明代白银货币化:中国与世界连接的新视角

晚明时期,中国社会面临着重大变迁;同时,世界经济也正处于融为一体的进程中。明初,白银并非合法货币,由于中国社会内部发生的变化,白银货币化自下而上到自上而下初步奠定,产生了巨大的社会需求,市场经济萌发并以前所未有的发展趋势极大地扩展,不仅拉动了外银流入,而且使中国由此主动走向了世界。事实并非如既往所认识的,是西方东来导致了中国被动地与世界衔接起来。从时间和动因上看,中国的社会需求曾直接影响了日本和美洲银矿的开发,中国积极参与了世界经济体系的初步建构,并为整体世界的出现作出了重要的历史性贡献。当世界逐渐形成一个整体世界之时,世界经济体系不是西方创造出来的,而是世界各国共同创造的。

Silver as Currency in the Ming Dynasty:New Perspective of the Connection between China and the Rest of the World

China was faced with great changes in the late Ming dynasty when the world economy was going towards oneness. Silver as currency produced great demands and thus foreign silver came into China. China went to the world in an active way, to the contrary. China's demands of silver led to the mining of Japan and Americas. It may be said that China devoted its unique contributions to the primary establishment of world economy, which was not created by the West but by all countries.