Market Towns and the Urbanization in the Countryside of South of the Yangtze River in the South Song Dynasty

During the South Song Dynasty,the market towns,having speedily developed in the south of the Yangtze River,gradually transformed from the commercial centre and the country fair of the rural area into the new synthesis of the rural economy and society.The rural markets rose quickly,the commodity production was more and more active,the community and the cultural life also showed a series of relevant changes.The self-sufficient pattern of the traditional natural economy and the closed social pattern of the countryside started to be shaken to some specified degree.Some features of urban civilization were showed in the countryside.But the development level of the urbanization in the countryside was finite,being only in the preliminary phase.