Economic change in

late imperial China &

early modern Europe
- Wanyu Sheng, Tobias Prael

Economic development China

Agricultural
productivity
Increased trade
Improved
transportation
Formation of
merchant
th
th
10
organization
Century
Freer government
policies

?
What did /
did not
happen?
Lack of
fully
persuasiv
e
interpreta
tion

Sustained
economic
growth
Rising
standards of
th
living 20th

Century

Problem of economic change

in Chinese history
Finding the differentiating factor (lack of key
ingredient?)
Chinese did not follow the European path
Production was tied to rural industry
3 villains blocked progress & changes:
Chinese state, Imperialism, feudal powerholders
Religious belief

Comparison problematic, Europe & China too

distinctive!

Early modern European

dynamics of growth
Economic center: England & Holland
Malthusian trap: agriculture output is
limited; growth is finite
fluctuation of harvests population loss
Smithian growth: productivity via:
1.
2.
3.
4.

extended arable
division of labor & specialization
increased inputs of labor & capital
technological improvements

Early modern European

dynamics of growth
1350: demographic loss (Black death)
18th century: commerce (agricultural & industrial
production)
19th century: industrialization transformation of
economy

Smithian dynamics in China

16th-19th century: Smithian dynamics
trade of handicrafts & cash crops
Commercialization stimulated productivity
fertilizer, weather resistant seed varieties
Development of product markets
dense network of exchange

Product specialization
Factor market (sale & rental of land)
Labor market (short & long-term)
Credit market (in order to produce & expand)

Cycles of expansion also visible

Trade of handicrafts & cash

crops
Oils
Ironware

Fruits
Paper

Grains

Geographic development in
China
Market expansion: mostly along the coast &
rivers (Yanzi, Pearl); less in the northern half
of China
Geographic limits visible in hill lands
(less fertile lands less productivity)

Economic change in China

In 19th century:
Ports open for foreigners
Railroads & river transport stimulated commercialization
YET no industrialization in sight
Grand
Canal

Chinese view: imperialism blocked the development &

success
Western view: Chinese undergovernment blocked
growth stimulus, despite the fact that foreigners created
opportunities & offered skills to build a modern economy

Population dynamics: birth &

death rates
14th-18th century: population expansion similar
Europe: low fertility (late/no marriage) & rel. low mortality
China: low fertility (longer birth intervals, shorter
reproduction age span); higher mortality and female
infanticide present
Malnutrition & starvation in China was present (famines)
Higher fertility rates afterwards might have compensated
this
Famine, epidemics, plague are similarly distinct in both
areas
Life expectancy in Europe & China also comparable
Wong: Those dynamics unlikely to be the reason for
lacking industrialization

Economic dynamics &

preconditions of capitalism
Starting point: equilibrium between population & resources
equilibrium trap (mainly in China)

Europe:
Industrious revolution (term coined by De Vries)
people trade in leisure for money increased labor
China:
Involution
increased market production, without per capita growth
growth without development

Conclusion
Both positive and negative forces of Smith and Malthus were present
in Europe as well as in China
Harvest insecurities and material limitations were experienced by
both Europe and China similar economic cycles
Both have struggled with economic & demographic crisis
Similar population-resource ratio can be observed

Early modern Western Europe & late imperial China

before 1800 have more similarities than differences,
reasons for the divergent development has yet to be
examined
Wong criticizes, that the Chinese economic history is
mainly scrutinized from an European point of view and
measured against European standards

Questions?

What in your Opinion is the

main message of Wongs
text?

What in your Opinion was

the main reason for Chinas
slow industrialization?