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Date： 2024/01/22
Time： 14:00~16:00
Venue： Archives 3rd Conference Hall
Speaker：Miss Gao Xiaoyu （PhD Candidate in History, History Department, University of Chicago）
Organizer： Western Learning and China Research Group
Abstract: Silver ingots and copper cash coins formed the backbone of China's economy. However, the Daoguang reign (1820-1850) was marked by significant financial disruptions as copper cash depreciated by over 76% relative to silver. This precipitous depreciation fueled widespread bankruptcy, catalyzing the catastrophic Taiping and Panthay Rebellions that claimed over 20 million lives. Exploring a transformative epoch in Qing China's financial history, this study examines the dramatic impact of the global copper trade on China's monetary system between 1800 and 1862. Prevailing scholarship tends to focus on the 'silver outflow thesis', suggesting that the British opium trade led to a drain of silver currency from China. This study proposes an alternative perspective: the critical role of copper in redefining China's economic terrain. I argue that the smuggling of Chilean copper ores (with 96%-99% purity) into Canton by British and American merchants, and the illicit movement of Japanese copper cash coins to southeastern China, had far-reaching implications on the Qing's monetary system. These illicit transactions likely contributed to the collapse of China’s domestic copper industry located in Yunnan. Meanwhile, Chilean copper ore may have been used to manufacture excessive amounts of counterfeit copper cash in south China. Drawing from a wide-ranging corpus of archival resources in English, Chinese, and Spanish, this study aims to illuminate the profound impacts of global trade on China's economic dynamics and the consequential political repercussions. It elucidates how Chinese statecraft navigated these transnational challenges, offering fresh insights into the complex interplay between globalization and transnational governance.