Evolution Of The Jiangnan Town Centers Of Power

Since Ming and Qing Dynasties, with the development of commodity economy in Jiangnan town, the influence of town became more and more important, social forces of government and non- government also showed complicated relationship in the management of the town. As a famous town of Jiangnan, Nanxun Town which locates in Zhejiang Huzhou, was powered by the Gentry families , Silk business groups and the chamber of local commerce successively with different features from the time of late Ming and early Qing Dynasty to the War time.During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, In order to strengthen the management of Nanxun Town, the government not only set up some administration framework, such as security and taxation apparatuses, but also influenced town deeply by imperial competitive examination and orthodox faith. As core forces of traditional society, Gentry families won the local authority by the ways of water conservancy, maintaining the town order, village enlightenment and community security, which showed the gentry's influences to the local society.In modern times, with prosperity of silk industrial economy and the opportunity of Taiping rebellion, Nanxun Silk Business Group gradually expanded the influences of the town, set up their own power system, and became the dominant force in the local authority, by the post-war reconstruction and carrying out new deals.In the republic of china, as new businessman, Nanxun chamber of commerce not only had the functions of general chamber of commerce, but reflected governmental management functions. The energy released by the Nanxun chamber of commerce, counteracted the penetration of town from the state power, and also maintained the order of the Nanxun society in the confused fighting between the warlords, and then Nanxun chamber of commerce became the new power center.Through a diachronic investigation on the local authorities, differences could be found between the operations of the authority in towns &the villages ,and in the cities, which greatly affected the transformation of the local governmental mechanism and social institution. Besides the formal management from the government, another non-governmental mechanism was correspondingly formed with its self-managing administration. So these three subjects presented the power of the people, and their evolutions respectively influenced the interaction between the government and local communities in different historical periods.