Economic development in the south

The development of agriculture During the Song and Jin Dynasties, water conservancy in the south greatly surpassed that in the north. History: "After crossing the south, the benefits of paddy fields in the Central Plains were rich, so water conservancy was built." (History of the Song Dynasty, Records of Food Goods) In addition to repairing abandoned water conservancy projects for a long time, many new projects have been built. The area of polder fields in the Southern Song Dynasty was expanded. For example, in Dangtu, Wuhu and Fanchang counties of Taiping Prefecture, the area of polder fields accounts for 89/ 10 of the county's farmland. Xuancheng county has 179 polder fields. In addition, a large number of farmland, Shatian and terraced fields have been reclaimed, and the area of farmland has been increasing.

Agricultural production technology is also the most advanced in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, followed by Sichuan. Farmers in Jiangsu and Zhejiang dig deep into the land, making the soil as thin as the surface. Summer is called "relying on the field", so that the water in the field can bask in the sun and make the roots of seedlings firm; After the seedling roots are strong, it is called "returning to the field". From then on, if there is a drought, we can ensure a bumper harvest. At that time, five or six stones were collected from the fine fields. The proverb "Suzhou and Shanghai are ripe, and the world is sufficient" came into being. During the Southern Song Dynasty, cotton planting areas were not limited to Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian, but gradually extended to the Yangtze River and Huaihe River basins. Due to the gradual popularization of cash crops and the development of commodity economy, in the Song Dynasty, especially in the Southern Song Dynasty, the forms of currency discount and lease increased in both official and private fields.

The development of handicraft industry During the Southern Song Dynasty, silk weaving technology was improved. Suzhou, Hangzhou and Chengdu, three famous government-run brocade academies, each with hundreds of looms and thousands of craftsmen, are large in scale and meticulous in division of labor, and their silk products are various and exquisite. The most important achievement of textile industry in Southern Song Dynasty was the further development of cotton textile industry. With the popularization of cotton planting, the cotton textile industry has gradually become common. In the poem Kapok written by Song people, there are some sentences, such as "the car turns to light, the snow turns, the clouds bend in the middle of the month, and the loom accumulates women to work in the four seasons", which reflects the labor process of stringing flowers, playing flowers, spinning and weaving, as well as various cotton textile tools used, such as iron collars, slingshots, spinning wheels, looms and so on. With the appearance of new textile tools, it is possible to weave cloth with exquisite patterns and small flowers. From 65438 to 0966, a buried cotton blanket was unearthed from the Southern Song Dynasty tomb in Lanxi County, Zhejiang Province, which showed that the Jiangnan area could not only weave cloth, but also weave blankets, reflecting the new development of cotton textile industry.

During the Southern Song Dynasty, the shipbuilding industry further developed. Shipbuilding centers such as Mingzhou, Quanzhou and Guangzhou are still making large seagoing ships. 1974, a seagoing ship in the late Southern Song Dynasty was excavated in Quanzhou Bay, Fujian. According to its length, width and depth, its carrying capacity should exceed 200 tons. The shape and structure of this ship are consistent with the literature records of the Song Dynasty. It is particularly noteworthy that it has as many as thirteen cabins. During the Southern Song Dynasty, vehicles and ships were also widely manufactured. Vehicles and ships are equipped with wheels, which are driven by water through pedal wheels.

The porcelain-making industry in the Southern Song Dynasty was large, with some kiln sites covering an area of 20 mu and a height of 20 meters. The porcelain burned in the official kiln of Xiunei Temple at the foot of Phoenix Mountain in Lin 'an was "extremely exquisite, with bright and clean glaze, which was precious at that time". Jingdezhen is a famous porcelain center, and its products are exported to all parts of the world. The traditional celadon produced in Longquan, Zhejiang Province was still the top grade at that time. Other industries, such as paper making, printing, tea making and firearms manufacturing, are also quite developed.

Prosperity of commerce and cities Lin 'an, the capital of Southern Song Dynasty, was the political, economic and cultural center at that time. There is an endless stream of cargo ships from Zhejiang and other counties. In addition, cities along the Yangtze River such as Pingjiang, Jiankang, Ezhou and Jiangling have developed handicrafts and commerce. The market is more common than in the Northern Song Dynasty. There are 800 markets in Guangdong alone, which reflects the prosperity of business from one side.

Song and Jin dynasties coexisted, and trade between the two sides remained frequent. The Song and Jin governments set up markets along the Huaihe River and the western border, which are called monopoly markets. In addition to the market, the number of private transactions among the people is also extremely large. Bronze mirrors made in Huzhou in the Southern Song Dynasty were found in tombs in Jilin and Inner Mongolia. Fuzhou carved books were also found in the site of Heishui City in western Inner Mongolia. As for Jingdezhen and Longquan porcelain, it is found all over the country.

Overseas trade in the Southern Song Dynasty also surpassed that in the Northern Song Dynasty. At the end of Emperor Gaozong's reign, scholar's income reached 2 million yuan, more than twice the income of 630,000 yuan in the Northern Song Dynasty. Due to the development of commerce and foreign trade, the demand for currency casting is in short supply. In foreign trade, a large number of copper coins have flowed out. Paper money is increasingly replacing copper coins as the main means of exchange. In addition to Jiaozi, which is still used as a sound transmission in Sichuan, Jiaozi has also been released. The southern song government issued paper money mainly to make up for the fiscal deficit. A large number of paper money was put into circulation, which led to the decline of currency and the expansion of general loans.