The Economic And Cultural Research Of Jiangling Area In Song Dynasty

The most prominent economic and cultural features of Jiangling Area in Song Dynasty are two parts: The prosperity of commercial economy and the rapid development of cultural and educational undertakings.The Song Dynasty was the golden age of Jiangling’s development as a commercial city.On the basis of improving the level of economic development,Jiangling’s culture and education also made great progress.The prosperity of commercial economy in Jiangling Area in Song Dynasty was based on the development of agriculture and handicraft industry.Specifically,the agricultural development was manifested in the workforce growth,the expansion of reclaimed land area and the improvement of water control capacity.At the beginning of the Northern Song Dynasty,the rulers had adopted the policy of recuperation and subsistence for the war-torn Jiangling Area.In addition,Jiangling had superior natural conditions.As a result,the exiled people returned to farming,the population increased,and the wasteland was cultivated into fertile fields.Their agricultural economy developed to a higher level in the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty.After the Song Dynasty removed the political center from the north Yangtze River to the south,Jiangling became the frontline for resist Jin Dynasty’s aggression.It was the first place where the activities of reclaim wasteland which organized by the government and achieved some certain results.While people reclaimed the land and built water conservancy projects to improve water control capacity,it also promoted the appearance of low-lying paddy fields surrounded with dykes.In handicraft industry,textile industry,metallurgical industry and food processing industry in Jiangling Area of Song Dynasty made some certain progress,and shipbuilding industry was the most distinctive one.Jiangling Area owned large-scale shipyards,and high shipbuilding capacity.In particular,they built a kind of aggressive warship named "Propeller Ship",which played an important role in the wars of resisting Jin Dynasty.With the continuous development of agriculture and handicraft industry,more and more products had been produced and entered the market circulation.With the combined effect of many factors,such as the unique land and water transportation network and the commercial policies of the Song government,the commercial economy of Jiangling ushered in an all-time prosperous period in the Southern SongDynasty.The development of culture and education in Jiangling Area in Song Dynasty was the result of both the improvement of economic level and the great environment of worshiping Confucianism and revitalizing learning in Song Dynasty.Founded in Song Dynasty,Songzi County School and Gong’an Academy were the outstanding representatives of local official schools and academies at that time.Private schools were set up by people who interested in teaching spread throughout the countryside and towns.At the same time,some outstanding cultural celebrities had emerged in Jiangling,such as Tang Jie,a Chinese Assistant Administrator whom born in Jiangling;Xiang Anshi,a famous minister who settled in Jiangling;Tian Wei and his son Tian Hao,famous bibliographers.They all had made great achievements in politics and culture and been well-known in history.