The Comparison between the Luxuries in China and Europe in 17th Century

Abstract

The luxurious consumption of China increased fast in recent years and got much concern. At least for several years, China consumed the most part of the luxurious goods. In Europe, some thinkers gave the riveting evaluations for luxury. Wemer Sombart's famous work Luxury and Capitalism describes and analyses luxury, and believes that luxury is the origin of capitalism. There were also some Chinese thinkers assessed the luxury phenomenon, and literary works described that. According to the opinion of Wemer Sombart, the luxurious consumption of China could accelerate the economic development. If China consumed more luxurious goods, the economy of China would develop faster. However, the reality seems not coincident with his theory. The paper compares the luxurious consumptions and the attitudes toward luxury in China and Europe respectively to the problem. There were luxury tides in the history of both ancient China and Europe, especially around 17^th century. However, the attitudes of China and Europe toward luxury were different, especially after 17^th century. The consumption pattern were different after 17^th century accordingly. The differences derive from the different economic basis in China and Europe. Luxury is the result of the development of commerce, instead of the contrary. The current luxurious consumption condition seems not last long.