Red Capitalism in 1950s China

Speaker: CEAS China Colloquium Christopher Leighton 2009-10 CEAS Postdoctoral Fellow in Chinese Studies, Stanford University Even after the 1949 Communist revolution, private Chinese businesses continued. Some erstwhile capitalists became part of the new China, winning consultative roles, government positions, and even symbolic recognition -- woven into the nation as one of the four small stars on China's new flag. Examining this episode of early PRC history sheds light on how the story of China's present boom owes much to the socialization of Chinese capitalism in the 1950s. Christopher Leighton is an Assistant Professor of History (on leave 2009 - 2010) at MIT. He received his Ph.D. (2009) in History and East Asian Languages from Harvard University.