The Origins of Capitalism and the "Rise of the West"

Chapter Two: The Political Economies of China and Europe Compared

C H A P T E R T W O The Political Economies of China and Europe Compared H AVING LEARNED more about medieval Europe, the curious reader will undoubtedly ask: What about China? China has long been regarded as one of the most ancient and glorious civilizations. In the Middle Ages, China was probably the most developed of all regions— socioeconomically, politically, and militarily. Around a.d. 1100, it had a population of approximately 100 million people and the largest cities likely had up to a million inhabitants (Elvin 1973:159; Kracke 1969:11). “Medieval China witnessed considerable economic advance” (Hall 1988:22) such that it outshone anything in Europe. The economy certainly had a high level of monetization; for example, usage of paper money (huizi) issued in a.d. 1160, written contracts, mercantile credits, checks, promissory notes, bills of exchange, and so forth. Militarily speaking, the Chinese emperor was probably the strongest overlord in the entire Eurasian landmass; in the 12th century, he could easily mobilize nearly 1 million soldiers. In comparison, when at the end of the 12th century, Britain’s King Richard I wanted to maintain a “regular army of 300 knights supported by taxation, [his attempt] sank without trace” (French 1999:230) due to insufficient means. As far as socioeconomic, military, and technological developments were concerned, anyone around in a.d. 1000 comparing medieval China with its European counterpart would have staked his or her bet on China (Lippit 1987:37–38; Deng 2000). China was considered the wealthiest country in the world during the Middle Ages, even by the most extensive travelers (Ibn Battuta in Gibb 1994:814). Yet only 800 years later, it was Europe that dominated the globe politically, militarily, economically, and technologically. 48 CHAPTER TWO Therefore, the crucial question that needs to be asked is: Was the Chinese empire incapable or unwilling to develop (socioeconomically, militarily, etc.) in such a way that it might conquer, subordinate, and systematically exploit its peripheries, as was done by Western Europe? For those who are only willing to study Europe in order to understand the emergence of capitalism, this question remains unanswered (e.g., Duplessis 1997; Lachmann 2000; Jorda 2002).1 To findananswer,onenotonlyhastodelveintothestructuralconstraints(e.g.,geographical , climatological, demographic, geopolitical) then facing China,2 but also the agency, political choices, and routes taken by the elites in charge of the Chinese empire when faced with particular internal and external challenges. The Chinese Socioeconomic Revolution during the Sung Dynasty (circa 900–1280) The era of the Sung dynasty (a.d. 960–1279) is often labeled “China’s greatest age” (Fairbank 1992:88).3 The scale of trade networks and the multitude of goods exchanged in Asia from 900 to 1280 are dazzling when compared with those of Europe. Long-distance trade from China to India, Indonesia, and even East Africa had been in existence for centuries. During the T’ang dynasty (a.d. 618–907), Chinese nautical technology had developed to such an extent that even the larger Chinese ships (about 550 tons) could trade as far as the Persian Gulf (Ray 1993:111). The exchanged goods at that time, however, were often luxuries such as precious stones, pearls, rhinoceros horns, tortoise-shells, and cowrie shells.4 Prior to the 10th century, it was the Arabs who acted as middlemen in the IndianOcean,butfromthe10thcenturyonward,theChinesetooktotheseasin 1. This Eurocentric approach considerably limits the analysis of scholars (Blaut 1993). 2. Unlike Weber, I do not consider the Chinese religion an explanatory variable. “The attribution of virtually unchanging cultural characteristics as the key to discriminating between China and Europe as regards patterns of long-term economic growth must be ruled out” (Elvin 1988:103; see Elvin 1984). 3. “ThebesteconomicperformanceoftheSungasmeasuredbypercapitaproductionwasprobably not surpassed in China before the 20th century” (Feuerwerker 1992:765). While some assert that the degree of economic expansion during the 16th century surpassed the commercial revolution under the Sung (e.g., Zurndorfer 1988:154; Dixin and Chengming 2000), the former is beyond the temporal scope of this chapter and it is not necessary to elaborate on it in the context of the arguments presented here. 4. Cowrie shells were also widely used as a monetary device in different regions (Labib 1974:236; Jain 1990:157). One crucial question, however, is: When did they make the transition from luxury to bulk goods? THE POLITICAL ECONOMIES OF CHINA AND EUROPE COMPARED 49 increasing numbers with junks that weighed...