The Research Of Nanyang Prefecture Inland River-Town With Social Change In Qing Dynasty

Nanyang Prefecture, which located in the junction of Henan, Shanxi, Hubeiprovinces, the geographical position is extremely important. It is covered densely bymany rivers and the main river is interlinked with riverway of Shanxi and Hubeiprovinces, which has a long history of inland riverway transport. As the developmentof commodity economy in Qing dynasty, which stimulates the progress oftransportation, Nanyang Prefecture is formed into the traffic pattern of land andwater alteration, vessel and vehicle convergence. With the development of inlandbusiness shipment, the towns along the main river and land routine become thedistributing center of north-south goods transportation gradually, and thebusinessmen of Jin, Shanxi, Hubei, Zhejiang provinces gather here, which promptthe town’s economic prosperity further. The development of inland riverwayshipment and town economy, which has extensive influence on the social changesgradually. This paper focuses on analysis of the interaction between inland riverwayshipment, town economy and social change, to explore the historical route ofNanyang Prefecture of Qing dynasty in the period of social and economy transition.