Public Goods Provision in the Early Modern Economy: Comparative Perspectives from Japan, China, and Europe

349 Pages·2019·5.049 MB·English

by  Masayuki Tanimoto, R. Bin Wong

COMPARATIVE
PERSPECTIVES
FROM JAPAN, CHINA,
AND EUROPE
PUBLIC GOODS
PROVISION
IN THE EARLY
MODERN ECONOMY
MASAYUKI TANIMOTO

R. BIN WONG
EDITORS

The publisher and the University of California Press Foundation gratefully acknowledge
the generous support of the Philip E. Lilienthal Imprint in Asian Studies, established by a
major gift from Sally Lilienthal.
Public Goods Provision in the
Early Modern Economy
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Public Goods Provision in the
Early Modern Economy
Comparative Perspectives from Japan, China, and Europe
Edited by
Masayuki Tanimoto & R. Bin Wong
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS
University of California Press, one of the most distinguished university
presses in the United States, enriches lives around the world by advancing
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activities are supported by the UC Press Foundation and by philanthropic
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visit www.ucpress.edu.
University of California Press
Oakland, California
© 2019 by Masayuki Tanimoto and R. Bin Wong
Suggested citation: Tanimoto, M. and Wong, R. B. Public Goods Provision
in the Early Modern Economy: Comparative Perspectives from Japan, China,
and Europe. Oakland: University of California Press, 2019. DOI: https://doi.
org/10.1525/luminos.63
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons CC-BY license. To view a
copy of the license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Tanimoto, Masayuki, 1959- editor. | Wong, Roy Bin, editor.
Title: Public goods provision in the early modern economy : comparative
perspectives from Japan, China, and Europe / Edited by Masayuki Tanimoto
and R. Bin Wong.
Description: Oakland, California : University of California Press, [2019] |
Includes bibliographical references and index. | This work is licensed 
under a Creative Commons CC-BY license. To view a copy of the license, 
visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses. | 
Identifiers: LCCN 2018038420 (print) | LCCN 2018042484 (ebook) | ISBN 
9780520972797 (Epub) | ISBN 9780520303652 (pbk. : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Public goods—History. | Japan—Economic 
conditions—1600–1868. | Prussia (Germany)—Economic conditions. | 
China—Economic conditions—1644–1912.
Classification: LCC HB846.5 (ebook) | LCC HB846.5 .P833 2019 (print) | DDC 
330.9/03—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018038420
28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Preface xi
Masayuki Tanimoto and R. Bin Wong
1. Toward the Public Goods Provision in the Early Modern Economy 1
Masayuki Tanimoto
Part I: Public Finance and Regional Society in Early Modern
Japan
Part I Introduction 13
Masayuki Tanimoto
2. From “Feudal” Lords to Local Notables: The Role of Regional
Society in Public Goods Provision from Early Modern to Modern Japan 17
Masayuki Tanimoto
3. Samurai and Peasants in the Civil Administration of
Early Modern Japan 38
Kenichiro Aratake
4. Outsourcing the Lord’s Finance: An Origin of Local Public Finance
in Early Modern Japan 57
Kazuho Sakai
vi Contents
Part II: Coping with Poverty and Famine
Part II Introduction 75
Mitsuo Kinoshita
5. Sanctions, Targetism, and Village Autonomy: Poor Relief in Early
Modern Rural Japan 78
Mitsuo Kinoshita
6. Coping with Risk in the Seventeenth Century: The First Age of the
English Old Poor Law: A Regional Study 100
Jonathan Healey
7. Coping with Poverty in Rural Brandenburg: The Role of Lords and
State in the Late Eighteenth Century 118
Takashi Iida
8. Coping with Poverty and Famine: Material Welfare, Public Goods,
and Chinese Approaches to Governance 130
R. Bin Wong
Part III: Building Infrastructure
Part III Introduction 147
Masayuki Tanimoto
9. The Development of Civil Engineering Projects and Village
Communities in Seventeenth- to Nineteenth-Century Japan 150
Junichi Kanzaka
10. Rulers and Ruled in Flood Protection during the Eighteenth
Century: The Prussian Example 172
Heinrich Kaak
11. Infrastructure Maintenance in the Jifu Region, Beijing Metropolitan
Region during the Eighteenth Century 202
Takehiko To
12. Provided for Public Welfare: Traffic Infrastructure and “The Bonum
Commune Topos” with Examples from Fifteenth- and Sixteenth-
Century Brandenburg Electorate 216
Sascha Bütow
Contents vii
Part IV: Managing the Forest
Part IV Introduction 235
Takashi Iida
13. Lords’ Forestry for People’s Basic Needs: Evidence from Prussia’s
Royal Domains and Forests during the Eighteenth and
Nineteenth Centuries 238
Takashi Iida
14. The Role of Villagers in Domain and State Forest Management:
Japan’s Path from Tokugawa Period to the Early Twentieth Century 255
Takeshi Aoki
15. Forests as Commons in Early Modern China: An Analysis of
Legal Cases 276
Yoshiyuki Aihara
16. Public Goods and Economy in the Early Modern Era—New
Perspectives on Modern Economies and Contemporary
Environmental Concerns 292
R. Bin Wong
Contributors 315
Index 319