money player

Chapter 129 Cotton War
"Brother Hong, cotton is very interesting. The earliest recorded planting occurred in the Indus Valley Civilization between 5 and 4 BC. Strictly speaking, it was in what is now Pakistan. The main cotton-producing areas of India and Pakistan are actually They are several places close to the border.

It turns out that the cotton grown in the Greater India area is called shag cotton, that is, Asian cotton. The yield is low, the fiber is short and thick, and it is not suitable for machine spinning. Almost 200 years ago, India introduced medium-long fiber upland cotton, which also made India leap forward. Become the world's largest cotton exporter.

The origin of upland cotton is Mexico in Central America. It is also called American cotton in our country. It is called this because the upland cotton seeds here come from the United States, directly or indirectly. "

Xian Yaowen took a sip of tea and continued: "Upland cotton has wide adaptability, high yield, long fibers and good quality. It can perfectly adapt to machine-spun medium-count yarns. Basically, upland cotton has become synonymous with cotton. , when people talk about cotton, they mean upland cotton.

In the late Southern Song Dynasty, there was a very famous woman named Huang Daopo. She was from Songjiang Prefecture, which is now Shanghai. It is said that she was a child bride in her hometown when she was young. She could not bear the abuse and fled to Hainan Island. There is also a theory that she was abducted. Yes, we don’t care how she passed. In short, she stayed in Hainan Island for decades, brought back a relatively advanced cotton textile technology of the Li people, and carried out innovations.

She has made innovations in the first three of the four most basic cotton textile techniques: weaving, elasticizing, spinning and weaving. 'Weaving' uses mechanical principles to peel off cotton seeds, which is several times more profitable and greatly improves efficiency. This invention preceded the invention of the cotton gin by Whiteney in the United States by more than 400 years;

"Tan" is to transform a small bamboo slingshot with cotton strings into a large rope-string bow more than four feet long, and change the bow string from hand-plucked to hammer-struck and vibrating bow string;

"Spinning" is to transform the original single-type hand-operated spinning wheel that can only spin one cotton yarn into a three-type pedal spinning wheel that can spin three cotton yarns at the same time, which is the famous Huang Daopo spinning wheel. This improvement has improved the spinning efficiency. 3 times, which is more than 400 years earlier than the Jenny loom invented by the British.

Secondly, Huang Daopo, on the basis of learning and drawing lessons from Hainan's cotton textile technology, summarized a series of relatively advanced methods of 'staggering yarns, matching colors, heald threads, and picking out flowers' to make quilts, mattresses, and belts. , 娨, with broken branches, group phoenix, chess game, and words on it, it is as charming as writing.

The handmade cotton textile skills summarized by Huang Daopo spread from her hometown of Wunijing to Songjiang Prefecture, and then spread throughout Jiangnan. During the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, about 600 years ago, the Jiangnan cotton textile industry centered on Songjiang Prefecture was the only one in the country and became the most developed region in the cotton textile industry. Its products were exported to all parts of the country, and it was known as the "clothing and quilt world".

At that time, there was a proverb that "you can't buy enough Songjiang cloth, and you can't harvest Weitang gauze." During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the cotton planting area in Songjiang area accounted for about half of the total cultivated land, with an annual output of more than 4000 million pieces of cotton cloth. Not only Songjiang Prefecture, but also the surrounding Suzhou, Hangzhou, Changzhou, Zhenjiahu, etc. have also benefited from this. "

Xian Yaowen paused and said: "Brother Hong, I want to say something here. The cotton grown at that time was not upland cotton, but kapok, not the kind of tree that can bloom red flowers. To be precise, it should be called African cotton. This kind of cotton It is said that it is not as good as upland cotton for weaving, but it is much easier to grow than upland cotton. If you plant it on rotten land that cannot be used for other crops, you don't need to take care of it frequently. You can just harvest cotton when the time comes.

Last year, I planted an acre of African cotton at home. When I came to Hong Kong, I still had half an acre that I had not yet harvested. To be honest, Brother Hong, I have liked snow-white cotton since I was a child. If I hadn’t been a kid, I might have learned from my master. Play cotton. Doing business is too tiring. If you ask me to choose again, I will stay at home and not come out. It would be good to learn the art of playing cotton, move to Jiangxi, and make a living by walking around the streets playing cotton. "

Hong Yingdong sneered and said, "Brother Xian doesn't need to get married if he wants to play cotton. He's married so far away from Jiangxi."

"Brother Hong thought differently. Getting married is just a joke. Going out is a must. The weather in Guangdong and Guangxi is hot, and there are not many people who need to play cotton."

Hong Yingdong changed to a comfortable sitting position, pricked up his ears and continued to listen to Xian Yaowen's story.

"During the Qianlong period, Songjiang's cotton fabrics were not only sold across the country, but also sold in large quantities to Europe and other places through Yangcheng, the only treaty port at that time. At first, they were mainly bought by the Spaniards and Portuguese, who called the cotton they bought back Songjiang cloth. Later, the British also came to buy it, and they called the cotton cloth Nanjing cloth.

Speaking of trade, during the Ming Dynasty, the Spaniards and Portuguese had already gone to Yangcheng to trade. They knew the situation on our side better. Maybe at that time, Songjiang cloth had been imported to Europe, and the British were still trading with them. We were engaged in re-export trade, and rumors spread among them. The British somehow called Songjiang cloth Nanjing cloth. "

"It is said that Nanjing cloth has a light purple color. This purple color is dyed with a natural plant dye. It is not easy to fade and looks natural on the surface. Nanjing purple flower is exported to Europe because it is light, breathable and skin-friendly. It is widely used in Europe. Women's underwear, long skirts, and men's trousers are all made of Nanjing cloth.

The love of Songjiang cloth products among the upper class of European countries was reflected in many literary works in the 19th century.

For example, Flaubert wrote in Madame Bovary, 'Here comes the apothecary. He wore a green tuxedo, a pair of Nanjing cloth trousers, a pair of beaver shoes, and a felt hat - a short felt hat, which is truly rare.

Hugo wrote in "Les Misérables", "His most exquisite clothing was a pair of Nanjing cloth trousers with elephant-leg style trousers, and the trousers were tied at the feet with copper ribbons."

There is also a fragment in "The Count of Monte Cristo", "A man of thirty-one or twelve years old, wearing a light blue dress, purple floral trousers, and a white vest, with a British manner and accent, came to see the mayor of Marseille."

Heine's poem "Twilight of the Gods" writes, "Men put on their Nanking trousers." There are many other literary works that mention Nanking cloth. I will not describe them one by one. It is worth mentioning that in these Most of what appears in the works is 'Nanjing cloth' rather than 'Songjiang cloth', which also shows that the export trade of that period was basically controlled by the British. "

Xian Yaowen took a sip of tea, moistened his throat, lit a cigar, and continued, "With the unfolding of the British Industrial Revolution, as upland cotton was introduced to India, and as the slave trade shifted to the cotton fields of the United States, The world's textile technology is changing with each passing day, and the textile pattern has undergone major changes. Looking back at us..."

Before he finished speaking, the door to the private room was pushed open, and Cen Peipei walked in carrying a kettle.

"Looking back at us, it's just like the tortoiseshell turtle I raised at home." Xian Yaowen pinched his throat and imitated the voice of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in his memory, "Hey, little master, why do your pants look so good to me? It looks familiar, let me think about it... I remembered it, the same craftsmanship as the one worn by your ancestor Liezu, the craftsmanship of your grandma Liezu, that little girl was so naughty, she almost didn't send my old man away by feeding me honey locusts. , No, I’m going to dig into her grave and curse a few words.”

As soon as the words fell, Hong Yingdong and Cen Peipei burst into laughter.

Xian Yaowen didn't laugh with him, he just took the kettle from Cen Peipei's hand and put the previous kettle in the private room into her hand. Seeing this, Cen Peipei realized that she had not knocked on the door just now, suppressed the laughter on her face, smiled shyly at Xian Yaowen, said a polite word to Hong Yingdong, and walked out of the private room.

Xian Yaowen refilled the teacup with some water and continued: "During the Qianlong period, Li Shiyao, the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, a university scholar, once submitted a memorial to Qianlong. It read as follows: An investigation into Burma has been carried out since the 34th year of Qianlong's reign. The old government villages were confused and depleted. They were willing to pay tribute and called for the withdrawal of troops... I carefully inspected the products in Burma. Cotton was the most abundant, followed by blue clouds, jade and jade. What I gave to the mainland was nothing more than silk and satin. Tribute iron needles and the like.

In recent years, a lot of jade and other items there have been sold in Yunnan and Guangdong provinces. They are all sent out by locals from the mainland to conduct inspections and inspections. Military servicemen, because they have important official duties, do not strictly check their luggage, which leads to smuggling. Unavoidable. The detectives only stop at the savage territory and pick up nonsense. Not only can they not get the true feelings of the person, but they can also transfer the information from the mainland and leak it. As for cotton, when I was in Guangdong Province, I saw that in recent years, the ships imported from overseas ports were fully loaded with cotton. When they were exported, they also bought some sugar and alum. There were many ships and few taxes, which made it difficult to do business.

The ministers and supervisor Dekui issued strict orders. If cotton is mixed and imported again, trading is not allowed and the original ship will be impounded. The overseas sea lanes are open to all countries. I didn't know that Burma was rich in cotton at first. Now that I have arrived in Yunnan, I heard that the Burmese bandit's Togong, Yangweng and other places were used as a place for foreign ships to collect and trade. Based on what I saw in Guangdong, I found out that In Yunnan, I heard that cotton from Burma was transported by sea. It was like a closed city in Yunnan Province. It was in name only but not enough to control the lives of the Burmese bandits.

Since the thirty-fourth year of Qianlong's reign, border disputes have frequently occurred in Yunnan, which borders Myanmar, but a solution to the disputes has not yet been found. Myanmar is a major cotton producer and is rich in jade such as Bixia Xi and Jadeite. Because the output of these jade is small and the price is high, it is easy to trade in Yunnan, Guangdong and other places close to Myanmar. In the mid-Qianlong period, many Chinese people also went to the Myanmar border for transactions, and border inspections were not so strict.

Li Shiyao worked in the Yangcheng area in the 20th year of Qianlong's reign and was very proficient in Yangcheng's foreign trade.

In fact, in the 24th year of Qianlong's reign, Li Shiyao put forward suggestions on issues such as the length of stay of foreign merchants in Yangcheng and the prohibition of capital loans between Guangdong merchants and foreign merchants: "I am reporting to the gathering of merchant ships from various countries in Guangdong, please order after sales." If you return to China as scheduled, you are not allowed to stay in the winter. You are not allowed to conduct private transactions in commercial establishments, you are not allowed to lend capital to mainland merchants, and you are not allowed to hire mainland servants. '

In the twenty-fifth year of Qianlong's reign, in response to the issue of normalizing trade funds for foreign merchants, he also proposed: "Guangdong Customs has various regulations and etiquette for the entry and exit of merchant ships from various countries. For example, there are various regulations and etiquette in addition to the official tax ship notes. Please delete the name and color and return it to the public bank." Several. Food for each household's servants, and all expenses for boats and carriages are written off here. And discuss it with the lower department. '

The reason why he made these suggestions was that Li Shiyao realized that the goods traded in Yangcheng by overseas port ships at that time were almost all cotton, and when they returned they only took away white sugar and alum with relatively low taxes. Yangcheng basically had no trading interests. income. This situation is unfavorable to Guangdong businessmen.

In the 1735th year of Qianlong's reign, that is, , basically from that time on, the export of cotton and cotton cloth had been declining. It also happened that from that time on, the textile industry in the Yangcheng area developed in great strides, and its development model was a bit special.

Indian cotton, American-made clothing products, and British-made cotton clothing are imported from outside, and are re-exported or sold after secondary processing through the hands of the Thirteenth Industry. The cotton cloth woven by upland cotton has completely overwhelmed the civilian market with its high quality and low price. In the living space of civil cotton cloth, only Nanjing cloth has a place for export due to its color and texture.

The Thirteenth Line also had a happy cooperation with the British, and later the British led them to do more profitable business. "

"Opium?" Hong Yingdong asked.

"Yes."

Xian Yaowen went on to talk about the relationship between cotton and the internal struggle in Europe, the relationship between cotton and the outbreak of the American Civil War, the cotton embargo, the liberation of black slaves and other events. By the way, he also mentioned an organization "Manchester Cotton Supply Association", and then transitioned the topic to something not far from the present. .

“In 1844, when the unequal Treaty of Wangxia between China and the United States was signed, American businessmen who were full of hope were disappointed to find that the Qing Empire was ‘sick but not dead’. The strong small-scale peasant economy and feudal anti-foreign consciousness made Americans troubled.

The most annoying thing is the American cotton textile industry and shipping industry. In the 100 years after the independence of the United States, the primitive accumulation of industrial capital mainly relied on the close cooperation between southern cotton plantations, northern textile mills and coastal shipping industries to obtain profits through export sales and expand reproduction.

Since the European powers such as Britain and France controlled large tracts of colonies, American cotton and cotton products could only find buyers in a narrow international space, and we, who had just been bombarded by Western powerful ships, were undoubtedly full of temptations of money.

However, Chinese cotton and its handmade native fabrics were also China's traditional export products. Until the 19s, Chinese textiles still monopolized the Far East market. From 50 to 1860, American firms in Shanghai had to transfer unsalable Massachusetts cotton to the British-French allied forces and the Spanish Governor of the Philippines, and instead organized foreign gun teams to suppress the Taiping Rebellion.

However, under the multiple blows of Western armed plunder, capital export and commodity dumping, China's cotton and textile industry based on the small farmer economy eventually declined.

In 1880, the United States imported about US$2200 million from China and exported only about US$100 million to China. However, by 1902, US exports to China had exceeded imports, with cotton exports to China showing the greatest improvement.

Starting from the end of the 19th century, modern industrial and commercial cities represented by Shanghai, Tianjin, and Hankou emerged. Just as the Western Industrial Revolution began with the application of steam engines in the cotton spinning industry, a large number of private entrepreneurs imported American cotton spinning machines.

Local cotton generally has thicker fibers and is prone to divergence, and waste cotton is easily generated during mechanical processing. American cotton has advantages in terms of quality, impurity content, and moisture content, and is more suitable for American cotton spinning machines. Even so, domestic cotton and American cotton were still tied. Until the all-out Anti-Japanese War in 1937, China was still the third cotton-producing country in the world, with a lint cotton output of more than 1700 million tons.

Later, with the successful introduction of American cotton, Chinese cotton companies and cotton farmers still had a place to face the impact of foreign businessmen.

The turning point came after the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War. Affected by the war, local cotton production fell off a cliff, because during the war, these problems were not prominent. However, after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, cotton spinning mills that had moved inland returned to work one after another, and the demand for raw materials increased. The shortage of raw cotton has been exposed. No, it should be said that many economic problems have been exposed.

In order to solve economic problems, the National Government moved currency and foreign exchange in 1946. Domestic prices rose nearly 7 times the exchange rate. This suddenly made local cotton 180 yuan (legal currency) more expensive per catty than American cotton, occupying all the market. Advantage.

I have inquired with textile industry colleagues who came to Shanghai before. When they were still in Shanghai, most of the cotton they used was American cotton, accounting for almost 60%.

Local cotton is too expensive, and few people use it. The price of local cotton has plummeted. Cotton cannot be sold, and cotton farmers can only go bankrupt in large areas. Landowners with large tracts of land can still survive, but farmers or tenants with only small tracts of land cannot survive at all. Live, you must know that the cost of growing cotton is not low. "

　The place name Nanjing did not exist in the Qing Dynasty. The "Treaty of Nanjing" was what the British called it. The Manchus called it the "Treaty of Jiangning". Why the British called it that is intriguing. Maybe it was rooted in Nanjing (joking).

　　Those who are interested in trade during the Ming Dynasty can search for "Kirting Commercial Company". There is a very interesting allusion: "The Ming Dynasty fought with the British, the Portuguese mediated, and the Dutch took the blame."

　　
　
(End of this chapter)