Research On The Life Style Of The Crowds In Shandong Canal Area In The Ming And Qing Dynasties

In Ming and Qing Dynasties,Shandong part of the Grand Canal,which was the middle section of Grand Canal and linked Beijing with Yangtze-Huai Rrive,was the lifeline for the transportation of salt and grain.As a result,its importance was self-evident.The navigation of the Canal in Shandong brought about social changes to the urban and rural areas along the Canal,which not only formed the convenient traffic network and laid the location advantages for the west of Shandong Province,but also had played an important role to North-South exchanges of matter,the establishment of a market network system centered on canal towns and regional economic prosperity,etc.Meanwhile,this has led to a shift in the social etiquette.These new changes in cultural environment provided a base for the life style of the people in the Grand Canal area of Shandong.Many changes had taken place in the life style of the people in the Grand Canal area of Shandong in Ming and Qing Dynasties.Around the Shandong part of the Grand Canal,the gentry's class and the common people's way of livelihood has changed to a certain extent.In addition to the traditional ways,like joining the ranks of officials,teaching and investing in estate,the gentry had participated business operations.With the help of the Grand Canal management,maintenance and trade of goods,the common people participate in the activities related to the management and maintenance of the canal,the trade of goods and the service of the north and the south,which in turn leads to the diversification of the livelihood of the regional population.At the same time,with the income growth resulting from the diversification of the way of livelihood,the expenditure pattern of the regional population presents the characteristics of the overall extravagance and the excessive gap between the rich and the poor.In terms of living expenses,the gentry and other rich people pursue high-quality life enjoyment,while the poor common people pursue the basic material to meet life needs.In public expenditure,the gentry's class has been the subject of public expenditure for the possession of matter and culture,but the plebeian class has a place in the expense of the gods.In Ming and Qing Dynasties,the people in the Grand Canal area of Shandong were greatly influenced by the Grand Canal,but the changes the cultural life were slow compared with the drastic changes in the material level.On the whole,the spiritual beliefs in the Grand Canal area of Shandong showed the coexistence of orthodox Confucianism and pluralistic folk belief,which depends on both the two main body of different faith,Confucian education to the gentry class as the main body,folk beliefs in the subaltern class as the main body,and showed the gentry's class and common class' s run-in with the tacit understanding each other in the regional society.All in all,based on the social environment changes brought by in the Grand Canal area of Shandong in Ming and Qing Dynasties,the people in this area had undergone great changes in material life.On the spiritual belief level,although the folk faith tends to be diversified,it still hasn't changed the Confucian orthodoxy,which means that the society in Ming and Qing dynasties still belong to the category of traditional agricultural society.