Research On Town Economy Of Wufengpu Baoqing Hunan In The Republican Period

During the Ming and Qing dynasties,with large numbers of Jiangxi populationimmigrated,Shaoyang got massive development since then.Under the impact of thewesten economy and the unity of the national market, regional trade system in modernHunan has been formed,with Changsha city as the economic center of the wholeprovince,Shaoyang got great economic development,which necessarily led to thebooming of areas around the town.Wufengpu’s traders made use of its advantageousgeographical location and hire porters in transit trade,which boosted the prosperity oftowns.Economic development of the towns not only provided a broad space and marketplace for business activities,but promoted the development of regional economy,andever more the basis of it. This paper is a preliminary exploration of Wufengpu’stownship economy.In addition to the introduction,it is divided into three parts.The first part surveys the background of the Wufengpu’s township economydevelopment during the Republican period.With the opening of Yueyang and Changshaports,regional trade system in modern Hunan had been formed and made rapideconomic development which also geared Shaoyang’s economy.The second part is the key centent of the paper which gives an overview of theperformance of the Wufengpu’s economy.With the expanding of the domesticmarket,and commercializing of agricultural and sideline products,the connectionbetween farmers and towns became more closely.Wufengpu’s business took advantageof the local sources to develop handicraft industry like cotton textile，or to establishmodern industries and business.Town services industries such as postal service andeducation had also sprung up.The third part indicates the characteristics of Wufengpu’s economicdevelopment.Businessmen in Wufengpu were locals with a complex propulationstructure. Under the impetus of the regional centric economy,Wufengpu townshipeconomy had been developed.Local businessmen seized the opportunity and made fulluse of local advantages to develop cotton production and trading. They managedmainly life necessities and hired porters in transit trade.