Geographical Environment and Market Space: A Historical Geographical Study of the Shaanxi Regional Market during the Ming and Qing Dynasties

Author: Zhang Ping
Publisher:
Publishing Time: Not available
Features: This book starts from the fundamental theoretical perspectives of historical commercial geography and constructs a rather comprehensive research framework for historical commercial geography. Based on an in-depth understanding of the operational mechanisms of commercial markets and commodity circulation networks, it establishes a three-tiered market system—comprising commercial centers, commercial towns, and rural markets (including temple fairs)—for the actual conditions of Shaanxi's commercial markets during the Ming and Qing dynasties, according to the concept of market hierarchy. Since this book systematically and thoroughly discusses the spatial distribution and characteristics of commodity markets and circulation in a provincial region during a specific historical period, it is indeed considered by experts as "a work that fills the in the academic field of regional historical commercial geography." The book should particularly draw attention to the following three aspects. First, it starts from the fundamental theoretical perspectives of historical commercial geography and constructs a rather comprehensive research framework for historical commercial geography. Second, based on an in-depth understanding of the operational mechanisms of commercial markets and commodity circulation networks, it establishes a three-tiered market system—comprising commercial centers, commercial towns, and rural markets (including temple fairs)—for the actual conditions of Shaanxi's commercial markets during the Ming and Qing dynasties, according to the concept of market hierarchy. Third, starting from the historical geographical law of "human-land relationships," it closely combines regional geographical environmental factors to analyze the distribution of commercial markets and commodity production, dividing it into three regions: northern Shaanxi, Guanzhong, and southern Shaanxi.