A Research On Bamboo And Wood Trade In Hunan During The Republic Of China(1912-1937)

Kinds of bamboo and wood were widely used in construction,vehicles,boats,furniture and various tools' manufacturing in the pre-modern China which were closely related to people's production and life and occupied an important position in the social life field.Located in the central part of China,Hunan Province is located at the junction of the second and third step of the chine domestic terrain.Hunan province is mountainous which has a suitable climate and abundants of rainfalls.With its superior natural geographical environment,it has extremely rich bamboos and woods resources.The developed water networks and good water transportation environment provided long-distance transportation with low-cost conditions for bulk items such as bamboo and wood before the popularization of new modes of transportation such as railways and highways.The four major river systems in Hunan Province including xiang,zi,yuan,1i river can be connected to the Yangtze River through Dongting Lake.Such a water transportation network communicating the provinces loccating in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River is very beneficial to the rise and development of Hunan bamboos and woods trade.In the long-term commecial activities involving in the bamboo and wood trade,the bamboo and wood merchants in Hunan explored the methods of bamboo wood production and transportation mainly meaning exploration in autumn,lumbering in winter,transportating in spring and placing in summer.Bundling into a row was the main form of water transportation of bamboo and wood.Different bamboo and wood transportation routes within and outside the province have been formed.Due to the cumbersome nature of the bamboo rafts and the complexity of the natural and social environment of passing areas along the way,bamboo and wood transportation faced various risks.In response to the complexity of the river transportation environment,bamboo and timber merchants hired different expericend sailors corresponding different environment to carry out segmented transportation to reduce risks.As the problem of wood lost during transportation,it was based on official power to set up timber redemption system,other risks such as bandit looting were actively seeking the protection from official power.After a long-term development,Hunan's bamboo and wood trade had formed a multilevel market containing primary market,regional central market and large transit market.Different market level had different trading modes.Longquan two measures and its measurement method were the basis for the maintenance of bamboo and wood trade at all levels and was of scientific nature to a certain extent.Entering the period of the Republic of China,the social needs of bamboo and wood,especially the wood,had been changed.On the one hand,the gradual introduction and application of Western-style railway construction,mining,telecommunications and other emerging technologies have spawned a large demand for sleepers,minerals and poles.Hunan bamboo industry has participated in the supply of these new social needs to a certain extent.However,duing to the backwardness of its own production methods,the poor transportation channels and the cumbersome tax burdens,the living space of Hunan bamboo industry had gradually been squeezed by the imperialistic privilege from western industrial advantage with the imported woods.On the other hand,the Western-style construction technology that had arisen at the trading port had gradually spread to the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.The increase of brick-concrete structures and the reduction of brick-and-wood structures had reduced the market space of Hunan bamboo and wood industry in the field of traditional building materials.The decline of rural purchasing power in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River also adversely affected the bamboo industry in Hunan in the 1920s and 1930s.To overcome the development difficulties of Hunan wood and bamboo industry,bamboo and wood merchants and their peer organizations involving in the bamboo and wood trade in Hunan had carried out self-help activity.Such as,mediating with the local government for the purpose of ensuring the smooth flow of bamboo and wood transportation channels,protesting to cumbersome tax burdens in the name of industry organizations had received certain effects.In addition,the bamboo merchants submitted a letter to the National Government in the name of the industry organization,hoping that the official use of domestic timber could be promoted.The National Government supported this claim in order to prevent the spillover of interests and for national security considerations.On the one hand,the National Government had shifted the initial policy of promoting the use of domestic timber in various provinces and cities to the policy of requiring local governments to "consider using domestic timber",and on the other hand to implement the restructuring of timber measurement in the official name,thus intervening in the development of the domestic bamboo industry.Under the influence of the National Government,the Hunan Provincial Government had also begun to take some improvement measures.Maintained the wood business environment by dredging the river,provided security and banned taxes.The Hunan Provincial Government setted up a joint mining department and the domestic timber market committee,promoting the timber selling to the neighbor provinces in the form of official supervision on business and plantation to maintain the sustainable development of the bamboo industry actively.However,the extensive production methods,unstandardized products and relatively cumbersome pricing methods made its market competitiveness still insufficient in Hunan's bamboo industry.Therefore,whether the official improvement measures or the active self-help of the bamboo and wood industry,supports for the bamboo industry in Hunan is very limited in general.