of International Service\, American University\, Washington\, DC. Earning his PhD in Sociology from the University of Chicago. Zhang’s research spans historical sociology\, elite and contentious politics\, and social and political theory. His work has appeared in the American Journal of Sociology\, Theory and Society\, Journal of Historical Sociology\, and Mobilization\, among other outlets. Zhang has been recognized with the Charles Tilly Article Award from the Comparative-Historical Sociology Section and an Honorable Mention for the Distinguished Contribution to Scholarship Article Award from the Collective Behavior and Social Movements Section\, both from the American Sociological Association. \n  \n\nABOUT THE SERIES \nThis series aims to introduce a wide range of cutting-edge research in various disciplines and areas. If you have any questions about this webinar\, would be interested in giving a talk\, or would like to be removed from this mailing list\, please contact Professor Ghassan Moazzin (gmoazzin@hku.hk). \n\n  \nLight refreshments will be served for registered participants attending the seminar in person.
URL:https://ihss.hku.hk/events/studying-elite-politics-through-conversation-networks-elite-conflicts-and-the-making-of-the-chinese-reform/
LOCATION:201\, May Hall\, The University of Hong Kong\, or Via Zoom
CATEGORIES:Interdisciplinary Research Seminar Series
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20251205T090000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20251205T100000
DTSTAMP:20261026T183546
CREATED:20260228T090102Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260416T102823Z
UID:97911-1764925200-1764928800@ihss.hku.hk
SUMMARY:DuPont’s Departure: An Early Case of U.S.-China Decoupling\, 1946-1951
DESCRIPTION:ABSTRACT\nThis article examines the experiences of the DuPont Company’s operations in Shanghai during the tumultuous period of China’s Communist Revolution\, from the immediate post-World War II recovery to the outbreak of the Korean War. Drawing upon the DuPont Company archives at the Hagley Museum & Library\, this research reveals the pragmatic and often collaborative stance of American businessmen\, including DuPont employees\, towards the new Communist regime. Initially\, these foreign enterprises\, much like their Chinese counterparts\, sought continuity and opportunity within a rapidly changing economic landscape\, hoping for state investment in industrial development. However\, the subsequent Chinese entry into the Korean War and the resulting American sanctions dramatically altered this dynamic\, ultimately compelling DuPont to withdraw its presence and abandon its operations in China. By focusing on the strategic business decisions made by DuPont managers\, this paper aims to bridge a gap in existing scholarship by providing a foreign business perspective on the crucial transition period of the Chinese modern economy across the 1949 divide.\nABOUT THE SPEAKERJuanjuan Peng is a professor of history at Georgia Southern University with a primary research focus on Chinese business history. She is the author of The Yudahua Business Group in China’s Early Industrialization (Lanham\, Maryland: Lexington Books\, 2020)\, which traces the trajectory of a major Chinese textile enterprise from the Self-Strengthening Movement of the Late Qing to the Socialist Transformation of the early People’s Republic.\nABOUT THE SERIESThis webinar series features the newest research on the history of Chinese business and entrepreneurship. If you have any questions about this webinar series\, would like to give a talk\, or would like to be removed from this mailing list\, please contact Professor John D. Wong (jdwong@hku.hk) or Professor Ghassan Moazzin (gmoazzin@hku.hk).
URL:https://ihss.hku.hk/events/duponts-departure-an-early-case-of-u-s-china-decoupling-1946-1951/
LOCATION:Via Zoom
CATEGORIES:Chinese Business History,Chinese Business History Webinar
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ihss.hku.hk/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/image-14.jpeg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20251201T143000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20251201T163000
DTSTAMP:20261026T183546
CREATED:20260228T092335Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260416T102953Z
UID:97919-1764599400-1764606600@ihss.hku.hk
SUMMARY:Crafting Everyday Food edited by Angela Ki Che Leung and Hallam Stevens
DESCRIPTION:ABSTRACT\n\nFocusing on the making of everyday foods in East Asia from the 19th century to the present\, Crafting Everyday Food highlights the role of technology in transforming traditional foods into modern commodities and in reinventing industrial foods as heritage foods. The seven expert researchers adopt a unique technological perspective to trace the transformation of traditional everyday East Asian food materials – soy sauce\, tea and kimchi – into modern foods\, and the appropriation of new items such as beef and potato into Asian diets. The essays discuss how modern technologies and crafts reconstructed traditional or “authentic” foods and show how global flows of commodities\, experts\, and consumers\, as well as the circulation of knowledge and practices\, shaped the East Asian foodscape.
URL:https://ihss.hku.hk/events/crafting-everyday-food-edited-by-angela-ki-che-leung-and-hallam-stevens/
LOCATION:4.36 Run Run Sjaw Tower\, HKU
CATEGORIES:IHSS
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20251125T123000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20251125T133000
DTSTAMP:20261026T183546
CREATED:20260228T095327Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260416T102954Z
UID:97929-1764073800-1764077400@ihss.hku.hk
SUMMARY:Survival of the Strongest: How Iron Technology Led to the Founding of the First Unified Chinese Empire in 221 BCE
DESCRIPTION:ABSTRACT\nWe analyze whether and how iron technology drove political consolidation in pre-imperial China (770–221 BCE) using the China Archaeological Database (CADB)—689\,943 grave goods from 98\,020 sites. Dividing the era into eleven 50-year subperiods\, we construct a state-level proxy for its quantity of iron weapons and estimate panel and instrumental-variable models linking lagged iron weaponry to subsequent state outcomes: territorial expansion\, and survival. States with greater prior iron-weapon prevalence were more likely to win wars\, expand territory\, and avoid conquest; the effect of iron technology is robust to controls for agricultural productivity\, terrain ruggedness\, waterways\, population proxies\, and iron ore reserves. Based on woodland availability and distance to nomadic threats\, the IV exercise confirms the baseline effect of iron technology to be causal. Additionally\, we find that bronze weapons and iron farming tools do not consistently have a significant impact on a state’s territorial expansion and survival. In some cases\, their effects even show signs opposite to that of iron weapons. Therefore\, persisting with old technology or applying new innovations in non-battlefield contexts did not necessarily enhance a state’s offensive or defensive capacity. Mechanism tests show that resource-mobilization and other state-capacity challenges posed by iron weaponry stimulated state building—policy reforms\, county formation\, and broader elite recruitment\, which set the rival states apart and led to the eventual outcome of the Qin winning to form the first empire. \n\nABOUT THE SPEAKERSenhao HU is a PhD student in the Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (IHSS) at The University of Hong Kong. He has a keen interest in understanding the relationship between violence and state-building in historic China. \n\nABOUT THE SERIESThis series aims to introduce a wide range of cutting-edge research in various disciplines and areas. If you have any questions about this webinar\, would be interested in giving a talk\, or would like to be removed from this mailing list\, please contact Professor Ghassan Moazzin (gmoazzin@hku.hk). \n\nLight refreshments will be served for registered participants attending the seminar in person.
URL:https://ihss.hku.hk/events/survival-of-the-strongest-how-iron-technology-led-to-the-founding-of-the-first-unified-chinese-empire-in-221-bce/
LOCATION:201\, May Hall\, The University of Hong Kong\, or Via Zoom
CATEGORIES:Interdisciplinary Research Seminar Series
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ihss.hku.hk/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/image-18.jpeg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20251120T123000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20251120T140000
DTSTAMP:20261026T183546
CREATED:20260228T100008Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260416T102839Z
UID:97935-1763641800-1763647200@ihss.hku.hk
SUMMARY:Revisiting Mass Action Incidents in Late Qing China\, 1902-1911
DESCRIPTION:DESCRIPTION\n\nThe Qing state launched the ‘new policy’ reform during the first decade of the 20th century. This ambitious and profound reform unexpectedly led to an increasing number of mass action incidents nationwide\, ultimately bringing an end to China’s imperial regime. When assessing mass actions during this precarious decade\, previous studies often connect them to the tenacious efforts of revolutionaries aiming to overthrow the empire. However\, such leftist narratives overemphasize ideology and neglect socioeconomic forces. Therefore\, Hanzhi Deng of Fudan University proposes that radical fiscal and social transitions pe se accounted for the pattern of mass action incidents in the context of fiscal-administrative decentralization. \nHanzhi Deng makes a quantitative breakthrough by establishing a panel dataset of 266 prefectures over 10 years. He collects data on ‘new policy’ progress and mass action incidents from various sources\, such as chronologies\, fiscal statistics\, and other compilations. To overcome endogeneity\, he introduces a difference-in-differences (DID) design. He considers the intensity of ‘new policy’ preparation as treatment and explores the pre-1908 and post-1909 changes in mass action incident numbers in prefectures with different levels of ‘new policy’ preparation. The DID estimates find a robust positive association between the frequency of mass action incidents and the intensity of ‘new policy’ preparation. \nDuring this lecture\, Hanzhi Deng examines relevant mechanisms\, such as how state expropriation of previous civil properties and the rising inequality in the distribution of new public goods caused pervasive resentment. In short\, this work contributes to the political economy literature and offers a path to understanding social movements from a fiscal-sociological perspective.
URL:https://ihss.hku.hk/events/revisiting-mass-action-incidents-in-late-qing-china-1902-1911/
LOCATION:G01\, May Hall\, The University of Hong Kong
CATEGORIES:Quantitative History,Quantitative History Webinar Series
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20251118T123000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20251118T133000
DTSTAMP:20261026T183546
CREATED:20260228T100513Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260416T102954Z
UID:97940-1763469000-1763472600@ihss.hku.hk
SUMMARY:Cooking the Barbarians\, Conquering the Forest: Lanten Yao Spiritual Warfare at the Margins of Chinese and Tai Polities
DESCRIPTION:ABSTRACT\n\nThe Lanten Yao 藍靛瑤 of what is now northern Laos historically lived at the margins of three socio-political systems: the Chinese empire\, Tai polities (müang)\, and the forest. As they migrated into the region\, they engaged in cosmological warfare with the forest to conquer their land\, a conquest that engaged a pantheon of militarized deities. Lanten ritual experts mirror the Chinese Emperor’s ceremonies for pacifying borderlands\, yet they also invert this metaphor\, placing themselves at the center of the socio-cosmos. This presentation will explore this ongoing cosmological warfare as it plays out in three ritual spaces: the human body\, the village\, and the temporary altars known as the Celestial Yamen. We will conclude by considering how this tradition offers insights for understanding inter-ethnic and international relations in a multi-polar world. \n  \n\nABOUT THE SPEAKERS \nJoseba Estevez is a social anthropologist and Research Assistant Professor at the “Asian Religious Connections (ASIAR)” cluster of the HKIHSS\, HKU. Building on more than a decade of immersive fieldwork among the Lanten Yao (Mun) communities in northern Laos’s Luang Namtha Province\, Estevez’s research explores how Daoist cosmology and ritual shapes the social life of local communities. His recent research also investigates the local impacts of major infrastructure projects such as the Laos–China Railway\, the development of Smart Cities\, Special Economic Zones\, and the broader dynamics of international cooperation agencies in mainland Southeast Asia\, especially Laos and Thailand. \nDavid A Palmer (PhD\, Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes\, Paris) is a Professor of anthropology jointly appointed by the HKIHSS and the Department of Sociology of HKU. He is the President of the East Asian Society for the Social Scientific Study of Religion and convenor of the HKIHSS “Asian Religious Connections” research cluster. He currently coordinates collaborative research projects on Daoism among the Yao ethnic minority in the China-Vietnam-Laos borderland\, and on religious and socio-cultural entanglements between China and countries of the Belt and Road Initiative. \n  \n\nABOUT THE SERIES \nThis series aims to introduce a wide range of cutting-edge research in various disciplines and areas. If you have any questions about this webinar\, would be interested in giving a talk\, or would like to be removed from this mailing list\, please contact Professor Ghassan Moazzin (gmoazzin@hku.hk). \n\n  \nLight refreshments will be served for registered participants attending the seminar in person. \n\n\n 
URL:https://ihss.hku.hk/events/cooking-the-barbarians-conquering-the-forest-lanten-yao-spiritual-warfare-at-the-margins-of-chinese-and-tai-polities/
LOCATION:201\, May Hall\, The University of Hong Kong\, or Via Zoom
CATEGORIES:Interdisciplinary Research Seminar Series
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20251117T150000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20251117T170000
DTSTAMP:20261026T183546
CREATED:20260228T101506Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260416T102954Z
UID:97946-1763391600-1763398800@ihss.hku.hk
SUMMARY:How Daoism Became American: A Tale of Translation\, Conservation\, Immigration\, Appropriation and Impersonation
DESCRIPTION:ABSTRACT\n\nDaoism is the indigenous organized religion of China\, with a two-thousand-year history\, an enormous canon of sacred texts\, and a complicated liturgy. However\, until fairly recently\, Daoism was best known in the West\, if at all\, as a quaint and exotic philosophy of quietism and mysticism. This was how Daoism was depicted in most readily available sources of information\, including anthologies of Chinese philosophy and world religion textbooks. According to modernist Chinese intellectuals of the 20th century\, Daoism may have inspired a lot of Chinese art and poetry\, but it was not a spiritual option for modern Chinese\, and certainly not for North Americans. However\, in the 1960s and 1970s\, Daoism became a plausible spiritual path for Euro-Americans\, not by becoming more like Chinese Daoism in either of its two current denominations in China (Quanzhen or Zhengyi)\, but rather by being completely taken out of its religious setting\, and reconstituted as a series of modular\, individual practices. \n  \nThis interactive lecture will explore the various origins of Daoism in America\, based on original research. It will argue that American Daoism is a definable and distinct religious tradition of North America. American Daoism was neither exported whole cloth from China nor simply invented by Euro-Americans. Rather it arose from collaboration between progressive elements in American society and elite\, lettered Chinese immigrants\, nostalgic for their own displaced childhoods. \nThis lecture will ask the question “how much can a religious tradition change before it is no longer a tradition at all?” It will be of interest to anyone interested in how Asian culture is translated into Western context\, and issues of appropriation and authenticity. \n  \n\nABOUT THE SPEAKER \n​ \nElijah Siegler is a professor of Religious Studies at College of Charleston\, a public university in South Carolina. He is the leading expert in the field of American Daoism\, and has lectured and published widely on that field\, including the award-winning book Dream Trippers: Global Daoism and Predicament of Modern Spirituality (University of Chicago Press\, 2017\, co-authored with David A. Palmer). \n  \n\nORGANIZER \nASIAR Research Cluster\, HKIHSS\, HKU
URL:https://ihss.hku.hk/events/how-daoism-became-american-a-tale-of-translation-conservation-immigration-appropriation-and-impersonation/
LOCATION:201\, May Hall\, The University of Hong Kong\, or Via Zoom
CATEGORIES:ASIAR
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20251113T160000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20251113T173000
DTSTAMP:20261026T183546
CREATED:20260228T102404Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260416T102839Z
UID:97952-1763049600-1763055000@ihss.hku.hk
SUMMARY:Spousal occupations in the twentieth-century Yangtze Valley
DESCRIPTION:DESCRIPTION\n\nThe husband-wife occupations significantly influence a family’s economic condition\, social capital\, and everyday experience. Changes in spousal occupations forms a major aspect of transformation in Chinese families over the twentieth century. Ying Dai of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and her co-author utilise 175 lineage genealogies with 57\,501 couples to examine the spousal occupations of the Yangtze Valley from the perspectives of endogamy\, within-sex alignment\, and cross-sex alignment. Endogamy denotes the tendency of individuals to marry within their own occupation compared to marrying someone from a different occupation. The data suggest that endogamy fluctuated in a narrow range with a trend of increase among cohorts born between 1880 and 1941\, then increased substantially for those born from 1951 onwards. Within-sex alignment stands for women from the same occupation tend to marry men in a limited set of occupations. The data suggest that within-sex alignment fluctuated among cohorts born between 1881 and 1950 and increased among later-born cohorts\, reaching its lowest point among those born between 1941 and 1950. Cross-sex alignment refers to the tendency of women to marry those from the occupations which are popular for their male peers in the same occupation. The data suggest that cross-sex alignment was negative\, suggesting gendered partner choices: even when men and women share the same occupation\, they tend to marry spouses from distinctly different occupations.  In this Quantitative History Webinar\, Ying Dai will explain that the spousal occupations are shaped by both marriage formation and post-marriage occupational decisions. Opportunities to meet are influenced by gendered occupational structures\, geographical mobility\, and the mechanisms through which individuals meet potential partners. Partner preferences are shaped by economic and social capital\, the division of labour within the household\, and the balance of decision-making power between individuals and their parents. After marriage\, occupational decisions are further influenced by the prevalence of family-based economy and domestic division of labour. \nYing Dai’s co-author: Jingying Wang\, PhD candidate\, Institute of Sociology\, University of Zurich \nDiscussant: Qingxu Yang\, Post-doctoral Fellow\, HKU Business School
URL:https://ihss.hku.hk/events/spousal-occupations-in-the-twentieth-century-yangtze-valley/
LOCATION:Via Zoom
CATEGORIES:Quantitative History,Quantitative History Webinar Series
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20251113T053000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20251113T190000
DTSTAMP:20261026T183546
CREATED:20260228T102936Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260416T102955Z
UID:97957-1763011800-1763060400@ihss.hku.hk
SUMMARY:Fostering Sustainable Growth and Family Unity: A Fireside Chat with Mr Mahesh Harilela
DESCRIPTION:ABSTRACT\n\nHong Kong is a nexus for business families over the world\, with some families celebrating generations in the vibrant community. In this iteration of the HKU Family Wealth Series\, the Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (“IHSS”) is honoured to have invited Mr Mahesh Harilela to share his perspectives on how his family with as many as 165 members in Hong Kong ensure that the family’s values and business ethics are sustained generation after generation. Guest moderator Ms Pauline Yeung will guide the fireside chat\, which promises to offer an enlightening look at how families in Hong Kong think about time\, place and people. \n  \n\nABOUT THE SPEAKER \nMahesh Harilela is an entrepreneur and philanthropist\, well-respected within the vibrant business community of Hong Kong. As a member of the renowned Harilela family\, he has contributed to the diverse portfolio of the Harilela Group\, which spans hospitality\, real estate\, finance\, and more. In particular\, the group owns and operates 15 hotels globally\, including Hong Kong’s Holiday Inn Golden Mile and the London and Hong Kong-based brand The Hari. \nMahesh’s insights and actions have had a profound impact on the Harilela Group’s operations and strategic direction. His work supports the group’s ventures into new areas like renewable energy\, agriculture\, advanced technology\, and NewSpace Economy\, thereby contributing to the Harilela family’s legacy of innovation and global engagement. \nMahesh also actively participates in the Harilela Family Council\, where he plays a crucial role as Convenor in areas such as preserving the family’s heritage\, shaping family governance policies\, and supporting the development of the family office. He also launched the Harilela 100 Talk Series at the Harilela Mansion that celebrates the diversity\, openness\, and cosmopolitan nature of Hong Kong through insightful discussions. \nMahesh’s contributions reflect his deep commitment to both his family’s legacy and the broader community\, showcasing his influence in fostering sustainable growth and family unity. Through his involvement\, he helps to ensure that the values and business ethics of the family – which has as many as 165 members in Hong Kong – are maintained and passed down generation after generation.
URL:https://ihss.hku.hk/events/fostering-sustainable-growth-and-family-unity-a-fireside-chat-with-mr-mahesh-harilela/
LOCATION:G01\, May Hall\, The University of Hong Kong
CATEGORIES:HKU Family Wealth Series
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20251111T110000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20251111T120000
DTSTAMP:20261026T183546
CREATED:20260228T103425Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260416T102955Z
UID:97963-1762858800-1762862400@ihss.hku.hk
SUMMARY:Religion\, Secularism\, and Love as a Political Discourse in Modern China
DESCRIPTION:ABSTRACT\nWhat is the meaning of love in modern Chinese politics? Why has ai (love) been a crucial political discourse for secular nationalism for generations of political leaders as a powerful instrument to the present day? This book offers the first systematic examination of the ways in which the notion of love has been introduced\, adapted\, and engineered as a political discourse for the building and rebuilding of a secular modern nation\, all the while appropriating Confucianism\, Christianity\, popular religion\, ghost stories\, political religion\, and their religious affects. The insights of this exploration expand not only the discussion of the role of emotions in the project of Chinese modernity\, but also the study of affective governance and religious nationalisms around the world today.\nABOUT THE SPEAKERGuo Ting studies religion\, politics\, and gender in transnational Asia. She is currently Assistant Professor of Cultural and Religious Studies\, Chinese University of Hong Kong and incoming Assistant Professor of Language Studies\, University of Toronto. She is the book reviewer editor for the Journal of the American Academy of Religion and a Diversity and Equity Committee representative for the Association for Asian Studies. She co-hosts a podcast called 時差 in-betweenness (@shichapodcast).\nABOUT THE SERIESThis series aims to introduce a wide range of cutting-edge research in various disciplines and areas. If you have any questions about this webinar\, would be interested in giving a talk\, or would like to be removed from this mailing list\, please contact Professor Ghassan Moazzin (gmoazzin@hku.hk).\nLight refreshments will be served for registered participants attending the seminar in person.
URL:https://ihss.hku.hk/events/religion-secularism-and-love-as-a-political-discourse-in-modern-china/
LOCATION:201\, May Hall\, The University of Hong Kong\, or Via Zoom
CATEGORIES:Interdisciplinary Research Seminar Series
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20251107T090000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20251107T100000
DTSTAMP:20261026T183546
CREATED:20260228T122548Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260416T102823Z
UID:97969-1762506000-1762509600@ihss.hku.hk
SUMMARY:Sideline or Factory: Locating Socialist Flexibility in Export Lacemaking Industries
DESCRIPTION:ABSTRACT\n\nThis talk forms part of a larger project investigating the mechanisms of socialist learning and knowledge accumulation in foreign trade during the Maoist era\, through a historical and comparative study of the export lacemaking industries in Fujian and Chaoshan (Guangdong). Drawing on archival sources\, it examines how state-led export initiatives prompted both regions to formalize female handicraft labor through contrasting organizational strategies: one place adopted a flexible hybrid model that integrated rural sideline production with state enterprise oversight\, while the other rapidly recruited women into factory settings. \nThe research demonstrates that local adaptations and cross-regional collaborations enabled socialist China to respond to global market demands\, while highlighting the unstable and often underrecognized role of women’s sideline labor. By foregrounding these adaptive structures\, the study revisits the hybrid nature of “enterprise” in socialist business history. \n  \n\nABOUT THE SPEAKER \nYuanxie Shi is a historian of gender\, labor\, technology\, and economics in modern China. After receiving her doctoral degree from the University of Chicago in August 2025\, she has joined the Social Science Division there as a Harper-Schmidt Fellow and Collegiate Assistant Professor. \n  \nHer dissertation\, “Mao’s Clever Hands: Export Lacemaking and Socialist Flexibility in Cold War\, 1949-1980s\,” explores an uncharted history of socialist industrialization since 1949 and during the Cold War. Rather than focusing on mechanical manufacturing and factory settings\, her research examines mass production through labor-intensive needlework by millions of Chinese women\, specifically in rural Chaoshan region. This project reveals the subaltern status of rural women and bridges an overlooked social category in both the socialist hierarchy of values and the international division of labor. \n  \n\nABOUT THE SERIES \nThis webinar series features the newest research on the history of Chinese business and entrepreneurship. If you have any questions about this webinar series\, would like to give a talk\, or would like to be removed from this mailing list\, please contact Professor John D. Wong (jdwong@hku.hk) or Professor Ghassan Moazzin (gmoazzin@hku.hk).
URL:https://ihss.hku.hk/events/sideline-or-factory-locating-socialist-flexibility-in-export-lacemaking-industries/
LOCATION:Via Zoom
CATEGORIES:Chinese Business History,Chinese Business History Webinar
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20251104T123000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20251104T133000
DTSTAMP:20261026T183546
CREATED:20260228T123226Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260416T102955Z
UID:97975-1762259400-1762263000@ihss.hku.hk
SUMMARY:“Middle Women Rising (zhongnü jueqi)”: Framing Gendered Spiritual Empowerment in Contemporary China
DESCRIPTION:ABSTRACT\n\nBeginning in late 2023 the notion of “nine purple li fire trend (jiuzi lihuo yun 九紫离火运)” started to emerge on various Chinese media platforms. The trend (yun 运) is a temporal unit of twenty years from 2024 to 2043 during which the Chinese world enters the final stage in the cosmic cycle of “Three Phases and Nine Trends (sanyuan jiuyun 三元九运)”. The popular articulation of “nine purple li fire” is closely tied to the predicted rising (jueqi 崛起)\, or awakening (juexing 觉醒)\, of middle women (zhongnü 中女) during these twenty years. According to the Book of Changes (Yijing 易经)\, the eight trigrams can be mapped onto a traditional household in which the li trigram is the “second daughter” (zhongnü\, same characters as “middle women” in Chinese). The category of zhongnü\, however\, has been widely interpreted as middle-aged women (zhongnian nüxing 中年女性) in their thirties\, who became increasingly visible in mediascape to advocate both spiritual and social empowerment. This proposed study engages in postcolonial feminist discussion by examining the social construct of “middle women” both on social media platforms and in offline spiritual/religious spaces. “Empowerment” in this case is not framed as a socio-political activism for gender equality but concrete ways in which female subjects make sense of their everyday experiences and life projects anchoring a cosmic pattern of rising femininity envisioned by the “nine purple li fire trend”. \n  \n\nABOUT THE SPEAKER \nWang Yang is a PhD student in Anthropology in the Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (IHSS) at The University of Hong Kong. His research interests encompass urban anthropology\, modern Buddhism\, gender studies\, and volunteerism. His previous works examine temple-centered urban redevelopments in mainland China. For his PhD project\, he studies with volunteer communities within Buddhist temples and tries to understand the intricate intersection between gendered experiences in a broader societal context and the religious practices of female volunteers at these temples. \n  \n\nABOUT THE SERIES \nThis series aims to introduce a wide range of cutting-edge research in various disciplines and areas. If you have any questions about the Interdisciplinary Research Seminar or would like to be removed from this mailing list\, please contact Professor Ghassan Moazzin (gmoazzin@hku.hk). \n\n  \nLight refreshments will be served for registered participants attending the seminar in person.
URL:https://ihss.hku.hk/events/middle-women-rising-zhongnu-jueqi-framing-gendered-spiritual-empowerment-in-contemporary-china/
LOCATION:201\, May Hall\, The University of Hong Kong\, or Via Zoom
CATEGORIES:Interdisciplinary Research Seminar Series
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20251028T123000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20251028T133000
DTSTAMP:20261026T183546
CREATED:20260228T123747Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260416T102955Z
UID:97981-1761654600-1761658200@ihss.hku.hk
SUMMARY:The Curse of Lu Ban: Rumors of Carpenter Sorcery\, 1350–Present
DESCRIPTION:ABSTRACT\n\nIn 1375\, Emperor Hongwu\, sitting in a newly constructed hall\, reportedly heard strange noises on the roof. Believing them to be the result of carpenter sorcery\, he ordered the execution of all craftsmen involved. Since then\, rumors of magic have circulated among both the elite and ordinary villagers. \nThis talk examines two types of sources: anecdotal writings (biji 筆記) by literati before 1949\, and oral accounts collected by early ethnographers in the 1920s and by myself during fieldwork. Across these materials\, several recurring narrative patterns can be concluded\, such as carpenters hiding dice to lure homeowners into gambling. I argue that these rumors reflect popular anxieties and efforts at sense-making\, which gave rise to the “magic of Lu Ban (魯班\, patron deity of craftsmen)\,” featuring sorcery\, counter-sorcery\, and the curse upon magical practitioners themselves. \n  \n\nABOUT THE SPEAKER \nSun Jiayue is a PhD candidate at the Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences. His research focuses on the anthropology of Chinese popular religion\, ritual\, and folk literature. His dissertation is titled “Apprentices of the Immortal Master: Ritual\, Magic\, and the Carpenters’ Cult of Lu Ban in South China.” \n  \n\nABOUT THE SERIES \nThis series aims to introduce a wide range of cutting-edge research in various disciplines and areas. If you have any questions about the Interdisciplinary Research Seminar or would like to be removed from this mailing list\, please contact Professor Ghassan Moazzin (gmoazzin@hku.hk). \n  \n\n  \nLight refreshments will be served for registered participants attending the seminar in person.
URL:https://ihss.hku.hk/events/the-curse-of-lu-ban-rumors-of-carpenter-sorcery-1350-present/
LOCATION:201\, May Hall\, The University of Hong Kong\, or Via Zoom
CATEGORIES:Interdisciplinary Research Seminar Series
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20251024T090000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20251024T220000
DTSTAMP:20261026T183546
CREATED:20260228T124826Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260416T102824Z
UID:97987-1761296400-1761343200@ihss.hku.hk
SUMMARY:From Importer to the Technological Frontier: China’s Automobile Industry
DESCRIPTION:ABSTRACT\n\nThis talk presents Dr Yuan Jia Zheng’s book project\, The Transformation of China’s Automobile Industry since 1953: Multinationals\, Technology Transfer\, and Electric Vehicles\, which explores the long-term evolution of China’s automobile sector from a technology importer to a global exporter and innovator. The project traces how China advanced through distinct historical phases from early reliance on Soviet support\, to the attraction of leading carmakers through joint ventures during the reform era\, and eventually to the “going out” strategy since the early 2000s. Following the COVID-19 pandemic\, Chinese automobile companies have expanded their global footprint\, particularly through exports of domestically branded EVs. These efforts reflect their progress in pushing technological frontiers and have drawn international attention to the competitiveness of this once-latecomer industry. The book highlights that this industrial transformation was shaped by state-led policy initiatives and the evolving dynamics between foreign multinationals and the private sector. \n  \n\nABOUT THE SPEAKER \nYuan Jia Zheng (Ph.D. in Economic History) is a Lecturer with Tenure Track at the International University of Catalonia in Spain. She was the Business History Initiative Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard Business School\, and was formerly Associate Lecturer at the University of Barcelona. Her research focuses on the development of the ecological and social responsibility of global business. She has looked in particular at the growth of EVs in China and the transfer of technology and knowledge. She has published in leading peer-reviewed journals including Business History Review and Business History. \n  \n\nABOUT THE SERIES \nThis webinar series features the newest research on the history of Chinese business and entrepreneurship. If you have any questions about this webinar series\, would like to give a talk\, or would like to be removed from this mailing list\, please contact Professor John D. Wong (jdwong@hku.hk) or Professor Ghassan Moazzin (gmoazzin@hku.hk).
URL:https://ihss.hku.hk/events/from-importer-to-the-technological-frontier-chinas-automobile-industry/
LOCATION:Via Zoom
CATEGORIES:Chinese Business History,Chinese Business History Webinar
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20251023T173000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20251023T190000
DTSTAMP:20261026T183546
CREATED:20260228T130229Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260416T102956Z
UID:97993-1761240600-1761246000@ihss.hku.hk
SUMMARY:Navigating Turbulence: Unlocking Value for Chinese Family Businesses Through Restructuring and Renewal
DESCRIPTION:ABSTRACT\n\nPeriods of financial distress and corporate restructuring present not only complex challenges but also exceptional opportunities for family businesses. This lecture explores both the theoretical foundations and practical applications of corporate restructuring and turnaround management\, including the interplay between market cycles\, inter-creditors dynamics\, and the corporate restructuring analytical framework\, with a special focus on the unique dynamics of Chinese family enterprises. \nTopics will include: conceptual underpinnings of corporate restructuring and its implications for family business\, characteristics and valuation methodologies for the distressed asset class\, strategic approaches to restructuring and corporate turnarounds\, and much more. \nBy blending financial theory\, market analysis\, and a case study\, this talk will give you a front-row seat to one of the most exciting — and misunderstood — corners of global finance. Whether you’re aiming for a career in family business\, consulting\, banking\, asset management\, or private equity\, you’ll leave with a sharper eye for spotting opportunity in the middle of market chaos. \n  \n\nABOUT THE SPEAKER \nJames Choa brings over 20 years of expertise in private equity\, hedge funds\, investment banking\, and operational turnaround management. He is the founder of Elfoso Holdings Limited\, a private investment firm specializing in special situations and deep-value investments across global markets. Before founding Elfoso\, James was a member of Goldman Sachs’ Asian Special Situations Group (ASSG) in Hong Kong\, where he led multi-strategy investments across Asia\, including pre-IPOs\, distressed debt\, buyouts\, and other strategic investments. Prior to Goldman Sachs\, James worked at a number of financial services firms\, across private equity and investment banking. Mr. Choa received his MBA from the Wharton School\, the University of Pennsylvania\, in 2006 with a degree in Corporate Restructuring & Turnaround Management. He also graduated with honors from the University of Pennsylvania’s Management & Technology Program (M&T) as an undergraduate with dual degrees in Systems Engineering and Finance in 1998. James also shares his expertise in turnaround strategies by teaching “Special Situations: Creating Value in Distress\, Restructuring\, and Turnaround” at NYU Shanghai’s Master of Science in Quantitative Finance program.
URL:https://ihss.hku.hk/events/navigating-turbulence-unlocking-value-for-chinese-family-businesses-through-restructuring-and-renewal/
LOCATION:G01\, May Hall\, The University of Hong Kong
CATEGORIES:HKU Family Wealth Series
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ihss.hku.hk/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/image-39.jpeg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20251021T123000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20251021T133000
DTSTAMP:20261026T183546
CREATED:20260228T130646Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260416T102956Z
UID:97999-1761049800-1761053400@ihss.hku.hk
SUMMARY:Writing Christianity into Chinese History: Archaeology\, Economic History\, and Political Ideology
DESCRIPTION:ABSTRACT\n\nIn recent years\, cultural archaeology has broadened its scope to include churches and seminaries\, leading to groundbreaking discoveries in North China that uncover evidence of missionary activities and Christian communities. Church records — comprising extensive land and property deeds\, along with economic and business documents — serve as invaluable primary sources\, challenging traditional narratives and offering new insights into China’s social and economic history. Additionally\, recent scholarship has increasingly focused on the Cold War era\, exploring the complex relationship between Christianity\, the state\, and political ideologies. The evolving dynamics between church and state during this period are central to understanding the role of religious institutions amid political upheaval in 20th-century China. This talk will discuss these recent developments\, which open new avenues for interdisciplinary research\, enabling scholars to craft a more nuanced history of Christianity — highlighting its enduring significance in shaping modern Chinese society and ideological trajectories. \n  \n\nABOUT THE SPEAKER \nJi Li is an Associate Professor of History at the Department of History and Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences\, University of Hong Kong. Her research areas center on the social and religious history of late imperial and modern China\, particularly the history of Christianity\, religion and local society\, women and gender\, and cross-cultural studies. She has published books and articles in both English and Chinese. She is the author of God’s Little Daughters: Catholic Women in Nineteenth-Century Manchuria (Washington 2015)\, Missions Étrangères de Paris (MEP) and Chinese Society from the Seventeenth Century to the Present (Brill 2021)\, and At the Frontier of God’s Empire: A Missionary Odyssey in Modern China (Oxford 2023). \n  \n\nABOUT THE SERIES \nThis series aims to introduce a wide range of cutting-edge research in various disciplines and areas. If you have any questions about the Interdisciplinary Research Seminar or would like to be removed from this mailing list\, please contact Professor Ghassan Moazzin (gmoazzin@hku.hk). \n\n  \nLight refreshments will be served for registered participants attending the seminar in person.
URL:https://ihss.hku.hk/events/writing-christianity-into-chinese-history-archaeology-economic-history-and-political-ideology/
LOCATION:201\, May Hall\, The University of Hong Kong\, or Via Zoom
CATEGORIES:Interdisciplinary Research Seminar Series
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20251009T160000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20251009T173000
DTSTAMP:20261026T183546
CREATED:20260228T131609Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260416T102839Z
UID:98005-1760025600-1760031000@ihss.hku.hk
SUMMARY:Doctoral Research Webinar: Weaving a Modern Workforce: How Female Industrial Pioneers Refined Women’s Economic Role in Japan
DESCRIPTION:DESCRIPTION\n\nEarly industrialization created a tension between new economic opportunities and traditional social norms that confined women to the domestic sphere. Xinxian Li\, Research PhD Candidate of HKU Business School\, examines how female industrial pioneers helped mediate this tension by prompting more women to participate in factory employment during the early industrialization in late 19th to early 20th century Japan. The female industrial pioneers emerged in the first modern model factory\, Tomioka Silk Mill\, thanks to the French technology transmission in 1872. Xinxian finds that these pioneers catalyzed their home regions’ female labor force participation by 1920. And this effect is not confined to silk industry but spilled over to other public sectors. As a placebo\, the pioneers did not affect female workforce in the traditional agriculture. During this Quantitative History Doctoral Research Webinar\, he will further elaborate that the pioneering effect arises from two mechanisms: one is that the pioneers diffused new technical skills that nurtured more factory jobs for women\, and the other is they acted as role models that encouraged more females to work outside the home. These role models cast a long-lasting impact that extends to contemporary times. Their home municipalities still witnessed higher female labor force participation and more favorable social attitudes toward women than the other areas by 2000.
URL:https://ihss.hku.hk/events/doctoral-research-webinar-weaving-a-modern-workforce-how-female-industrial-pioneers-refined-womens-economic-role-in-japan/
LOCATION:Via Zoom
CATEGORIES:Quantitative History,Quantitative History Webinar Series
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://ihss.hku.hk/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/image-42-scaled.jpeg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20251002T160000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20251002T173000
DTSTAMP:20261026T183546
CREATED:20260228T133432Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260416T102839Z
UID:98010-1759420800-1759426200@ihss.hku.hk
SUMMARY:Doctoral Research Webinar: Imports and Industrialization in China\, 1876-1936
DESCRIPTION:DESCRIPTION\n\nXinhao Li\, Research PhD Candidate of HKU Business School\, examines the impact of import penetration in 1876-1892 on subsequent industrial development in China from 1896 to 1936. He collects import values for Chinese inland prefectures from the annual trade reports at each port of the Chinese Maritime Customs. Matching the imports with industrial establishments at the prefecture level\, he finds that prefectures with greater import values had more industrial firms established thereafter. For causal identification\, he exploits the role of the silver-copper exchange ratio in shifting the relative price of foreign goods in the domestic market and construct a shift-share-like instrument for the import distribution. Through decomposing the imports by sectors\, he finds that high-tech manufactures are more beneficial to industrial development relative to low-tech ones. The high-tech manufacturers were also associated with a higher level of public interest in manufacturing and scientific knowledge. During this Quantitative History Doctoral Research Webinar\, he will further provide evidence that import trade facilitated China’s industrialization by empowering Chinese business elites as pioneering industrialists.
URL:https://ihss.hku.hk/events/doctoral-research-webinar-imports-and-industrialization-in-china-1876-1936/
LOCATION:Via Zoom
CATEGORIES:Quantitative History,Quantitative History Webinar Series
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20250930T123000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20250930T133000
DTSTAMP:20261026T183546
CREATED:20260228T134732Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260416T102957Z
UID:98015-1759235400-1759239000@ihss.hku.hk
SUMMARY:Marketing Africa: Production of Knowledge about Africa by Businesspeople on Chinese Short-Video Platforms
DESCRIPTION:ABSTRACT\n\nIn recent years\, contents showing deep knowledge about African countries and people have been increasingly popular in Chinese social media\, especially on short video platforms. Such knowledge often contains insider business information and cultural understandings of Africa that are difficult to get without living in Africa for a long time. Drawing on a handcrafted dataset of streaming contents and short videos\, I analyze some of the Africa-related short videos posted since late 2023\, and address this question: how are Chinese content creators representing their deep knowledge of Africa in Chinese social media by short videos? I show that a key theme in the representations of China-Africa connections is marketing Africa to their Chinese audience by well-established Chinese entrepreneurs in Africa. These representations of Africa\, much more precise and nuanced than the more widely circulated stereotypical if not racist representations of Africa\, bring detailed and vivid information about Africa to many Chinese unfamiliar with the region. But at the same time\, capitalist values heavily shape these representations in such a way that\, in them\, Africa appears almost exclusively as a source of profit. Further\, I suggest that the capitalistic aspect in this knowledge comes from an increasingly popular imagination of Africa as a frontier of profits and the context of a fervor of “going overseas” of Chinese businesses. \n  \n\nABOUT THE SPEAKER \nRundong Ning is an RGC Post-doctoral Fellow at the Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Hong Kong. His research interests include work and labor\, entrepreneurship\, volunteerism\, and digital economy. His current research focuses on China-Kenya connections in the digital economy and entrepreneurship in Congo-Brazzaville. His publications appear in Current Anthropology\, Economic Anthropology\, American Journal of Cultural Sociology\, African Studies Review\, Africa\, and other outlets. \n  \n\nABOUT THE SERIES \nThis series aims to introduce a wide range of cutting-edge research in various disciplines and areas. If you have any questions about this seminar or would be interested in giving a talk\, please contact Professor Ghassan Moazzin (gmoazzin@hku.hk).  \n  \n\nLight refreshments will be served for registered participants attending the seminar in person.
URL:https://ihss.hku.hk/events/marketing-africa-production-of-knowledge-about-africa-by-businesspeople-on-chinese-short-video-platforms/
LOCATION:201\, May Hall\, The University of Hong Kong\, or Via Zoom
CATEGORIES:Interdisciplinary Research Seminar Series
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20250926T090000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20250926T100000
DTSTAMP:20261026T183546
CREATED:20260228T135505Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260416T102824Z
UID:98021-1758877200-1758880800@ihss.hku.hk
SUMMARY:Chinese Workers of the World: Colonialism\, Chinese Labor\, and the Yunnan–Indochina Railway
DESCRIPTION:ABSTRACT\nThe Yunnan–Indochina Railway\, a French investment in imperial China during the age of “railroad colonialism\,” was designed to link French-colonized Indochina to Chinese markets and to stimulate cross-border trade in tin\, silk\, tea\, and opium. Yet this ambitious project came at a devastating human cost: thousands of Chinese workers lost their lives during its brutal construction. \nIn this talk\, Selda Altan adopts a transnational perspective to situate the railway’s labor conflicts within the broader history of the post-emancipation coolie trade and the emergence of a global labor market. She argues that\, long before the Chinese Communist Party cast Chinese workers as the vanguard of revolution in the 1920s\, late nineteenth-century Euro-American competition for cheap labor had already given rise to the modern figure of the Chinese worker. \n\nABOUT THE SPEAKERSelda Altan is Associate Professor of History at Randolph College. She specializes in labor history\, colonialism\, and comparative empires. Her research examines the experiences of Chinese workers in transnational and imperial contexts\, with a particular focus on labor markets\, migration\, and capitalist development. \n\nABOUT THE SERIESThis monthly webinar series features the newest research on the history of Chinese business and entrepreneurship. If you have any questions about this webinar series\, would be interested in giving a talk\, or would like to be removed from this mailing list\, please contact Professor John D. Wong (jdwong@hku.hk) or Professor Ghassan Moazzin (gmoazzin@hku.hk).
URL:https://ihss.hku.hk/events/chinese-workers-of-the-world-colonialism-chinese-labor-and-the-yunnan-indochina-railway/
LOCATION:Via Zoom
CATEGORIES:Chinese Business History,Chinese Business History Webinar
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20250918T160000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20250918T173000
DTSTAMP:20261026T183546
CREATED:20260228T140207Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260416T102840Z
UID:98028-1758211200-1758216600@ihss.hku.hk
SUMMARY:兩千年中國經濟增長 China’s GDP over Two Millennia
DESCRIPTION:DESCRIPTION \n兩千年中國經濟增長 \n中國人民大學農業與農村發展學院助理教授翟潤卓構建了從秦代到1949年連續的、十年分辨率的中國歷史GDP數據集。在兩千多年的歷史中，中國經濟增長軌跡呈現出千年尺度的準倒U型趨勢。從秦代到北宋初期，人均GDP從380國際元（1990年水平）持續增長至1949年之前的最高水平1\,430國際元。自北宋以後，人均GDP則表現出長期震盪下降的趨勢，直到19世紀後期長期維持在550國際元的水平。 \n在本次量化歷史網上講座，翟潤卓將解釋經濟增長過程的解構顯示，在兩千多年的歷史中，中國歷史經濟增長呈現出一種馬爾薩斯風格的人口驅動模式，但並不完全符合經典馬爾薩斯(Malthusian)理論中「工資鐵律」所描繪的長期停滯圖景。 \nChina’s GDP over Two Millennia \nRunzhuo Zhai of Renmin University of China constructs\, for the first time\, a decadal GDP dataset for China from 220 BCE to 1949 CE\, which\, when linked to adjusted post-1949 data based on official surveys\, offers a clear view of China’s economic performance over the past two millennia. The continuous series enables testing of Malthusian theory. Our findings indicate that Malthus’s prediction of stagnant per capita income in pre-modern economies likely applies only to the last millennium. Earlier periods in China\, representing at least a quarter of the global population\, did not experience prolonged stagnation. Furthermore\, Malthus’s assumption that population growth outpaces food production may not universally apply to all pre-modern periods. Theoretical social scientists should approach Malthusian theory with caution when describing premodern economies. \nDiscussant: Kaixiang Peng\, Professor\, School of Economics and Management\, Wuhan University \n*This webinar will be conducted in Mandarin.​
URL:https://ihss.hku.hk/events/%e5%85%a9%e5%8d%83%e5%b9%b4%e4%b8%ad%e5%9c%8b%e7%b6%93%e6%bf%9f%e5%a2%9e%e9%95%b7-chinas-gdp-over-two-millennia/
LOCATION:Via Zoom
CATEGORIES:Quantitative History,Quantitative History Webinar Series
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20250909T113000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20250909T123000
DTSTAMP:20261026T183546
CREATED:20260228T142501Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260416T102958Z
UID:98033-1757417400-1757421000@ihss.hku.hk
SUMMARY:The Emergence of Logistics Networks and Financial Administration during the Qin Conquest (230–221 BCE)
DESCRIPTION:ABSTRACT\n\nThis talk explores the logistics networks of the Qin state during its war of unification between 230 and 221 BCE. First\, the article investigates the Qin’s “assigned transfer” logistics system\, which was comprised of two forms\, namely\, the transfer of resources among regional administrative units\, and that between the central and regional governments. Second\, it examines the infrastructures and institutions underpinning this logistics system during the Qin conquest\, exploring how the emergence of long-distance\, empire-wide military logistics networks might have contributed to economic development and driven reforms of the Qin financial administration. Overall\, this talk unfolds not only the institutional reforms stimulated by the Qin’s war of unification but also the impact of war on social development. \n  \n\nABOUT THE SPEAKER \nChun Fung Tong is an assistant professor at the School of Chinese and Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences\, The University of Hong Kong. He studied history at the Chinese University of Hong Kong for his BA and MPhil degrees and received a PhD in Sinology from Heidelberg University. His research primarily focuses on social\, political and institutional history in early China\, early Chinese historiography\, as well as writing culture in premodern China. \n  \n\nABOUT THE SERIES \nThis series aims to introduce a wide range of cutting-edge research in various disciplines and areas. If you have any questions about this seminar or would be interested in giving a talk\, please contact Professor Ghassan Moazzin (gmoazzin@hku.hk). 
URL:https://ihss.hku.hk/events/the-emergence-of-logistics-networks-and-financial-administration-during-the-qin-conquest-230-221-bce/
LOCATION:201\, May Hall\, The University of Hong Kong\, or Via Zoom
CATEGORIES:Interdisciplinary Research Seminar Series
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20250821T163000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Hong_Kong:20250821T180000
DTSTAMP:20261026T183546
CREATED:20250821T025150Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260803T040832Z
UID:98056-1755793800-1755799200@ihss.hku.hk
SUMMARY:Economic History of Asia as a Regional Entity: Past\, Present\, and Future
DESCRIPTION:ABSTRACT\nAsia\, encompassing the eastern Eurasian continent and its island regions\, is home to over 60% of the world’s population and is characterized by profound geographical\, cultural\, and social diversity. Against this widely recognized backdrop\, this presentation explores how the economic history of Asia may be conceptualized not merely as a collection of national narratives\, but as a regional entity shaped by enduring internal linkages. \nBeginning in the early 1980s\, Japanese and international scholars\, working within the conceptual framework of the “Asian Trading Zone\,” examined economic interconnections across the region as a cohesive whole. By focusing on trade-related dimensions\, they traced the emergence of intra-Asian linkages from the 16th century onward and reinterpreted the region’s economic transformations in the 19th century and beyond through the lens of these earlier dynamics. This framework offered an alternative to nation-centered\, Eurocentric narratives and anticipated the rise of global economic history in the 1990s\, with its emphasis on connectivity and comparison. \nThe study of Asia’s regional economic history has continued to evolve alongside contemporary political and economic developments. This presentation reflects on the intellectual trajectory of Asian economic history and considers how historical perspectives may inform our understanding of the region’s current challenges and future prospects. \n\nABOUT THE SPEAKERTomoko Shiroyama is a Professor of Asian Economic History at the Graduate School of Economics\, the University of Tokyo\, and a Research Associate at Toyo Bunko (The Oriental Library). She earned her Ph.D. in History from Harvard University in 1999. As a historian of China and Asia\, her research explores China’s global connections through the commodity trade\, financial flows\, and the migration of traders and laborers. Her major works include China during the Great Depression: Market\, State\, and the World Economy\, 1929-1937(2008) and the co-edited volume Chinese and Indian Merchants in Modern Asia: Networking Businesses and Formation of Regional Economy (2019). Most recently\, she led the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (S) project The Hydrosphere and Socioeconomics in Modern Asia – Exploring a New Regional History Using a Database and Spatial Analysis (2017–2022). She is an executive board member of the International Economic History Association and serves as a series editor for the Economic History Library at Brill. \n\nProfessors John D. Wong and Ghassan Moazzin\nHong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences\, The University of Hong Kong
URL:https://ihss.hku.hk/events/economic-history-of-asia-as-a-regional-entity-past-present-and-future/
LOCATION:G01\, May Hall\, The University of Hong Kong
CATEGORIES:Chinese Business History,Chinese Business History Conference
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250821
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250824
DTSTAMP:20261026T183546
CREATED:20250821T024034Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260803T040842Z
UID:98040-1755734400-1755993599@ihss.hku.hk
SUMMARY:Enterprise and Economy in Modern China
DESCRIPTION:CONFERENCE PROGRAM(PDF version with full abstracts) \n\n\n21 August\n10.45am-11.15am: Registration \nLocation: Faculty Board Room (4.36)\, Run Run Shaw Tower\, Centennial Campus \n11.15am: Welcome \nLocation: Faculty Board Room (4.36)\, Run Run Shaw Tower\, Centennial Campus \nPanel 1: 11.30am-1pm: \nChair: Ghassan Moazzin (The University of Hong Kong) \nLocation: Faculty Board Room (4.36)\, Run Run Shaw Tower\, Centennial Campus \nSpeakers: \nOtis Edwards (The University of Hong Kong) – Reconfiguring Trade: London Finance\, Lintin Island\, and the Transformation of the Opium Economy in Early Nineteenth-Century Canton \nXiaoyu Gao (University of Chicago) – Empire of Copper: British and American Global Trade\, Chilean Copper\, and the Transformation of Chinese Monetary System (1800-1862) \nWilliam R. Kelson (The University of Hong Kong) – The ‘Circle of Distress’: Mapping the Spread of the Late-Qing Financial Crisis of the 1880s \nPanel 2: 2pm-3.30pm: \nChair: John D. Wong (The University of Hong Kong) \nLocation: Faculty Board Room (4.36)\, Run Run Shaw Tower\, Centennial Campus \nSpeakers: \nYuan Weipeng (Shanghai Jiaotong University) – 晚清政府采购制度与汉冶萍公司 \nLi Zigui (Sun Yat-sen University) – Reuters and the Evolving News Telegram Distribution System in Late Qing Shanghai \nWang Zilong (The University of Tokyo) – State Control or Managerial Autonomy? The Long-Term Evolution of the China Merchants Steam Navigation Company\, 1872–2022 \n22 August\nPanel 3: 9.30am-11am \nChair: Li Ji (The University of Hong Kong) \nLocation: Faculty Board Room (4.36)\, Run Run Shaw Tower\, Centennial Campus \nSpeakers: \nGhassan Moazzin (The University of Hong Kong) – Shenbao\, Advertisements and Electrical Modernity in Shanghai\, 1912-1937 \nDebin Ma (Tsinghua University) – Adjustments and Vicissitudes: The Indirect Issuance of Banknotes in Republican China\, 1915–1945 \nShinya Oishida (Rikkyo University) – Postal Savings Bank in Republican China: In Comparison with Commercial Banking Business \nPanel 4: 11.30am – 1pm \nChair: William R. Kelson (The University of Hong Kong) \nLocation: Faculty Board Room (4.36)\, Run Run Shaw Tower\, Centennial Campus \nSpeakers: \nBilly K. L. So (The University of Hong Kong) & Sufumi So (The University of Hong Kong) – Modern Corporation: Conceptual Excursions\, and the China Exception? \nPeter E. Hamilton (University of Bristol) – China’s First Management Consultants in the Nanjing Decade \nNing Jennifer Chang (Academia Sinica) – Managing Volunteer Associations in Modern China: The Case of the Shanghai Race Club\, 1850-1950 \n2.30pm: Transportation to Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Archives \n3pm-4.30pm: Visit to Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Archives (registered attendees only) \n23 August\nPanel 5: 9.30am – 11.30am \nChair: Debin Ma (Tsinghua University) \nLocation: Faculty Board Room (4.36)\, Run Run Shaw Tower\, Centennial Campus \nSpeakers: \nNiu Hao (Zhongnan University of Economics and Law) – OEM Collaboration: A Study on the Production and Distribution of Indanthrene Fabric in the Republic of China \nBrett Sheehan (University of Southern California) – Balancing strangers and friends: Curating shareholder composition by the Dongya Corporation\, 1932–1950 \nHuangfu Qiushi (Fudan University) – Pirnie\, Lee & Company and the Post-war Sino-U.S. Economic Cooperation on the Local Level (1946–48) \nKoji Hirata (Monash University) – From Grain Exporter to Importer: Food Crisis\, Trade Realignment\, and China’s Turn to the Capitalist World\, 1960–1965 \nPanel 6: 1pm – 3pm \nChair: Brett Sheehan (University of Southern California) \nLocation: Faculty Board Room (4.36)\, Run Run Shaw Tower\, Centennial Campus \nSpeakers: \nElizabeth Sinn (The University of Hong Kong) – Death by American protectionism? The Life and Times of a Hong Kong Chinese Company – the On Tai Marine Insurance Company (1877–1899) \nSheyla S. Zandonai (University of Macau) – Pledging\, Betting\, Building: The History of Modern Pawnshops in Macau \nDong Yan (Shanghai University of Finance and Economics) – From Local Currency to Foreign Exchange: Reshaping the Hong Kong Dollar in 1950s Guangdong \nKelvin Chan (University of Bristol) – Made in Hong Kong: Eu Yan Sang and Chinese Medicine in Cold War Southeast Asia \nRoundtable: Future Avenues for Research: 3.30pm-4.30pm \nChair: Ghassan Moazzin (The University of Hong Kong) \nLocation: Faculty Board Room (4.36)\, Run Run Shaw Tower\, Centennial Campus \nTakeshi Hamashita (Toyo Bunko)\, John D. Wong (The University of Hong Kong)\, Tomoko Shiroyama (The University of Tokyo) \n4.30pm-5pm: Closing Discussion (Possible Collaboration and Publications) \nChairs: John D. Wong (The University of Hong Kong) & Ghassan Moazzin (The University of Hong Kong)
URL:https://ihss.hku.hk/events/enterprise-and-economy-in-modern-china/
LOCATION:Run Run Shaw Tower\, Centennial Campus\, Hong Kong
CATEGORIES:Chinese Business History,Chinese Business History Conference
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