A Geographic Research On Ferries In Sichuan Area During Qing Dynasty

Ferries are the universal traffic facilities setted by the local people or local government in order to overcome the rivers(lakes)blocked.When people go waterway ferries are necessary for them.As convenient facilities,Ferries are important intersections of waterway and road traffic.Ferries are also important basis for the local government and the local forces of social integration,for economic development and prosperity of culture.Sichuan abound in rivers,and settlements scattered along the river.so ferries are important links of social communication and their roles are very prominent.The rise and fall of ferries in Sichuan areas are the epitome of ferries in China,which is typical and representative.However,research on the distribution and change of ferries in Sichuan areas is still weak in academic circles at present.Therefore,the author chooses the ferries in ancient Sichuan as the object of study,from the perspective of historical geography,studies the spatial distribution and change of ferries in ancient Sichuan,and explores the environmental mechanism of the formation of ferries in Sichuan,and studies the relationship between ferries and the local economy,politics,society and transportation.Study of these topics are of vital theoretical and realistic significance.This paper consists of introduction,text(eight chapters),conclusion and postscript.The contents of each part are as follows:The introduction is mainly about the theoretical and practical significance of this paper,the definition and explanation of basic concepts,such as "ferry",the time-space scope of this paper,as well as review and summary of relative academic research,theoretical perspective and research methods of this paper.The first chapter is mainly about change and geographical distribution of ferries in Sichuan before Qing Dynasty.In historical period the situation of ferries in Sichuan was in a state of development.Overall,as time progressed,the ancestors'production and living space gradually expanded,so ferries gradually increased.According to the specific situation of ferries in Sichuan before Qing Dynasty,three periods are discussed in this period,and the ferries setted in the Yangtze River main stream and tributary are the study object.During Pre-Qin period and the Qin and Han Dynasties,only a small number of ferries distribute in the downstream region of Minjiang River and Yangtze River.The distribution of Ferries in this period is mainly affected by the distribution of settlements,low social economic level and military function,And so on.During the Wei and Jin Dynasties to Sui and Tang Dynasties,the quantity of ferries in Sichuan increased,and concentrated in the western and southern area of Sichuan basin.The distribution of Ferries in this period is mainly affected by the level of regional economic development,the distribution of villages,towns and cities.During Sang,Yuan and Ming Dynasties,the ferries in Sichuan developed rapidly,ferries were widely distributed in Sichuan.Ferries distributed densely in the Yangtze River and Minjiang River.especially in Chengdu Plain and river alluvial plain.The distribution of Ferries in this period is mainly affected by the distribution of villages,towns and cities,the imbalance of regional economic development and the shipbuilding technology.The change and geographical distribution of ferries in Sichuan during Qing Dynasty is discussed from the second chapter to the seventh chapter.During Qing Dynasty,waterway in Sichuan was developed.business boomed,the development of ferries in Sichuan reached a historical peak.During Qing Dynasty,all sectors of society in Sichuan Participated universally in the building of ferries.The building body of ferries in Sichuan concluded government,gentry and people.The majority of ferries were built by people.Gentry was the major investors in the the building of ferries,and government played advocate,guidance,supervision and management roles in the ferry building.During Qing Dynasty,ferries in Sichuan were characterized by uneven distribution in space.From the river dimension,the ferries were densely distributed in the Yangtze River,Minjiang River and Jialing Jiang River,while the ferries distributed in Tuojiang River and other rivers were sparse.From the perspective of the distribution area,ferries mainly distributed along the river alluvial plain or hilly and flatland areas in slow in the Sichuan Basin,ferries distributed in Chengdu Plain were especially densely.From the time dimension,the ferries in Sichuan were developing and changing.In general,with the passage of time,the number of ferries gradually increased,the distribution of ferries gradually expanded.During the early Qing Dynasty(including Shunzhi,Kangxi and Yongzheng three dynasties),the ferries in Sichuan were in the recovery and slow development stage.During the mid Qing Dynasty(including Qian Long,Dao Guang and Jiaqing three dynasties),the ferries in Sichuan developed rapidly,ferries multiplied,and almost distributed throughout the entire Sichuan area,most densely distributed in the Yangtze River.During the late Qing Dynasty(including Xianfeng,Tongzhi,Guangxu and Xuantong four dynasties),although the economy of Sichuan tended to decline,with the opening of Yichang and Chongqing port,traditional natural economy in Sichuan disintegrated gradually,while commercial economy developed rapidly.The increased demand of material exchange objectively promoted the continued development of ferries in Sichuan.There are many factors affected the change and geographical distribution of ferries in Sichuan during Qing Dynasty.The main factors are natural and geographical conditions of river,the level of social and economic development,the distribution of villages and urban,shipbuilding technology,and so on.The eighth chapter is mainly about the action and influence of ferries in Sichuan society.Early ferry set mainly for political or military purposes,since Tang and Song Dynasty the function of ferries gradually transformed to economy function.During Qing Dynasty,the building and declination of ferries and the quality of ferry management,influenced deeply on the local traffic,economy,society and politics.In ancient Sichuan there were lots of towns in vast rural area,the location,development and prosperity and development of towns were closely related to the ferries surrounding.The cities in ancient Sichuan characterized by the distribution and development of city along the Yangtze River,The commercial development of cities mainly relied on ferries surrounding.From the political aspect,as important nodes,ferries played important roles in local defense and the central control,maintaining the water traffic order.transferring information,prohibiting farmers leave the land,and Checking spies,deserters,prisoners and illegal traders.Yi Du(free ferry)coincided with the Buddhist "Purdue" thought,practiced and spread the"righteousness" thought,had a significance of social integration of Sichuan in Qing Dynasty.The conclusion part summarize the views.Through system study of ferries during Qing Dynasty in Sichuan,the theoretical achievements about formation,changes and management of ferries were formed,and some references were provided,such as the uses of ferries today.Waterway improvement,the distributions of villages and towns and regional social and economic development.Ferries in Sichuan in Qing Dynasty are typical and representative in China,through in-depth study of this paper some references can be provided for other areas.