Changes

The lower Yangzi region surrounding the cities of [[Hangzhou]] and [[Suzhou]] (and modern-day [[Shanghai]]) became increasingly densely populated and commercialized over the course of the Ming period. Ninety percent of agricultural land in that region came to be owned by absentee landlords, who rented out the land to tenant farmers, and who came to chiefly grow cash crops such as cotton and silk. Textile merchants in the cities began to organize and oversee entire streams of production, from the tenant farmers producing raw materials, to networks of spinners, weavers, and dyers working out of their homes in rural areas and provincial cities & towns, to their own storefronts in the big cities. By the 17th century, spinning and weaving were China's top industries.<ref name=elman470/>

The lower Yangzi region surrounding the cities of [[Hangzhou]] and [[Suzhou]] (and modern-day [[Shanghai]]) became increasingly densely populated and commercialized over the course of the Ming period. Ninety percent of agricultural land in that region came to be owned by absentee landlords, who rented out the land to tenant farmers, and who came to chiefly grow cash crops such as cotton and silk. Textile merchants in the cities began to organize and oversee entire streams of production, from the tenant farmers producing raw materials, to networks of spinners, weavers, and dyers working out of their homes in rural areas and provincial cities & towns, to their own storefronts in the big cities. By the 17th century, spinning and weaving were China's top industries.<ref name=elman470/>

While rural areas and big cities (Beijing, Hangzhou, Canton) saw considerable growth over the course of the Ming period, it was these provincial cities which saw the most urban expansion. Even so, regional economic activity remained far stronger than national networks.<ref>By contrast, Edo period Japan saw considerable national integration, with goods from all regions passing through [[Edo]] and [[Osaka]], and making their way throughout the country.</ref> Urbanization brought with it the further expansion & development of urban landscapes which first emerged in a serious way in the Song Dynasty, filled with restaurants, teahouses, and brothels. Schools began to grow more numerous and widespread, and book publishing took off, beginning in the late 16th century.

While rural areas and big cities (Beijing, Hangzhou, Canton) saw considerable growth over the course of the Ming period, it was these provincial cities which saw the most urban expansion. Where previously landlords had been based on their rural estates, many now invested themselves in urban commercial and manufacturing endeavors - cotton and silk were perhaps the two chief sectors of proto-industrial growth in this period -  turning their attention away from the comparatively less profitable agricultural production of their estates. Meanwhile, rural families began to engage in by-employments, sometimes devoting just as much, or even more, time to cotton spinning, silk weaving, or other craft work than to agriculture.<ref>Lloyd Eastman, ''Family, Fields, and Ancestors: Constancy and Change in China's Social and Economic History, 1550-1949'', Oxford University Press (1988), 73.</ref>

 

Even so, regional economic activity remained far stronger than national networks.<ref>By contrast, Edo period Japan saw considerable national integration, with goods from all regions passing through [[Edo]] and [[Osaka]], and making their way throughout the country.</ref> Urbanization brought with it the further expansion & development of urban landscapes which first emerged in a serious way in the Song Dynasty, filled with restaurants, teahouses, and brothels. Schools began to grow more numerous and widespread, and book publishing took off, beginning in the late 16th century.

The tax system was streamlined in the 16th century, in what was known as the [[Single Whip Reform]]. Thirty or forty separate land taxes were combined into a single tax obligation, no longer paid in kind (i.e. in grain, or other products), but in silver. Farmers were expected to sell their agricultural products at market to earn the coin necessary to pay their taxes.

The tax system was streamlined in the 16th century, in what was known as the [[Single Whip Reform]]. Thirty or forty separate land taxes were combined into a single tax obligation, no longer paid in kind (i.e. in grain, or other products), but in silver. Farmers were expected to sell their agricultural products at market to earn the coin necessary to pay their taxes.