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> at various periods during world history, China has been one of the richest and educated countries in the world. Do you have any further reading on this? It d

by GuiA 8y ago

> at various periods during world history, China has been one of the richest and educated countries in the world. Do you have any further reading on this? It doesn't strike me as too crazy of a statement - but I'd be very interested in seeing how one would go about actually quantifying it.

lainga 8y ago
First 3 chapters of Kissinger's On China do a good job, but I'm certain you could find better sources. ED: outside getting a book, the main characteristic to look at is China having the lion's share of historical world GDP, especially during the Yuan and Ming dynasties. The Spanish Empire gained much of its early wealth from Ming China's seemingly insatiable demand for the silver it found in South America - like thousands of pounds at a time.
lgvln 8y ago
I recommend Why the West Rules by Ian Morris. He has various comparison of “The West” vs China from the dawn of civilisation.
lhl 8y ago
I did a quick search, this might not be a bad place to start (it references the primary source, raw data, and file usage: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1_AD_to_2003_AD_Historical_Trends_in_global_distribution_of_GDP_China_India_Western_Europe_USA_Middle_East.png https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1_AD_to_2003_AD_Hist... Wikipedia has a good summary both of the Economic history of China [1] and the Great Divergence [2] (really comes to a head with the collapse of the Qing dynasty). Although devestated by civil war and WW2, IMO China really doesn't descend into complete craziness until the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution [3] that devastated China economically, socially, and culturally (lost generation, send-down movement, red guards, etc). [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_history_of_China_before_1912 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_history_of_China_befo... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Divergence#China https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Divergence#China [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_history_of_China_(1949%E2%80%93present) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_history_of_China_(194...

by GuiA 8y ago

lainga 8y ago

First 3 chapters of Kissinger's On China do a good job, but I'm certain you could find better sources. ED: outside getting a book, the main characteristic to look at is China having the lion's share of historical world GDP, especially during the Yuan and Ming dynasties. The Spanish Empire gained much of its early wealth from Ming China's seemingly insatiable demand for the silver it found in South America - like thousands of pounds at a time.

lgvln 8y ago

I recommend Why the West Rules by Ian Morris. He has various comparison of “The West” vs China from the dawn of civilisation.

lhl 8y ago

I did a quick search, this might not be a bad place to start (it references the primary source, raw data, and file usage: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1_AD_to_2003_AD_Historical_Trends_in_global_distribution_of_GDP_China_India_Western_Europe_USA_Middle_East.png https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1_AD_to_2003_AD_Hist... Wikipedia has a good summary both of the Economic history of China [1] and the Great Divergence [2] (really comes to a head with the collapse of the Qing dynasty). Although devestated by civil war and WW2, IMO China really doesn't descend into complete craziness until the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution [3] that devastated China economically, socially, and culturally (lost generation, send-down movement, red guards, etc). [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_history_of_China_before_1912 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_history_of_China_befo... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Divergence#China https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Divergence#China [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_history_of_China_(1949%E2%80%93present) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_history_of_China_(194...