The Empire's Economic Storm: The Qing Empire's Final 70 Years

Fiscal and economic affairs are the lifeblood of a country, exerting an enormous influence on the course of history. They also shape everyone's daily needs and activities, so the public has both the need and the desire to understand economic relations. Yet books on economics today are mostly academic monographs that struggle to attract readers, or else unofficial histories and legends that leave readers unable to tell truth from fiction. The late Qing dynasty, the last feudal dynasty and the one closest to us in time, is especially prone to such misunderstandings. The market lacks works that are systematic, in-depth, and engaging, so the author, despite his limited knowledge, hopes to write a popular book that is both rigorous and entertaining. The seventy years from 1840 to 1911 were a period of great change in Chinese history. Taking the fiscal and economic affairs of this period as its starting point, this book examines the turbulent changes in late Qing finances and the economy from multiple angles, showing the many attempts and transformations of an ancient feudal dynasty as it faced the impact of new economic forces.