This book is one of the few Chinese academic works published directly in English that discusses the similarities and differences in the paths of economic development between China and the West during the Qing Dynasty. It attempts to explore the very important question：Whether Qing China in the late 18th and early 19th centuries had a unique or similar path of economic development compared with Western countries？Also, when and why China lost its prominent position as the richest economy in world history, in the sixteenth, eighteenth or nineteenth century? Was this position lost because of policies by the Chinese state; policies on trade, taxes or trust, or was it about the access to coal, capital and colonies in the other countries? And when this happened, was it China that diverted from the standard track, or was it the country that took over; England, the Dutch Republic, or the young United States? This book not only provides answers to the above questions, but also critiques the existing historical GDP studies and "Great Diversion" studies, and emphasizes the importance of using first-hand historical data for research. The book brings such evidence to the table, fresh from the archives. Important data presented on fiscal and financial policies in the Qing Dynasty is put in context and discussed. It analyzes the population expansion and the countermeasures of the Qing dynasty before the "Malthusian Miracle"; estimates the total value of commercial output in the first half of the 19th century based on the market circulation of major commodities and tariff records; examines the changes in the Qing financial system with Xianfeng-Tongzhi reigns as the turning point; and analyzes the government borrowing activities during the this period as well as the Qing government's relief efforts during the Great Flood of 1823. Written by Yuping Ni, professor of Department of History, School of Humanities, Tsinghua University. He is a scholar who presented his material and ideas at seminars and workshops in different parts of Asia, Europe and the United States. During this year Ni published a book with Brill Publishers in Leiden (Customs Duties in the Qing Dynasty, ca.1644-1911), wrote an article—in cooperation with Dr. Martin Uebele—published in the Australian Economic History Review.