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Discovering Chinese Economic History from Footnotes: the Living Tale of a Private Merchant Archive (1800-1850)

Author

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  • Ma, Debin

    (London School of Economics)

  • Yuan, Weipeng

    (Chinese Academy of Social Science, Beijing)

Abstract

This article recounts our unique encounter –through the last seven years of our research - with the Tong Taisheng (统泰升) merchant account books in the Ninjing county of Northern China in 1800-1850. By tracing the personal history of the original owner or donor, we address a large historiographical and epistemological issue behind the current Great Divergence debate on why Industrial Revolution occurred in England but not in China. Our article showcases how the development of political ideology and academic discipline in the modern era impacts our understanding of historical statistics and realities of the early modern era, a critical issue largely neglected in the current Great Divergence debate.

Suggested Citation

  • Ma, Debin & Yuan, Weipeng, 2013. "Discovering Chinese Economic History from Footnotes: the Living Tale of a Private Merchant Archive (1800-1850)," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 164, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    • Handle: RePEc:cge:wacage:164
    as

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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Robert C. Allen & Jean-Pascal Bassino & Debin Ma & Christine Moll-Murata & Jan Luiten Van Zanden, 2011. "Wages, prices, and living standards in China, 1738–1925: in comparison with Europe, Japan, and India," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 64, pages 8-38, February.
    2. Ma, Debin, 2008. "Economic growth in the Lower Yangzi region of China in 1911–1937: a quantitative and historical analysis," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 32398, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Chen, Chau-nan, 1975. "Flexible Bimetallic Exchange Rates in China, 1650-1850: A Historical Example of Optimum Currency Areas," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 7(3), pages 359-376, August.
    4. Ho, Jun Seong & Lewis, James B. & Han-Rog, Kang, 2008. "Korean Expansion and Decline from the Seventeenth to the Nineteenth Century: A View Suggested by Adam Smith," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 68(1), pages 244-282, March.
    5. Stephen Broadberry & Bishnupriya Gupta, 2006. "The early modern great divergence: wages, prices and economic development in Europe and Asia, 1500–1800," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 59(1), pages 2-31, February.
    6. Allen, Robert C., 2001. "The Great Divergence in European Wages and Prices from the Middle Ages to the First World War," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 411-447, October.
    7. Ma, Debin, 2008. "Economic Growth in the Lower Yangzi Region of China in 1911–1937: A Quantitative and Historical Analysis," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 68(2), pages 355-392, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Industrial Revolution;

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