Huizhou farmland prices indicate Hui merchants capital flow.According to previous scholarships,the trend of Huizhou farmland prices during the Ming dynasty exhibited an inverted-U curve or a rising straight-line.We believe both interpretations are wrong for two reasons.First,Huizhou farmland price data before Tianqi era were overestimated due to the neglect of the effect of tax delay on farmland property transactions (TDFPT).Second,the validity and representativeness of average Mu price should be questioned because the previous Huizhou studies neglected the differences between Mu and Tax mu,and the wide dispersion of Mu prices as well.Considering the TDFPT factor,we replace Mu price with the Ratio of Land Price to Annual Rent.Trend analysis shows an N-shaped growth,rather than an inverted-U or a straight-line.The N-shaped curve is the result of Hui merchants capital influx from farmland into salt industry and pawn broking during Jiajing era,and the reverse flow during Wanli era.
周生春 明 旭. 明代徽州田价发覆[J]. 浙江大学学报(人文社会科学版), 2011, 41(3): 70-80.
Zhou Shengchun Ming Xu. An Inquiry into Huizhou Farmland Prices in the Ming Dynasty. , 2011, 41(3): 70-80.