The economic development of Jiangnan area during the Western Han Dynasty and the Southern Dynasties

Jiangnan in the Western Han Dynasty was still in the stage of rough cultivation, with backward means of production and low economic and cultural level. It was not until the Eastern Han Dynasty that the economy and culture of the south of the Yangtze River made progress. Later, the economy of the south of the Yangtze River developed further at a faster speed and surpassed that of the Central Plains. This situation is the result of the continuous development and evolution of history. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, many heroes rose together, Zhongzhou was disturbed, and wars were frequent in the Central Plains. The people in the Central Plains lived in dire straits and could not engage in production and life normally. In order to seek a more stable place to live, there has been a large-scale wave of immigrants from the Central Plains to the south of the Yangtze River, which is famous in history as "avoiding chaos in the south of the Yangtze River". This migration brought the most advanced technology in science, technology, agriculture and handicraft industry in the world, as well as a large number of labor and sufficient funds to the south, which provided the necessary conditions for the economic development of Jiangnan and laid a solid foundation for the rapid economic and cultural development of Jiangnan in the future. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, when the Three Kingdoms were divided, there were many wars in the north, while the south was relatively stable. The major wars in the Three Kingdoms, the Jin Dynasty and the Southern and Northern Dynasties all took place in the north, and basically did not spread to the south of the Yangtze River. For example, the famous battles of Guandu, Chibi and Mud Water all took place in the north, where there was no stable production environment at all. It was the stable environment in the south that guaranteed the economic development in the south. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the rulers began to develop the water conservancy in the south of the Yangtze River, and the accountant prefect created a "mirror lake" to build ponds and store water in Huiji and Shanyin, and adjust the water quantity at any time according to the flood and drought conditions, so there is no longer a bad year, with 31 miles around the dike pond and 9 hectares of irrigated fields. This is a water conservancy project of considerable scale. And then some rulers in the south of the Yangtze River also took measures to develop the economy. For example, during the Three Kingdoms period, Shu Han realized the policy of reducing taxes and rewarding farming, and Jiangnan also reversed the backward production situation of engaging in agriculture with relatively primitive farming techniques. Emperor Wu of the Southern Dynasties paid more attention to developing production and reducing the burden on farmers. The development of water conservancy, the improvement of production technology and the support of rulers have created good conditions for the rapid development of Jiangnan economy. It can be said that Jiangnan ushered in an unprecedented development after the Eastern Han Dynasty. It is a series of conditions that contributed to the economic and cultural development of Jiangnan, and I think the above three points are the most important reasons. With the economic progress, the cultural outlook of the south of the Yangtze River has also taken on a new look. After such a historical process, the cultural gap between the south of the Yangtze River and the Central Plains began to narrow, and the degree of civilization in the south of the Yangtze River increased significantly, thus preparing the conditions for the later shift of the national economic and cultural center to the southeast. During the Three Kingdoms period, Wu established its capital and established a business, and the southern political center appeared, which promoted the development of the southern economy. After the Battle of Surabaya, the north and the south confronted each other, the south was relatively stable, and the east was south. Such as Emperor Wu of Song's rectification of politics and economy. (2) the uprising of Sun Si and Lu Xun dealt a heavy blow to the foot soldiers landlords in the south. The land ownership relationship and class relationship of eight counties in southeast China have been adjusted. Some land returned to the working people, and the status of some tenants, "Leshu", "handmaiden" and soldiers was improved or liberated. This has played an important role in the recovery and development of social economy. (3) During the decades before and after the establishment of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, millions of people from the Central Plains flocked to the south. Among the people from the north and the south, there were many farmers. Whether they became the dependent population of the landlord's manor or the yeoman, they were the main labor force to develop the south. (4) With the population of the Central Plains moving southward, advanced production tools and technologies spread rapidly, cattle sowing technology was widely promoted, and two cows were used to raise money, intensive cultivation, manure fields and iron tools were widely promoted and used, and the southern economy developed.