The Economic History of China: From Antiquity to the Nineteenth Century

by Richard von Glahn

China's extraordinary rise as an economic powerhouse in the past two decades poses a challenge to many long-held assumptions about the relationship between political institutions and economic development. Economic prosperity also was vitally important to the longevity of the Chinese Empire throughout the preindustrial era. Before the eighteenth century, China's economy shared some of the features, such as highly productive agriculture and sophisticated markets, found in the most advanced regions of Europe. But in many respects, from the central importance of irrigated rice farming to family structure, property rights, the status of merchants, the monetary system, and the imperial state's fiscal and economic policies, China's preindustrial economy diverged from the Western path of development. In this comprehensive but accessible study, Richard von Glahn examines the institutional foundations, continuities and discontinuities in China's economic development over three millennia, from the Bronze Age to the early twentieth century.

Genres: China, History, Economics, Nonfiction, Asia

476 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 7, 2016

Reviews

[Doug O'laughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lotta data - dry as the desert. I found the very beginning chapters and the very ending chapters helpful. Read the segments with interesting headings. I would read it again, just... targeted.

[Aloke]

Reviewed by Tyler Cowen from Marginal Revolution: http://www.bloomberg.com/view/article...

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard to know how to review a book like this. I think it does what it sets out to, but I can’t pretend it’s an easy read.

It turns out that an economic history of China is not exactly a page turner. But I think von Glahn generally succeeds in making pretty dry content comprehensible, laying out the necessary context for readers to situate themselves in place and time (and history), before diving into the minutae of Chinese economic history. In particular I appreciate his use of concrete examples and data to provide a bit of a frame (though for what it’s worth, I think they were a bit too numerous, and I skipped a reasonable number of the tables, which are likely more useful to someone starting in on s true deep dive on a specific part of the history).

The book is designed to operate well as a reference text, splitting eras out into chapters, with sub-chapters focussing on specific thematic developments. But Hane’s history of Japan I recently read, which followed a similar structure, von Glahn executes the structure more effectively, not being too bound to specific themes, and more smoothly integrating the narrative between themes, making it ironically more smooth of a read than Hane’s history, despite the fact that the latter book was designed as a more general history for a more general audience.

Wouldn’t really recommend this to many people (and I’m frankly unsure why I read it), but it deserves credit for accomplishing its goal.

[Bradley Olsen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Often reads as a list of facts rather than an economic history. I expect economic histories to weave statistics into the narrative. This was very light on figures, leaving the reader moving from historical period to period without a real economic thread weaving it all together. Ironically I felt like I had a more tangible understanding of how ancient China developed economically and fell behind the west during the industrial revolution from reading Smil’s Energy and Civilization which is not China focused.

[Chow Chung Yan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Masterpiece

Great work. A must-read for anyone who wants to understand China. Well researched and balanced. Offering valuable insights into the transformation of China’s economy from antique to the early 20th century. Many of these insights are still relevant today.

[Naked Fish · Rating 5 out of 5]

全面但不失简明，有通史式的论述也能结合其他学人的成果。对于日文和中文literature的引用令人叹服（也可能是我见识太少），所以整本书显得非常solid。Intro对于初学者很不友好，十分硬核。商周时期囿于史料，政治方面谈得比经济多一些。到秦汉时期经济讨论逐渐成为行文的主体，主要围绕土地制度、税收、货币、政府/国家在经济中的角色以及境内/外贸易这几条线索展开。从第六章唐宋变革开始写出了longue duree的感觉，特别是清和宋的对比。不过依然觉得听课比看书轻松:D

[Winston B-S · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book. The only disappointing part is that it ends somewhere in the mid 19th century instead of continuing on to modern China. This book knows when to dive deep into the specifics and when to zoom out and discuss broader topics.

[Juan Pollardo · Rating 4 out of 5]

lots of good info on the shifts in china's demography and state though i enjoyed the discussions of kin networks and farming technology most

[Mikey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, achieves what it sets out to do. Lots of detail when appropriate, without getting impenetrable dry or convoluted.

[Pierre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Makes for an excellent reference text, and Van Glahn knows all the cutting-edge research, but I don't recommend reading this start to finish. The book has little in the way of grand narrative or even smaller causalities, the author is way too focused on fiscal policy, and the chapters read very repetitively.

[Kevin Y · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fantastic book. A must read for anyone interested in China, political economic history, and great tables/maps/charts collected from literature in a growing field of study: Chinese economic history. Unfortunately, the book has a lot of names/places/dates for those unfamiliar with China and her history; however, that is the price paid for an ambitious book covering a large timeframe.

I can see myself returning to this book as a reference for future topical experimentation and research.