Economy+-+Qing

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= Agriculture and Economy = ·  Populations of China grew drastically during the very peaceful life in the Qing Dynasty. ·  New marketing and merchants extended their businesses. ·  Farmers made up of 80% of China’s population. ·  Not only did they use paper money, they used copper and silver as well. - Copper coins had a cut in the middle so it was easy to tie several coins together. - Copper was used for everyday supplements while silver was to pay taxes. - This allowed people to learn the basics of reading and writing. - There was a problem with rice production, it was a lot of work and it -required 150 days tripen but by the Qing times, it only took 30 days for them to ripen. - Another disadvantage is that rice was easily damaged by droughts. - Another type of rice was introduced, Champa rice, they were more drought resistant. 343-344 >   - Plows and harrows > - Promoted developments of dams, dikes, sluice gates, treadle water pumps and other water control devices. Sources: [|http://www.learn.columbia.edu/nanxuntu/html/economy/index.html] http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Qing/qing-econ.html
 * The manchus were nomadic people who hunted, fished and raised horses in the area that is now northeastern China.
 * They traded pearls, furs, and medicinal plant ginseng.
 * -Taxes were very low during the Qing period and everyone had a relatively high living standard.
 * -Wet-rice was an important element of agriculture production because of its high yield of food per acre. [[image:603034-Rice-Farm-0.jpg align="right" caption="Rice Farm"]]
 * The southern part of China was easier to grow rice but the northern part of China had a drier climate and irregular rainfalls so the main crop was wheat.
 * Improved farm tools
 * Fertilizers such as organic manure were used.
 * Double-cropping depending on soil and the climate became possible. 344
 * Maize, sweet potatoes, sorghum millet, and peanuts were introduced in the China diet by the Europeans.
 * Food productions were affected when the farmers began to grow cash crops such as cotton, tea, sugar can and tobacco. 343-344

Book Sources: China's Imperial Past. Charles O. Hucker.

Picture Sources: [] [] 