Li Lu

4.21206 learners

Li Lu’s *Civilization, Modernization, Value Investment and China* blends cross-disciplinary historical research, economic analysis, and hands-on investment expertise to demystify China’s rise and its place in global civilization. Drawing on Jared Diamond’s geographic determinism and Ian Morris’s Social Development Index, Lu traces 16,000 years of human progress, breaking down why the West pulled ahead after 1800 and how China is now catching up. He unpacks the Malthusian trap that constrained agricultural civilizations, the catalysts of modernization (free markets, constitutional democracy, steam power), and China’s turbulent journey from Opium Wars to reform-era growth. Shifting to investing, Lu makes a compelling case for value investing’s viability in China, using examples like BYD to show how focusing on business ownership, safety margins, and staying within one’s circle of competence delivers long-term returns. His unique perspective—shaped by 20+ years in both China and the U.S.—bridges East-West divides, offering investors and global thinkers a clear roadmap to understand China’s past, present, and future.

Wu Xiaobo

3.3623 learners

"Turbulent Thirty Years" is a definitive narrative of China’s unprecedented economic transformation from 1978 to 2008, tracing the chaotic, exhilarating rise of its business landscape amid sweeping reform and opening-up. Authored by Wu Xiaobo, this immersive account chronicles the birth of iconic enterprises—from Lenovo and Huawei to Vanke and Mengniu—and the larger-than-life entrepreneurs who navigated uncharted waters, breaking rigid state rules, seizing risky opportunities, and enduring dramatic failures. It captures the era’s contradictions: state-owned giants clashing with scrappy private startups, speculative bubbles bursting amid rapid growth, and the tension between traditional values and global market forces. More than a business history, it offers a front-row seat to how a closed, agrarian nation evolved into a global economic powerhouse, revealing the grit, luck, and systemic upheaval that shaped modern China’s commercial identity. For readers seeking to understand China’s rise through its business leaders and pivotal events, this book is an indispensable guide.