Smokeless Sugar
The Death of a Provincial Bureaucrat and the Construction of China's National Economy
2010
First Published
4.33
Average Rating
336
Number of Pages
Part of Series
Part history, part biography, and part mystery story, "Smokeless Sugar" traces the formation of a national economy in China through an intriguing investigation of the 1936 execution of an allegedly corrupt Cantonese official. Feng Rui, a Western-educated agricultural expert, introduced modern sugar milling to China in the 1930s as a key component in a provincial investment program. Before long, however, he was accused of colluding with smugglers to pass foreign sugar off as a domestic product. Emily Hill makes the case that Feng was, in fact, a scapegoat in a multi-sided power struggle in which political leaders vied with commercial players for access to China's markets and tax revenues.
Avg Rating
4.33
Number of Ratings
3
5 STARS
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