An Empirical Analysis of the Living Standards of Peasant Households in Republican-era Qingyuan:
A Comparison with Pre-Industrial English Households
HOU Jianxin（4）
According to field investigations and local archives from the 1930s, the living conditions of peasant households in Qingyuan on the North China Plain, can be reconstructed. The daily consumption levels of most peasants, including food, clothing, housing, and transportation, fell below the absolute poverty line. During famine years, over half of the lower-class peasant households faced complete destitution. Apart from kerosene largely replacing edible oil for lighting and the slow progression of machine-woven cloth substituting handmade cloth, modern production and household goods rarely entered peasant homes. This scenario can be described as “subsistence agriculture” or even “agriculture failing to ensure subsistence”, let alone enabling expanded reproduction or providing accumulation for industrialization. In contrast, English peasants experienced a continuous improvement in their standard of living from the late Middle Ages onward. By the pre-Industrial Revolution period, 75% of the rural population enjoyed increasingly varied daily diets, greater refinement in garments, and the emergence of two-storey dwellings. Their consumption capacity directly fueled the development of both domestic and international markets. A comparison of consumption levels between Chinese and English peasant households in pre-industrial societies profoundly underscores the underlying logic between peasants’ living conditions and economic growth−steady growth in commoners’consumption served as a stable engine for national economic expansion.
A Preliminary Discussion on Catholic Socialism in 19th-Century France
WANG Jiafeng（35）
Catholic socialism was one of the socialist movements in 19th-century France. It opposed public ownership, violent revolution, and atheism, with many of its adherents also rejecting the very term “socialism”. Its connection to socialism was limited to a concern for the plight of the working class and an advocacy for improving workers’ economic and political status through the establishment of guild-based production models−all of which were subordinate to the revival of the Church. This approach was sometimes referred to as semi-socialist economics (demi-socialisme économique). While its ties to genuine socialism were quite limited, it was among the earliest forces within the Church to recognize the necessity of reform to adapt to new social realities. Together with Catholic liberals, it continuously pushed for the modern transformation of Catholicism from within, aligning the Church’s doctrines and practices with France’s transition into an industrial power and a republic. Catholic socialism peaked between the late 19th and early 20th centuries and retained a certain influence throughout the 20th century.
The Rise and Fall of the Jewish Exchequer in Medieval England
ZHANG Ligang & LI Yongqiang（50）
During the nearly hundred-year period from the 12th to the 13th century, Jewish lenders held a virtual monopoly over England’s credit markets. To channel the profits from this trade into the crown’s coffers, the monarchy established a specialized institution known as the Jewish Exchequer. For nearly a hundred years, this body managed Jewish moneylending, generating immense revenue for the Crown and positioning the king as the realm’s primary creditor. However, this also indirectly triggered a severe land crisis. Although King Edward I issued several statutes to regulate Jewish lending and alleviate the social tensions caused by debt, his measures failed to resolve the underlying issues. Ultimately, in 1290, Edward I ordered the expulsion of all Jews from England, leading to the dissolution of the Jewish Exchequer. The rise and fall of this institution, to a certain extent, mirrors the broader transformation of the royal fiscal system and the formative process of Parliament in the thirteenth century. 126
Reexamining Urbanization in Medieval England: A Critique of Euro-American Scholars’ Misconceptions about “Small Towns”
GU Yanfang（61）
By using population size and non-agricultural occupations as criteria, Euro-American scholars have classified settlements of a few hundred inhabitants as “small towns”, thereby broadening the definition of “medieval towns”. This approach has led to the assertion of a high level of urbanization in medieval England. However, this assertion neither aligns with the actual developmental level of the medieval Kingdom of England nor preserves the logical self-consistency of the “medieval town” concept. The inclusion of numerous small towns without charters and rights undermines the very definition of a medieval town, which is best understood as a collective entity of “freedoms and rights” embodied in urban charters. Urbanization was thus not merely the migration of rural population but, more critically, a process of establishing urban self-governance and enabling rural inhabitants to break free from dependency. It was precisely the endowment of charters and associated rights that allowed medieval towns to grow, transform into powerful bastions against autocratic monarchy in the early modern period, and ultimately become a direct force for social transformation.
The Concept of the “Prince” in 12th–13th Century Germany
HOU Shudong & WENG Jiawei（73）
In medieval Germany, the term “Prince” was initially a broad designation for the high nobility. Emperor Frederick I, having observed precise feudal laws in practice during his Italian campaigns, introduced this legal framework into Germany to regulate relations between the emperor and the high nobility, as well as within the aristocratic order itself. He formally emphasized the Prince’s role as the emperor’s direct vassal and the highest rank of aristocracy, granting them primary rights of participation in imperial politics. Consequently, the term gained prominence in contemporary documents. In reality, however, the concept of the Prince remained fluid. The Emperor’s definition did not always align with the princes’ own perception, who viewed the title primarily as a marker of territorial lordship and a claim to political co-determination. In the early 13th century, German jurists attempted to portray the Prince as a strict feudal grade, defined by holding fiefs directly from the emperor. Yet, at that time, the princes had not yet coalesced into a distinct, closed estate. Despite these ambiguous definitions, this group was gradually evolving into the specific, powerful estate that would define the later German Empire.
Rights-Bearing Subjects in Magna Carta
WANG Dong（88）
The body of rights-bearing subjects in the Magna Carta of 1215 was distinctly hierarchical, diverse, and non-homogeneous. The charter primarily protected some ten earls, approximately 150 barons, and fewer than 5 000 knights. Free peasants enjoyed the protection of the common law, while the wealthier freeholders participated in institutional operations and shared power. In contrast, villeins, women, and Jews occupied a marginalized position within Magna Carta, possessing only very limited rights, and their subordinate status remained largely unchanged. Thus, Magna Carta reveals both the complex connotations of rights within the medieval English constitution and the accumulation and evolution of subjective rights.
The Emergence of the “Meta-Principle of Consent” and Anglo-Saxon Kingship
LIU Lin（105）
European civilization was a product of the long-term interaction and fusion of multiple civilizations during the Middle Ages, with its establishment marked by the formation of “civilizational meta principles” in the high medieval period. However, the formation of these meta-principles and their accompanying social consensus was not an abrupt event, but a gradual process spanning several centuries and traceable to earlier historical stages. Various forces participated in this evolutionary process to differing degrees, among which the Germanic peoples played a particularly central role. During the Anglo-Saxon period, the early emergence of “meta-principle of consent” can be observed in the political practices of its kingship. An examination of contemporary sources such as law codes and chronicles indicates that the concept of “consent” was manifested in three key areas: law-making, central decision-making, and local governance. This demonstrates how these barbarian kingdoms inherited and adapted Germanic tribal traditions, thereby laying an institutional foundation for the formation of European civilization.
