This talk will explore a century of Rockefeller Philanthropy and in China. The first three John D. Rockefellers were engaged with China from the time of the American Civil War to Deng Xiaoping’s reform era. Across the twentieth and into the twenty-first century the Rockefeller philanthropic investment in China’s science, medicine and higher education far outpaced any other American source — upwards of a billion and half dollars. The Rockefeller China interests in commerce, religion, science and art epitomize the multi-dimensional non-governmental sources that continue to shape U.S. China relations.

Exploring the Rockefeller motives and legacy at a time when Hong Kong and China are experiencing a growing philanthropic era is instructive. The cultural internationalism that characterized the Rockefeller family and philanthropies emerged during an era when China was one of the world’s poorest countries. Yet the Rockefeller goal to “educate citizens of the world” and thereby create transnational intellectual networks far transcended charity. Their emphasis on institution building and the longevity of their commitment to China resulted in distinct Chinese epistemic communities with shared intellectual values that have persisted to this day.

At a time of growing interest in family foundations, the Rockefeller family is unique. John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Abby Rockefeller’s embrace of Asian peoples and civilization early in the twentieth century encouraged a two-way flow of culture and ideas. Their descendants, now five generations along, continue to influence the China direction of Rockefeller philanthropies — the Rockefeller Foundation, the Asian Cultural Council, the China Medical Board, the Winrock Foundation, and the Asia Society.