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Agenda for Asian Economic History
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 May 2010
Extract
What could and should researchers in Asian economic history do during the decade of the seventies? Given the number and the diversity of Asian nations, this is an extremely large question which a person endowed only with a normal amount of ego and without a thorough knowledge of all Asian economic histories should refrain from even attempting to answer. Apparently, however, my ego is above average in size, and to compensate for my much less than complete knowledge of Asian economic history, I resorted to the most efficient method of remedying this weakness: I picked the brains of the leading specialists.
- Type
- Economic History: Retrospect and Prospect. Papers Presented at the Thirtieth Annual Meeting of the Economic History Association
- Information
- Copyright
- Copyright © The Economic History Association 1971
References
1 Those on whom I imposed were: John F. Cady, Alexander Eckstein, Albert Feuerwerker, John W. Hall, Ramon Meyers, Morris D. Morris, Dwight H. Perkins, Stephen A. Resnick, Tappan Raychadhuri, and Thomas C. Smith. Of course, none of them are responsible for the opinions expressed in this paper.
2 For an extended evaluation of recent Japanese books and articles on the Tokugawa economy and for a further elaboration of the point made here, see: Susan B. Hanley and Kozo Yamamura, “A Quiet Transformation in Tokugawa Economic History,” Journal of Asian Studies, to be published in February, 1971.
3 In comparison to political and institutional histories written on Tokugawa Japan, fewer than ten articles have been published in English on the Tokugawa economy during the last decade.
4 Witness the controversy on the rate of increase in Japanese agricultural productivity!
5 A recent issue of The Business History Review (Spring 1970) took a step towards this end by devoting an entire issue to Japanese business and entrepreneurial history. See especially, “An Introduction,” written by Henry Rosovsky and Kozo Yamamura, which suggests general questions involved in this area of research.
6 This is still on the drawing board, but the current plans include about fifteen essays on various micro-aspects of Japanese growth.
7 John W. Hall and several other historians specializing in Japan would consider this item no less important than that of the Tokugawa economy.
8 See for examples: Sasaki, Ginya,. Chūsei no shōgyō (Commerce in the Middle Ages), (Tokyo: Snibundō, 1961)Google Scholar, and Nakamura, Kichiji, Nihon keizaishi gaisetsu (A General Study of Japanese Economic History), (Tokyo: Nihon Hyōron-sha, 1931)Google Scholar.
9 For excellent assessments of the current research and sources for Chinese economic history see: Feuerwerker, Albert, “Materials for the Study of the Economic History of Modern China,” The Journal of Economic History, XXI, 1 (March 1961), pp. 41–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
10 This is the phrase used by Alexander Eckstein who strongly supports the inclusion of this item on the agenda.
11 In this connection, a useful essay to read is: Perkins, Dwight, “Government as an Obstacle to Industrialization: The Case of Nineteenth-Century China,” The Journal of Economic History, XXVII, 4 (Dec. 1967)., pp. 478–492.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
12 Albert Feuerwerker's letter in response to my questions.
13 A most important on-going project in this area is the one on Manchuria now being carried out by Professors A. Eckstein, K. Chao, and J. Chang.
14 Among the few important contributions to come along during the past decade in this area of research are: Perkins, Dwight H., Agricultural Development in China: 1368–1968 (Chicago: Aldine Publishing Co., 1969)Google Scholar; Myers, Ramon, The Chinese Peasant Economy: Agricultural Development in Hopei and Shantung, 1890–1949 (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1970)Google Scholar. These should serve as examples to be followed. See also a good review article by Myers, Ramon H., “Studies in Modern Chinese Economic History,” The Journal of Asian Studies, XXIX, 4 (August 1970), pp. 897–905.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
15 Morris D. Morris' letter in response to my questions. The best source for obtaining a good appraisal of the current state of research and existing sources on Indian economic history still is: Morris, Morris D. and Stein, Burton, “The Economic History of India: A Bibliographical Essay,” The Journal of Economic History, XXI, 2 (June 1961), pp. 179–207.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
16 Ibid., pp. 182–183.
17 Alan Heston, Morris D. Morris and a few other economists are now engaged in theoretically-oriented research on India. Morris' recent work, The Emergence of an Industrial Labor Force in India (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1965)Google Scholar testifies to the high quality of the work already beginning to become: available.
18 Dharma Kumar, “Recent Research in Indian Economic History,” a statement prepared for the Indian Social Science Research Council, New Delhi, 1970.
19 Resnick, Stephen A., “The Decline of Rural Industry Under Export Expansion: A Comparison among Burma, Philippines and Thailand,” The Journal of Economic History, XXX, 1 (March 1970), pp. 51–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar