Coexistance of Two Economies in Ancient China

In ancient China，there always existed two forms of economy，agricultural and nomadic economies，with the Great Wall，also geographically 400 mm precipitation line，as their dividing-line.To the south-east of this line was the semi-moist area influenced by the monsoon climate of both the Pacific and Indian oceans，where it was suitable for agriculture，and to the north-west of the line was the semi-arid area，where the predominant economy was nomadic，with sporadic agricultural belts in the oases moisted bythe groundwater and continental rivers.In ancient times，the agriculture from the Central Plains（中原）could spread northward as far as the Great Wall，beyond which it was the nomadic grassland.The 400 mm precipitation line，therefore，became the dividing-line between the agricultural and the nomadic people.Militarily speaking，the Great Wall，built and rebuilt by every dynasty，did provide protections to a certain degree for the agricultural people，their life and productions，but they acquired a deep-rooted habit to overdepend on the Great Wall，and with this，the agricultural people developed a passive mentality towards life in general.From the perspectives of economy and culture，the GreatWall was more an economic dividing-line than a military defensive works.The agricultural people generally could live all by themselves，without the aid from the outside except for some extreme floods or drought，but the nomadic people were constantly on the move，in search of water and grass，with more challenges and uncertainties in life so they depended more on nature than the agricultural people did.In this vast east Asian landmass，both agricultural and nomadic people coexisted，with their respective national characters，produced by their different ways of life.The nomadic people，constantly on the horsebacks，roamed for water and grass in a broad sphere，and this unsettled life made them physically robuste and strongly built，and what is more，the challenges and uncertainties in lifecultivated their militant spirit and courage.The agricultural people，however，lived a settled life of ease，with a lot of family utensils and furnitures difficult to carry on the shoulders，seldom went beyond their immediate vicinity and adopted a narrow and limited outlook towards life，sentimentally attached to their land and nervous of the outside world unknown to them.The main theme running through Chinese history had been the conflicts of these two ways of life，two economies，and two people，with the agricultural people passively defending themselves and the nomadic people either invading in large hordes or harassing in small numbers.So the nomadic encroachments on the borders had been a perennial problem，which were never solved root and branch in history except in the Yuan and Qing dynasties established by national minorities themselves.

l.Social Ideal and Life Pursuit of the Agricultural Civilization

Though ancient Chinese history had been a process of coexistencce of two economies，filled with conflicts，struggles，even endless wars and national integrations，agriculturehad always been predominant，and nomadic culture subordinate in terms of population，area inhabited，and the decisive historical role performed.

Chinese civilization is typically agricultural in nature，with strong agricultural

characteristics in such aspects as clothing，food，housing and travelling.Even our earliest ancestors lived in small villages，ate grains as main food，used crockery cooking utensils and travelled either on foot or by horse-drawn cart，and later invented wheelbarrows for transportations.Even in their literary and artistic world，their aesthetic interests，social ideal and life pursuits were spontaneously revealed:They enjoyed such a literaryconception as“listening tranquilly to the raindrops pelting on the leaves of plantains，appreciating，with a light heart，smoke curling upwards from kitchen chimneys and merging into the floating cloud over the mountains at the dusk，casting a longing lingering look at the village path and watching leisurely the cypress vine and lily，even a calling of cuckoos made a wandering person in a distant land miss his mother.”① In their novels，stories are narrated in a slow pace，with a happy reunion as an usual ending；for dramas，audience care only for the singing and music，rather than the unfolding of the story.In paintings，painters delineated landscapes，rivers and mountains，with freehand brushwork aiming at catching the spirit of being”indescribably free”，“quietly elegant”，and “implicitly revealing”，which reflects the psychological tendency of agricultural people in the worshipping of pastoral life.

In their national mythical story of“Cowboy and Weaving Girl”，their ideal of life had been embodied:men ploughed and women wove in a peaceful society；people enjoyed a happy marriage，in harmony with the heaven.Usually in an agricultural society，people could be easily contented with a simple and uneventful life，without the greed and avarice，so long as there was no war or natural disasters.The agricultural people would be extremely happy if they had food，as“Food is the first necessity of man” had always been their motto.Home is where they can have comfort and ease，so harmony between husband and wife can provide them with almost all happiness.Their ultimate social pursuit was international and domestic peace and harmony with family members，neighbours and even foreign countries.

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