The 18th century was the most prosperous age in China’s history. Post 18th century China’s economy declined. (Chinese Society in the 18th century by Susan Naquin and Rawski, 1987).
This 1973 influential study by Mark Elvin examined three critical questions on China’s economy.
1) Why didn’t the Chinese empire collapse like the Roman empire and every other empire of antiquity?
2) What were the causes for China’s economy to be the most advanced in the world after about 1100 AD?
3] Why did China after 1350AD fail to maintain its earlier pace of technological advance, while still advancing economically?
