PREFACE FOR ENGLISH VERSION

FOREWORD    Li Yining

THE HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE OF THE '92 ENTREPRENEURS    Fu Xiaoyong

CHAPTER 1     PERSONS WITH AMBIGUOUS SOCIAL STATUS

1. A learning trip abroad

This was a long journey that changed the rest of Tian Yuan's life when price reforms were in progress in China.

2. Crossing the river by feeling the stones

Tian Yuan, a pragmatic reform forerunner, helped plan and design China's futures market.

3. From Longzhong to Beijing

A large number of splendid young and middle-aged economists were involved in macro policymaking for economic reform and began to play an important role.

4. Resigning from government posts

This director general had already lost his interest in his government post. In fact, he was dying to go into business the moment when he returned from his US visit, believing that "I can manage without government investment."

5. The border of the government system

"Had I kept the company in the government system for a government position, then China Futures would not have been there today."

6. The genes

He believed that "Beijing is the center of the red sun" and going to Beijing was the only direction.

7. Which path to follow

Chen Dongsheng believed, "What the United States is doing well today is what China will be doing well tomorrow."

8. Being the first to imitate

"We were like poor farmers who entered this industry and spent slavishly on our hotel romms in Great Hall Sheraton Hotel."

9. Social connections

This is the same as the comment made by Chen Dongsheng's former classmate Mao Zhenhua—"We won because we were able to integrate all types of resources."

10. Persons with ambiguous social status

"If I had been made a Party chief even in a county in Tibet, I  wouldn't have gone into business."

11. Water testers

They were the water testers of China's modern corporate system. Compared with the earlier entrepreneurs of China, they were the first Chinese entrepreneurs to have a clear awareness of shareholders.

12. Equity

It took seven years for China Chengxin to become naturally a business of Mao Zhenhua, and he admitted that "it was a steal."

13. Ambitions

Chen Dongsheng thought to himself: This is a good opportunity. If you don't do it, I will.

14. Aspirations

Too many Chinese entrepreneurs suffered from uncertainties, wasting a lot of time on dealing with the myriad uncertainties in government policies.

CHAPTER II   LEAVING THE GOVERNMENT SYSTEM

1. Being considered to have gone into business

To put it in the words of Feng Lun, leadership ability means "providing guidance, being responsible, and making sacrifices (being ready to be held accountable when responsibilities are investigated)" and "these have long been taught to Party members in the government system."

2. Leaving the government system

"Those who quitted the government system must have a strong character and found it difficult to come to terms with that system. Were it not for the reform and opening up policy, I would have had to stay within the government system. I knew not to stay there."

3. "The space is too small"

When Wu Kegang built office buildings in the busy Central, HongKong, Feng Lun was working at Mou Qizhong's Nande Group and some of the six Vantone gentlemen were still moving here and there for business opportunities. Taking advantage of his strength he derived from the government system as a "Hong Kong businessman," Wu Kegang reaped his first bucket of gold much earlier than others.

4. A mediocre life with a known destiny

The riffraff spirit referred to by Feng Lun was interpreted by Li Du, Yu Minhong's colleague, as follows:" Mr. Yu was taken disciplinary action against at Peking University. As a third-class scholar, he wanted to stay as descent as a scholar, but he was far from the first-class scholar who drowned himself in Weiming Lake. So he had to be content with the second best by resigning from his government position to become self-employed. In this way he left himself no route for escape so that he had to fight and eventually succeed."

5.Doing business is better than serving as officials

"How many civil and military governors are still remembered followding their death? Much fewer officials with lower positions are. So doing business is better than serving as officials."

CHAPTER III   INDUSTRIES

1. The ups and downs in the futures industry

Futures was in vogue for a while and greatly inspired many financial and securities professionals. China Futures could not but suffer from the pain of growth in its seething expansion.

2. Three models for the real estate industry

Feng Lin said: Whenever Vantone survived difficult circumstances and achieved strategic and operating successes, in addition to being guided by correct values, it benefited from innovation, or in other words, lived by the concept of "running the company with normal methods and carrying out business operations with indirect methods."

3. An insurance tale: Taikang and Huatai

China has a large population which offers limitless space for insurance and naturally becomes the experimental field for trying out new commercial insurance models. Chen Dongsheng said, "Innovation means becoming the first to imitate." This actually means the commercial visions and models that have been proved successful in other countries can be imitated and have results in China. Chen said,"This is determined by the principles that govern the development of business. In China today, drawing on and localizing the advanced experience of other countries is a form of innovation."

4. Wang Zhongjun's entertainment empire

Wang Zhongjun believes that the biggest contribution Huayi Brothers has made to the TV and film industry is their adoption of capital operating means and more standard management in that industry. To put it simply, they have created a brand name, attracted capital and thus promoted progress in the industry as a whole.

5. The making of an industry leader

Yu Minhong: I was successful because I started earlier than others.

Zhu Xinli: I don't think anybody will challenge the idea that I am the father of China's juice market.

Yuan Yue: Dataway Horizon is an exploration of models in this industry.

Miao Hongbing: I hope that China will have a say in world fashion.

Liu Ju: He who owns a car park has a cash machine.

CHAPTER IV   BETWEEN GOVERNMENT and BUSINESS

1. The grey area

The worship of official ranks is still affecting society and companies. TO do business, one has to deal with officials. However, I have my principles for dealing with them:"Do not cross the boundary in handling relations with them."

2. The corporation and the officialdom

The relationship between businesspeople and the fovernment in China is an inseparable and unreliable one — indoing business in China one cannot do without the support of government policy even if he wants to, but he cannot solely depend on government policy for development as it is unreliable.

3.Rules and order

Most other '92 Entrepreneurs who were ambitious "just wanted to use social connections to enter the market and keep firmly to the market-oriented path."

4.Modern corporate government

In 1985, an article in the World Economic Herald caused a sensation in the academics. Titled "The Shareholding System: the Only Way Out for China's SOE Reforms,"the article made the theoretical statement that the shareholding system was an advanced form of socialist public ownership. The author was Guo Fansheng who later created Huicong. He was 30 at the time.

5. Mirroring: Losers

Lan Shili used to be an official, left the government system he was familiar with and was eventually killed by that system. Is this just as Feng Lun said that private enterprises must never compete with the government in capital?

CHAPTER V   THE CULTURAL TOTEM OF THE SCHOLAR OFFICIALS

1. The social role of entrepreneurs

How to understand the spirit of entrepreneurs? What is the most important aspect of their spirit? Is the ever-expanding rank of entrepreneurs the main cause of the sustained economic growth of China? How should entrepreneurs better play their role in society?

2. The difficulties and way out for reform

Is there really a Chinese model? If the model is there, what is the government's position and role in it?

3. Power and democracy

Does power help improve efficiency? Is democracy bad for efficiency? Do you worry about democracy? How to strike a balance beteen them? With vested interests and benefits, are entrepreneurs conservative?

4. hidden worries

What are the main problems in the development of enterprise?

EPILOGUE NOURISH CHINA      Cen Ke

AFTERWORD    Chen Hai

BIBLIOGRAPHY