New Perspectives on the Qing: Using Popular Sources, Data Analysis, and Accounting to Reconstruct Traditional Economic Practices

This talk discusses the new opportunities presented by “popular sources” available to scholars of business and economic activity in Qing and Republican-era China. These sources, consisting broadly of historical material not held in any state archives, are becoming increasingly available to scholars in the form of published collections as well as through informal circulation on WeChat and other forms of social media. I introduce several exceptionally useful collections of popular sources. I discuss their provenance, content, and how we can use them to further our understanding of Chinese social and business history. Most importantly, I walk through different methodologies for interpreting this historical material. Many of these documents defy easy analysis. Some are written in nearly illegible cursive, employ sophisticated industry jargon or make sense only if one understands the format of the document itself. Other documents are even less accessible; they require at least some familiarity with traditional Chinese accounting or bookkeeping norms. Fortunately, Professor Meng Wei of Shanxi University has elaborated a relatively simple methodological framework for accessing these sources. I will walk through Professor Meng’s framework, and show how to apply them to the material, as well as how to acquire the skills needed to read the more challenging documents.