Contributors to this volume explore the changing concepts of the social and the economic during a period of fundamental change across Asia. Case studies show how adopting Western words reflected regional concepts of economy and society. Overall, contributors challenge accepted explanations of how Western knowledge spread through Asia and show how versatile Asian intellectuals were in introducing European concepts and in blending them with local traditions.

"'This collection of essays by senior and emerging scholars does something unique: in unpacking the historical and cross-cultural meanings of terms such as "society" and "economy" in a variety of non-Western contexts it brings together global history and conceptual history in a way that has never been tried before. I see the volume as opening a new path of historical investigation.'"