明代蘇州平野の農家經濟について

Abstract

From ancient times the alluvial plain of Suchou (蘇州) was one of the key areas in the economic history of China. Though no change in this situation took place under Ming, i.e., the economic importance of the area remained intact, the economic structure underwent a big transformation due to (1) heavy taxation and (2) the development of money economy caused by the influx of silver through silk trade. In the present article the author takes up the problem how the traditional pure husbandry was replaced by a new mixed form of agriculture, sericulture and cotton growing, and describes the process where the latter was becoming more and more important in the economy of the area. In the Ming period, especially in its middle and latter parts, the agrarian communities in Suchou became not only supplied with agricultural implements and fertilizers from outside but part of the larger money or exchange economy.