"Chang'an Avenue is narrow and sloping, with green cows and white horses and seven scented cars. The jade nuns cross the main road, and the golden whip flows to the Hou family." This is from the Tang Dynasty Lu Zhaolin’s poem "Chang'an Ancient Meanings" vividly depicts the scenes of the streets of Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty. The streets are full of traffic, rich aristocrats come and go, and prosperity. From this we can see a picture of the flourishing age that belongs only to the Tang Dynasty. And the streets extending in all directions described in the poems can see the development of commerce in the Tang Dynasty and city’s prosperity and the association with 坊市系统.
1. The accumulation of "city"
坊市系统 has begun to take shape as early as the Western Zhou Dynasty, developed in the Han, consolidated in the Wei and Jin, and flourished in the Tang Dynasty. The Fangshi system refers to the strict separation of residential areas (fangs) and commercial trading areas (cities) in ancient cities. Fang and the city are strictly managed and controlled by the government .
"city" for commercial transactions has clear time and space restrictions , subject to state intervention and legal regulation. The government strictly stipulates the time for commodity trading in the city: "Japan and China is the city" , 300 drums can be heard; after seven quarters of an hour, they will disperse with 300 drums. Moreover, the place and scope of transactions in the city were forcibly controlled by the government.
Early Tang Dynasty
In the early years of the Tang Dynasty, due to the severe economic lag caused by the chaos in the late Sui Dynasty, social production declined. In order to restore the national economy, stabilize the social order, and maintain the regime, the Tang Dynasty government began to vigorously develop agricultural productivity . In order to make agriculture recover and develop quickly, the ruling class strictly controlled people’s production, commerce and other activities , and the market system flourished. The ruler made the people cling to the land.
City and workshops are planned strictly, bureaucracy, residential areas and markets are strictly managed and separated by to stabilize the agricultural labor force, "city" has little influence and functional effectiveness .
In the early Tang Dynasty, the market system was conducive to the development of society and economy. Due to the strict separation of the market, the external interference and invasion were also well isolated, Ensure the safety and stability of people's lives and solve the problems of urban security. But this kind of system severely restricted personal freedom, inhibited people’s consumer demand and commercial development , with the further development of society, in the middle and late Tang Dynasty, the market system became more and more useless, and gradually began to relax and damage.
The destruction of the market system in the middle and late stages
For a long time, Tang Dynasty’s political situation is very stable and unified , and it has a good domestic and foreign environment. Even during the period of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, the Anshi Rebellion and the rampant separatism of the vassal and the monopoly of some eunuchs caused the decline of the Tang Dynasty's national power. However, due to the rulers of the Tang Dynasty tried their best to govern and the policy was open , the economy soon recovered and developed, and the national strength was revitalized, such as "元和中兴" in the period of Tang Xianzong. This provides stable social and economic conditions for the development from "city" to "field".
In the middle and late Tang Dynasty, agriculture developed rapidly . The rulers attached great importance to agriculture and animal husbandry, and promulgated the policy of "rest with the people" , slacking off fines, and implementing a land equalization system to alleviate social class contradictions; the government also vigorously develops farmland water conservancy. At the same time, agricultural production tools continue to improve, and has a curved plow. In terms of water conservancy irrigation tools, the use of for drum carts and waterwheels saves more labor resources .
At the same time, the cultivation of rice crops and the promotion of tea, the level of the farming system and technology are also constantly maturing and progressing, the improvement of harrow technology and ridge cultivation The output of crops has been continuously increasing, which has laid a material foundation for the development of the bazaar-"Farm" .
The increase in grain output directly promotes the population growth of , and the increase in population makes more land of reclaimed . Coupled with the maturity of silk weaving technology and the prosperity of the ceramic industry, the Tang Dynasty 手工业发展 has reached another historical peak. The development of the shipbuilding industry also led to the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty overseas trade , which further improved the external traffic.
The repair of the canal communicates the communication between the north and the south. The convenience of water and land transportation promotes the flow of population, and shortens the distance between urban and rural areas. The distance between makes the connection between the urban area and the suburbs closer, and people flow and material exchanges can be strengthened . The enlightened ethnic policy of the Tang Dynasty and the national policy of opening to the outside world led to the increase of the foreign population of , the prosperity and development of towns and towns , many 大都市 began to appear, commercial and trade activities were frequent, and "fields" also emerged from this .
In addition to the surplus of agricultural products and handicrafts caused by the development of agriculture and handicrafts, after meeting the needs of individuals and families, people gradually took these surplus labor products to the market for sale, so 城市的市集贸易 began to develop and became more and more prosperous; and only daytime transactions could no longer meet people's commodity exchange and consumption needs, thus began to break the time limit of the market-the night market appeared.
The development of commerce in cities and towns also led to the prosperity of rural fair trade , and grass market and wild market began to appear in rural areas. The small city can no longer accommodate the excess commercial goods and the flow of people. The scale of continues to expand, forming a larger market .
In this period, , the first prototype of the ancient bank—Gufangfang is also gradually becoming popular. , with the accompanying "money order" flying money appeared, currency exchange is more convenient, and the development of Didian, The commodity economy is developing rapidly. The big city, which was originally the center of rule and military, was gradually transforming into a commercialized city. The economic function of city began to be prominent, the commercial tide of Tang Dynasty appeared, and the market began to replace Dongxi Ershi .
The continuous changes of economic and social systems and the development of commercial cities led to the severe destruction of the large wall of Dividing Square in the late Tang Dynasty. East and West cities also quickly spread to the block , expanding its presence Range. From the beginning of the Tang Dynasty to the end of the Tang Dynasty, the Fangshi system completed a magnificent turn from prosperity to decline, from "city" to "field", and the rise of Chang'an Temple Fair was one of these many driving factors.
2. Development of the "Fair"
As a form of fair trade, temple fairs are an extension of the "Fair". It usually refers to religious activities such as sacrifices, fasting, preaching, and practices performed by people in temples or Taoist temples. Temple fairs are generally held at a specific time or religious festival, and its rise is related to folk religions and customs, especially the development of Buddhism and Taoism.
尊道昌佛
Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Li and Tang dynasties have highly respected Taoism. The Tang dynasty was originally named "Li" and the royal family honored Lao Zi Li Er For their ancestors, in the early days of the founding of the country, they also used the "Long Shang Laojun" to convince the people and approve the new 李氏王国 to meet political needs. In addition, Taoism was originally a native religion in ancient China, and it has been widely spread among the people. Its self-cultivation, quiet and uncontroversial thought is also widely pursued by people. , especially those who are frustrated and unwilling in officialdom, intellectuals and literati poosers, as a kind of spiritual comfort.
唐朝 "Hua YiThe "One" ethnic policy and the development and compatible foreign policy enable the Han to blend with all ethnic minorities and foreign people. Whether from inland or from abroad, people of various ethnic groups communicate with each other, forming a harmony, Friendly, equal, and tolerant national atmosphere . In this unprecedented flourishing exchanges, foreign people brought their country’s specialties, spread their culture, and also brought Buddhism
The prevalence of Buddhism was in the Wu Zetian period At that time, Emperor Wu seized the throne. In order to make the people support her rule, used Buddhism, falsely entrusted the gods, and wrote the "Da Yun Jing", calling himself the reincarnation of Maitreya, thereby beautifying the rule and strengthening the "君权神给" The concept in people’s minds is numbing and 教化工作人民. Therefore, during Wu Zetian’s reign, a large number of Buddhist temples were built and quickly emerged among the people, and were vigorously promoted and popularized.
Due Ruler The attention and promotion of , coupled with the people’s awe of gods and ancestors since ancient times, has been deeply rooted in the bones of the people. The two religious cultures of Buddhism and Taoism as a kind of spiritual power have become 民的Main beliefs , and the establishment of temple fairs has become A material practice activity that is loved by people from all walks of life.
The influence and significance of temple fairs
Every religious festival or a certain day, the temple fair in Chang'an City will be very lively , Countless good men, believers, tourists and businessmen gather here. People burn incense and worship Buddha, 祭福消 hearing, 祭祖听道, Satisfy the labor people The spiritual sustenance of the gods of heaven and earth . There are also various traditional folk art performances, such as walking on stilts, lantern festivals, etc. Recreational activities, colorful temple fair culture .
In the temple fair On this day, a large number of people gathered together, Han people, Hu people, Korean people, Dongying people and other ethnic groups gathered together, the flow of people was huge, the vendors saw 商机, so they seized the opportunity, began to set up a stall to sell goods, the goods are frequently traded , and the exchange of goods is prosperous. From the daily necessities used by people to the exotic treasures of foreign countries, there are all kinds of goods; there are many vendors in the market. , Mobile hawkers, stalls... the market is becoming more and more prosperous.
Pilgrims and merchants from all over the city came to the city at the same time, the population expanded, the scale of didians and inns expanded rapidly, and the number of temples and Taoist temples continued to expand. Incense is becoming more and more vigorous, business transaction activities have increased rapidly, market trade has grown rapidly, The economy therefore further developed . These large-scale, large-scale temple fairs and commercial activities and the huge flow of people directly stimulated the transformation of Fangshi to roads and markets. The expansion of the fair has broken through the time and space restrictions of Fangshi, and temple fairs have also begun to develop into temple markets.
Because temple fairs have the characteristics of fixed time and place, coupled with high population mobility, good mass mobilization and distribution, wide radiation and influence, and strong social attraction, the official " warehouse" Field " was set up at the temple fair to facilitate the trade of food and goods and currency exchange with the people.
Temple Fair, in addition to driving the development of the market and , consolidating economic trade, and promoting the circulation of goods, it also played a positive role in the spiritual and cultural life of the people of the Tang Dynasty. On the one hand, folklore performances in temple fairs are commercial, and on the other hand, they have great 娱乐性. Through the exhibition of these traditional art forms, the artists continue to enrich the spiritual life of the Tang people, and at the same time, inherits the excellent culture .
III. Conclusion
The destruction and collapse of the Fangshi system is an inevitable trend of historical development. But its appearance is by no means accidental. The Fangshi system has exerted it for a long time in ancient times. The positive role of the company, its standardized management system still has a certainJian meaning. The development of temple fairs has never declined since ancient times. Temple fair has become a traditional Chinese folk culture and an artistic treasure in Chinese culture.
References
"Ancient Chinese Economic History"
"The Temple Fair in the Countryside"
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