Yung-chen Chiang tells the story of the origins, visions, and achievements of the social sciences in China during the first half of the twentieth century. He focuses on the efforts of social scientists at three institutions to relate their disciplines to the needs of Chinese society. As all three groups received funding from the Rockefeller Foundation, their stories offer a window onto Sino-American interactions, revealing how the social sciences became a lingua franca of the cultural frontier. This study advances our understanding of the transfer, indigenization, and international patronage of social science disciplines.