An overview of the development of the Jiangnan area during the Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties

During the Eastern Jin Dynasty and the Southern Dynasties, Jiangnan was further developed and the social economy experienced greater development.

Working people in the north continue to migrate southward, which not only provides a large number of labor forces, but also brings advanced production tools and production technology with them.

The working people in the north and south learn from each other and work hard, which is an important reason for the economic development and prosperity of Jiangnan.

Economic development is first reflected in agriculture. The cultivated land area is increasing day by day. Farming technology has been greatly improved. Oxen farming has been widely implemented. Manure is also promoted. The output per unit area has increased. Northern crops such as wheat and bean sprouts have begun to be planted in the south of the Yangtze River.

The agriculture in the Sanwu area is particularly developed, and the construction of water conservancy projects attaches great importance. For example, in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, a new Fengtang was built in Qu'a (now Danyang, Jiangsu Province), with more than 800 hectares of irrigated fields;

, irrigated thousands of hectares of farmland; in Kuaiji Juzhang (now southwest of Cixi, Zhejiang Province), the old weirs of the Han Dynasty were restored and more than 2,000 hectares of farmland were irrigated.

In the Southern Dynasty, Wuxing Pond was built in Wucheng, which irrigated more than 2,000 hectares of farmland; Chishan Pond (southwest of today's Jurong County, Jiangsu Province) was built, connecting Jiuyuan above and Qinhuai below.

People build weirs and gates on rivers to control water levels. They open during droughts and divert river water for irrigation; they close during floods to avoid flooding.

Weirs were also built to enclose the lake, and "lake fields" with fertile soil and high yields were reclaimed.

Therefore, Sanwu became the main grain-producing area in the south of the Yangtze River. "If there is a good harvest in one year, the counties will forget about hunger" (Shi Chen said in "Song Book: Biography of Kong Jigong and Others").

Secondly, it is reflected in the handicraft industry. Iron smelting workshops such as Meigenye (now Guichi County, Anhui) and Yetang (now Wuchang, Hubei), in addition to weapons, mostly produced tools and daily utensils.

Technology has also made significant progress. The method of mixed raw iron smelting was invented, that is, raw and wrought iron are mixed and smelted, and hammered repeatedly to become steel with relatively pure quality. The technology of sericulture and silk reeling has been greatly improved. Yuzhang County (now Nanchang, Jiangxi Province)

Silkworm cocoons are harvested four or five times a year, while Yongjia County (now Wenzhou, Zhejiang) harvests eight times a year.

The state specially set up a brocade department to gradually develop the silk weaving industry.

Since the rivers in the south of the Yangtze River crisscross the Yangtze River, the shipbuilding industry is particularly prosperous to meet economic and military needs. It can manufacture not only large ships with a load of 20,000 dendrobium (about 2,000 tons), but also very fast ships.

Others such as porcelain making, paper making, lacquerware, etc. are also at a very high level.

Economic development promotes business and city prosperity.

The capital, Jiankang (now Nanjing, Jiangsu Province), was the largest city. It had a population of more than 1.4 million during the Xiaoliang Dynasty in the Southern Dynasties. It became a distribution center for agricultural industries and handicrafts from all over the country. There were more than 10 trade markets inside and outside the city, and thousands of ships came and went.

In addition to Jiankang, there are Chengdu, Jiangling, Jingkou, Xiangyang, Shouyang, Panyu and other places, which are also famous commercial cities.