Enlightenment -- "The most unscrupulous people on earth" : the paradox of China's commercial spirit -- "Your beggarly commerce …!" China and international trade -- "The science of princes" : China's constitutional foundations -- "Duties of the sovereign …" : civil and military successes and failures -- "Very ignorant reasoners" : China's science and technology -- Conclusion …

: The cases of Great Britain and China -- HISTORIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION: TRADITIONAL VIEWS AND ALTERNATIVE PERSPECTIVES … -- The persistence of the traditional view: Britain as an emerging free-trade economy -- The persistence of the traditional … view: China as a despotic, 'oriental' empire -- Alternative perspectives: Fiscal-militarism and mercantilism in Britain and …