Chapter 9 Section 2 Trafficking trade between regions and main commodities circulating in the market

"Historical Records Biography of Huozhi" said: "Shanxi Raocai, Bamboo, Grain [gu Valley, wood name, namely Chu], (纟lu) [lulu, hemp thread], yak, jade; Shandong has many fish, salt, Lacquer, silk, sensual color; south of the Yangtze River, nan, catalpa, ginger, laurel, gold, tin, even (lead), cinnabar, rhinoceros, tortoise shell, pearl, tooth leather; Longmen, Jieshi Beidoma, cattle, sheep, felt, fur , ribs and horns; copper and iron are often placed in the mountains for thousands of miles: this is a big comparison (roughly).” Since the Warring States period, the regional division of labor and commercialization of natural resources and products in various places has remained the basis for the development of trafficking trade in the Han Dynasty. "The captain is ten feet long, the cart [轺yaoyao, a light cart driven by one horse] is hundreds of rides, and the ox cart is a thousand." Traveling to the county of Jia is a hot spot for businessmen's activities.The trading of rare goods and bribes is still its most important content.The so-called "Farming does not come out, there will be no food, no work, there will be no work, no business, three treasures will be lost, and Yu will be short of wealth" ("Historical Records Biography of Huozhi", Yu is the official in charge of mountains and rivers), The traditional concept that interregional trafficking and trade are closely related to the "Three Treasures" has not changed.Of course, by the time of the Western Han Dynasty, what was waiting for "commercial communication" was not only the rare things enjoyed by the rulers; , Materials related to the daily life of ordinary people are also increasingly being exchanged in various places.Business plays a growing role in linking regional economies.However, at that time, not many grains, which had the greatest relationship with people’s lives, participated in long-distance and large-scale circulation. The proverb "tiao jump, sell grain" is a reflection of the actual situation.

In the Eastern Han Dynasty, a new commodity appeared in the market——paper.Although rough paper was available in the Western Han Dynasty, after Cai Lun improved the papermaking method in the Eastern Han Dynasty, paper became a commodity that was relatively cheap and easy to promote, and gradually replaced bamboo slips and silk, which was conducive to the spread of culture.Along with it, stationery such as pens, inkstones and inkstones are also sold in large quantities on the market.Hand-copied books have entered circulation, and there are bookstores in cities; Wang Chong often read books in bookstores when he couldn't afford books when he was young.He has a photographic memory and later became a famous scholar.

At the beginning of the Western Han Dynasty, pottery was still used. Later, celadon was successfully produced. By the time of Sun Wu, celadon had reached a considerable scale.Porcelain, like paper, is a major creation in the history of human civilization. During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the waterway transportation in the south was convenient, and inter-regional trade was strengthened.In addition to grain, cloth (linen), silk, fish, salt, and ironware, paper, porcelain, mats, wax, honey, lacquer, bamboo, etc. have become the bulk of transactions. content.It is particularly worth noting that tea has been listed as a new commodity after paper and porcelain.Tea is originally produced in central Sichuan, but other places are very unfamiliar with it. Until the Western Jin Dynasty, when Shu women sold tea porridge in Luoyang City, they were banned by rare and strange market managers, and all tea making utensils were smashed.Since the Eastern Jin Dynasty, tea has been widely cultivated in the south, and serving tea has gradually become a kind of hospitality etiquette; in the north, under the influence of returning southerners, more and more people practice "tea drinking", and Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty was even more fond of tea.The "tea culture" in Chinese history has already begun at this time.

The handicraft industry was developed in the Tang Dynasty, and there were many categories of the same product, and each place of origin had its own characteristics.In the late Tang Dynasty, the silk weaving industry in the south was superior to that in the north. "Wu silkworms are full of opportunities", "competing to add patterns, silk yarns are wonderfully called Jiangzuo".Porcelain production developed rapidly, and famous kilns emerged in large numbers.There are many other handicrafts that are famous for their fine texture, such as lacquerware from Xiangzhou, engraved books from Yizhou, brushes from Huzhou, paper from Xuanzhou, and (upper heart and lower mat) bamboo mats (diandian, bamboo mat) from Guangzhou. , Yangzhou bronze mirrors, brocade, etc., too numerous to mention.Handicraft products called "light goods" increasingly participated in regional exchanges, which was a characteristic of the trafficking trade in the Tang Dynasty.As for tea, it was circulated in large quantities during the Tang Dynasty with the "Tea Ceremony".From Jianghuai to Shandong, Hebei, and Guanzhong, "there are boats and vehicles in succession, and there are many mountains and lots of color and forehead" (Volume 6 of "Fengshi Hearing and Seeing Records").The early exchange system - "flying money" was created in the late Tang Dynasty to facilitate the needs of tea traffickers (no need to withdraw cash after selling tea, you can use the coupon to withdraw money at the required place, eliminating the need for long-distance transportation. money hassle).The first book on tea commodities in Chinese history - "The Classic of Tea" (by Lu Yu) also came out in the late Tang Dynasty.

During the Han and Tang dynasties, although the proportion of commodities that were trafficked and circulated in the market between regions was increasing, commercial operations were still dominated by luxury consumption services for the ruling class. The number one goal to chase.Especially when the dynasties are getting more and more corrupt, the ruling class is getting more and more corrupt, and the luxury is getting worse, the luxury trade that already occupies a dominant position expands infinitely, while the general people are getting poorer and their purchasing power is low, so that the daily necessities trade continues to shrink.For example, the business of the Eastern Han Dynasty was not as good as that of the Western Han Dynasty, but the business of the luxury goods industry was booming (Wang Fu called it "prostitution business" at that time).The rich and noble families in Luoyang, headed by noble relatives, are all extravagant in clothes, food, cars, decorations, and huts.After death, the coffin must be made of big nanmu produced in the south of the Yangtze River, which is transported thousands of miles away and carved by craftsmen.The luxury fashion in the Western Jin Dynasty surpassed that of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The business of "competing for useless goods and extravagant coins" did everything possible to serve the ruler's struggle for luxury.At that time, wheat sugar was used to wash pots, wax was used as firewood, red stone fat was used to make mud walls, and the exquisite purple silk cloth and Sichuan brocade were only used as materials for walking barriers.It is really a "luxury fee" and "worse than a natural disaster".The prosperity of commerce based on such a foundation is false prosperity, the development of commerce is deformed, and its function of serving consumers has been seriously distorted.In the late Tang Dynasty, extravagance was on the increase, and luxury trade developed abnormally. Compared with the early Tang Dynasty, the prosperity of commerce was not without false elements.From the extravagance and frugality of the city, it can be seen that the chaos of the country has almost become a regular phenomenon in Chinese history.