Commerce plays an important role in the long river of history. What "new commercial cities" emerged during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period?

The "new commercial cities" in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period are Zhongshan, Linzi, Handan, Anyi, Luoyang, Xianyang, Daliang and Ying.

(Distribution map of commercial cities during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period)

The focus of business development lies in the cities where the exploiting classes live and serve them. Commodity exchange between cities is dominant. The capitals where the rulers of various countries live, as well as the cargo distribution centers of transportation hubs, have formed cities with different levels of prosperity. For example, Linzi, the capital of Qi State, which had an early commercial development, was already very lively in the Spring and Autumn Period.

Ying, the capital of Chu, is a sea of people, and there is a saying that "the court clothes are fresh and the evening clothes are poor"; Even Xianyang, a rising star in Qin Dou, is also a "four-way gathering", which is very similar to that of city commercial banks.

In the regional trafficking trade, it is not grain that is farther away and more valuable, but a wide variety of precious local products. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, due to the extensive development of mountain forests and the geographical division of handicrafts, various regions were naturally rich in special products. Under the condition of convenient land and water transportation, businessmen stepped up their activities and acted as intermediaries for economic ties between regions.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the feudal society in China gradually changed from feudal system to landlord system, and the development of productive forces and the transformation of production relations transformed each other, which made the development of commerce reach an unprecedented level. It can be said that this is the first leap in the commercial history of China.