论明清商人组织对远程贸易及市场整合的影响

On the Influence of the Merchant Organizations on Long-distance Trade and Market Integration in the Ming and Qing Dynasties

远程贸易的兴起和市场整合程度的提高是明清经济发展中的两个重要现象。16世纪以后,由于市场分工和专业化的深化,市场相应的交易行为需要更加复杂的商业制度来配合,才能使商人不断降低各种经商过程中的交易成本,以扩大自己的获利机会和能力。因此,商人组织的出现降低了契约执行的成本,使得市场能够高效地完成交易,这无疑是市场运行和经济富有效率的一个必不可少的因素。

The emergence of long-distance trade and the advance of market integration were two conspicuous phenomena in the economic development of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Since the 16thcentury,owing to the market division and further specialization, relevant market-trading behaviors required the cooperation of more complex commercial institutions to continuously reduce the transaction costs and provide more opportunities for profits. Therefore,the emergence of merchant organizations in this period reduced the costs of contract enforcement which enabled the market to complete transactions efficiently,a guarantee for successful market operation and economic efficiency.