Ancient Chinese economic thought has never been related to the evidence of economic practice. We know how state economies were supposed to be run in theory, but not the degree to which economic thought reflected everyday economic activity. Moreover, it is still not clear to what extent economic thought constituted a separate field of inquiry and was independent of fundamental cultural notions or political considerations. Finally, why was there so much more sustained interest in political economy in China than anywhere else? This book sets out to consider such questions through contextualised analyses of both received and newly excavated sources on economic thought and practice.

Contributors are Paul R. Goldin, Yohei Kakinuma, Maxim Korolkov, Elisa Levi Sabattini, Andrew Meyer, Yuri Pines, Christian Schwermann, Hans van Ess, and Robin D.S. Yates