The Historical Role of Commercial Development in Ancient China

Commercial </A> activities in China in all dynasties before 1840. It went through a long process of occurrence and development, showing its stages and the characteristics of each period.

Commerce evolved from barter, and the first exchanges </A> took place between clans and tribes. Legend has it that Shun "trafficked in the Dunqiu", exchange manipulation in the hands of the tribal leaders. About the Xia Dynasty has commercial activities, the Shang Dynasty to flourish. After the death of the Shang Dynasty, its survivors are still trading as a business, "business" or the word originated from this. In Chinese slave society</A>, commerce was mainly controlled and operated by the government, and the earliest transactions were conducted in the cities and towns where the rulers lived, the so-called "three markets in the palace" and "market places in the country", which were mainly for the consumption of the exploiting class. The exchange between small producers did not play an important role.

The development of business in feudal society Entering feudal society </A>, small producers have "surplus corn", "surplus silk" sold more and more, the business has entered a new stage. During the Warring States period, there was a large commercial development. Qin and Han to establish a unified empire, businessmen to and from the four sides, transfer of surplus and deficit, communication, more favorable conditions; part of the monetization of taxes (population tax), but also has a role in promoting. Han Dynasty, in the political center and the formation of the major transportation routes Chang'an (now Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province), Luoyang, Linzi (now northeast of Zibo City, Shandong Province), Wan (now Nanyang, Henan Province), Handan, Chengdu, six metropolis, and there are more than three dozen commercial industries. Bamboo and wood, copper and iron, cattle and horses, fur, jade, rhinoceros elephant and other local specialties rely on commercial circulation. Regular bazaars began to emerge in the countryside. Business from the city gradually deep into the countryside, is a symbol of ancient China's commercial development.

Wei Jin and North and South Dynasties period, the country divided, frequent wars, production destruction, taxation has a tendency to physical, commercial once reversed.

[Ming dynasty Hangzhou Beiguan night market (from the "sea of wonders")]

The Sui and Tang dynasties, national unity, social stability, production recovery, commercial resumption of the development. After the Tang Dynasty, the development of Jiangnan, the two tax law </A> expanding the currency </A> the scope of the levy, the commercial more prosperous. Chang'an, Luoyang has more than a hundred commercial industry. Rural markets, grass market </A> increasing. The pace of urban and rural trade in the south is particularly fast, in the Five Dynasties period of strife still continue to develop.

Song Dynasty China's feudal economy reached a peak, commercial development also entered a new stage. The traditional trade in local specialties and luxury goods as the main content of the trafficking began to change, increasing the proportion of household goods and handicrafts. Salt and iron, food, silk, linen, tea, porcelain, etc. have become a bulk, and there are many small commodities to fill the market </A>;, has been called "360 lines". City business system has changed greatly: the Western Zhou since the market system </A> was broken, the street can be set up anywhere for the city; appeared along the street selling mobile business, some cities and night market. Rural market, grass market increased in large numbers, some have fixed stores, and on the basis of this gradually formed a new town. The emergence of the town opened up a new level of local markets, some industrial and commercial households from agriculture, the formation of the town economy. Business in addition to the transfer of surplus and shortages, communication between the regional economic links, in contact with the role of production and consumption increased, and people's daily lives are more closely related, which is another sign of commercial development.

Ming and Qing dynasties, business and further development. The city unprecedented prosperity. Many towns, or because of the more developed handicrafts, or because of a large number of goods distribution, become regional economic centers, such as Suzhou, Hangzhou, Hankow and so on. Along the Grand Canal</A>, more than a dozen commercially developed cities sprang up. The number of municipalities proliferated, especially in the Taihu Lake basin. Regular fairs in rural areas shortened the set period, many places appeared grain market, silk market, pig market, medicine market and other specialized markets. Ancient powerful brokers, teeth, since the Tang and Song Dynasty Di store, fly money, etc., to this point has formed a more complete dental line & lt;/A>, inns, tickets & lt;/A>, money bank & lt;/A>. Since the Tang and Song dynasties, such as the line, the group of merchants and other organizations, the development of a certain equipment and scale of the hall, the public office. These, all mark the development of commerce to a higher level.

Ancient commerce has long been independent of the production process, to small producers of surplus products as the main transaction content, from the cheap to buy and sell to make profits </A>. The Ming and Qing dynasties, cash crops have greater development, handicrafts increased, commercial capital also began to infiltrate the field of production. It is mainly to take to small producers in advance, ordering, loans and even package buyers and other forms; there are also some businessmen to invest in mining and the establishment of artisanal workshops; before the store after the factory of commercial processing form more common. There are also merchants who rent land to operate commercial agriculture. On this basis, the sprout of capitalist production appeared in some industries. These, in turn, mark the changes in the qualitative aspects of ancient commerce.

Merchants and the policy of suppressing business In the Western Zhou Dynasty, "business and industry eat the government", and the business of profit-making was operated by the great nobles in the name of the government, which had a great monopoly. In the late Spring and Autumn period, the lower nobles and free traders of non-noble origin rose to oppose the old system together with the new landlords, and the situation of "commerce and industry eating the government" was broken. As the feudal regime was in conflict with the big merchants in the competition for peasants, and the peasants abandoned farming to do business seriously affected the government's tax, the idea and policy of "emphasizing agriculture and suppressing commerce" arose in the middle and late Warring States period. At the beginning of Han Dynasty, the order of "lowly businessman" was implemented, but it was still mainly just a political disparagement of businessmen. Because of the relaxation of the ban on mountains and swamps, rich merchants prospered, and "the service wealth was overflowing with pride", when Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was "counting the coins" to rectify the big merchants, and immediately implemented the monopoly of salt and iron, as well as equalization and equalization and other measures. This has a certain effect on the restriction of excessive commercial capital and protection of small peasant production. The development of government-run business, to limit the private business, has become an important economic policy of successive feudal regimes.

[Qing Dynasty Beijing Wang Ma Zi knife and scissors store]

Under this policy, merchants were divided. Some rich merchants to participate in the monopoly and official business, become a privileged businessman, and even into the ranks of the ruling class, the formation of the situation of the government and business profit sharing. Folk through the availability, transfer of surplus and shortage of commercial activities, mainly by small and medium-sized merchants. Large merchants and more land annexed to the residual interest, or lending interest; landlords are also involved in commercial activities, the formation of merchants, landlords, loan sharks, "trinity", a feature of China's feudal landlord system economy </A>. Since the Ming and Qing dynasties, with capital of millions of taels, ten million taels of the rise of large merchant capital, and the formation of Hui merchants, Shan-Shan merchants, sea merchants, Guangdong merchants and other large merchant gangs. Many of them started their business by operating monopoly goods and supplying materials to the imperial dynasty, and were closely related to the feudal regime. The commercial capital gradually involved in production in the later period was mostly from small and medium-sized merchants without privileges. In this way, since the Han Dynasty, the policy of business suppression has actually been abolished; some restrictions are mainly to prevent farmers from abandoning agriculture and business, such as the early Ming Dynasty, farmers can wear silk, merchants are not allowed to wear silk. Since the Ming Dynasty, some enlightened politicians and scholars, also put forward the "thick business", "capital business" advocates, to "the city, the business", against government involvement, interference.