The Economic Function of the Cities in South China in the Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties

During the Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, the distribution of the cities in South China was becoming more and more concentrated and their economic function was growing increasingly stronger. As the market economy was flourishing, the scope of business management was being enlarged. Exchange of commodities at night could be found everywhere in some relatively developed cities in South China. Urban service trades were springing up. In some big cities, large groups of consumers appeared. They consisted of numerous people and possessed abundant financial resources, thus making a notable impact on the economy of the cities in South China. As these cities influenced the surrounding rural economy deeply, peasants in the surrounding areas developed close relations with them. In the middle and latter half of the Tang Dynasty, the economy of some cities such as Suzhou, Yuezhou, Hangzhou and Xuanzhou developed quickly. It was not until in the Five Dynasties that Yuezhou and Xuanzhou declined and that Suzhou, Hangzhou and Jinling became three distinctly developed economic centres.