The “Brief Spring” of National Industry

The Xinhai Revolution overthrew the Qing and cleared away some obstacles to the growth of national capitalism. The provisional government and the Beijing government issued a series of decrees encouraging industry, industrial associations sprang up, and people rushed to invest in factories, setting off an industrial boom. During World War I the European powers, busy with the war, temporarily eased their economic aggression against China, and imports of European goods fell sharply, while the war greatly increased international demand for grain, cotton yarn and other goods. Mass patriotic anti-imperialist campaigns at home, such as boycotting Japanese goods and promoting domestic products, also helped national industry. Under these conditions, China's national industry grew rapidly, textiles and flour milling fastest of all, in what was called a “brief spring”. The brothers Rong Zongjing and Rong Desheng of Wuxi expanded rapidly in this period; the Maoxin and Fuxin flour mills and the Shenxin textile mills they founded kept growing, and they were called the “Flour Kings” and “Cotton Yarn Kings”. Others such as Zhang Jian's Dasheng Cotton Mill, the Jian brothers' Nanyang Brothers Tobacco Company and Fan Xudong's Jiuda Refined Salt Company also grew considerably. But this growth was concentrated in light industry; heavy industry was weak, and capital, technology and equipment depended heavily on foreign countries. After the war ended, the powers returned and stepped up their economic aggression, and national industry fell into difficulty again. Its growth strengthened the national bourgeoisie and the working class, creating social conditions for the New Culture Movement and the May Fourth Movement.