Several Relationships That Should Be Grasped Well in the Study of Chinese Economic History

In August 2021, when inspecting the Chengde Museum, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: “We must do a good job of studying history and learning from history around the realization of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, integrate historical research resources and forces, improve research standards and innovation capabilities, and better summarize historical experience, reveal historical laws, and grasp historical trends.” Economic history, as a discipline that studies the economic operation conditions, mechanisms, and performance of various periods in history, is of great significance for grasping the historical脉络 of Chinese economic development, refining the laws of Chinese economic development, and inheriting the governance wisdom of Chinese civilization. In recent years, the discipline of Chinese economic history has developed rapidly, mainly manifested in: the disciplinary system is increasingly perfected, the research team continues to grow, and more and more economists and historians are devoting themselves to research in the field of Chinese economic history; the academic system is increasingly sound, and both the historical-paradigm study of Chinese economic history and the economic-paradigm study of Chinese economic history have made considerable progress, with new historical materials emerging in an endless stream, new data being continuously excavated, and the application of quantitative research methods also deepening; the construction of the discourse system is increasingly consolidated, and progress in constructing a discourse system of economic history with Chinese characteristics is outstanding, achieving remarkable results in advising governance and educating people, and enhancing overseas influence.

2021年8月，习近平总书记在承德博物馆考察时强调：“要围绕实现中华民族伟大复兴做好研史学史工作，整合历史研究资源和力量，提高研究水平和创新能力，更好总结历史经验、揭示历史规律、把握历史趋势。”经济史作为一个研究历史上各个时期经济运行情况、运行机制和绩效的学科，对于把握中国经济发展的历史脉络，提炼中国经济发展规律，传承中华文明的治理智慧具有十分重要的意义。近年来，中国经济史学科发展迅速，主要表现在：学科体系日益完善，研究队伍持续壮大，越来越多的经济学者和历史学者投身于中国经济史领域的研究之中；学术体系日益健全，无论是历史学范式的中国经济史研究还是经济学范式的中国经济史研究都取得长足进步，新的史料层出不穷，新的数据不断挖掘，量化研究的方法应用也不断深入；话语体系建设日益巩固，构建具有中国特色的经济史话语体系进展突出，在资政育人、提升海外影响力等方面成绩斐然。

However, it must also be seen that the discipline of Chinese economic history, as an interdisciplinary field spanning economics and history, while drawing on the research advantages of both disciplines, also presents some deviations in disciplinary paradigms, such as excessively simplifying the use of mathematical logic from economics to replace historical logic, substituting theoretical assumptions in economics for the real and diverse social and historical background, and using individual conclusions from micro-data in history to one-sidedly interpret macro-historical reality. To truly construct the disciplinary system of Chinese economic history, and to use its research results to tell the Chinese story well and explain the great practice of contemporary China, we must adhere to historical materialism to understand and record history, and base historical conclusions on solid and accurate historical evidence and in-depth and meticulous research and analysis. In the research process, it is necessary to deeply understand and correctly handle the relationships between economic theory and historical practice, national history and world history, the Communist Party of China and the process of Chinese-path modernization, and academic research and the future orientation of China, adhere to the Two Integrations, use a global historical perspective and a contemporary Chinese standpoint to deeply summarize the historical process of China’s economic and social development, use historical materialism to correctly understand the historical achievements and evolutionary laws of “Chinese-path modernization” economic development, think across millennia, see across thousands of miles, and demonstrate the contemporary value of Chinese economic history research in the integration of history, reality, and the future, telling the Chinese chapter of the development of human civilization.

然而也要看到，中国经济史学科作为横跨经济学与历史学的交叉学科，在汲取两大学科研究优势的同时，也呈现出一些学科范式上的偏差，比如过度简化地采用经济学的数理逻辑取代历史逻辑，以经济学中的理论假设替代真实多元的社会历史背景，用历史学微观数据的个别结论片面诠释宏观历史现实等等。真正构建好中国经济史学科体系，并借助其研究成果讲好中国故事，阐释当代中国的伟大实践，必须坚持用唯物史观来认识和记述历史，把历史结论建立在翔实准确的史料支撑和深入细致的研究分析基础之上。在研究过程中，需要深刻认识并正确处理好经济理论与历史实践、民族历史与世界历史、中国共产党与中国式现代化进程、学术研究与中国未来发展面向等关系，坚持“两个结合”，以全球历史视野和当代中国立场深入总结中国经济社会发展的历史进程，以唯物史观正确认识“中国式现代化”经济发展历史成就与演进规律，思接千载，视通万里，在历史、现实与未来的交融中彰显中国经济史研究的当代价值，讲述好人类文明发展的中国篇章。

First, deeply understand the relationship between economic theory and historical practice. The study of Chinese economic history is first and foremost the study of Chinese history, a conscious study of the dialectical process of economic development in Chinese history, and on the basis of restoring historical reality, using economic research methods and tools to refine economic laws. The study of Chinese economic history cannot deviate from historical practice and talk about theoretical methods in the abstract; rather, it should choose appropriate analytical logic based on the specific nature of the research problem and the specific characteristics of the historical materials themselves. It cannot follow the crowd, nor can it cut the feet to fit the shoes for the sake of being novel, deliberately ignoring those historical facts that do not conform to the theoretical presuppositions of economics. Excellent economic theory should not be fabricated out of thin air, but should be rooted in a profound understanding and refinement of the historical process of human social economy. Economic history should even more become the source of economics, not the tributary, bearing the important mission of providing economics with a deep historical foundation and theoretical basis.

一是深刻认识经济理论与历史实践的关系。中国经济史研究首先是对中国历史的研究，是有意识地研究中国历史上经济发展的辩证过程，在还原历史实际的基础上，借助经济学研究方法和研究工具提炼经济规律。中国经济史研究不能背离历史实践空谈理论方法，而应根据研究问题的具体性质和史料本身的具体特点选择适宜的分析逻辑，不能人云亦云，更不能为了标新立异而削足适履，刻意忽视那些与经济学理论预设不符的历史事实。优秀的经济学理论不应当是向壁虚构的，而应是根植于对人类社会经济历史进程的深刻理解与提炼之中。经济史更应当成为经济学的源，而不是流，承担着为经济学提供深厚历史底蕴和理论根基的重要使命。

Second, deeply insight into the relationship between national history and world history. Marxism holds that in the process of human historical development, there surges a globalizing torrent of transformation from national history to world history. To explain the development trajectory of Chinese civilization from the perspective of Chinese economic history research, we must base ourselves on a grand historical view, deeply analyze how the economic development of Chinese civilization affected the world, and how the process of world economic modernization in turn acted on China. Only by answering this core question can we clearly explain why China’s modernization process shows both the common characteristics of modernization in various countries and the uniqueness based on its own national conditions; only then can we clarify why the new form of human civilization rooted in Chinese history can inherit the essence of historical culture, integrate the achievements of modern civilization, be committed to the well-being and happiness of the Chinese people while actively promoting the common prosperity of all countries in the world, and realize the comprehensive and coordinated development of human material civilization, political civilization, cultural-ethical progress, social civilization, and ecological civilization on the basis of the harmonious coexistence of diverse civilizations.

二是深刻洞察民族历史与世界历史的关系。马克思主义认为，人类历史发展进程中奔涌着一条由民族历史向世界历史转变的世界化洪流。从中国经济史研究的角度阐释中华文明的发展轨迹，必须立足大历史观，深入分析中华文明的经济发展如何影响了世界，世界经济现代化的进程又如何作用于中国。只有解答了这一核心问题，才能清晰地阐释中国的现代化进程为何既展现出各国现代化的共通性特征，又蕴含着基于本国国情的独特性；才能明晰为何植根于中国历史的人类文明新形态能够传承历史文化精髓，融合现代文明成果，既致力于中国人民的幸福安康，又积极推动世界各国的共同繁荣，在多样文明和谐共生的基础上实现人类物质文明、政治文明、精神文明、社会文明、生态文明的全面协调发展。

Third, deeply understand the relationship between the Communist Party of China and the process of Chinese-path modernization. In recent years, the study of modern and contemporary Chinese economic history has become one of the hot spots in Chinese economic history research, and Chinese-path modernization is an unavoidable core issue in this research. To answer this question well, the study of modern Chinese economic history should focus on the social practices carried out by various classes in China since the Opium War to save the nation from subjugation and ensure its survival, as well as economic activities under the influence of different trends of thought, and deeply analyze why only Marxism could become the inevitable choice for saving China, and only the Communist Party of China could become the leading core of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, guiding Chinese-path modernization to embark on a new journey. The study of contemporary Chinese economic history should start from the history of the great economic practices of the socialist revolution and construction led by the people under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, reform and opening up and socialist modernization, and socialism with Chinese characteristics for a New Era, conduct comprehensive research and comparative analysis of the economic development process of New China, and deepen the understanding of the socialist market economy system, the “three rural” issues [1]1 The “three rural” issues (三农问题) refer to agriculture, rural areas, and farmers, a core policy concern in China regarding the development and modernization of the countryside., socialist industrialization, etc. In short, through examples from modern and contemporary Chinese economic history, it reveals that the reason why China, once poor and weak, explored a new path of modernization in just over a hundred years and created a miracle in the history of human modernization lies precisely in the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China. Only by firmly grasping this core proposition can we accurately grasp the main line of economic development in the study of modern and contemporary Chinese economic history, avoid getting lost in the pile of historical materials and the sea of data, thereby enhancing historical confidence in China’s economic development path and telling a convincing Chinese story.

三是深刻认识中国共产党与中国式现代化进程的关系。近年来，近现代中国经济史研究成为中国经济史研究的热点之一，中国式现代化则是此研究不可回避的核心议题。回答好这一问题，近代中国经济史研究应聚焦鸦片战争以来中国各阶层为救亡图存所开展的社会实践以及不同思潮影响下的经济活动，深入剖析为何只有马克思主义能够成为拯救中国的必然选择，只有中国共产党能够成为中华民族伟大复兴的领导核心，引领中国式现代化开启新征程。当代中国经济史研究应从中国共产党领导人民进行的社会主义革命与建设、改革开放和社会主义现代化建设、新时代中国特色社会主义的伟大经济实践的历史出发，对新中国经济发展历程进行综合研究与对比分析，深化对社会主义市场经济体制、“三农”问题、社会主义工业化等的理解。总之，通过近现代中国经济史的实例，揭示之所以曾经积贫积弱的中国在短短一百多年间探索出一条现代化的新路径，创造了人类现代化史上的奇迹，其根源正在于中国共产党的坚强领导。只有牢牢把握住这一核心命题，才能在近现代中国经济史的研究中准确把握经济发展的主线，避免迷失在史料的堆砌与数据的烟海中，从而增强对于中国经济发展道路的历史自信，讲好令人信服的中国故事。

Fourth, deeply understand the relationship between academic research and the future orientation of development. At present, China is in the midst of changes unseen in a century, with simultaneous establishment and abolition, cleansing the old and generating the new. The global economic landscape and economic development model are facing reshaping. To recognize the future development trends of the world and China, we must “hold up the telescope of history” and pay more attention to examining the development process of China’s economy from a long-term and broad perspective of history. The study of Chinese economic history should not only meticulously examine the economic development conditions of specific periods or regions, but also place the development trajectory of China’s economy in the broad background of the global economy, and through cross-national and cross-period comparative analysis, reveal the unique path and universal laws of China’s economic development, providing rich historical materials and theoretical support for the construction of future economic development models. For practical issues such as economic transformation, industrial upgrading, and environmental protection, the study of Chinese economic history should not only stay at the level of theoretical discussion, but actively seek experiences and lessons from history, provide actionable suggestions and strategies for practical problems, and continuously enhance the practical value and contemporary significance of Chinese economic history research.

四是深刻认识学术研究与未来发展面向的关系。当前中国正置身于百年未有之大变局之中，立破并举、涤旧生新，全球经济格局与经济发展模式面临重塑，要认清未来世界与中国的发展大势，就必须“端起历史的望远镜”，更加注重从历史的长时段、大视角来审视中国经济的发展历程。中国经济史的研究不仅要细致入微地考察特定时期或地域的经济发展状况，更要将中国经济的发展轨迹置于全球经济广阔背景中，通过跨国、跨时期的比较分析，揭示中国经济发展的独特路径与普遍规律，为未来经济发展模式的构建提供丰富历史素材与理论支撑。对于经济转型、产业升级、环境保护等现实问题，中国经济史研究不应仅停留于理论探讨，而应积极寻求历史中的经验与教训，为现实问题提供具有可操作性的建议与策略，不断增强中国经济史研究的实用价值与时代意义。

(Author: Wang Jue, Professor at the School of Economics, Renmin University of China)

（作者：王珏，系中国人民大学经济学院教授）

Online Editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧