Leveraging Family History As a Tool for Wealth Transmission: A Case Study of the Rong Yiren Family in Post-Reform China

The establishment of the People's Republic of China, family lineage, and wealth inheritance experienced significant disruptions due to anti-capitalist movements and the campaign to Destroy the Four Olds. While historical research on Chinese family history often focuses on ancient China, there is a noticeable gap in modern narrations. After the 1997 Reform and Opening, newly emerged Chinese entrepreneurs emphasised wealth and family legacy, developing a keen interest in documenting their family histories and constructing family identities. This paper explores how Chinese entrepreneurs have recreated wealth post-reforms and analyzes how they continue or reconstruct their family narratives. Focusing on the prominent Rong Yiren family, this study examines how, unlike most wealth creators of the Reform and Opening era, the Rong family successfully reconstructed and extended their family history by leveraging Hong Kong as a strategic base for wealth preservation and inheritance. Through case study analysis, this paper investigates how contemporary Chinese entrepreneurs, exemplified by the Rong family, utilize family history to facilitate wealth transmission. The findings indicate that, despite the Rong family's success, most wealth-building families face numerous inheritance challenges, such as negotiating with government authorities, adapting to cross-cultural environments, the implications of the one-child policy, and generally low educational levels. Understanding these challenges is crucial for addressing the complexities surrounding wealth succession in modern China and gaining deeper insights into the difficulties of sustainable development within the private economy.