Scenes of medieval western European cities

1. Different characteristics of cities in Western Europe and China 1. Different origins of cities. Medieval cities in western Europe were revived and produced in the 1th and 11th centuries. One of its characteristics is that after the completion of the feudal system, the social productive forces developed further, and the handicraft industry was separated from the manor economy, which became the economic premise and material basis for the emergence of western European cities. Secondly, the cities in western Europe were "not inherited from the past, but re-established by freed serfs." (1) This is the class premise and political basis for the emergence of western European cities. Cities in western Europe are mostly produced in the main roads of land and water transportation, commercial transfer places and agricultural areas with dense population, fertile land and residents feeling that handicrafts are insufficient. Such as Paris, France and Flanders and Braben in the north; Koren, Lubbock, Berlin, Germany; Manchester, York and London in Britain; Venice, Florence and other cities in Italy. In addition, from the perspective of safety, the city is also produced near the location of the big lords, archbishops, monasteries and military forts. The establishment of the new castle will go through a long historical process. At first, it was only used as a residence for handicrafts and commerce. For example, Bruges in Flanders, which used to be the Earl of Flanders, built a castle at the turning point of the Lisi River in 962, and a new castle or "suburb" where vendors, craftsmen and wine shop assistants lived soon rose outside it. The new castle began to be fenced with wooden fences, and later stones were transported from the ruins of an ancient Roman city several miles away to build a stone castle. New castle is a new industrial and commercial settlement, and the old castle is the residence of feudal lords. Emerging cities in western Europe, such as Hamburg, Nuremberg and StrasBourg, with the root of "bourg", and Saint-Germain and Saint-Denis Saint-niels bohr with the root of "SAN", mostly reflect that the castle originated near the old military fortress or church monastery. "By the end of the 11th century, '(Bourgperson' no longer meant a soldier or servant of a castle, but a citizen" [②]. As for the cities that rose in the river ferry, their names are also reflected, such as Frankford (the ferry of Franks) and oxford (the ferry of cattle). These emerging or rebuilt cities on the old ruins are not large in scale, with only a few hundred people or even two or three thousand people. Cities with tens of thousands of people are already very rare. In the 14th century, London, England, the economic, political and military center of a country, had only 4, residents. Although the new residence is not large, it has opened a gap for the feudal self-sufficient closed economy. The establishment of domestic market led to the disintegration of feudal economy. The situation in China is different. China entered the feudal society one thousand years earlier than Western Europe (475 BC in China and 476 AD in Western Europe). During the transition period from slavery to feudalism, China experienced great turmoil, but it didn't experience the invasion and destruction of foreigners (tribes) like ancient Rome. The original superstructure was not completely destroyed, but was realized through certain transformation (reform). The old cities in the period of slavery were basically inherited after entering the feudal system. Driven by the new relations of production, with the development of agriculture, handicrafts and commerce and a large number of enfeoffment, by the Warring States period, the number of cities had increased and prospered. For example, when Zhao She answered Tian Dan, he said, "The ancient people were divided into all nations within the four seas. Although the city was 3 feet big, the people were 3. Today, a city of thousands of feet faces each other. " Linzi, the capital of Qi State, has grown to "7, households, which are very rich and real ...". On the way to Linzi, the hub of the car hits, people rub shoulders, and they become a curtain, and they become a curtain, sweating into rain "[4]. According to the types of cities, the economic center cities formed by the development of handicrafts and commerce are growing with the development and progress of society in the historical records of China. Such as Yangzhou in the Warring States Period, Wan, Chengdu, Hefei and Panyu in the Western Han Dynasty, and Quanzhou in the Tang Dynasty. By the Song Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty, in addition to the growing prosperity of the traditional economic center cities, some new cities were added, such as Hankou, Beijing, Jiangning, Fuzhou, Zhangjiakou, Ningbo, Xiamen, Shanghai, Zhangzhou and Xining, etc., and the newly emerging towns developed rapidly, especially in Jiangsu, Hangzhou, Song, Jia and Hu areas in the south of the Yangtze River, and budded capitalism. Qing's closed-door policy dealt a severe blow to the seeds of capitalism, and the invasion of western powers after the Opium War was even worse. On the whole, however, China's cities were mainly established according to the political and military needs of the ruling class (the county system implemented by the Qin Dynasty). Although many cities were built in areas with land and water transportation arteries, dense population and fertile land, similar to Western Europe, they were different in nature. One is naturally formed, and the other is mainly established by order of the rulers (of course, there are natural elements). Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, China cities have been dotted with capital, provincial capital (county, road ...), Fucheng, prefectures and counties, etc. (There are special military towns and health centers in the border defense) In the city, there are both servants from the government and businessmen, and there are both old castles and new towns in medieval cities in Western Europe. But in the city, the government is the head and center, and industry and commerce are subsidiary products. In order to strengthen the rule and enjoy it, emperors of past dynasties often moved the rich and the workers to fill Kyoto. For example, Qin Shihuang ordered "moving the world's rich to Xianyang" (⑤), when Emperor Yangdi built Luoyang as the east capital, "moving tens of thousands of wealthy businessmen from dajia to Tokyo" (⑤), and at the beginning of Ming Taizu's capital Jinling (Nanjing), "taking more than 45, households from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, filling the capital and strengthening the country. To sum up, the development law of western European cities is from the settlement of handicrafts and commerce to the new economic and political center. China city has gradually developed from a political and military center to a new political and economic center. 2. The structure of the city is different. At first, the medieval cities in western Europe were mainly inhabited by serfs and craftsmen who fled from the manor, and there were also merchants, vendors, wine shops and so on operated by fugitive serfs, which were basically a production city. The layout of the city, the general center is the square, which is the place where people hold and trade goods by hand. Organizationally, it is organized according to the traditional democratic form of "rural commune", and various industries gradually organize their own trade associations. Businessmen also organized chambers of commerce, as an organization to unite and fight against their enemies (robbers and nobles) and prevent external competition to defend their own survival and interests. In western Europe, "the medieval urban labor was different from the Asian labor form and the rural labor form in the west ... it had made a big step forward, and it was a preparatory school for the capital production mode and the continuity and economy of labor" [8]. There are two economic centers in western Europe-manor and city, namely agricultural economic center and commercial economic center, which are interdependent and developing in different directions. China's cities are very complicated, but generally speaking, dignitaries, nobles, servants and servants are the main bodies, and the industrialists and businessmen are in a subordinate position. Consumption is greater than production, commerce exceeds handicrafts, and it is basically a consumer city. Cities are generally large in scale and have a large population. The population of small and medium-sized cities is generally tens of thousands, and the largest is hundreds of thousands or even millions. Generally speaking, the chief executive's office is the center of the city, and there are many kinds of houses, so Chengguan often develops into an industrial and commercial area. Dajia, a wealthy businessman in the city, has many ties with powerful people, some of whom have bought official titles, and some of whom have widely ruled farmland houses and become a member of the ruling class. Handicraft workers, traders and hawkers from rural areas, after arriving in the city, have no organizations representing their own interests for a long time, and they are particularly weak because of lack of manpower. China's urban guilds were formed late, which can be found in the inscription of Fangshan Shijing, indicating that there were guilds in the north from Tianbao to Zhenyuan in the Tang Dynasty, which was more than a thousand years later than the formation of feudal cities. Guilds with real significance may be after the Ming Dynasty. ⑨ But even then, the guild was different from Western Europe. Therefore, the civic movement did not become active until the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Most of China's peasants who enter cities are bankrupt. They don't have certain personal freedom like Western Europe. When they go to cities, they live by Japanese labor, and they also work as handicrafts or vendors and other jobs. They have a deep local concept and great mobility. When the conditions improve, they will return to their hometowns to buy property and farm. Some people have lived in cities for generations, but when the conditions are bad, they move to the countryside to make a living. Accustomed to accepting the feudal exploitation mode of "cultivating the land of the rich people and seeing the tax" [⑩]. There is no strict boundary between urban and rural areas, and there is no essential change in farmers entering the city or citizens returning to the countryside. They are still basically subordinate to feudalism and can hardly develop into a new bourgeoisie. 3. The role of cities is different. A medieval city in western Europe, it was the base of commodity production, the fortress of the anti-feudal struggle of oppressed serfs, the birthplace of secular culture and the cradle of Renaissance. Cities formed alliances with kingship to promote national unity and the formation of modern nation-states. Its appearance and development became a graveyard for burying medieval feudal lords. When cities began to appear in feudal territory, most lords took a supportive attitude. This is because: (1) Western European territories have no subordinate relationship with each other. After the serfs in the first place fled to the second place, the lords in the second place can get taxes from the industries they run to increase their income. (2) In order to get craftsmen's handicrafts and all kinds of luxury goods from merchants nearby to meet the growing needs, the lords are enthusiastic about new industrial and commercial centers appearing in their own territory. (3) The lords give preferential treatment to the slaves who fled from other places, so as to prevent craftsmen from entering other territories. Therefore, they are lenient in taxation and lenient in justice. In the construction of roads and bridges, huts, garden stalls, etc., generous concessions [① ①]. These were welcomed by the fugitives. The new lords' protection and tolerance for the fugitive serfs is to safeguard their exploitation and rule, while the fugitive serfs are eager for free trade and life. Then new contradictions and struggles began. The new citizens launched a struggle to get rid of the control of the lords and strive for urban autonomy, which is also called the urban commune movement. This movement lasted from the appearance of cities in the 11th century to the formation of cities in the 13th century. Their ways of struggle are flexible and diverse, and some get autonomy through money redemption, such as the more affluent cities in southern France; Some have gained autonomy through armed struggle, such as Langcheng in France and Milan in Italy. According to statistics, "the number of those autonomous cities increased tenfold between 11 and 13, while their population sometimes increased to two or three times" [① ②]. In a city that has achieved full autonomy, there are all citizens' congresses, which are the highest authority in the city and have permanent institutions to manage the city (through elections). They enjoy independent administrative, judicial, financial, coin-making, military defense and the right to declare war and make peace with foreign countries, such as Venice, Genoa, Florence and China. In addition, there are some cities, which are produced under mutual compromise and have only achieved incomplete autonomy. For example, in Paris, France, the French king "allowed to participate in the trial of commercial issues and cases of the Paris Chamber of Commerce" [① ③]. In short, citizens are free and enjoy different degrees of political participation. In order to strengthen the kingship, the ruling class formed a political alliance with the urban citizens, which made the political pattern in Western Europe have new changes and new characteristics. With the support of cities, Britain and France in western Europe quickly got rid of the chaotic disputes of feudal separatism in the 13th and 14th centuries respectively, and established a centralized hierarchical monarchy. (Britain held a parliament in 1295 and France held a three-level meeting in 132) Cities and kingship formed an alliance and supported each other, forming a situation of economic prosperity and strong national strength. The development of urban industry and commerce has strongly promoted the reform in rural areas. The implementation of rural monetary land rent gradually freed the identity of the whole serf, which in turn promoted the formation of a unified domestic market. The day when the kingship in western Europe was strengthened was when the feudal society was rapidly disintegrating. Once the alliance that needed mutual support in the early years broke down, the bourgeois revolution was brewing. The city of China has always been the center of rulers at all levels and a center of consumption since the Middle Ages. As Marx pointed out; "In Asia, the prosperity or existence of cities is entirely born of local government expenditure" [① ④]. Since China's cities are completely controlled by the rulers, their policies on urban industry and commerce have shifted from their own interests, and the fate of urban industry and commerce has changed from time to time. For example, at the beginning of the Western Han Dynasty, "the ban of" the sea is one, the beam is switched on and off, and the mountain forest is forbidden. " This laissez-faire policy towards industry and commerce immediately aroused the activity of industry and commerce throughout the country. At the same time, we adopted the policy of "saving the law and forbidding, paying less attention to land rent, paying more attention to officials, and giving it to the people" (① ⑤), which quickly restored and developed agriculture. After 6 or 7 years of frivolous taxation, the prosperous period of "the rule of culture and scenery" appeared in the early Western Han Dynasty. The great development of private industry and commerce in this period made many industrial and commercial cities flourish, including 18 cities such as Xi 'an, Luoyang, Handan, Linzi, Jiangling, Chen, Wu, Shouchun and Panyu. Dajia, a wealthy businessman, also came into being. They "or @ ① were poor in financial services, turned to the valley for hundreds of times, abandoned their residence services, and all of them bowed their heads and raised their heads. Smelting and boiling salt will make you rich or tired, instead of assisting the country's urgent needs ... "[① ⑥]. The development of commodity economy has impacted the feudal hierarchy and the foundation of natural economy. Since Liu Bang's time in the early Han Dynasty, many officials have suggested implementing the policy of "restraining business". Emperor gaozu once ordered that "businessmen should not ride horses with clothes and silk, and pay heavy taxes to embarrass them" [① ⑦], but the harvest was not great. During Emperor Wudi's reign, with the recovery and development of the whole economy, especially the prosperity of the agricultural economy, the rulers of the Han Dynasty began to attack the private industry and commerce, and promulgated a series of policies to curb the development of industry and commerce, such as selling salt and iron, and losing both the level and the level. Coupled with the increasingly decadent ruling class, it has caused new economic damage and social unrest. This cycle has seriously hindered the development of urban industry and commerce and social progress. Since the development of dajia, a wealthy businessman in China city, was based on the will of the feudal rulers, they were politically tied to the feudal power, and economically turned their surplus capital to purchase farmland houses and became merchant landlords. They have no claim to autonomy. Small handicraftsmen and vendors in the city operate and live under the close supervision of the government, so it is difficult to organize and fight with few people. Government-run handicrafts are just servants serving the ruling class, and there is no connection between them. The nature of China city is different from that of Western Europe. The real big city of China, here, can only be considered as the military camp of the emperor, which is a wart on the real economic structure. (1) Today, however, history is still developing, but it is too slow. After the 16th century, it lags behind Western Europe. Second, the reasons for the different characteristics of Chinese and Western cities 1. The land ownership forms in Western Europe and China are different. The feudal land ownership is the foundation of the feudal system, which has its own characteristics and different characteristics. The land in western Europe was given to the lords by the king, and the land was the hereditary territory of the feudal lords, which was inherited according to the eldest son inheritance system (or testamentary successor). Lords at all levels adopt manor system for land management in their own territory, and land cannot be bought or sold. China's land system, although nominally, is "universal."