明代经济的结构性变化

明代中国经济领域发生的结构性、不可逆转性变化主要体现在五个方面,包括白银成为主导货币、赋役体制中基于土地并以货币征收的赋税比例扩大、货币财政体制形成、国内和国际市场体系发展、人口大幅度增长。这些变化相互关联,相互作用,加速了社会财富的流转,推动了社会经济的整体繁荣,同时也因超出以往王朝行政、金融、财政管理的经验范围而加速了明朝帝制体系经济功能的失序。明朝政府经济干预的三个杠杆,赋税制度、政府财政支出、货币管理在明中期以后都有顺应市场经济的动向,但又都没有完全适应市场经济发展,原因主要在于帝制体系本身的僵化和明王朝自身进入衰败期之后的调整乏力。变化中形成的新的经济结构,可以容纳更大规模的商业繁荣,但是并不构成产业升级的直接基础,距离资本主义经济体制尚远,是一种帝制农商社会经济结构。

On the Economic Structural Changes of Ming Dynasty

There are mainly five structural and irreversible changes happening in the economic sphere in Ming dynasty. First of all, silver becomes the main currency; secondly, the percentage of tax and corvée calculates based upon land and paid in money form increases; thirdly, monetary based finan?cial operation system comes into being; fourthly, national and international market system develops;sixthly, population significantly increases. Correlated and interacted, these changes accelerate the cir?culation of social wealth, and contribute to economic prosperity. Meanwhile, by challenging the admin?istrative, monetary, and financial experiences, these changes deepen the functional disorder of Ming government. Since the mid Ming period, Ming government adjusts its three main tools of economic in?terfere according to changing economy situation, namely, tax and corvée system, governmental expens?es, and monetary administration. Nevertheless, because of the ossification of the imperial system itself and the action disability of the Ming government in its declining stage, these adjustments fail to match the changes in economy. The newer economic structure gradually appears during these chang?es and provides new possibility for an even greater commercial prosperity, but it does not constitute a direct foundation for the coming of a capitalist economic system. Rather, its prospect is a further developed imperial Agric-mercantile economy.