ABSTRACT
Naval construction, together with the production of ordnance, takes a special position among the branches of production in which the Qing state engaged actively. They constitute central elements in the transition to the mechanization and industrialization of the Chinese economy in the second half of the nineteenth century. For the basic hypothesis of this study ‒ the relative efficiency of craft and industrial administration by the Qing state over its entire duration ‒ we will first explore the achievements of the state in ship construction.
