草市:隋唐五代乡村市镇化的历史典型

Marketplace, the Historical Archetype of Rural Urbanization during the Period of Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties

隋唐五代时期,古代中国一致性与一元化城乡关系有所松动,乡村已非单纯农民聚居地和从属城市权力系统基层单位,地方政权中心所在之城市统治农村据点的角色已有改变,城乡关系由之前农村单方面依附城市转向城市与乡村之互动,草市于城乡相互作用与乡村市镇化中充当无可替代的角色,逐步实现自发性组织至官市化市场地位的提升,商品经济需求、草市内在机能、官方政治运作、市场管理革新等诸多因素是为草市完成历史性转型基础要件,亦为草市向市镇过渡提供了难得契机。

During the period of Sui, Tang, and Five Dynasties, the uniformed and centralized urban-rural relationship in ancient China was loosened to some extent. Rural areas were no longer merely the habitats for the farming population and peripheries of the urban centers. The city was not simply political enclaves ruling the adjacent rural areas. The urban-rural relationship has shifted somewhat to one of mutual interaction. Marketplace played an irreplaceable role in urban-rural interaction and the urbanization of the country. Marketplace evolved from a spontaneous organization to one authorized by the government. The demand of commodity economy, the intrinsic function of marketplace, the political operation of authority, the innovation in market administration, and other factors combined to gradually transform the marketplaces into rural townships.