“Network revolution”: a new perspective in the study of modern Chinese chambers of commerce – a review of Modern China’s network revolution: chambers of commerce and sociopolitical change in the early twentieth century

Amid the decline in the study of modern Chinese chambers of commerce, Chen Zhongping’s Chinese-translated monograph Modern China’s Network Revolution: Chambers of Commerce and Sociopolitical Change in the Early Twentieth Century (Shanghui yu jindai Zhongguo de shetuan wangluo geming) provides a new perspective in the study of the history of chambers of commerce. The book introduces a new concept – “network revolution” – and illustrates how the chamber networks in the Lower Yangtze region brought a “network revolution” within the social and political landscape of modern China through unprecedented institutionalization, expansion, and diversification of relations and strengthened member interactions. It provides theoretical guidance for the research of the interconnection between Chinese businessmen at home and abroad and overseas Chinese associations, their interactions with China, and the resulting impacts. Additionally, the book uses the network approach to reexamine the origins, functions, and roles of chambers of commerce, offering considerable new insights. However, it fails to discuss the most important economic functions and roles of chambers of commerce from the perspective of chamber networks, which is an area for future research.