Accounting for eternal glory: Financial statements on temple stelae in nineteenth-century South China

Abstract

This study provides a systematic overview of financial statements appearing on nineteenth-century temple stelae (alternatively called steles or stone tablets) culled from ten local collections of stele inscriptions from South China and Taiwan. Furthermore, it presents an analysis of the significance of these stele inscriptions for the study of Chinese accounting history in general, and particularly in respect to the influence of Chinese religion on accounting. Confirming “accounting stagnation” in the late Qing period, the temple stelae provide evidence of the increasing importance of wealth, against the alleged oppositions between trust and written contracts, and religion and money, in late Imperial China. As the impact of Chinese religion on the history of accounting is largely understudied, the final section contains proposals for further research.