Brett Sheehan’s Industrial Eden is a fascinating story of, on the one hand, entrepreneurship, adaptability, and individual resilience; and on the other, political regimes, developmental progress, and failure over half a century. The book traces the history of Dechang and its successor firm Dongya from the early 1900s to closure in 1958 and the histories of the company leaders, Song Chuandian and his son Song Feiqing, amid the turbulent decades of the Chinese republic and the various leaders in northern China.

Industrial Eden refers to the vision of Song Feiqing, the proprietor of Dongya in a society in which corporations worked with government support in an enlightened fashion, involving their workers in the business and providing basic welfare for them. When Dongya built factories and employed modern production techniques in the 1930s, Song Feiqing also set up dormitories for the workers and developed a community to take care of the workers under stringent rules. He took the unusual step of setting up a limited liability company in 1930. The majority of the shares were owned by the Song family and close associates, while workers had a minority stake. The shared ownership formed part of his vision for an industrial Eden.

The entrepreneurship is detailed in the book in the various lines of business that the firm undertook as opportunities arose or as authorities demanded. Dechang was originally a lace-making operation started by British missionaries to create work in a poor region. Song Chuandian and three partners took over the firm when the missionaries moved on. After a decade of rather poor performance, the firm began to produce and export hairnets to the United States and Europe, and this strategy proved to be profitable. The company slowly expanded and was able to diversify into producing other goods such as soap while also exporting and importing miscellaneous goods. Song Chuandian bought out his partners and became the sole proprietor, and in 1922 he moved the company to the booming city of Jinan.

The Songs not only adapted quickly to changes in demand; they also adapted to the various political regimes and the changing rules for business that followed. Father and son both displayed an ability to adapt to the political leadership and worked with them to ensure that the company could continue to operate. Song Chuandian ventured into politics but saw his company nearly ruined as the military campaign by Zhang Zongchang brought a halt to business in Jinan in 1928. His son Song Feiqing took over and made Tianjin the base for the firm. He changed the company’s export–import business in response to the new nationalist rulers’ emphasis on producing goods locally. One priority was to develop a wool textile industry, and Song thus ventured into the production of yarn. When he incorporated, he invited his political patron in as shareholder. However, Song moved the company into the British concession in Tianjin, a move that provided some protection from the interventionist attitude of the nationalists, while he could continue to collaborate with them in some respects.

When Japan occupied the territory, Song found ways to continue operating the business under the Japanese regime. After the war he succeeded in turning the narrative of Dongya during the occupation into one of not colluding with the occupiers but rather staying faithful to the nationalist regime. He was hopeful that the Communists would allow him to continue his business with government support, if needed, but still privately owned and independent. Sheehan shows how Song again adapted the narrative to show that this company fit into a socialist society. His care for workers seemingly resembled what was expected from the new rulers, but he failed to grasp that private ownership would not be allowed. When it became clear that private enterprise was not wanted, he left for Hong Kong in 1950 and subsequently emigrated to Argentina. Dongya continued to operate under government control until it was closed in 1958.

Industrial Eden is so much more than a story of entrepreneurship and corporate longevity under various political regimes. It is also a story of missionaries in Shandong and their activities beyond spreading the gospel. It is a story of foreign influences on a macro level regarding national politics and international relations and also on a micro level exploring individuals’ interest in foreign goods and production methods.

Sheehan, a historian at the University of Southern California, cleverly weaves these stories together while making his arguments about the role of imperialism, Chinese business practices, the narrative of the business, and finally, the various governments’ intrusive roles in business. The arguments that come out strongest are the final two, the narrative of the business, with many examples of Dongya’s own actions to frame the narrative, and the detailed actions and interactions of ruling parties. Readers will find an intriguing story of entrepreneurship, change, and continuity, and will gain new insights into the turbulent economic and political developments in China from the start of the republic to the formation of the People’s Republic.

The book is rich in detail and the source material is equally rich, spanning from notes from Song Feiqing’s widow and close associates to oral histories and corporate, diplomatic, and government archives in three countries. There is a sense that there is still more to draw on from this material to shed further light on business in China during the first half of the twentieth century as well as the interaction of missionaries, entrepreneurs, traders, and governing entities.