China’s history is one that is very rich and diverse, which has aided it into becoming the powerhouse nation that it is known for today. Many factors supported China into becoming such an influential country, including its immense industrial power, which can be traced back all the way to the Qing dynasty. China has been a major player in industrial power by its exports in grain, salt, tea, oils, medicinal herbs, hides and furs, and cotton.1 During the Qing rule, the production of cotton became immensely popular among the textile industry, creating a high demand to further develop the cotton industry because the two industries are interconnected. The cotton and textile industry in the Qing dynasty shares many similarities and differences with the cotton and textile industry in contemporary China. A clear understanding of the industry during both time periods is important in order to be able to fully understand China’s history.
The textile industry in China can be traced all the way back to 5000 BC, with the discovery of the domesticated silkworm, bombyx mori. The discovery of the silkworm soon led to China’s fascination with silk threads, eventually leading to emperors wearing silk and the development of the Silk Road in second century BC.2 In a more contemporary era, the 1800s led to an increase in the textile industry due to foreign imports from Britain. During this time, Europe was undergoing the industrial revolution, and eventually, through China’s contact with England, China caught wind of the success within the textile industry. Many of the machines and technologies that were needed to produce textiles were imported from England, and thus the powerhouse of the Chinese textile industry was born.
The textile industry could not have been as successful as it was without the use of cotton. Cotton was first reported from an area in China, now known as Yunnan, around 200 BC. From then on, the popularity of cotton only grew. The cotton production and industry was important in China because not only did it lead to the growth of the textile industry, but its seeds were also rich in oil, which was another major export in China. In addition, cotton was detrimental for poverty stricken areas of China, where cotton did not commonly grow. This is because such rural areas sold cotton handicrafts, which helped build up the economy.3 Cotton textile handicrafts generally spread from the frontier regions to the rest of China, replacing the production of hemp in the process. Hemp was used in China to make rope, fabric, and paper with the plans fibers, but quickly replaced with cotton because of its effect on the agrarian economy.4 The cotton industry was an important development for the industrial revolution in China because it helped improve the economy and led to other advancements that guided China to becoming a major industrial nation.
During the Qing dynasty, Shanghai was one of the most dominant cities for the production of cotton. Cotton was commonly grown in Shanghai because of the favorable soil, which was permeable, allowing the soil have good ventilation.5 Along with superior soil, Shanghai’s geographical region make planting cotton ideal. During the early eighteenth century, Shanghai’s coastal region was shaped as an “dish-edged upland” highland.6 This meant that the land was not able to retain water, which made planting rice difficult since it consumed a lot of water. Cotton was ideal for this land because it required less water consumption than rice did. Cotton was a popular crop amongst the poor because they depended on the cultivation of cotton for their livelihood. In addition, the season that was best for picking cotton was different from Qing China’s flood and storm season, therefore, the poor were not has drastically affected as they would’ve been if they planted their usual crops. Ye Mengzhu, a local who lived during the early Qing dynasty said, “The native product of our county is cotton which is as widely cultivated as rice.”7 This further demonstrates the importance that cotton had on civilians in China, and how popularly it was farmed. The importance of cotton soon surpassed the importance of rice in the agriculture of Shanghai.
Following In the late eighteenth century, the raw cotton industry was primarily focused in the southeast region of Shanghai in Qing China. During this time, the southeast region had a dense population, crowded buildings, and was described to be highly prosperous, while the northwest region was seen to be quite rural and quiet.8 This would suggest that the southeast region of Shanghai during Qing China was thriving as a result of the development of the present cotton industry. This development in the production of cotton soon meant that brokers were necessary to facilitate trade between buyer and seller. This shows that the raw cotton industry was developing into a more complex structure and advancing greatly. Another cotton industry that was substantial was the cotton yarn industry. The cotton yarn industry included women and children making yarn from spun cotton. This further helped peasant families by putting women and children into the workforce. Peasants would be able to make a profit by raising raw cotton, spinning it into cotton yarn, and then making cotton cloth and selling it.9 This trade enabled some peasants the possibility to break free from their poverty-stricken lives and move up the financial caste. Not only was the cotton industry popular amongst the Chinese, but it was also a favorite amongst the English. Cotton goods were one of the most popularly exported item from China. Following the Opium War, the cultivation of cotton was concentrated in areas such as Jiangnan, Hubei, and North China.3 In these regions, the cotton industry was more highly developed than ever before. New regional production and trade developed through different specialization of land and labor. 10 This meant that foreign trade In contemporary China, the cotton industry is still immensely popular. Part of this continued popularity can be credited to the improvements made in technology that have produced higher quality cotton at a faster rate. With the introduction of machine cotton textiles, labor productivity increased which meant that cotton was able to be sold at a higher rate than ever before. Hand spinning cotton was soon displaced with the introduction of new technology that allowed for more capital to produce special cotton price goods.11 The introduction of mechanized spinning had a huge effect on the cotton and textile industry, and machine spun cotton yarn soon was highly demanded in comparison to hand spun cotton yarn. It produced higher count yarn in comparison to hand spun yarn. This higher count yarn can then be spun into higher quality cotton cloth, which then would be sold for the same price as the hand spun cloth. This meant that higher quality cotton cloth was made.
China was soon competing with other nations as the cotton industry continued to grow. Soon the demand for cotton in contemporary China was weak, decreasing the value of cotton cloths. However, World War I changed the demand. With the rise of World War I, cotton was highly demanded on a world-wide scale. Foreign yarn imports declined, and the price of domestic yarn increased.12 This motivated firms to produce more yarn in China since the profits were larger. After 1925, the cotton industry began blending different counts of cotton yarn together, which created a standardized cotton cloth. This also helped those who produced low count cotton yarns to continue gaining a profit as well. By the 1930’s, the cotton and textile industry was still China’s leading industry.13