Research On Sichuan Grain Trade In Qing Dynasty

The food problem is related to people’s living with affairs of state, so the researchon food and its related problems are of great significance. Sichuan is known as thereputation of "the land of abundance". But after the war between Ming and QingDynasty, Sichuan’s population and cultivated land area had been decreased sharply,which related to serious social and economic decline. In view of this, in early QingDynasty, the Qing government adopted various measures to encourage immigrants toSichuan. With a large number of immigrants, the land has been reclaimed, and thefarming technique has been improved. Sichuan’s agricultural economy has made a rapidrecovery and development. Sichuan became a major grain-producing province innationwide.There is no doubt; the natural economy was still the dominant economy in QingDynasty. But the circulation of commodities also had been existed. Sichuan was notonly a Major grain-producing province but also a big grain-outputting province. Thegrain trading between areas, the changing of grain price and so on, all have aimportant influence on Sichuan’s Agricultural economy. This paper systematicallycollected the information about Sichuan’s food trade and marketing in Qing Dynasty fora comprehensive study of Sichuan’s food trade, exploring the grain market of graincirculation areas, the grain trade in South and Southwest of China, the variation grainprices in Sichuan and all over the country, so that we can reveal the influence caused bySichuan’s food trade to the local society and economic development in Sichuan in QingDynasty.