ted the national economy from reposing after decades if not centuries of permanent warfare.
The economic policy of the Qin was compared by the early Han period writer Jia Yi with that of a wartime economy kept running even in peacetime. The exploitation of the peasantry finally lead to uprisings that would bring the downfall of the dynasty. The economic history of China stretches over thousands of years and has undergone alternating cycles of prosperity lt; # justify gt; Another item exported to Europe was chinaware or porcelain (ciqi ??; often called earthenware taoqi ??) , produced in the state-owned kilns in Jingdezhen ???/Jiangxi, or in private porcelain producing cities like Lijiang ??/Hunan, Zibo ??/Shandong, or Dehua ??/Fujian. Paper, hempen cloth, lacquerware, and metal objects also belonged to the early industrially produced commodities. Wuhu ??/Jiangsu was a center of steel production. International trade exists since we find states in human history, but China never had a system of import taxes, or customs convention. Trade and traffic with foreign countries originated already in the period of Warring States between China and the Inner Asian nomad tribes, later with the Korean kingdoms, with Japan, South East Asia, Tibet and India. The high export rates of tea, porcelain and other agricultural or industrial products to Europe were rewarded with a very positive balance of payments (if this modern term may be allowed to use) - Chinese merchants and the state were payed with silver coins made of silver from the Americas. To provide the whole country with good and items needed, an intense trade system was necessary since the Sui Dynasty, when the Great Imperial Canal was dug. China, the waterways had always had a much higher importance for trade and commerce than the land routes or the sea traffic along the coast. Until today, the canal system in the Yangtse area serves as the main transport medium. Since the days of Tang Dynasty, merchants and traders took over the responsibility to transport not only wares of private origin, but also commodities that were subject to state monopoly, like salt and liquor. Last but not least, we can see that from the Manchu conquest of whole China until the First Opium War, there were almost no military conflicts with foreign powers or inside the empire - a long period of peace.the first half of the 18th century was a time of prosperity, corruption and favoritism at the end of the century helped to create hopeless situations for peasants in many areas. The White Lotus Sect (Bailian Jiao ???) was revived and helped to launch peasant uprisings in territories where the mismanagement of local magnates and magistrates had neglected the maintenance of dikes and waterways and had lead to flood disasters. Other peasant uprisings followed a secret society named Triad Sect (Sanhe Hui ???). The suffering of peasantry in many areas was worsened by the demographic increase of population during the 18th century. The economical and technical standards of the 18th China were quite high, but they did not fit the needs and demands of an increasing population. Qing China did not make use of paper money but instead relied on copper and silver coins. When the import of silver decreased - or rather the export of silver increased - at the begin of 19th century, the small copper coin ( cash ) suffered depreciation: a fatal situation for the lower classes of society. Corruption, favoritism, and nepotism within the Chinese officialdom has two sources. first can be seen in the exaggerated centralism of Qing administration. Governmental posts in the territorial administration were occupied by officials that came not from actual province, but the magistrates had to rely on the help of local secretaries and the local gentry and therewith had personal relations to these people. The second reason for the spoliation and nepotism mentality is the fact that - after passing the difficult state examinations and obtaining a post as local governor - the newly posted official had to reward his sponsors and his family as long as he was sitting on his post. Additionally, the daily flood of paperwork in a centralized bureaucracy lead to severe cautiousness and inflexibility of the officialdom. Paralyzed by administratorial instructions and controlled by censorate inspectors, local officials were unable to cope with new challenges in a changing environment. state itself run into financial crisis after decades of prosperity, and the requirements for financial stability within an unstable economy were to high at the begin of 19th century. While the small states of Europe could develop an industrial and capitalist economy, the agronomical background and the loss of monetary investment could not help China in her backwardness that became so obvious when the aggressive European merchants tried to enter the Chinese market.
Economy d...
