宋代生产力的发展水平

The Productivity Level in the Song Dynasty

探讨社会历史的发展变革,应该首先研究生产力发展状况这个根基性问题。宋代的生产技术和生产对象、生产工具至少有45项发展,其中农业至少有15项,手工业至少有30项。宋代生产力整体发展水平超过前代,但也存在不少局限性。制约宋代生产力进一步发展的瓶颈有7项,明清时期只有农业技术和热兵器2项超过宋代,其余5项没有重大突破。明清虽然在生产力总量、在技术上,特别是在种植作物引进上超过宋代,但因生产工具没有重大突破、甚至在重要工具上倒退,人口剧增,导致人均生产率和发展质量低于宋代,整个社会陷入停滞和保守状态。无论与以前各朝代还是与后来的明清相比较,宋代的生产力发展水平都处在最高峰。宋代社会的发展,明清的停滞,欧洲的崛起,第一位的原因是生产力发展水平的高低。

Exploring the evolution and changes in social history should begin with research on the fundamental problem:the state of development of productivity.The Song dynasty witnessed at least forty-five cases of improvement of production technologies,production objects,and production tools,of which at least fifteen took place in agriculture and at least thirty in handicraft industry.The overall Song productivity level exceeded that of the previous dynasties,but it also had many limitations;seven bottlenecks restricted its further development.The Ming and Qing dynasties outperformed it in only two fields:agricultural technology and the fire lance[which used gunpowder],while failing to make major breakthroughs in the other five fields.Although the Ming and Qing dynasties surpassed the Song dynasty in terms of total productivity and technology,especially when it came to the introduction of crop-planting techniques,their per capita productivity and quality of development lagged behind,leaving the whole of society stagnant and conservative,for several reasons: no major breakthrough was made in production tools;some important tools even went backward,and the population increased sharply.Compared with previous dynasties and the Ming and Qing,the Song reached a peak productivity level.The changing productivity level is the primary reason for Song development, Ming and Qing stagnation,and the rise of Europe.