Chinas Road In The Great Divergence Qings Model Of Economic Development In The 1644 1911 Era

This book is one of the few Chinese academic works published directly in English that discusses the similarities and differences in the paths of economic development between China and the West during the Qing Dynasty. It attempts to explore the very important question：Whether Qing China in the late 18th and early 19th centuries had a unique or similar path of economic development compared with Western countries？Also, when and why China lost its prominent position as the richest economy in world history, in the sixteenth, eighteenth or nineteenth century? Was this position lost because of policies by the Chinese state; policies on trade, taxes or trust, or was it about the access to coal, capital and colonies in the other countries? And when this happened, was it China that diverted from the standard track, or was it the country that took over; England, the Dutch Republic, or the young United States? This book not only provides answers to the above questions, but also critiques the existing historical GDP studies and "Great Diversion" studies, and emphasizes the importance of using first-hand historical data for research. The book brings such evidence to the table, fresh from the archives. Important data presented on fiscal and financial policies in the Qing Dynasty is put in context and discussed. It analyzes the population expansion and the countermeasures of the Qing dynasty before the "Malthusian Miracle"; estimates the total value of commercial output in the first half of the 19th century based on the market circulation of major commodities and tariff records; examines the changes in the Qing financial system with Xianfeng-Tongzhi reigns as the turning point; and analyzes the government borrowing activities during the this period as well as the Qing government's relief efforts during the Great Flood of 1823. Written by Yuping Ni, professor of Department of History, School of Humanities, Tsinghua University. He is a scholar who presented his material and ideas at seminars and workshops in different parts of Asia, Europe and the United States. During this year Ni published a book with Brill Publishers in Leiden (Customs Duties in the Qing Dynasty, ca.1644-1911), wrote an article—in cooperation with Dr. Martin Uebele—published in the Australian Economic History Review.

Seminar paper from the year 2009 in the subject Orientalism / Sinology - Chinese / China, grade: 2,0, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (-), language: English, abstract: The industrial revolution in Europe, or more precisely, in Britain changed the global economy substantially. Major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining and transport through technological innovations led to a shift of global economic dominance from China to Europe between the 18th and 19th century. Until that point, China has been the largest and most efficient market-economy in the world, leading in agriculture, transportation and innovations. Every major contribution that led to the industrial revolution in Europe was also prevalent in China, but still the country did not do the next step forward and was overhauled by Britain quickly. The objective of this paper is to examine the reasons why an industrial revolution did not occur in China during the Ming/Qing period, although it was the leading economy in the world. Therefore, the first section will shortly outline the economic development of China before the 14th century. Thereafter, two different theories about the reasons for China’s stagnation will be explained, before a critical evaluation of both theories will be provided. Last, a conclusion will summarize the main findings of this paper and give an outlook on future debates.

The book discusses the development model of China which has now overtaken Japan as the world's second largest economy. This remarkable economic achievement has not followed the Western world's favorite developmental tools — of freedom, democracy and a market driven economy, but rather China's unique model — of one-party authoritarian rule with a mixed economy. the Middle Kingdom's way of development has largely questioned the West's core values — freedom and democracy. the book argues that the model is based on the country's 3,000-year-old civilization, forged by the efforts, innovations, trial and error process of several recent generations, and guided by the Chinese Communist Party in the past 60 years.

In light of East Asia's current economic success, it has become increasingly clear that Confucian social thought, long assumed in Western scholarship to be a major stumbling block to economic development, can, under the proper circumstances, have exactly the opposite effect. Lufrano's study is the most sustained and sophisticated of recent reevaluations of Confucianism's role in the rapid commercial development in the late Ming to mid-Qing period. It will be of great interest and value to scholars in the growing field of Chinese business history and should be welcomed by those interested in the Confucian roots of Pacific Rim business practice.

The history of customs duties reflects the development of the Qing fiscal system, especially in its transition from a rather traditional to a more modern economy. Mainly based on Qing archives, this book, the first research monograph on this subject in the English language, not only gives a brief introduction of each customs post’s transformation over time, but also provides the complete statistical data of each of these post over the Qing dynasty. Contributors are: Bas van Leeuwen, Bozhong Li, Maaten Duijvendak, Martin Uebele, Peter Foldvari, Yi Xu.

Reviews economic development and stasis in the final decades of the Manchu dynasty

This book explores the vital role of merchants within early modern China. Unlike European merchants, their Sino-colleagues have long been regarded as certain social pariahs after pre-Qin period, despite the fortune they made. The key mission of this monograph is to investigate whether the standing of merchants in the Ming Empire has been improved compared with their predecessors. Generally, their status is reflected in state-merchant relationship and their role in the market, which can be found in miscellaneous economic activities such as market monopoly, commercial taxation, international trade, and consumption. This book aims to be of relevance to students and researchers interested in early modern history, eastern commerce, Ming merchants, and contemporary global affairs.

This paper reconstructs China's economic development between 1840 and 1912 with an estimation of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It provides for the first time a time series of GDP (per capita) for the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), based on sectoral output and value added, in current as well as in constant prices. The present estimation of per capita GDP in the late Qing period comes out higher than previous estimations, but it still suggests low average levels of Chinese living standards. The economy during the late Qing Empire was characterized by a large and growing agricultural sector and displayed only minor structural changes. Only in the beginning of the twentieth century did the economy start to show signs of growth.

In a brisk revisionist history, William Rowe challenges the standard narrative of Qing China as a decadent, inward-looking state that failed to keep pace with the modern West. This original, thought-provoking history of China's last empire is a must-read for understanding the challenges facing China today.