Xijiang Shipping And The Development Of Export-oriented Hinterland Agricultural Economy (from 1897 To 1938)

Traffic is an important condition for political unity, stability and economic development, which commodity depended on. The rivers of Guangxi are very abundant, and Xijiang river systems covers more than 80% of the whole region. Long-distance transport of bulk of Guangxi goods was carried by it. Xijiang shipping occupies a very important position in modern. However, historiography seldom study on the Xijiang shipping, which had the economic relations with the hinterland agricultural economy. The structure of the paper is based on the interaction between Xijiang transportation and the hinterland agricultural economy. This paper mainly probe into the development of the Xijiang shipping's tacks features after Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 and the shipping's promotion of the development of export-oriented agricultural economy that are inspected and commented in the paper under the historical background. At the same time, this paper widens the research fields of regional economy history from the academic angle.First, the paper discusses the begining of modern Xijiang shipping and the development trace of national transport. And the introduction of the steamboat transport injected new impetus to inland shipping and has provided an opportunity for development. By external forces, a strong sense of national identity and survival competition drove Chinese entrepreneurs to actively develop national shipping, and they provided the development of the Xijiang shipping with the fundamental forces. This paper holds that the role of external and internal forces both promote the development of the modern shipping of Xijiang. Under the impact of natural conditions, social environment,and the social system, Xijiang shipping showed the complementary development of the steamboat and the"civilian vessels"(民船或帆船), and the shipping's strength was diminishing gradiently, and the national competitive strength catch up with foreign nations, which shows great vitality and competition of national shipping.The development of Xijiang shipping plays an important role in the development of the regional economy. The development of rural transport break through geographical constraint, expanded the external space and further strengthened the communication and exchanges with the outside world. Major changes have occurred in the socio-economic in the hinterland. The modern economic exchange based on East-west direction, changed the the state of "West coin and East salt"(西米东盐), and the structure of export agricultural products.Finally, this paper evaluates the extent of the export-oriented hinterland agricutrural economy and explores the plight of the export-oriented hinterland agricultural economy. The hinterland agricultural economy is bought into the modern world market system and deeply depended on the regional market center of "Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao", and the export-oriented of hinterland agricultural economy expressed one-sided or single. The difference of geographical location and traffic conditions, resulted in the gradient decrease of the export-oriented hinterland agricutrural economy. The paper points out the development of the export-oriented hinterland agricutrural economy was dilemma; In other words, the monopoly of the Western powers made this kind of economy cycle under vicious state, which is one of reasons of China's rural poor.According to the above, this paper summarizes the relations between Xijiang shipping and the export-oriented of modern hinterland agricutrural economy, the limitation and plight of their historical development. The development of the Xijiang shipping creates an important condition for the export-oriented agricultural economy in hinterland rural areas. However, due to the single relative source and inbalance of traffic condition, the hinterland agricultural economy was restricted by the geographic constraints. Meanwhile, the hinterland agricultral economy was in a dilemma, so that the Xijiang shipping was restricted greatly.