Abstract
Lu Buwei (
), a famous merchant and later a high official of the Qin dynasty (236–21 BC), once posed these questions to his father.
‘How much can one earn from investing in land?’ Lu asked.
‘About a hundred per cent,’ said his father.
‘How much can one earn from speculation in pearls and precious stones?’ Lu asked again.
‘About a thousand per cent,’ replied his father.
Lu asked the third and final question:
‘How much can one earn by financing a person to become a ruler of state?’
‘That goes beyond what can be calculated.’1
Politics can be a profitable business investment. Where the risk is high, the profit is great.
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© 1998 Stephanie Po-yin Chung
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Chung, S.Py. (1998). Introduction: Business and Politics. In: Chinese Business Groups in Hong Kong and Political Change in South China, 1900–25. St Antony’s Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230501768_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230501768_1
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-39891-1
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