The economic history of CHINA from antiquity to the 19th

T HE E CO NO MIC HIS TO RY O F CHINA 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 R I C H A R D V O N G L A H N is Professor of History at the University of California, Los Angeles He has previously published three monographs on Chinese history, including Fountain of Fortune: Money and Monetary Policy in China, 1000–1700 (1996) and The Sinister Way: The Divine and the Demonic in Chinese Religious Culture (2004), and a co-authored textbook on world history, Crossroads and Cultures: A History of the World (2012) T H E E C O N O M I C H I S T O RY O F CHINA From Antiquity to the Nineteenth Century Richard von Glahn University of California, Los Angeles University Printing House, Cambridge CB2 8BS, United Kingdom Cambridge University Press is part of the University of Cambridge It furthers the University’s mission by disseminating knowledge in the pursuit of education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781107030565 © Richard von Glahn 2016 This publication is in copyright Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press First published 2016 Printed in the United Kingdom by Clays, St Ives plc A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication data Von Glahn, Richard An economic history of China : from antiquity to the nineteenth century / Richard von Glahn, University of California, Los Angeles pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index ISBN 978-1-107-03056-5 (Hardback : alk paper) – ISBN 978-1-107-61570-0 (Paperback : alk paper) China–Economic conditions–To 1644 China–Economic conditions–1644–1912 I Title HC427.6.V66 2015 330.951–dc23 2015031124 ISBN 978-1-107-03056-5 Hardback ISBN 978-1-107-61570-0 Paperback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate In memory of Ken Sokoloff Contents List of figures List of maps List of tables Acknowledgments Introduction The Bronze Age economy (1045 to 707 B C E ) From city-state to autocratic monarchy (707 to 250 B C E ) Economic foundations of the universal empire (250 to 81 B C E ) Magnate society and the estate economy (81 B C E to 485 C E ) The Chinese-nomad synthesis and the reunification of the empire (485 to 755) Economic transformation in the Tang-Song transition (755 to 1127) The heyday of the Jiangnan economy (1127 to 1550) The maturation of the market economy (1550 to 1800) Domestic crises and global challenges: restructuring the imperial economy (1800 to 1900) Bibliography Index Figures 1.1 Configuration of landholdings recorded in the fifth-year Wei Ding inscription 2.1 Archaeological reconstruction of Linzi 2.2 Archaeological reconstruction of Xiadu 3.1 Juyan passport 4.1 Mural of Han Manor, Holingor, Inner Mongolia 4.2 Tomb relief from Chengdu Late Han dynasty 6.1 Northern Song registered population and lands, 980–1110 8.1 Rice and cotton prices in Jiangnan, 1644–84 8.2 Growth of the money supply, 1726–1833 8.3 Population change in China, 1660–1850 8.4 Population density and rates of growth, 1776–1820 8.5 Grain prices in South China, 1660–1850 8.6 Silver and copper prices of rice in eighteenth-century Guangdong 9.1 Nominal and real GDP estimates, 1600–1840 9.2 Nominal and real per capita GDP estimates, 1600–1840 9.3 Ministry of revenue silver treasury reserves, 1686–1842 9.4 Prices of agricultural and manufactured goods in Ningjin (Hebei), 1800–50 9.5 Prices and wages (silver equivalents) in Ningjin (Hebei), 1800–50 9.6 Daily wages of unskilled laborers in Beijing, 1807–38 9.7 Tea and silk exports, 1756–1833 9.8 Silver:bronze coin exchange ratios, 1790–1860 9.9 Customs revenues, 1796–1850 9.10 Chinese silk exports, 1844–1937 9.11 Shanghai’s trade balance, 1882–1901 Maps 1.1 The Zhou royal domains 2.1 Major states of the Spring and Autumn era, 771–481 BCE 2.2 Major states of the Warring States era, 481–221 BCE 2.3 The distribution of bronze currency types in the Warring States era 2.4 Warring States cities, based on archaeological excavations 2.5 Urban sites and economic activities in the Warring States period 3.1 Early Han China 3.2 Iron and salt production in Han China 3.3 Spatial structure of the Han Empire 4.1 Regional population densities in Han China, CE 4.2 Han commercial centers 4.3 Irrigation on the Shaoxing Plain in Han times 5.1 Expansion of the Northern Wei state 5.2 Distribution of fubing garrisons in early Tang 5.3 Revenues and logistics in Tang China 5.4 Silk and hemp regions in the Northern Wei 5.5 Silk Road trade routes 6.1 Population of Tang China, 742 6.2 Population of Northern Song China, 1102 6.3 Fiscal resources of the late Tang state 6.4 Ecology of the Yangzi River Delta 6.5 Land reclamation of Jian Lake in Shaoxing 6.6 Tea production in southeastern China, 1162 6.7 Distribution of commercial tax revenues, 1077 6.8 Towns in Southern Song Huzhou 7.1 Military procurement in the Southern Song 8.1 Sericulture and cotton production in Jiangnan 8.2 Origins of Shanxi merchants 8.3 Territorial expansion of the Qing state 8.4 Flow of grain trade along major commercial routes in eighteenth-century China 8.5 Macroregional structure of late imperial China 9.1 Mid-nineteenth-century rebellions 9.2 The treaty port network in Liu Song, 167 in Ming, 290, 311 in Northern Wei, 170, 176 in Qing, 315, 322, 329–330, 335, 347, 363–364, 372, 374 in Song, 209–210, 225 in Sui, 183 in Tang, 206, 210 in Yuan, 279, 285 of Buddhist clergy, 201 pressure, 351–352, 355, 363–364 registration, 54, 93, 103–105, 166, 205 urban, 71, 151, 163, 207, 250–251, 267, 289, 300, 372 pottery artifacts, 36, 74, 227 Changsha, 217, 228 Dingzhou, 247 exports, 217, 247, 271, 298, 309, 319, 346 Jingdezhen, 247, 284, 298, 372 Jizhou, 247 kilns, 163, 247, 298, 303 Longquan, 247 manufacture, 71, 272, 297 porcelain, 242, 245, 247, 295 Quanzhou, 248 Shaoxing, 248 trade, 225, 342 workshops, 47, 298 Xingzhou, 228 Yuezhou, 227 Pottinger, Henry, 375 prices cotton, 311–312, 330, 353, 373 deflation, 79, 165, 214, 310–311, 365, 370, 373 export, 398 food, 321, 364 grain, 79, 114, 121, 150, 164, 246, 259, 311–312, 322, 330–331, 353, 364–365, 370 in Qing, 364–367 inflation, 107, 137, 165, 259, 284, 330, 335, 382 land, 79, 161, 276, 311 manipulation of, 76, 116, 121, 265, 267 of manufactures, 311, 365 of stock shares, 379 regional differences in, 148 regulation of, 55, 61, 65, 78, 316 seasonality of, 141, 265 silk, 246, 268, 311, 330, 353 tea, 239, 243 textiles, 164, 360 printing, 242, 245, 247–248, 314 private clientage, 142, 159, 165, 167, 172, 174 Privy Purse, 96, 105–106, 117, 126, 165, 232, 234, 240–241, 257, 260 property rights, 9, 81, 87, 268, 277, 291–293, 329, 337, 354 multiple, 277, 324 transfer of, 203, 275–278, 324–325 protoindustrialization, 349 provisioning state, 313, 380 Qi Xia, 235 Qianlong, Qing emperor, 320, 326, 347 qianmo (boundaries), 57 Qin chamberlain, 96 chancellor, 96 exchequer of grain tribute, 96 First Emperor of, 64, 84–85, 96, 100, 108, 118 fiscal administration in, 84–92 imperial secretary, 96 in Warring States era, 55–58 Lesser Treasury, 96 political structure of, 55–58 Second Emperor of, 100 Qing baojia system, 315 bianshen surveys, 315, 325 fiscal administration in, 312–322, 376–384, 397–399 Imperial Household Department, 314 juanna contributions, 315 lijia system, 315 Manchu banners, 314 Ministry of Revenue, 314, 380 regional military viceroys, 378, 380 yellow registers (huangce), 314 Qiu Wei, 26–27, 37, 39 Quanzhou, 248, 250, 271–272, 284, 293, 325, 342 qubchir (tax), 279–280 Qubilai Khan, 255, 280–284, 293 railroads, 376, 380, 384, 397 ramie, 186–187, 194, 222 Renzong, emperor of Song, 232 rice Champa, 223 consumption, 266 cultivation, 130–131, 220–244, 324, 327 double-cropping, 327 for brewing, 299 imports, 392, 395 trade, 164, 297, 308, 333, 370, 372, 392 transplanting, 132, 220 yields, 221, 290, 327, 352 Rituals of Zhou, 39, 86, 88–89, 136 Roman Empire, 120, 154–155 Rowe, William, 320 rubber, 392 safflower, 193 salt certificates, 238, 254, 264, 267 consumption, 266 levies, 213, 227 licenses, 230, 232–233 merchants, 65, 148, 288, 316 mining, 396 monopoly, 117, 121, 123–126, 146, 212–213, 230, 237, 243, 254, 282, 288, 303–306, 314–316, 349, 378 production, 172, 227 smuggling, 362 trade, 65, 163, 198, 216, 225, 270, 272, 342, 344, 370, 396 Salt and Iron Debates, 123–126 Samarkand, 199 Sang Hongyang, 116–121, 123–126, 148, 155, 253 Sangha, 282–284 sangha households (sengqihu), 202–203 Schmoller, Gustav, Schumpeterian growth, 9–10 self-strengthening, 378, 380, 389, 397 sericulture, 132, 140, 192, 216, 223, 231, 246, 297, 328, 344, 354 sesame, 131, 140, 164 settlements bang, 23 dispersed, 133 elite, 47 fortified villages, 157, 170 li, 23, 89, 109 single-lineage villages, 302 villages, 138, 153, 171, 193, 281, 286, 290 walled cities, 44–47, 66–71, 73 xian towns, 54, 56, 71 yi, 22–23, 42, 46, 48 seyi (specialized service), 186–187, 206 shack people (pengmin), 363 Shang Yang, 54–59, 62, 76, 87, 90–91, 94, 96–98 Shangfang workshops, 145, 147 Shanghai and foreign trade, 392–395 banking in, 379, 385–386, 389 Shanxi merchants, 301, 304–306, 344, 387, 395–396 Shaoxing, 161–163, 223–224, 228, 248, 266, 299, 386 she (advance sale contracts), 268 Shenzong, emperor of Song, 236–237, 240, 242 shi as aristocracy, 157 as officials, 88 as ruling class, 78 lesser nobility in Zhou, 46, 59 patricans, 296 Shi Zhihong, 359 Shiba Yoshinobu, 2–4 shipbuilding, 215, 242, 244–245, 271, 376, 378 shuren (commoners), 34, 58–59, 93–95 Sikou (Minister of Public Works), 72 silk “account houses” (zhangfang), 300 and Silk Road, 154, 198 as domestic industry, 133, 246 clothing, 32, 36 consumption, 306 exports, 197, 271, 319, 346, 353, 367–368, 376, 386, 392–393, 398 filatures, 380 in tax payments, 158, 175, 190, 214, 280 manufacture, 65, 106, 132, 140, 194–196, 216, 242, 246, 252, 297, 300, 314, 353 middlemen (chengguan), 300 rural industry, 344 state purchases, 231 trade, 64, 116, 141, 164, 216, 239, 245, 247, 270, 283, 295, 308 tribute, 155, 229 yarn, 36, 154–155, 175, 194, 197, 266, 280, 300 Silk Road, 113, 154–156, 187, 196–201, 217, 270 Silla, 184, 205 silver and seventeenth-century crisis, 310–311 as commodity, 198, 227 as monetary standard, 289, 307, 323, 369, 382 as reserve currency, 263 exports, 281, 365–369, 374 imports, 295, 311, 318–319, 323, 330, 367, 382 in exchange, 267, 287 in state expenditures, 264 in tax payments, 240, 280, 289, 307, 309, 314 loans in, 344 mining, 227, 307 tribute, 199, 229 wares, 155, 197, 217 yuan, 382 silversmiths, 201, 216, 267 Sima Qian, 99, 114, 117–118, 135, 148 Singapore, 392 Sino-Japanese War, 376, 378, 389, 394, 397 Situ (Minister of Lands), 23 Skinner, G William, 315, 334, 373 slaves among nomads, 279 chattel, 34 government, 59, 65, 95, 99, 106, 158 manumitted, 113 prices of, 192 private, 139–140, 149, 173–175, 180, 183, 193 Smith, Adam, Smithian growth, 5, 9, 313, 346 sojourner jurisdictions (qiao), 160 Song “Green Sprouts” (qingmiao) program, 237, 239 Collateral Lending Office, 239 Commodity Monopoly Bureau, 230 composition of political elite in, 236 Department of Revenue, 228 Ever-Normal Granary Intendants, 258 Exchequer of Imperial Lands, 238, 240 Finance Commission, 228, 232–233, 238, 240 Finance Planning Commission, 238 fiscal administration in, 228–242, 256–265 Fiscal Intendants, 229, 257–259 frontier supply and defense funds, 257, 259 General Commissariats, 257–261 harmonious purchase (hedi), 229, 259, 268, 278 heyumai (advanced purchases), 231 Hired Service (muyi) program, 237 Intendants for Ever-Normal Granaries, Husbandry, and Water Control, 238 Judicial Intendants, 258 Maritime Customs Superintendency, 248 Ministry of Revenue, 240, 257–261 monthly sequestration funds, 257, 259 New Policies, 236–242, 255, 259, 269 professional armies, 229 ruzhong policy, 230, 253 State Trade Bureau, 238–239, 253 Tea and Salt Intendants, 258 Tea Marketing Agency, 238–239, 243 Yuanfeng treasury, 240 Song Xiaoyou, 180 sorghum, 327 Southern Huaiyi, 19, 24 soybeans, 29, 131, 164, 191–192, 219, 290, 332 spices, 154, 199, 217, 227 Srivijaya, 199, 217, 271–272 state and economic development, 2, 8, 97, 120–126, 249, 252–254, 313, 320, 346–347, 397–399 in Northern Wei, 170–173 in Qin, 95–100 in Spring and Autumn era, 48–52 in Sui, 181–182 in Warring States era, 52–60 revenues, 80–81, 105, 117–118, 176, 188–191, 211–213, 229–233, 239–240, 257–262, 282, 288, 309, 314–316, 362, 378, 380–382, 387 steamships, 376, 378, 380, 397 steppe nomadism, 108, 154, 169, 278–280 stock-raising, 98, 121, 140, 154, 192, 279 sugar consumption, 306, 350 cultivation, 242, 308 exports, 272, 319, 328 refining, 196, 244, 392 trade, 198, 244, 297, 342 Sugihara, Kaoru, 392 Sui fiscal admnistration in, 184 political structure of, 182 Six Ministries, 182 Three Departments, 182 sulfur, 227, 271, 342 Sun Quan, 158 Suzhou, 163, 214, 261, 265, 295, 297, 300, 303, 331, 346, 360, 364, 370–371, 374, 405 sweet potatoes, 328–329, 363 Taiping Rebellion, 348, 374, 382, 387 Taitang Cheng lineage, 303 Tambora volcano, 363 Tang Department of Public Revenue, 190 dudufu (regional military headquarters), 191 fiscal administration in, 185–191, 204–206, 211–214 hushui (household tax), 186 Salt Commission, 212 Tang-Song transition, 2, 208–209, 220, 236, 252–253, 285, 296 tariffs, 270, 349, 380 taxation baoyin, 280–281, 283 commercial, 73, 114, 121, 164, 170, 213, 249–250, 266, 281, 283, 316, 318, 397 concepts of, 90 diao requisitions, 157–158 ding as unit of, 186, 314 evasion, 143, 161, 175, 201, 211 household, 90, 167, 176, 186, 209, 211–212, 237, 262, 269 hudiao levy, 158, 164, 173 in cloth, 164, 178, 186, 194, 209, 212, 214, 227, 240, 246 land, 54, 78, 90, 103, 108, 158, 186, 212, 229, 287–288, 313–315, 380 lijin, 384, 395 monetization of, 209, 233, 240, 252, 259, 290, 293, 307, 314–315, 346 of artisans, 147 of consumption, 254, 264, 268, 316 of mining, 65 proxy remittance (baolan), 318 salt, 283 stamp taxes, 257, 267 suanfu poll tax, 103–109, 114, 116, 139, 158 suanmin tax, 114, 128 tax-farming, 282, 318 tea, 212 twice-a-year tax, 212–214, 223, 227, 229, 231, 241, 253, 259, 264, 269, 280, 282 wine, 212, 257, 283 zhantian ketian system, 159, 164, 166 zu-yong-diao system, 186–188, 204, 209–210, 212–213 tea consumption, 243, 266, 306, 350 exports, 227, 243, 270, 319, 367–368, 376, 393 licenses, 230 monopoly, 230, 237, 239, 243 production, 227, 242–244, 251, 266, 297, 329, 386 trade, 216, 225, 270, 291, 342, 370 technology and economic development, 347–348, 351, 359, 376, 378 and economic growth, 3, 9, 252, 298 tenancy contracts, 199, 273, 324–325 in Qing, 324–327 in Song, 273–275 income, 361 obligations, 134, 219, 297, 321 on private estates, 140, 218, 302, 329 on state lands, 133 permanent, 324–325 sharecropping, 139, 218, 296, 325 Tian Wuyu, 51 Tianjin, 376, 387, 395 timber, 193, 225, 227, 242, 271, 273, 291–292, 302–303, 329, 372 tin, 227, 391–392 tobacco, 308, 327, 342, 350 trade diaspora, 198, 390 Treaty of Kyakhta, 385 Treaty of Nanjing, 374 Treaty of Shimonoseki, 397 treaty ports, 375, 385, 389, 392, 395 tributary diplomacy, 155, 198, 209, 229, 287, 318 tuduan (residence resolution), 160 tung oil, 244, 303 tuntian (agricultural colonies), 157–159, 161, 166, 173, 178, 181, 202 Tuoba Gui (Emperor Daowu of Northern Wei), 168, 170 Turfan, 185, 198–199, 205 Turkish Empire, 184, 198 urbanization, 209, 216, 242, 249, 251, 266, 346, 359, 372–373 Utsunomiya Kiyoyoshi, 135, 151 vagrancy, 170, 205 van Zanden, Jan Luiten, 359 Vietnam, 184, 288 wages, 148–150, 192, 351–352, 354, 358–361, 365–366 Wang Anshi, 223, 236–242, 255, 269 Wang Fu, 138, 153 Wang Mang, 129, 136–137, 142, 150, 153, 157, 175 Wang Xiaoyuan, 138–139, 150 Wang Yun, 280–281 Wang, Yeh-chien, 382 Wanquanhuo silk goods shop, 340–341 Wanquantang medicine shop, 338–340 Watanabe Shinichirō, 176 weaving advanced purchases in, 122, 268, 298 and state service, 172 cotton, 298, 353, 359 draw looms, 195 hired labor in, 247 household, 94, 132, 193–194, 298, 353, 359 looms, 133 putting-out system, 300, 328 silk, 36, 195, 197, 216, 246, 298, 300 waist looms, 194 weft-faced, 195 workshops, 298, 300 Weber, Max, 1, 12–13 well-field system, 75, 175 Wen, emperor of Han, 85, 94, 107, 112, 125–126, 148 Wenming (Empress Dowager of Northern Wei), 172–173, 176, 179, 181 wheat, 29, 32, 113, 130–131, 134, 140, 191, 194, 219–220, 225, 290, 327, 332 White Lotus rebellion, 322, 347, 361, 370 wine consumption, 306 production, 140, 192–193, 272, 299 Shaoxing, 299 state monopoly, 116, 231, 254 taxation of, 212, 283 trade, 198 Wokou (“Japanese pirates”), 308 women and domestic work, 36, 88, 94, 122, 132, 176, 192, 194, 223, 298, 328, 349, 352 artisans, 106 head of household, 292 in farm labor, 140 in household registration, 103, 146, 173 in tea production, 243 in textile production, 150, 352, 359–360 inheritance rights, 277 labor service by, 104, 110 Wong, R Bin, 8, 314, 321 wu (unit of taxation), 87 Wu Chengming, 373 Wu Zetian, 169, 185 Wu, emperor of Han, 85, 101, 113–120, 123, 126–127, 129, 131, 133, 142, 152–153, 155, 166, 236, 253 Wu, emperor of Liang, 165, 201 Wuzong, emperor of Tang, 203 Xian, Lord of Qin, 56 Xianbei, 156, 168–173, 179–182, 184, 207 xiang (canton), 88 xiangyuan tili (local customary precedents), 277 Xianyun, 19–20 Xiao Zihuan, 192 Xiao, Lord of Qin, 56–58 Xiaowen, emperor of Northern Wei, 173, 179, 200 Xie Rongniang, 291 Xie Zhaozhe, 304 Xiongnu, 108, 113, 124, 155 Xuan (Zhou king), 19, 24 Xuanzang, 199 Xun Zi, 52, 77, 80–81, 84, 91 Yamada Katsuyoshi, 117, 120 Yamato, 205 Yan Ying, 75 Yang Guang (Emperor Yang of Sui), 183–184 Yang Jian (Emperor Wen of Sui), 169, 181, 183–184 Yang Yan, 212 Yangzhou, 107, 163, 215, 217, 227, 271, 288, 303–304, 318, 430 Yellow River floods, 28, 61, 71, 284, 363 Yellow Turban rebellion, 142, 156 Yelü Chucai, 280 yitian liangzhu (“one field, two masters”), 277, 324 Yongle, Ming emperor, 288–289 Yongzheng, Qing emperor, 320, 347 Yu Zhenbo, 134 Yuan Cai, 269, 273–275 Yue Fengyi, 338 Yue Yulin, 339 Yue Yuxiu, 339 Yuwen Tai, 180–181 zahu (miscellaneous service households), 172, 174, 186 zayao (miscellaneous labor service), 188, 213 Zhang Li, 353 Zhang Yan, 108–112, 148 Zhang Yu, 134 Zhao Kuangyin (Emperor Taizu of Song), 209 Zhao, emperor of Han, 123, 125 Zheng Chenggong, 311, 318 Zheng He, 288 Zhenzong, emperor of Song, 232 Zhongchang Tong, 138 Zhou bangjun, 23 capital cities, 14, 17, 20, 23, 47 foreign tribute in, 24 gift economy in, 38–39 investiture of regional rulers, 15, 22 land grants, 16, 19 lijun, 23 local administration, 23 Minister of Lands, 23 political structure of, 14–18, 42 Provisioner, 25 ritual revolution, 20 Royal Household, 18, 24–25, 34, 42 royal workshops, 24 Secretariat, 18 Steward, 24 Three Ministries, 15 Zhouyuan, 14, 18, 23–26, 36–37, 47 Zhu Fenghan, 32, 36 Zhuang, Lord of Zheng, 21 zhuangke (estate workers), 219 Zhuangxiang, king of Qin, 64 zhuangyuan (landed estates), 218–220 Zichan, 50–52, 54, 57, 75 ... as the “California School” of Chinese economic history Applying the analytical tools of comparative economic history to the study of China s late imperial economy framed within a world-historical... say, to view the story of Chinese history through the lens of economic livelihood Scholars and students of Chinese history as well as comparative economic historians presently lack access to even... due to exhaustion of natural resources, that all of the leading economic regions of the world faced by the end of the eighteenth century The breakthrough to modern economic growth came not from