A Brief History of Branding in China

Abstract

In this article, the authors explore whether brands as they currently conceive of them existed in premodernity. They trace branding practices in China from 2700 BC to contemporary times and demonstrate that China has had a sophisticated brand infrastructure with a continuous history that has no known correspondence in any other part of the world. They review previous research on the history of branding and create a systematic overview of what is currently known about branding throughout history. From an historical analysis of branding practices and consumer culture in China, they find that premodern brands were important agents of consumer culture as early as the Song dynasty (960—1127). In China, brands emerged outside of a capitalist context and served primarily social functions. They chronicle the consumer culture of the time in China, and how brands developed out of it, demonstrating that brands can develop in varying ways.

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