Chapter 15 Section 2 The Greatly Developed Commodity Economy

Compared with the Song Dynasty, the degree of commercialization of agricultural products was greatly improved in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.The most prominent is the rapid expansion of cotton acreage.In the Ming Dynasty, Henan, Shandong, and Shanxi all planted cotton; Huang Daopo's hometown, Songjiang, became a famous cotton-producing area in the country.In the Qing Dynasty, the main cotton-producing areas expanded to Hebei, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Jiangsu, and Sichuan.Cotton farmers in Hebei, Zhao, Shenzhen, and Ding prefectures accounted for "eight or nine out of ten" of the farmers.Every year, "new cotton enters the market, and merchants from far and wide gather together, shoulder to shoulder, those who live in accumulation line up to collect it, those who relocate lead their carts to it, and those who take advantage of the ruins of the village are full of children" (Qianlong imperial title " Cotton Map").Sugarcane is widely planted in Fujian, Guangzhou, and Taiwan. For example, Taiwan has "a vast expanse of sugarcane fields, green and desolate...a verdant greenery and a road to reach", and the sucrose produced is exported to Nanyang, Japan.The tobacco planted in Fujian and Guangxi in the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty has been extended to all parts of the country in the Qing Dynasty; tobacco production areas in Fujian have consumed sixty-seven out of ten of the land; Hunan and Guangxi in the south, and Shaanxi and Gansu in the north also produce tobacco.Tussah developed in large numbers in the Qing Dynasty and spread from Shandong to Guizhou, Shaanxi and other places.Tea has a long history, and its production expanded after the export surge in the middle of the 18th century.Wuyi Mountain alone has an annual output of hundreds of thousands of catties.The development of agricultural commercial production provides superior material conditions for the development of commerce.

The development of economic crops such as cotton, sugarcane, tobacco, and mulberry reduced the area of ​​grain fields, making it impossible for these economic crop concentrated production areas to be self-sufficient in grain. With the development of the brewing industry, the demand for food has expanded.For example, in the Jiangnan region, in the Song Dynasty, rice could be adjusted within the region (Suchang’s rice), but in the Ming Dynasty, rice had to be transported from Lianghu, Jiangxi, and Anhui. In the Qing Dynasty, rice was purchased farther from Sichuan.Grain outside the customs also entered the customs to supply Zhili, Shandong, and even Jiangxi and Fujian in the Qing Dynasty.In the Qing Dynasty, Guangdong also became a food-deficient province, and its rice was supplied to Guangxi and Hunan; Taiwanese rice was transported and sold to Fujian by sea.Both Fujian and Guangxi provinces are areas where economic crops develop rapidly.

Cash crops themselves are raw materials for handicrafts; after cotton became popular, cotton cloth replaced silk and hemp as the main popular clothing material.Songjiang, Changshu, Jiading and other places in the south of the Yangtze River were the largest cotton weaving centers in the country during the Ming Dynasty; the cotton produced in the surrounding areas was not enough, and cotton had to be imported from the cotton-producing areas in the north; "Not good at weaving", the cotton cloth industry is underdeveloped).People at that time said that "Jibei in the north is cheap and cloth is expensive, but in the south it is the opposite. Jibei goes boating and sells the south, and Bu goes boating and sells the north" (Xu Guangqi "Nongzheng Quanshu" Volume 35), It is a summary of the north-south convective trade of cotton cloth and cotton.This situation lasted for some time.In the middle of the Qing Dynasty, the cotton weaving industry in the north also developed. The market for Jiangnan cotton cloth in the north was shrinking day by day, but it still had an advantage in quality.The phenomenon of spatial separation of raw material production and finished product manufacturing also occurs in silk.For example, in the southeast of the Ming Dynasty, the silk weaving industry in the southeast was the most in Wu, Fujian and Yue, and the raw materials were obtained from Hu (Huzhou) silk; the silk weaving industry in the northwest was the best in Luzhou, Shanxi, and the raw materials were obtained in Langzhong, Sichuan.Agricultural raw materials (such as cotton and silk) were sold in large quantities to other places at different distances (far or very far) to meet the needs of handicraft production there. .Commerce is not only the link of economic relations between regions, but also has increasingly played an intermediary role in connecting producers of finished products and producers of raw materials.

Major consumer goods such as grain and cotton cloth, and agricultural raw materials such as cotton and silk have been circulated over long (or relatively long) distances, and even accounted for the first and few places in the circulation, which has brought about an obvious new trend in inter-regional trafficking. face.The necessities of life (finished products and raw materials) have established themselves as the dominant position in the trafficking trade, and the luxury trade has to take a backseat.The changing process of ebb and flow since the Song Dynasty has been finally completed. The supply of daily consumer goods has also leapt to the top of the retail market.A large number of industrial and commercial populations in the city cannot live without commerce. For example, in Nanjing in the Ming Dynasty, "the firewood (firewood) comes down, and everything is given to the trade house"; It doesn’t make sense, if there is no coal and rice for a day, the fireworks will disappear”; Suzhou is “Wu people like to spend money and have fun, have no place to store, and all their capital is in the city” ("Gusu Zhi" Volume 12 "Customs").The relationship between business and city dwellers is becoming ever closer.In rural areas, with the greater development of economic crops and rural handicrafts than in the past, farmers sell grain, cotton, silk and other handicraft raw materials, as well as handicraft products such as cloth and silk, and obtain more income than in the past, which promotes two-way Trade has further expanded than in the past.In addition to the traditional salt, iron, tea, etc., more and more handicraft products from other places, such as porcelain, dyes, and sugar, which were originally sold in the cities, entered the countryside.Rather than the small supply of sporadic commodities such as incense candles, paper horses, oil, sauce, vinegar, salt, flour, bran noodles, pepper, ginger, and medicinal baits in the past (Song Dynasty), it could be satisfied.Daily consumer goods have a broader rural market.Commerce more frequently serves the daily life of urban and rural people, and its role in linking production and consumption is much stronger than before.

In the past, farmers sold surplus grain and silk, which was "transformed from commerce into commodities", not a clear commodity production. In the Song Dynasty, especially in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, a considerable part of the grain produced by farmers was specially prepared for sale. Glutinous rice and bitter sorghum used for brewing have a higher commodity rate.Other products are now more produced exclusively for sale, and some with the ultimate purpose of making a profit rather than simply making a living.For example, in some areas, some farmers concentrate on planting cotton, tobacco leaves, sugar cane, mulberry trees, tea trees, and even peanuts, and engage in weaving (such as Susong area), sugar production, sericulture, and tea production. It is no longer comparable to the "simple commodity circulation" (commodity→currency→commodity) that produces and sells products only in exchange for life and means of production that it does not produce.This is a new situation that was rare or difficult to talk about in rural areas in the past. This kind of commodity circulation (currency→commodity→more currency) for the purpose of realizing more exchange value can be called "developed commodity circulation" .During the Ming and Qing dynasties, commodity circulation has transformed from underdeveloped to developed in a larger scope and to a greater extent, and commerce is playing an active role in cultivating this developed commodity circulation by promoting products and supplying raw materials.Speaking of the qualitative changes that occurred in ancient commerce during the renewal stage, this is also a sign that deserves great attention.