Research on the Modern Economic History of China (Late Qing Customs Finance and Market Circles of Trade Ports)

Author: Liu Dong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-11-01
Features: This book is a masterpiece completed by Mr. Motohiro Hamashita, a renowned Japanese scholar of East Asian history, after 10 years of dedication. Unlike Western scholars who have traditionally viewed "European modernity" as the representative form of modern society, the author argues that the historical development of each region should be studied based on its own historical process to understand its original patterns of development. Additionally, the author holds (disagreement) regarding the "decline of the Qing Dynasty," believing that China's economic conditions during this era not only organically integrated foreign elements into its own logical system and fully utilized them but also maintained close ties with the internal dynamics of the Asian region, making it a period full of "vitality." In this book, the author begins with a study of the late Qing customs finances and commercial port market circles, delving into issues such as late Qing finances and customs, Herder and the Chinese customs, customs and trade statistics, and commercial ports and regional markets. Through these, the author conducts an in-depth investigation into the actual state of the integration and separation between local economies and central finances, the interrelationship of regional economic autonomy, and foreign economic relations. The author attempts to grasp this historical process as a whole era, revealing its overall picture through the observations, arguments, and records of contemporaries both domestically and internationally. The author's research perspective on the development of modern Chinese economic history, the richness of the materials used, and the approach of understanding the era as a whole hold significant inspiration and reference value for the study of modern Chinese history.