Early America :Differing Views of Trade To unde
Post# of 27253
(Total Views: 104)
Posted On: 03/01/2019 9:29:46 PM
Early America 
iffering Views of Trade
To understand why Westerners had a difficult time finding goods which the Chinese consistently wanted to buy, it is necessary to look both at the economics and ideas about trade. The Chinese economy at the end of the 18th century was quite well developed. Goods that could not be produced locally were supplied from other sources within China. The size, diversity, and the degree of integration of the Chinese empire provided its inhabitants with necessities and its elite with many luxuries. The goods which the West originally offered the Chinese were luxury items, the market for which was soon oversupplied. At that time, over 90% of the Chinese population lived on the land and most of them lived a hand-to-mouth existence.
The West wanted the tea which China produced and believed that it had the right to trade for it. Trade was seen as the means to expand national and personal wealth, so it was assumed to be natural that every one and every country would take part in trade.
The Chinese, on the other hand, had a traditional theoretical disdain for commerce. In Confucian thought, society was divided into four social classes—ranked from high to low—scholars, peasants, artisans, and merchants. The first three groups were seen to produce something, while merchants were seen as making a profit without producing anything. Nevertheless, commerce developed in China to a high degree, but it was not protected by law and always subjected to governmental demands for “contributions.”
Traditional China did also take part in some foreign trade through its history, but it was cast in terms of largess by the Emperor in return for tribute paid by states or tribes which acknowledged Chinese suzerainty. These ideas were very much a part of the Chinese mind-set when the West approached at the end of the 18th century and remained unchanged for most Chinese into the 20th century.
Given these two very different approaches and ideas about commerce, it is easy to see why conflicts developed.
iffering Views of Trade To understand why Westerners had a difficult time finding goods which the Chinese consistently wanted to buy, it is necessary to look both at the economics and ideas about trade. The Chinese economy at the end of the 18th century was quite well developed. Goods that could not be produced locally were supplied from other sources within China. The size, diversity, and the degree of integration of the Chinese empire provided its inhabitants with necessities and its elite with many luxuries. The goods which the West originally offered the Chinese were luxury items, the market for which was soon oversupplied. At that time, over 90% of the Chinese population lived on the land and most of them lived a hand-to-mouth existence.
The West wanted the tea which China produced and believed that it had the right to trade for it. Trade was seen as the means to expand national and personal wealth, so it was assumed to be natural that every one and every country would take part in trade.
The Chinese, on the other hand, had a traditional theoretical disdain for commerce. In Confucian thought, society was divided into four social classes—ranked from high to low—scholars, peasants, artisans, and merchants. The first three groups were seen to produce something, while merchants were seen as making a profit without producing anything. Nevertheless, commerce developed in China to a high degree, but it was not protected by law and always subjected to governmental demands for “contributions.”
Traditional China did also take part in some foreign trade through its history, but it was cast in terms of largess by the Emperor in return for tribute paid by states or tribes which acknowledged Chinese suzerainty. These ideas were very much a part of the Chinese mind-set when the West approached at the end of the 18th century and remained unchanged for most Chinese into the 20th century.
Given these two very different approaches and ideas about commerce, it is easy to see why conflicts developed.
(0)
(0)