Existing Debates, Problems, and the Need for New Quantitative Insight in the Economic History of Late Imperial China

Abstract

This paper represents an extensive review of the academic literature on several fundamental questions, ranging from Needham’s enigma (why China, more advanced than Europe in the application of knowledge, did not develop a modern science) to Pomeranz’s reflections on the great divergence between Europe and China. It identifies and discusses the various methodological approaches and sources of data that have been deployed to answer these questions. Particular attention is paid to research carried out within the framework of the quantitative approach of economic history, but other disciplinary fields which have contributions to make, such as demography and environmental studies, are also discussed. This historiographical survey ends by highlighting the empirical conundrum facing research in this field : solid empirical foundations have already been built, and many impressive intellectual frameworks of analysis proposed, but more evidence is needed in order to be able to better understand the internal dynamics of the economies under consideration. Court records, and in particular the Xingke tiben 刑科題本 for the period from 1736 to 1898, are highlighted as a potential avenue for future research on these questions.