Research On The Relation Between Cotton And Sericulture In Ming And Qing Dynasties On Guanzhong

The combination of food and clothing, which are two kinds of production activities,plays an important role in China economic self-sufficiency and is the strongest foundation andthe most specific performance. The agricultural production structure includes two levels: onerefers to the overall layout of the structure of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, fisheryproduction; the other is the production layout structure of the inner. The cotton and mulberryvariation of Guanzhong area is the second level adjustment. The traditional food crops canbring economic benefits and meet the farmers’ demand. Two collocation constitutes thedeep structure of Guanzhong agricultural production layout.During Ming and Qing dynasty, the "farmers insufficiency" of the Guanzhong area,huge population pressure, heavy taxes and the impact of natural disasters cause theGuanzhong area only can plant food crops and the economic crops is scattered. In order tochange the status of the farmers who have food to eat but no clothes to wear. The Guanzhongarea is in urgent need of the changing structure of agricultural production and plant theeconomic crops. Mulberry sericulture and cotton cultivation in the Guanzhong has developedas a sideline before Ming dynasty.So, the Guanzhong area faces mulberry or cotton choiceduring the Ming and Qing dynasties. During this period, agriculture and technology hasgreatly improved, which develops to the period of intensive and meticulous farming, whethersericulture or cotton, from planting to processing. Guanzhong agronomist Yang Shenadvocated the farmers to plant mulberry sericulture. His book Comprehensive Records ofCustoms at Bin is a silkworm works, which applies the science thoughts and tests thesericulture monographs. It played an important role on the development of sericulturalindustry of Guanzhong plain and appeared the situation of sericulture revival. In the lateQianlong dynasty, the farmers gradually choosed cotton, which was grown in Guanzhongalmost everywhere. The development of Guanzhong sericulture industry and cotton industryeach had advantages and disadvantages, which was influenced by the domestic and international background and with mulberry and cotton in Guanzhong developmentcharacteristic. What should be chose——mulberry or cotton and what should be developedsericulture industry or cotton industry need to avoid planting and market risk and they shouldweigh the advantages and disadvantages in order to get the maximum benefit. After the riskcomparison of mulberry, cotton and silkworm rearing, and the equilibrium of rural labor force,the effects of processing of the two popular clothing materials, and the economic cost analysisof two markets, the final choice of Guanzhong farmers is cotton growing.Yang Shen could deeply understand "farming incomplete" of the Guanzhong area andput into action. The content of Comprehensive Records of Customs at Bin is technologicallysuccessful, but the scorn of the quotient suppression of ideas is not in conformity with socialand economic conditions at that time. Guanzhong agriculture formed in the late Qing dynastyformed crop and cotton planting structure, which put the basis for the modern agriculturalproduction structure in Guanzhong plain. The choice of historical agricultural structurepattern has very important significance for the development of modern agriculture.