Silver Crisis, Economic And Social Changes In The Ming And Qing Dynasties

This thesis focuses on monetary factors lying behind the history evolution. As economic circle nowadays has made relatively profound research in relationship between credit currency and the growth of modern economy, this thesis is supposed to find out some links between metallic currency and the development history of ancient Chinese economy and society. Among the core of this thesis, are the monetary regimes in Ming and Qing Dynasty and social-economic impact brought by these arrangements.Firstly , this thesis briefly goes through China's monetary history in ancient times, from Xia Dynasty to Yuan Dynasty, and tells out how the un-minted silver system was set up against the world history background at that time. Then this thesis goes forward to analyze this system, under which even metallic currency is tend to be unstable, making national economy exposed to risks of inflation and deflation. The defectiveness existing in this system triggers devastating crisis, affecting both Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty.The conclusion is that currency plays a critical role in an economy in terms of sustainable growth and political stability, all of which depend on whether the monetary system works or not. Currency is not necessarily to be neutral in the long run, sudden and lasting changes in the stock of money may trigger changes in monetary system, which can affect the national wealth and disposable income within an area. These changes may bring about great transitions of a dynasty or a society, and thus affect long-term economic growth.