A Comparative Modernization Study beyond the Great Diversion: History, Methodology and Theory in the Space-Time Perspective

The comparative modernization is one of the most important issues in social sciences. In order to understand modernization, we need to examine the logic of modernization from the perspective of ontology, methodology and epistemology. Ontologically, modernization is a comprehensive result of various dimensions with many objective criteria. Methodologically, the simple comparison between China and Europe violates the basic principle of macro-historical comparative study. Although China and Europe were the most prosperous regions before the 16th century, there was a huge gap between them during the 16th and 18th centuries. However, understanding this great divergence is not the key to understanding modern world history. Epistemologically, a global perspective of history is the key point to understand the modernization scientifically, whereas Western centralism or East-Asia centralism will lead to misunderstandings of modernization.