The basic production structure of Chinese feudal society before the Opium War

The basic production structure was a trinity of economic structure dominated by agriculture and supported by handicrafts and commerce. Agriculture was the foundation of Chinese feudal society, occupying the vast majority of the productive forces and population, while handicrafts and commerce were developed on the basis of agriculture, mainly to satisfy people's daily life and production needs.

1. In agriculture, the main modes of production in feudal China were the natural economy and the household contract system. Natural economy means that farmers are self-sufficient and production and consumption are basically done within a family. The family contract system, on the other hand, meant that peasants were contracted to cultivate a certain area of land according to the family unit, and the family was responsible for its own production and income.

2. In terms of handicrafts and commerce, the main modes of production in feudal China were handicrafts and commercial family workshops. Handicrafts refers to industries that use handmade crafts as the main mode of production, mainly producing daily necessities such as textiles, ceramics, and woodwork. Commercial cottage workshops, on the other hand, referred to a production method that combined commerce and handicrafts, in which merchants organized handicraft production in their homes and then sold their products. The production structure of feudal China was relatively closed and self-sufficient, very different from that of Western capitalist societies.