청 말 盛澤鎭의 발전과 ‘市鎭 네트워크’

Abstract

This study examines the development of silk industry in the market town of Shengze Town(盛澤鎭), especially by focusing on the ‘market towns network’ of the late Qing era. Essentially, it is a detailed case study on how the economic structure of the Jiangnan region transformed during the late Qing era.BR The distribution network of Shengze Town was built around silk industry. The rise of Shengze Town as a key center was based on its role as a distribution hub, not necessarily being a production center of silk. Even though the rise of the Taiping Rebellion caused significant disruption on the existing silk industry, Shengze Town luckily was able to avoid any direct damage from the rebellion. In fact, due to the rebellion, other merchants and silk producers in adjacent regions relocated themselves to Shengze Town. Therefore, the status of Shengze Town as the center of both silk production and silk distribution grew to a degree that it almost threatened the status of Suzhou (蘇州).BR The rise and development of each market town can be attributed to the internal commercial growth. In contrast, the formation of a ‘market towns network’ demonstrates the development of a closely interconnected economic ecosystem. The ‘market towns network’ formed around Shengze Town transcended the pre-existing boundaries of counties and districts, and thus shows that new market networks could develop based on the production and distribution of single product - in this case, silk. During the late Qing era, Shengze Town maintained its unique role as the economic hub even through the economic transformation from Suzhou to Shanghai, and even reinforced its status as a center of a ‘market towns network’ in Jiangnan region.