Management Concepts in Chinese Sociology in the First Half of the 20th Century

Abstract

The paper examines significant works in the study of management in Chinese sociology in the first half of the 20th century. The author analyzes the influence of socio-political events of this period on the formation of sociological science in China using a systematic historical approach, comparative and typological analysis. The work reveals the division of sociology in the first half of the 20th century into Marxist and non-Marxist. The first one shows the importance of integrating Marxist ideas with Chinese managerial traditions, criticizing non-Marxist managerial concepts and the influence of Western powers on governance processes in China. Within the framework of non-Marxist sociology, the role of American missionaries and Chinese scientists who studied abroad in the spread of sociology and the beginning of its institutionalization in China is noted. Three types of sociological studies of governance are distinguished; complex sociological works partially devoted to management; and specialized management studies. The author concludes that the key trends of the era in the study of management were a combination of sociology and Marxism, Sinocentrism, manifested in the search for region-specific scientific approaches, and scientific pragmatism, which contributed to the active borrowing of Western concepts. Despite the long period of stagnation associated with the prohibition of sociology (1953-1979), modern Chinese sociological science continues to rely on the experience it acquired in the first half of the twentieth century.