Money and Arms

The key to understanding modern Chinese history lies in two words: money and arms. ¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿--¿¿¿ Fiscal authority and military authority are the two decisive factors in traditional political contestations. In ancient Chinese politics, all political issues ultimately boiled down to questions of fiscal administration. In ancient China, every form of administrative power, when traced to its source, derived from military authority. Thus, what was called "political power" in ancient China was, in the final analysis, nothing more than fiscal authority and military authority. ¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿ ¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿ ¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿ ¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿"¿¿"¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿ Liu Gang Freelance writer and independent scholar, who makes a living through the market economy while dedicating his life to the realm of cultural heritage. His major works include The Cultural Realm (Volumes 1-12), The Road to Constitutionalism: A Modern History Beyond the Late Qing, The Style of Freedom, A General History of Chinese Political Thought (Modern Volume), Returning to the Classical World (all co-authored with Li Dongjun), and The Chinese Epic. Li Dongjun PhD in History, independent scholar. Her major works include Into Song Painting, A Moment of Falling Blossoms: The Spiritual Essence of the Japanese, A Century of Private Education in China: Yan Xiu's New Private Education and a Chronology of Modern Chinese Political Culture, The Sanctification of Confucius and the Revolution of Confucian Scholars, The Skyline of Nostalgia, The Realm of Thinkers (co-authored), A Boat That Both Carries and Overturns: An Economic History Perspective on Order and Turmoil in Ancient China (co-authored). Her translations include The Variation of State Sovereignty and Civil Rights: The Intellectual Structure of Meiji Japan and Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai, among others. ¿¿ ¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿:¿¿¿¿¿¿¿(1¿12¿)¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿:¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿(¿¿¿)¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿(¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿)¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿ ¿¿¿ ¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿:¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿:¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿:¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿(¿¿)¿¿¿¿¿:¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿(¿¿)¿¿¿:¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿:¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿