Since the Spring and Autumn Period, the small-scale peasant economy in China has gradually become the economic base of the society. Small-scale peasant economy takes the family as the production unit, men plow and women weave, and is self-sufficient. This economic form did play a positive role in the early China society, on the one hand, it adapted to the development of productivity level; On the other hand, the moral norms established on this basis have become tools for imperial rulers to consolidate their rule and maintain social order. However, with the continuous development of society, the self-sufficient natural economy has gradually become a stumbling block to social progress because it cannot produce a large number of surplus products.
By the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the small-scale peasant economy had completely become the shackles of social progress. However, due to the inertia of the development of Chinese civilization, although the emerging commodity economy is booming, it is far from enough to destroy the small-scale peasant economy. Because everything in ancient China-social system, bureaucratic system, imperial form and ideology-was built on the basis of adapting to the small-scale peasant economy, which has lagged behind the times, but its strength is still strong. Especially after the Qing Dynasty entered the customs, the emerging Manchuria military group injected a shot in the arm into the empire based on the small-scale peasant economy and created a prosperous Kang Yong. At that time, the flourishing age was undoubtedly welcomed by the people, but from the perspective of historical development, this "last days" flourishing age was undoubtedly the last days of China's ancient civilization.
The internal forces of Chinese civilization can no longer promote the further transformation of civilization itself. At this time, the west has entered the era of industrial civilization, capitalism has expanded globally, and the capitalist world market has basically been established; The super productivity of industrial civilization has produced countless industrial products that can subvert old living habits and update all aspects of society. In order to further expand the market, western civilization at that time inevitably collided with Chinese civilization, and agricultural civilization was naturally not an opponent of industrial civilization. With the signing of "treaty of nanking", China unveiled a century-long history of humiliation.