East Asian Economic History

Introduction and Instructions Imperial China and Economic Prosperity China, Europe, and Modernity Japan's Economies: 1600-1945

China, Europe, and Modernity

Recent world history scholarship has changed the way that many of us now think about Chinese and European economic history. This will become apparent as you work through the following exercises. Please complete each activity in the order they are presented below.

What is Modernity?

• Redefining the Modern World
• Decoupling "Modern" from "European"
• Appreciating Asian Dynamics
  

Rethinking the Industrial Revolution

• Common Dynamics
• Industrial Evolution, not Revolution?
• Rethinking Regions
• Explaining the Industrial Revolution in Europe (It is not necessary to read the article, China, Technology and Change by Lynda Shaffer as an assignment for this subtopic.)
• China and Europe: The New Units of Analysis (no subsections-self contained)

China and Europe 1500-1800

• Was China More Productive Than Europe?, Part
• Was China More Productive Than Europe?, Part 2
• China: An Early Modern Society, Part 1
• China: An Early Modern Society, Part 2
• China: An Early Modern Society, Part 3
• The Silver Trade, Part 1
• The Silver Trade, Part 2 (It is not necessary to read the excerpt from Far Eastern Economic Review on the silver trade from the 16th to the 19th centuries.)

Questions

Please address two of the following three questions in 150 to 200 word answers.

1. If you teach about China and/or Europe, has working through these short video excerpts, brief narratives, and supporting graphics influenced you to change classroom treatment of the economic histories of China and Europe? If so, how?
2. Is “peasant” an accurate adjective to use in describing many rural Ching dynasty families? What evidence from the subtopic activities supports your perspective?
3. How has completing this assignment made you a better educated person?

Sources and Further Resources
The content of this assignment is excerpted from the Asia for Educators instructional unit, China and Europe: What is Modern ?