明清江南市镇的"早期工业化"

现今旅游者们所见到的江南市镇的硕果仅存者,如周庄镇、同里镇、南浔镇、乌镇、直镇、西塘镇、朱家角镇等,都是经历了几百年辉煌之后,留下来的一个空壳。它们在明清时代曾经是充满经济活力的工商业中心,一度引领时代潮流,带动社会变革。本文选取“早期工业化”这一视角,展现它们给传统社会带来的变革,诸如:以丝织业、棉织业为代表的早期工业化,生丝、丝绸、棉布出口驱动的外向型经济所带来的巨额白银资本,江南市镇雇佣工人群体与劳动力市场的形成,地权分散化趋势与田面权、田底权的分离。从而显示社会转型过程中,江南市镇在城市化、近代化进程中的历史地位。

The Early Industrialization of Jiangnan Towns in the Ming and Qing Dynasties

Ancient towns in Jiangnan area, such as Zhouzhuang, Tongli, Nanxun, Wuzhen, Luzhi, Xitang and Zhujiaojiao are just empty shells nowadays to tourists, though they all had been splendid for hundreds of years. They were industrial and commercial centers brimming with economic energy and leading the trend of the times during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. From the angle of early industrialization, the author expounds various changes they brought to the traditional society, such as the early industrialization with silk and cotton textile industry as a representative, the mint silver capital brought by an export-oriented economy, driving by exports of raw silk, silk and cotton clothes, the formation of hired labor groups and the market of labor force in Jiangnan area and a tendency of scattered land right, thus shows the historical status of Jiangnan towns in the course of urbanization and modernization, as well as social transition.