Chinese Social History Review ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 2 3 1
4 1471 5 6 40 2~5 2
7 1551 ~1600 40% 8 24 83 74 90% 50 2 2 2% 9 10 3
11 12 304 165 89 30% 40 10% 1/2 36 13 14 15 16 17 1635 18 1493 4
19 20 21 22 23 1588 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 5
1576 0.52 0.37 0.4 0.25 31 32 1469 33 34 1466 35 1525 36 37 1541 38 6
39 480000 ~ 1500~1502 4000000 40 41 1587 42 43 44 45 46 1485 47 1562 48 49 50 51 52 7
53 54 55 Timothy Brook the lord of silver 56 57 58 59 1500 8
60 61 62 1524 63 64 65 9
66 67 68 69 10
70 71 72 73 132 100 32 74 15 16 75 76 77 78 79 80 11
81 82 83 1607 213 84 85 80000 86 87 15~16 88 89 12
90 91 92 93 94 1518 95 96 97 (1535 ) (1545 ) 98 13
99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 1472 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 14
123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 (1596 ) 1597~1605 300 132 133 134 135 15
136 16
16 137 1 2003 2 427 2 3 4 119 1958 4 20 30 Andre Gunder Frank ReOrient:the Global Economy in the Asian Age,Univercity of CaliforniaPress,1998 5 1962 6 1~22 1991 7 816~817 1995 8 16 17 212 2001 9 1994 17
10 11 12 1632 1970 13 1065 14 15 16 1966 17 890~891 18 2 559 1990 19 1073 20 1998 21 1999 22 1985 680 23 24 0 25 72 26 [ ] 1984 27 28 29 [ ] [ ] 30 31 32 0 33 34 35 1991 36 37 38 39 40 41 ~ 42 68 1 43 44 51 45 46 126 47 48 49 0 50 51 1982 52 0 53 54 1940 55 56 Timothy Brook: the confusions of Pleasure Commerce and Culture in the Ming China,p.238, University of California Press,Berkeley,Los Angeles,London, 1998. 57 1993 58 18
59 60 61 530 528 531 1987 62 1940 63 64 1935 65 66 424 1988 67 121 143 1999 68 1983 69 806~807 70 927~928 71 0 72 1993 73 74 75 1993 76 13 55 1994 77 78 57 79 31 80 1071 81 1069 82 1070 83 1070 84 85 1984 86 1996 3 87 1115 88 2001 4 89 0 90 91 92 93 1987 94 118 2001 95 96 1985 97 98 99 1994 100 101 102 1958 103 0 104 105 106 107 1985 19
108 1987 109 110 1984 111 112 113 114 1980 115 [ ] 1984 116 117 118 0 1987 119 1961 120 121 122 123 1990 124 125 1975 126 127 0 1984 128 129 130 131 1986 132 133 343 1962 134 1991 135 (minus) (plus) 10 1997 136 46 104 1979 137 [ ] 1987 Silver Monetization and Social Transformation in the Ming Period Wan Ming Institute of History,Chinese Academy of Social Sciences,Beijing 100732,China Abstract:Perhaps the most important change in the Ming Dynasty was the success of the silver monetization in China. In fact, silver became legal money in the late Ming period from an illegal status in the early Ming period. However, silver monetization didn t appear under the emperor edict in the beginning, its trend rose by a process from bottom to top in the society the official accepted silver and pushed its monetization from top to bottom then. As a result of the process, the finance and taxation was almost from crop to silver after the Chenghua and Hongzhi reigns, which showed the transition from the crop economy in the early of Ming to the silver economy in the late of Ming. A series of changes arose from silver in the whole society. Silver economy indicated a sprout of the market economy. In the market one of the base of economy development is monetary economy. It is not enough to gain economy growth if we only depend on the role of commodity 20
economy. This article urges that silver money growth is a key to transformation of the society. It is to study the function of silver economy developing in the social evolution of the late of Ming, it aims to explain the transition of society in a new visual field of monetary economy. Key words: silver monetization;social transformation;the Ming period 21