Study On The Agricultural Development Of Pingliang Area In Ming And Qing Dynasties

Pingliang area, which is located in the eastern part of Gansu Province, lies in the in thetransitional zone from the semi-humid continental climate to the semi-arid climate. Thewestern area of pingliang is Longxi Loess Plateau for millions of gullies, while the eastern isLongdong Loess Plateau, where the ecological environment is much frailer. This paperchooses the agricultural development of such a typical region as a research object so as torestore the historical features of agricultural development in Pingliang during Ming and QingDynasties, meanwhile, explore and summarize the experience and lessons from theagricultural development in this area during the historical period. The research not onlyprovides some cases for the study of the regional development, but also provides the historicalexperience for the economic and social development of western large-scale development inthis area today.Based on a large number of files, documents, and other historical materials of Pingliangduring Ming and Qing Dynasties, the writer employs the methods of looking for historicaldocuments, fieldwork, comparative studies and chart applications to make a systematicalinvestigation of the agricultural development in Pingliang during Ming and Qing Dynasties.The paper consists of six chapters.Chapter one discusses the basic knowledge and background of the agriculturaldevelopment in Pingliang during Ming and Qing Dynasties, including the natural conditionsof the agricultural development in this area, the change of administrative divisions duringMing and Qing Dynasties, and the trajectory of the agricultural development in this areabefore Ming Dynasty.Chapter two, three, and four are the core of the paper, elaborating mainly from threeaspects: the population, the situation of labor force and land reclamation, agriculture andirrigation development as well as crop planting. During this period, although the demographicchange in this area was fluctuating, the overall trend was upward. Thus, it provided abundantlabor force for agricultural development. The growth of the population in this region made alarge number of lands be reclaimed and the square measure of farmland be increased. At thesame time, this area paid more attention to water conservancy development and waterconservancy project. The development of water conservancy provided good irrigationconditions for agricultural production and was good for the further development of agricultural development. In addition, the crops of the area were mainly traditional crops,including wheat, barley, buckwheat, millet and so on. The introduction of new varieties ofcrops (corn, potatoes) has to some extent changed the structure of crop planting, and played afacilitating role in improving the grain yield.Chapter five discusses the experience and technology of the agricultural development ofthis area of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Chapter six discusses the achievements and impactof the agricultural development in this area during this period. The part of conclusionsummarizes the agricultural development of this area in this time and considering theproblems existing in the area today, proposes some reference suggestions to promote thesustainable development of the agriculture and economy of this region.