绝对衰落与相对衰落:近代苏州滞后发展及其原因分析

The Absolute Decline and Relative Decline:the Lagged Development of Suzhou and Reason Analysis

近代苏州的发展可以1900年前后为界分为两个阶段。前一阶段,传统的自然经济占主体,战争、交通、上海崛起等外部因素导致苏州突发性衰落,也是一种绝对衰落。1900年之后,随着近代工业化的推进,苏州逐渐恢复并不断发展,但相对于邻近的上海、无锡等城市来说,呈现出明显的滞后性,是一种相对衰落。近代苏州发展滞后的内部原因主要是经济结构僵化和失调。首先,主导产业衰落,棉布业一蹶不振,丝织业中养蚕、缫丝、织绸三个环节发展不均衡,影响了整个产业链的发展。其次,工商业结构失调,商业畸形繁荣,而工业发展的滞慢又无法吸收商业积累的资本,两者难以形成良性的互动循环。

The development of modern Suzhou can be divided into two stages. In the first stage, the traditional natural economy occupies the main body. War, traffic, the rise of Shanghai and other external factors lead to sudden decline in Suzhou. It is also a kind of absolute decline. After 1900, with the development of modern industrialization, Suzhou gradually recovered and continued development. But compared to Shanghai and Wuxi, it had obvious lag and was a relative decline.The internal reason of lagged development in Suzhou is economic structural rigidities and disorders. First, the decline of the dominant industry, cotton cloth had a serious fall and unbalanced development in silk industry, affecting the development of the whole industry chain. Second, the business structure lost balance. The lagged development of industry could not absorb commercial capital and both of them also could not form prosperous development.