Tea Market Of Hekou And Social Chang During The Late Ching & Republican China

By the angle of economic history and social history, the text is reseached on thetea market of Hekou during the late Ching and Republican China. It analyses therelation between tea market and social chang in Hekou, and probes into the potentialpaths of a traditional town in the background of the violent society in ModernChina. The main body is in six chapters and consists of above 70, 000 words.Before Opium War, There was locational superiority endowed by nature inHekou Town. With commodity-economy and regional society-economy developing, Hekou was a prominent town on the commerce way to Dayuling in mid-Ching, andwas one of Si-da-ming-zhen in Jiangxi province, From this Hekou was a center ofblack tea market inland well known both in China and aboad. However, because ofonly one commerce-port ending, Hekou losed its locational superiority by degrees.Althoug tea market of Hekou still was flourishilng due to vigolrolus demand of teaon international markets in the times of five treaty ports, the position of Hekou Towndescent quickly after Kiukiang was a treaty port, thus tea market of Hekou began toshrink. And it fell into a decline speedily because export trade of black tea declinedduring Guangxu periods.Tea market of Hekou was influenced by export trade of Chinese tea and thesteucture of home tea markets, in additionit was taken root in local society. Its fatewas connected with local society, it was affected by social chang unceasingly.Without doubt, it was one part of Hekou societyo Its recession stroke against localsociety. It brought farmers, handicrafters and traders of tea much economic loss, andit lessened the tax of government, even added unstable factors to local society. Thismade officers, gentry and trader's leaders survey tea trade of Hekou again.Therefore, they took active part in saving tea market of Hekou, which caused localresource, authority and power re-arrange. Local society strode forwardmodernization for it. Although it failed on the way to modernization, there wasmodern factors in it. These factors infused new blood in tea market and commerce of Hekou. Tea market of Hekou was recovered some in the Republic of China. Butwith Zhe-Gan railway built and it restored due to arms, the center of Guangxunprefecture was lost in Hekou. As government authourity and fiscal powerexpanded, tea market of Hekou died out, and Hekou Town was stagant at last.