Examine The History Of The Ming And Qing Dynasties Cotton Textile Industry

South China is the region where commodity economy is most developed in China in Ming and Qing dynasties.Though the economy based on small household is still a combination of agricultural and industrial production, it begins to witness changes , especially in areas where textile production is highly concentrated, changes are more perceptible.This article makes a historical investigation into the development of rural textile industry of Qing dynasty in South China prior to the Opium War and is divided into the five parts. Part One---- Market Analysis of Textile Industry in South China Part Two----Changes in the Economic Status of Textile Industry in South China Part Three---- Social Division of Textile Industry in South China Part Four---- Commercial Capital and Textile Industry in South China Part Five----Influence Exercised upon the Social and Economic Life by Textile Industry From the above analysis, we could see the market of textile products in South China continues to expand and a nationwide market is formed initially, which expands in the south to as far as Fujiang and Guangdong and in the north to Mid China, North West amd North East China. Overseas market also witnesses certain development. With the expansion of market, textile handicraft production is greatly stimulated and the transfer of textile industry from sideline to dominant position in some of the petty peasants ?family is made possible.The change of economic status in textile industry gives rise to the changes in the social labour structure and goes beyond the structure of distrubuting household labour between man and woman ( Man usually cultivates while woman spins and yams) and man begins to be engeaged in textile industry gradually.Proceeding from this , the social division of cotton planting, yarning and weaving industries also witness development to a certain degree, thus cotton market and yarn market take shape. The appearance of warp market reflects that warp production is professionalized and the internal division in the production process of textile industry develops intensively. Meantime, commercial capital starts to penetrate into the production field and dominates the bleaching, dying and processing industries. In the rural areas, commercial capital becomes the melium of social division of textile industry and intensifies its control over petty producers by adopting means of payment in advance, providing raw materials on credit, payment by grain and cotton for the cost of textile products. With textile production as the basis, the distrubution of income in textile industry, division of surplus labour and consumption modes of direct producer all witness a series of changes, which affect the changes in petty peasants. These further prove that the development of textile production in South China prior to the Opium War is a new economic factor and a new economic phenomenon arising in Feudal China. It is different from the long- existing, self-supplied peasants?handicraft industry in Feudal China.