略论唐五代江南城市的经济功能

The Economic Function of the Cities in South China in the Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties

唐五代时期,江南地区城市布局越来越密集,城市经济功能不断增强。市场商业经济普遍繁荣,商业经营范围不断扩大。在江南部分经济发达城市,随处可见夜间商业交换现象,城市服务性行业也蓬勃兴起。在一些大城市中出现了庞大的消费群体,人数众多,财力雄厚,对江南城市经济影响较大。江南城市对周围农村经济也带来了一定的影响,农民与城市的关系日益密切。唐代中后期,苏州、越州、杭州、宣州等城市经济发展较快。至五代,越州、宣州地位下降,苏、杭、金陵是三个发展较为明显的经济中心。

During the Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, the distribution of the cities in South China was becoming more and more concentrated and their economic function was growing increasingly stronger. As the market economy was flourishing, the scope of business management was being enlarged. Exchange of commodities at night could be found everywhere in some relatively developed cities in South China. Urban service trades were springing up. In some big cities, large groups of consumers appeared. They consisted of numerous people and possessed abundant financial resources, thus making a notable impact on the economy of the cities in South China. As these cities influenced the surrounding rural economy deeply, peasants in the surrounding areas developed close relations with them. In the middle and latter half of the Tang Dynasty, the economy of some cities such as Suzhou, Yuezhou, Hangzhou and Xuanzhou developed quickly. It was not until in the Five Dynasties that Yuezhou and Xuanzhou declined and that Suzhou, Hangzhou and Jinling became three distinctly developed economic centres.