近代早期的中国城市

Early Modern Chinese Cities

至14世纪初,中国已经拥有世界上若干最大的城市,可被称为当时最为城市化的社会。这些城市并不享有也不寻求政治"自治",但它们在大一统的政治构架中实际上享有一定程度的自我管理空间。明清时代的中国城市延续着这些方面发展。随着市镇的扩散和增加,乡村商业化迅速发展,推动着城市化的持续进行,但城市化进程主要发生在城市层级结构的低端。不同地域的人群被卷入到国内长途贸易的活动之中,由此形成了帝国内部的侨居人口。这些人口的频繁交往给城市带来了更为多元的人口结构,也为城市文化的种种创新作出了贡献。结构复杂的城市社会和城市经济也带来了大规模的私有和半公共性质的社团建构的浪潮,极大地增强了市民进行自我管理的能力,并最终使城市人口产生了一种与帝国政府相疏离的感觉。

By the year 1300 China hosted several of the largest cities in the world,and was arguably the world＇s most urbanized society. These cities did not enjoy, nor had they explicitly sought, ＂autonomy＂ from encompassing political regimes, but they did enjoy a modest amount of practical communal self-management. China＇s urban history under the Ming and Qing empires continued these developments in particular ways. The spectacular commercialization of the countryside contributed to ongoing urbanization, but especially at the lower end of the urban hierarchy, with the proliferation and growth of market towns. The intensification of internal diasporas of local-origin groups involved in long-distance domestic trade led to more cosmopolitan urban populations, and contributed to innovations in urban culture. And the vastly more complex urban societies and economies led to a massive wave of both private and quasi- public association-building, greatly enhancing urbanites~ capacity for self-management, and ultimately contributing to the perceived irrelevance of the imperial state.