A short introduction that shows well how the High Qing era did not ruin China's economy. Somewhat dubious in parts (eg the claim that the Confucian gentry was not at the top of Chinese society; the better thing to say would have been that by Qing times, the merchants and the Confucian gentry were often the same people), but the gist is correct.
Hopefully this brings insight into threads about why China "failed."