Land-Pool Farming and Economic Restructuring in Shunde County during the Times of Ming,Qing Dynasties and the Republic of China

Wu Jianxin(Research Department of Agricultural History,South China Agricultural University,Guangzhou,Guangdong 510642)

Ming Dynasty,Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China,Shunde,Land-pool Farming,Economic Restructuring

Among the land-pool farming in Shunde County,the pool,based on freshwater fishery,had the ecological function by reserving water;crops planted on the land by the pool changed according to the market.Thus,the land-pool farming had many different types.Changes of crops concerned with changes of local economic types.Orchard land-pool farming in the Ming dynasty promoted the development of fruit processing industry to supply the domestic market.The big improvement of mulberry land-pool farming in the Qing dynasty made silk reeling industry facing the international market come into being.Mulberry land-pool farming was becoming closely connected with the export-oriented silk reeling industry by steam engine between the end of Qing dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China.In the early days of 1930s,facing the international economic crisis,the authorities of Guangdong started up sugar industry and the sugarcane land-pool farming appeared.They also launched the movement of sericulture recovery and made some amendments to the development mode of silk reeling industry.Finally,the mulberry land-pool farming lived through the world economic crisis.