The Study Of Dawu Town Fair In Guangxi Province From17^th To20^th Century

Guangxi Province locates in South China, facing Beibu Bay at its south, bordered by Guangdong Provice on the east, adjoining Yunnan-Guizhou plateau in the west and with Hunan Province on the north. Pearl River travels across middle Guangxi Province, flowing through Guangdong and lastly entering the South China Sea. Historically, the Xijiang River system, the name of the Pearl River called in Guangxi, is an important trade route connecting Central China, Guangdong and Yunnan together. In the late Ming Dynasty, promoted by the commodity economy a large number of village fairs emerged alongside the Xijiang River as the rapid development of agriculture, handicrafts and other industries in Guangxi. Especially in modern times, market towns grew gradually around Guangxi as quantities of Guangdong merchants through Pearl River arrived in Guangxi to do their business. Among the market towns in Xijiang River Basin, the most famous are Rong Town, Dawu Town and Jiangkou Town, known as Three Busiest Towns at that time. Thanks to their commercial prosperity, its economy played an important role in promoting the economic development of Guangxi during the modern times.According to the background of commercial changes in Qing Dynasty, this paper focuses on studying the Dawu Town fair in Xijiang River Basin by using stone tablets, material objects, archival documents and other datum. In order to highlight the important role and status of Dawu Town fair in commercial development since Qing Dynasty, this paper will analyze the Dawu Town fair in four parts including its formation, factors of its commercial structure, its commercial networks construction and the religious beliefs of Guangdong merchants in Dawu Town. In conclusion, this paper will put forward some personal suggestions on how to develop today’s urbanization along the Xijiang River Economic Zone through summing up the structural features of its commercial development during the modern times.Within the structure of social-economic changes in Qing Dynasty, the Dawu Town fair, as one important market towns in the Xijiang Bain, came into being with the development of the commodity economy in Guangxi. According to spatial and temporal investigations on the economic development of Dawu Town fair, this paper is divided into five parts.Part one is introduction. The reasons for writing this paper will be explained through summarizing the survey of academic history on towns, analyzing both innovations and deficiencies of the current academic research on towns as well as combining with the current political hot subjects. In addition, the paper also describes its research ideas, innovations and research approaches. Part two analyzes the emergence of Dawu Town fair. In order to find out its beginning, its natural factors, socio-cultural factors and historical background will be lucubrated because all of them are the precondition and necessary condition for studying the commercial development of Dawu Town fair in Qing Dynasty. Part three is from evident and latent commercial supporting factors to conduct a thorough investigation into the market spatial structure of Dawu Town fair since Qing Dynasty, based on which points out the impetus to commercial development of Dawu Town fair in Qing Dynasty.Part four deals with the commercial development of Dawu Town fair in Qing Dynasty, such as its development situation, its commercial structure, its logistic service, its industry development and its commercial networks created by the need of its business development. And then based on history development, its commercial networks between late Qing Dynasty and the period of the Republic of China are analyzed particularly; meanwhile, its commercial networks’ effects and reasons of forming these networks are also summarized. Consequently, it will come a complete understanding of its rules of the changes in commercial development and its levels of economic radiation.Part five probes into the religious beliefs of Guangdong merchants and their maintenance of business order in Dawu Town fair during Qing Dynasty, which is based on the study of a temple named Lie Sheng Gong in Dawu Town. As a result, it is easy to have an understanding of Guangdong merchants’ Business philosophy while they are in a foreign land to do their business.Part six summarize the commercial characteristics of Dawu Town fair during the modern times, it reaches a conclusion of its commercial development type and its market status, the pattern of development of Dawu business.At the end of this paper is a discussion. Summarized the historical influence and business position,which would provide some historical reference for the development of today’s urbanization.