A Study On Commerce And Merchants Of Ningguo Region In Qing Dynasty

This thesis selects Ningguo region that has hardly been studied by scholars but deserves our attention as a particular research district. The thesis trys to make a relatively all-sided seeing about its commerce development, and make a more in-depth probe into Ningguo merchants in Qing dynasty.Firstly, the commerce development can not get away from the merchandise production. The thesis sees about the planting of cash crops, such as the paddy rice,tea trees,bamboos and trees, tobacco in Ningguo region,and so on.Also sees about the producing of native handicraft industry merchandise, such as various paper, the brush pens made in Xuancheng region and umbrellas, etc.Secondly, commerce development needs commodity markets, also depends on the circulation of merchandise.This section first sees about the main ways, namely, the posthouse ways and the sea-routes that merchandise circulated at that time;and also sees about the development condition of commodity markets,namely main towns in six counties in Ningguo region in Qing dynasty.Then gives emphasis to analyze the inner and outward current merchandise category in Ningguo region,which mainly are foodstuff,bamboos and wood, paper and tea, etc.Thirdly, merchants are the principal parts in the market activities, and are the most active factor in the commerce development.The thesis trys hard to dig for new historical materials to make a more all-sided and more in-depth study on Ningguo merchants, mainly on the background of Ningguo merchants'rise,such as the sharp conflict between population and plowland, the idea change of making a living, the active influence of Huizhou merchants;On the trading practices of Ningguo merchants,such as seting up assembly halls widely to form a trade corporation, cooperating with Huizhou merchants to try for the common development,trading in the alien lands to pioneer trading roads;And on the contribution made by Ningguo merchants to society and economy,such as buying and selling goods promoted farm produce and handcraft products to be merchandise, exploiting markets accelerated the commerce development of their trading regions,and being bound up in commonweal advanced the harmonious development of society,and so on.