Industrial Revolution Did Not Occur In China During Ming / Qing Period

Why an Industrial Revolution did not occur during the Ming / Qing period
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Introduction
Although China has experienced significant growth of the economy over the last few decades it could have achieved it earlier had it not missed out on the industrial revolution during the 19th century. It is said that the Chinese people were ahead of Europe in knowledge and wealth. During the 13th century, for instance, the Chinese people were using a power-driven spinning machine. Besides that, they were also using coal at the time to generate high amounts of energy, and they used it to manufacture some final products. All those technological advancements had happened to China more than 700 years earlier than Europe.
The impressive growth went on until late in the 18th century when things took a different turn. Within that period China was faced with various challenges which include a rise in the cost of living, and the lack raw materials and fuel. The high population was dependant on the produce obtained within a small fixed area. Lack of enough food contributed to a decrease in the crop of cotton. Rather than planting cloth which is not edible, the Chinese population preferred to plant foodstuffs. As a result, the price of cotton increased profoundly, and the European nations would no longer buy from them.
As China tried to satisfy its dire need for fuel trees were cut down. The cutting down of trees contributed to deforestation, and the land was left bare. The bare ground was less productive and therefore further increasing the food threat. Unlike Europe which had colonies from other parts of the world, China lacked colonies. The provinces would provide Europe with cheap raw materials and labor. China missed an excellent opportunity to have industrial growth because it lacked entrepreneurs who were eager to achieve more from the golden period.
Wrong Foreign Trade Decisions made during the Ming/ Qing period
China is one country known for their significant achievements in the field of science. The unfortunate thing, however, is that China was not able to use the knowledge and skills they had in the area to grow the economy. Since time in memorial the Chinese people have had a culture of believing that they are superior to other people and there is nothing, they can learn from them. It is that belief that made them make the wrong decisions during the Ming/ Qing period. For three awkward reasons, China banned foreign trade during that time.
The first reason that they gave was that the foreign ambassadors disrespected the king by not kneeling down before him to show respect. Secondly, the ruling class felt that China was capable of doing it on its own and there was no need of welcoming foreigners to their land. Finally, the Manchu rulers refused to give the coastal areas an opportunity to grow stronger through foreign trade. Those reasons hindered China from achieving much economically. Instead of taking advantage of the fact that they were ahead of others they remained complacent with the little they had.
China’s technology was very sophisticated, and they were capable of making significant ships. The ships had strong engines and would be used to sail for long distances. They would use the same ships to travel and reach their neighboring countries. It was at that time that China would have used the vessel to get cheap raw materials from the other countries. They have did not so, and another opportunity to grow was lost.
In Europe, on the other hand, the competition was becoming stiff each day. Each nation was worried about what the other was capable of doing. With the fear of defeat, each country continued to work hard each day. Additionally, they also welcomed new ideas from their competitors which would be used to improve different sectors of the economy. For instance, the first people to notice that China had advanced technologically were the European and Muslim travelers who visited the country. They were determined to learn much about the technology and take it back home to their country.
The “Great Divergence”
According to Kenneth Pomeranz, the Great Divergence began during the 18th century. It aims at explaining the history of the world and how Europe achieved industrialization before China could. Pomeranz argues there is more that contributed to the growth of Europe than just the advancement in technology. With the aim of making it easier to understand the whole scenario, the author uses England and the lower Yangzi delta of China. He tries to assess how the regions were during the 16th and the 18th century. During that period the two areas were equal to various issues including technology, income, market development and even in agricultural productivity.
The changes between the two regions started being seen during the 18th century. During that time England would be an advantage over China. A large deposit of coal was found on the land, and it was what caused the industrial revolution. Other than having the vast coal deposits Britain was also able to transport it at a lower cost using the water transport. China on the hand was disadvantaged because its coal mines were found on the northwest side which was far away from where the manufacturing industries were located. The northwest side was also sparsely populated, and there was no cheaper labor available.
Before arriving at that period where Britain was at an advantage, both economies were faced with various challenges. Their production industries were not producing enough to meet their needs. The land was no longer fertile and the yields produced were lower than before. When Britain discovered coal and other raw materials, they changed their old methods of farming and adopted modern methods. It was not the same case for China as it remained struggling throughout the period and it took long periods of time before they get back to the way they were before.
With all those resources available for Britain many developments took place. The first event was that of having trade companies to run the trade. The trade companies had a role to collect resources from the British colonies. The trade companies also played another role in oppressing the Asian traders and therefore weakening them further. During that time Britain had been able to grow steadily to become a dominant economy in the world, and it still is even today.
Philip Huang’s Argument
Philip Huang tends to differ with arguments of Pomeranz and even brings in some new problems and ideas which were not considered by Pomeranz. He focuses on the difference between the two regions that were discussed earlier by Pomeranz. Philip in his argument talks about the factor of the English Agricultural Revolution which was not part of Pomeranz’s theory. The information obtained from other scholars at that time indicated that Britain was producing more in the Agricultural sector than it did before. Technology contributed much to the changes that were seen in the Britain’s Agricultural industry.
Huang, however, finds that technology was not the only factor that contributed to the growth in Agriculture but also the availability of land and the number of people located in the region. In China Yangzi area the population was 11.5-12 million people and they occupied 2.5 million acres of land. In England, on the other hand, the property available was 35.6 million acres versus a population of 8.6. The region in China is densely populated, and for that reason, they had to do way with the rearing of animals. The land previously used by the animals would be used conduct more farming activities. The farming is done in the same piece of lan...