明清时期香山海陆环境变迁与农业开发

The Change of Xiangshan s Marine Environment and Development of Agriculture in Ming and Qing Dynasties

关于珠江三角洲海陆环境变迁的研究,是学术界关注的焦点之一,尤其集中于探讨香山附近海域成陆开发的进程问题。目前学术界对香山具体成陆时间仍有颇多争议。如曾昭璇等认为明代香山一带仍是浅海地形,是一个广阔的海湾,称金斗湾,属于磨刀门浅海区。以往研究指出了海陆变迁对水网系统的重要性,但是在谈到水道淤浅时,往往认为农业开发破坏生态环境,而相对忽略了农业开发与水网发育的关系。本文试图分析明嘉靖至清道光年间香山附近水域的海陆变迁与农业开发情况,进而揭示水网发育的具体过程及其形成原因。一 明代香山县西、北水域的开发香山县系南宋时期析南海、番禺、东莞、新会四县濒海地区而设,当时只是一片以五桂山为中心的海岛群。因香山县总体地势是南高北低,加上西江干流冲击县境的西、北水域,宋元期间西北部大片海面淤浅成陆,形成“西海十八沙”,即今小榄、古镇等地区一带。明代以后,西海十八沙继续扩展,从石岐至横门一带水域也逐渐淤积,又形成“东海十六沙”,即今黄圃、南头等地区一带。

The change of marine environment in Pearl River Delta is closely related to the progress of agricultural development and the development of river channels.Among this,the land reclamation of marine region near Xiangshan makes sense.At the beginning of Ming Dynasty,as people reclaim islands and sandbanks in Xiangshan,the marine environment of Xiangshan was changing.However,in the mid to late Ming Dynasty,the coastal regions which close to Xiangshan were still shallow sea and the environment was unpredictable.In the mid of Qing Dynasty,the agricultural of Shatian(沙田)had grown rapidly,which promoted the development of water transportation network and made Xiangshan become the transfer station of commercial trade.