Guns and Ledgers : China and the East Asian World in the Age of Early Economic Globalization

This book seeks to reconcile the dual forces of war and economic globalization in tracing China's early modernity. For late imperial China, there were two forms of encounter with the West; the guns of invading Europeans, and the ledgers by which trade between China and the West was measured and regulated. Even today, China's reactions to the West oscillate between business-driven openness and military paranoia. In this intellectual tour de force, Bozhong Li, one of China's preeminent intellectual and economic historians, traces the unprecedented transition that led China into the modern world; the book will be of value for economists, historians, and sinophiles alike. Preface to the English Edition Preface to the Chinese Edition: How This Book Came About and Notes on the Text Contents List of Figures 1 What Kind of Book Is This? 1.1 New Trends in History Writing 1.2 Global History 1.3 Popular History 1.4 East Asia, Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, and the East Asian World 1.5 The Fifteenth to Seventeenth Centuries: The Beginning of Momentous Changes in World History 2 The World That Trade Created 2.1 Globalization, Economic Globalization, and Early Economic Globalization 2.2 The Silk Road: The World Trade Network Before the Fifteenth Century 2.3 The Age of Voyages: The Beginning of Economic Globalization 2.4 The Stage: The World at the Time of Early Economic Globalization 2.5 The Props: The Goods Traded Internationally in the Time of Early Economic Globalization 2.5.1 Raw Silk and Silk Products 2.5.2 Ceramics 2.5.3 Tea 2.5.4 Cane Sugar 2.5.5 Spices 2.6 The Actors: The Merchants Who Were Involved in International Trade in Early Economic Globalization 2.7 The Theme Song: Silver in the International Trade of Early Economic Globalization 3 The Military Revolution in the Era of Early Economic Globalization 3.1 Military Affairs and Economic Globalization 3.2 The Gunpowder Revolution: The Development of Global Gunpowder Weapons Before the Sixteenth Century 3.3 A Turning Point in History in the Sixteenth Century: The Military Revolution of Early Modern Western Europe 3.4 The Export of ‘Chinese Learning’: The Spread of Gunpowder Technology Before the Sixteenth Century 3.4.1 The Middle Zone: The Westward Spread of Gunpowder Technology 3.4.2 The Eastern Fringe: The Eastward Spread of Gunpowder Technology 3.5 The Spread of ‘Western Learning’: The Dissemination of Gunpowder Technology in the Sixteen and Seventeenth Centuries 3.5.1 The ‘Middle Zone’: The Dissemination of and Improvements on Gunpowder Technology in the Islamic World 3.5.2 The ‘Eastern Fringe’: The Dissemination of and Improvements on Gunpowder Technology in the East Asian World 3.5.3 China: The Dissemination of and Improvements in Gunpowder Technology 3.6 China Had Not Fallen Behind: Advancements in Gunpowder Weapons Technology in the Mid- and Late Ming Dynasty 3.6.1 Advances in Chinese Gunpowder Weapons Technology Before the Sixteenth Century 3.6.2 Advances in Chinese Gunpowder Weapons Technology During the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries 3.7 Early Military Globalization and Early Economic Globalization 4 The Big Shuffle: The East Asian World in the Era of Early Economic Globalization 4.1 Cultural Spheres and Their Evolution: The East Asian World from a Cultural Perspective Before the Fifteenth Century 4.1.1 The Brahmanic/Hindu Cultural Sphere 4.1.2 The Buddhist Cultural Sphere 4.1.3 The Islamic Cultural Sphere 4.1.4 The Confucian Cultural Sphere 4.1.5 The Christian Cultural Sphere 4.2 The Second Wave of Islam’s Eastward Expansion 4.3 The Formation of the ‘Buddhist Great Wall’ 4.4 The Sole Primacy of Confucianism 4.5 The Arrival of Christianity 4.6 The Big Shuffle of Cultural Spheres and Early Economic Globalization 5 Fighting on Sea and Land: International Conflicts in East Asia in the Era of Early Economic Globalization 5.1 Love and Hate, Gratitude and Resentment: Economic Globalization and International Relations 5.2 Rich Diversity: Countries During the Era of Early Economic Globalization 5.3 The Old ‘Northern Di’ and the New ‘Southern Man’: Conflicts Between Powers on Land 5.3.1 The ‘Northern Di’ 5.3.2 The ‘Southern Man’ 5.4 The ‘Eastern Seas’ and ‘Southern Seas’: New Locations of Conflicts in the East Asian World 5.4.1 ‘Eastern Seas’: The Rise of Japan 5.4.2 ‘Southern Seas’: The Arrival of Westerners 5.5 The Dysfunction of the Chinese Tribute System: Changes in the Traditional Framework of International Relationships in the East Asian World 5.6 ‘The Fatherland in Danger’: China in the Center of a Chaotic World 5.6.1 Japan 5.6.2 Vietnam 5.6.3 Myanmar 5.6.4 Portugal, Spain, and the Netherlands 5.6.5 Manchuria 6 Strategy and Armies: National Security in the Late Ming and the Military Reform Campaign 6.1 ‘Demarcate the Borders and Defend Them; Do Not Get Involved in Far-Reaching Schemes’: China’s Traditional State Policy Regarding National Security 6.2 Who Are the Formidable Foes: The Ming Dynasty’s National Defense Strategy 6.3 Incapable of Great Things: The Problem-Stricken Ming Army 6.4 Responding to Challenges: Military Reforms in the Late Ming 6.4.1 Weapons 6.4.2 Soldiers 6.5 Success and Limitations: Outcomes of the Military Reform Movement in the Late Ming 6.5.1 The Qi’s Army 6.5.2 Sun Chengzong’s Battle Wagon Battalion 6.5.3 The Dengzhou Artillery Battalion 7 A Time of Great Strife: Four Major Wars in East Asia in the Late Ming 7.1 Powerful Foes at the Frontiers: Comparison of Military Strengths Among East Asian Powers in the Late Ming 7.1.1 Vietnam 7.1.2 Japan 7.1.3 Myanmar 7.1.4 The Dutch 7.1.5 The Manchus 7.2 War in the Southwest: Border War Between China and Myanmar (1576–1606) 7.3 War in the East: The Wars of China and Korea Against Japan (1592–1598) 7.4 War in the Northeast: The Wars Between the Ming and the Later Jin/Qing Dynasties in Liaodong (1618–1644) 7.5 War in the Southeast: The War Between China and the Netherlands in the Taiwan Strait (1661–1668) 7.6 The Aftermath of Its Power Shook the Foreign Lands: The Historical Legacy of the Late Ming Military Reforms 8 Concluding Remarks: The Writing of History Is Terrifying 8.1 Guns and Ledgers: The Sign of the Times of Early Economic Globalization 8.2 ‘Evil Creates History’: The Impetus for Historical Progress in the Early Period of Economic Globalization 8.3 Finding Itself in a New World: The Responsibility and Failure of the State in Late Ming China Glossary