X-perts (3): Toward a Material History of the Chinese Economic Journal (1924-37)
As we announced in our previous post, what we propose in this essay is a statistical exploration of the journal, including the number of articles published per issue and period, the volume of each issue, the length of articles, the nature of authorship, and the topics they addressed. In the last section, we will slowly moved from the analysis of articles to the profiling of their contributors.
Number of articles

Thematic distribution and topical shifts

Long-term distribution of topics in the Chinese Economic Journal (1924-37). Original graphs and methodological data are available here.
- Thematic distribution in the CEJ (1924-37). https://madspace.org/cooked/Graphs?ID=342
- Topical shifts in the CEJ (1924-37). https://madspace.org/cooked/Graphs?ID=342
- Periodic distribution of topics. https://madspace.org/cooked/Graphs?ID=343
Topical specialization and diversification
Range of topics per issue
The following graph shows that the number of distinct topics covered in each issue ranged from 1 to 5, with significant variations from one issue to the other. The journal alternates between phases of high specialization (in 1932-1933 and 1935-1936) and broader topical diversity (1929-1930 and 1935). In the early years, the CEM stood as a rather monographic publication, with a maximum of two distinct topics per issue. The journal began to widen the spectrum of its expertise under the BICI, with five issues addressing up to five distinct topics each (April 1929, January 1930, March 1930, and later, February and April 1935).

Range of topics covered by the CEJ, per issue (1924-37). Original graphs and methodological data are available here.
Length of issues and articles
- Number of pages per issue in the CEJ (1924-37)
- Time series analysis of CEJ volume

Length of articles in the CEJ (1924-37). Original graphs and methodological data are available here.
As for thematic distribution, the most substantial articles (more than 25 pages) were devoted to sociological surveys and to foreign trade. These topical fields were also those within which we observe the most dramatic variations between articles. The length of population surveys ranged from 1 to 63 pages, while foreign trade items contained from 1 to 77 pages. The second group includes articles with a reasonable number of pages (from 10 to 20) and covers a wide range of subjects: agriculture, economy, transportation, industry, local monographs, and Japan. The shortest articles (less than 10 pages) addressed miscellaneous issues. In the long-run, five topics experienced significant variations in the number of pages they were allocated. Industry and local monographs reached a peak around 1932-3. Foreign trade issues were allotted more pages under the Bureau of Foreign trade (from 1931 onwards), but also experienced stronger variations during this period. Population studies reached a (limited) peak in 1932, while articles devoted to agriculture or transportation followed a smoother trend, oscillating between one (1928, 1932) to 30 pages (1930).
- Length of thematic articles in the CEJ
- Variations in the length of thematic articles (1924-37). https://madspace.org/cooked/Graphs?ID=344
Nature of authorship

Nature of authorship in the Chinese Economic Journal (1924-37). Original graphs and methodological data are available here.

Length of articles in the Chinese Economic Journal, according to the nature of authorship. Original graphs and methodological data are available here.
Contributors

Distribution of CEJ contributors across period, grouped by cultural origins (facet view). Original graphs and methodological data are available here.
Distribution of CEJ contributors across period, grouped by cultural origins (stacked bar charts view). Original graphs and methodological data are available here.
Toward a periodization of the CEJ
Period
|
Number of issues
|
Number of articles
|
Number of contributors
|
Range of topics
|
1
|
35
|
72
|
36
|
7
|
2
|
23
|
89
|
42
|
9
|
3
|
67
|
254
|
90
|
9
|
4
|
16
|
29
|
17
|
5
|
1. CEM-BEI phase (1924-July 1928)
Prior to August 1928, the Chinese Economic Monthly issued a total of 72 articles distributed across 35 issues. Regarding the distribution of articles by topics during that period, population and sociological studies ranked first (21 articles), followed by agricultural (20) and financial subjects (19). Foreign trade amounted for seven articles. The remaining articles dealt with transportation and miscellaneous topics (2 each), plus one local monograph. Foreign contributors predominated at the time.
2. BICI phase (August 1928-June 1931)
During the second period (from August 1928 to June 1931, inclusive), the journal published 23 issues containing a total of 89 articles. Agriculture now ranked first (25 articles), followed by financial topics (20) and population studies (12). Other fields were devoted less than ten articles each. Eight articles dealt with foreign trade and seven with transportation. Local monographs amounted for six contributions. Three addressed industrial matters. One was devoted to Japan, and the seven remaining articles dealt with miscellaneous topics. The average volume of issues and the length of individual articles reached a first peak. Chinese experts began to take precedence over their foreign counterparts.
3. CEJ-BFT phase (July 1931-December 1935)
The third phase (from July 1931 to December 1935, inclusive) represents a climax in the publishing history of the journal, which issued 254 articles distributed across 67 issues. With the reorganization of the bureau, articles devoted to foreign trade naturally ranked first (93 contributions), followed by economic and financial matters (42), population studies (30), agriculture (27) and industry (24). This is also during this period that transportation, local monographs and Japan-related issues were best represented (15, 14 and 7 contributions, respectively). The journal continued to publish more substantial issues and articles. Chinese authors now clearly predominated in the journal.
During this specific phase, the CEJ offered thematic issues that focused on specific countries or geographical areas (Netherlands in March-April 1935, South Seas in Sept 1935), depending on the availability of specialized contributors. This kind of contributions suggests that the horizons of China’s foreign trade broadened during these years. We also notice a change in terminology in the title of articles. For instance, in connection with the rise of the “developmental state” (Kirby 2001) and planification programs (Chen 1933, Zanasi 2006), items devoted to “development” policies and related concepts were allotted extensive space in journal in the mid-1930s.
4. CEJB phase (January 1936-June 1937)
Naturally, the number of issues, contributions, contributors, the length of issues and articles, and the range of topics all dropped significantly during the last phase (spanning over two years only). The merged CEJB published 29 articles distributed across 16 issues. Foreign trade still ranked first (12 articles), followed by economic and financial matters (11). The remaining articles addressed minor topics related to agriculture (2), industry (1) and miscellaneous subjects (3). The monthly journal probably absorbed much of the “raw data” contents previously published in the weekly bulletin, and this may account for the general drop in substantial research contributions during the two last years, in addition to the narrowing time window.
- Distribution of topics per period (stacked bar chart view). https://madspace.org/cooked/Graphs?ID=343
- Distribution of topics per period (facet view).https://madspace.org/cooked/Graphs?ID=343
In the next essay, we will provide a more in-depth analysis of contributors’ profiles, paying a close attention to the nature of their respective contributions – number and length of articles published, duration and frequency of contribution, range and nature of topics addressed.
References
Chen, Gideon. Chinese Government Economic Planning and Reconstruction since 1927. Chicago: China Institute of Pacific Relations, 1933. http://dspace.gipe.ac.in/xmlui/handle/10973/38661.
Kirby, W.C. “Engineering China: The Origins of the Chinese Developmental State.” In: Yeh Wen-hsin Becoming Chinese. Berkeley: University of California Press ; 2000. pp. 137-160.
Zanasi, Margherita. Saving the Nation: Economic Modernity in Republican China. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006.