Conference Agenda

This paper investigates how the concept of "industry" was received, interpreted, and localized in early modern China from the late eighteenth century to the early twentieth century. Drawing on historical accounts from the Self-Strengthening Movement to the New Culture Movement, it reveals how industrial ideas, initially tied to military and technological modernization, gradually evolved into a broader discourse on national progress and social reform. The study argues that this intellectual translation of "industry" laid the groundwork for the emergence of modern Chinese design consciousness. By examining the intersections between industrial policy, low-level industrialization, and cultural transformation, the paper situates China's early industrial imagination within a global context, highlighting its philosophical significance for the genealogy of modern design in East Asia.