The Challenges to the Study of Chinese Economic History

Abstract

The research style of The Great Divergence: China, Europe, and the Making of the Modern World Economy * differs from our brand of social economic history, which is heavily influenced by political economics. The result is that our economic histories draw upon economic studies and, by implication, retreat from the social sciences. With regard to economic history, Kenneth Pomeranz's work traces the developmental paths of the economy itself and acknowledges the autonomous logic of economic development; it therefore merits attention. But the author believes that, as research into Chinese social economic history has gained more depth, we not only suffer from what is referred to in The Great Divergence as an issue of excess theory, but also from the twin problems of flawed and biased theory. It is not necessary to abandon the past hundred years of academic tradition, which laid an emphasis on institutional analysis. In sum, China's unique history of development over thousands of years, and especially in the past hundred years, including the system-wide economic reforms currently being implemented, gives rise to challenges to our theories of economic history, which we currently must address.