Unlike other economies, family businesses in China are greatly affected by the derived Confucian culture, excessive marketization, as well as the seemingly endless institutional supervision by a transitional Chinese government. China has a strong historical legacy, devoted to patriarchal values and strong family-centered traditions.

This volume explores the social foundations and historical legacies of families, business families, and family businesses in China. It begins with an overview of a household, family, and clan in ancient China before an examination of the economic, social, and cultural functions that the family system served in Ancient China as well as the four unique features that distinguish the family system in ancient China from those in western societies. It later discusses the evolution of the family system and the rise of family business before the establishment of the Peoples Republic of China in 1949. Finally, it evaluates the family system before and after the Open-up and Reform in 1978. This interdisciplinary work, incorporating sociological, anthropological, and institutional contexts pertaining to China, offers researchers the first advanced perspective of the development of family firms in China.

Ling Chen is Professor of Family Business and Business History in the School of Management, Zhejiang University, China. He is the Founding Director of the Institute of Family Business Research at Zhejiang University and has served as the Director of the Institute for Entrepreneurs since 2014. His main research areas are succession, professionalization, and corporate governance in family business, and comparative study in business history.

Jian An Zhu is a Professor and Dean of the Department of Applied Economics at Zhejiang University City College, China. Since 2011, he has served as the Director of the Institute of Entrepreneurship and Family Business.

Hanqing Fang is Assistant Professor of Business and Information Technology at Missouri University of Science and Technology, USA. His research primarily focuses on family firms, entrepreneurship, and strategic management.

1. Introduction .- 2. Household and Family .- 3. Family: economic, social, and educational functions .- 4. Characteristics of the Chinese family system .- 5. Society and family clans in modern China .- 6. Transformation of family clans in modern China and the rise of family enterprises .- 7. The two cycles of development of family enterprises in modern China .- 8. The relationship between modern Chinese family clans and the state .- 9. Dynamics of the family system before and after the Reform era .- 10. Family enterprise before and after the Reform era .- 10. Oversea Chinese family business: comparative studies .- 11. Conclusion: family and business in China.