Abstract: Based on an examination of the monetary system and the monetization of the economy in the early Qing, this articles estimates the approximate amount of currency in circulation and further explores the macroeconomic growth and fluctuations from 1651 to 1860 based on monetary circulation. The author believes that the eighteenth century was the heyday of Chinese traditional economic development, and that the monetization and sharp increase in the supply of silver stimulated long-distance trade and the rise of regional merchants groups, and increased industrial and agricultural production, reflecting the overall economic development of this period. Along with commoditization and monetization of the economy, monetary supplies and government financial behavior had an increasing influence on the economy. The shortage of monetary supplies gave rise to three economic depressions: the early years of Qing, Jiaqing reign, and Daoguang reign. This study clearly indicates that the scholarly debate over the “stagnation” or “growth” of the Qing economy perhaps merely depends on the period of time and aspect of the economy one examines. The two viewpoints can be somewhat reconciled.