This book focuses on Chen Qiyuan, a pioneer of Modern industry in China, who founded the first silk filature in south China in 1873. Chen left Nanhai, his native village, to Annam where, after becoming a highly successful businessman, he spent six years learning the new technology of making good quality silk. Despite the numerous difficulties in setting up his own filature back home: lack of infrastructure for machinery, opposition from local villagers and the riot of the silk weavers in 1881 when the competition for cocoons threatened their livelihood, he persevered. In the end, filatures proliferated in the Pearl River Delta Region because he selflessly shared his technology. Chen was not only a merchant and a sophisticated entrepreneur, but also an unique technical expert with management skills. Recognizing the importance of organization and management, he introduced several innovations: utilized female labor, women working beside men, a bonus and fine system to encourage good work practices and quality control of the reeled silk. His work led to prosperity and improvement in the standard of living in the Pearl River Delta Region where women, for the first time, were given financial independence through labor.
