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Handicraft and Manufactured Cotton Textiles in China, 1871–1910

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 February 2011

Albert Feuerwerker
Albert Feuerwerker
Affiliation:
The University of Michigan
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Extract

How much of the increased consumption of machine-made cotton yarn and cloth in nineteenth- and twentieth-century China represented a net increase in the total consumption of cotton goods? What part of the increment merely denoted a shift of the source of supply from rural handicraft to factory production—in Shanghai and Tientsin and, in the form of imports, in overseas mills? These questions, of course, are only part of the more inclusive problem of the effects of expanding foreign trade and the beginnings of domestic industrialization upon the agricultural sector in modern China. The most important household handicraft in rural China was, however, the spinning and weaving of cotton. An examination of its fate, while it will not dispose entirely of the larger problem, is a critical step toward that end.

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Articles
Information
The Journal of Economic History , Volume 30 , Issue 2 , June 1970 , pp. 338 - 378
Copyright
Copyright © The Economic History Association 1970

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References

1 See, for example, Fan Pai-ch'uan, “Chung-kuo shou-kung-yeh tsai wai-kuo tzu-pen-chu-i ch'in-ju hou ti tsao-yü ho ming yun” (the fate of Chinese handicraft industry after the incursion of foreign capitalism), Li-shih yen-chiu (historical studies), No. 3 (1962), 88–115.

2 “Revolution in China and in Europe,” New York Daily Tribune, June 14, 1853, reprinted in Dona Torr, ed., Marx on China (London: Lawrence & Wishart, 1951), p. 3Google Scholar.

3 Report of the Mission to China of the Blackburn Chamber of Commerce, 1896–7 (Blackburn: The North-East Lancashire Press, 1898), F. S. A. Bourne's Sec, pp. 35, 74Google Scholar.

4 Cheng Kuan-ying, Shengshih wei-yen (warnings to a prosperous age), (14 chüan, 1895), VII, 20a-b.M

5 Blackburn Report, Neville and Bell's Sec, p. 212.

6 Koyama Masaki, “Shinmatsu Chūgoku ni okeru gaikoku menseihin no ryunyū” (the inflow of foreign cotton goods in the late Ch'ing), Kindai Chūgoku kenkyū (studies of modem China), IV (1960), 1–108, gives a detailed account, region by region, of the market for imported cloth and yarn.

7 Blackburn Report, F. S. A. Bourne's Sec, pp. 5–6.

8 Yen Chung-p'ing, Chung-kuo mien-fang-chih shih kao (history of the Chinese cotton textile industry), (Peking: K'o-hsüeh, 1955) [hereafter cited as Textile Industry], is the best single account of the development of China's modern textile industry.

9 Report on the Native Cloths in Use in the Amoy Consular District (Great Britain: Foreign Office, 1886), Miscellaneous Series, No. 19, p. 4Google Scholar.

10 Blackburn Report, F. S. A. Bourne's Sec, p. 36.

11 Fong, H. D., Cotton Industry and Trade in China, Nankai Institute of Economics, Industry Series, Bulletin No. 4 (2 vols.; Tientsin: Chihli Press, 1932), II, 10Google Scholar.

12 Lu-ch'en, Tai, “Chung-kuo fang-chih yeh chin k'uang” (the recent situation of China's textile industry), Chung-tung ching-chi yüeh-k'an (Chinese eastern railway monthly economic journal), 8.5 (1932)Google Scholar, reprinted in Ch'en Chen, comp., Chungkuo chin-tai kung-yeh shih tzu-liao (materials on the history of Chinese modern industry), (4 vols.; Peking: San-lien, 1957–1961Google Scholar, and Tokyo: Daian, 1966 reprint), IV, 201 [hereinafter cited as Modern Industry].

13 Yen Chung-p'ing, Textile Industry, p. 368 and pp. 341–67.

14 Contemporary reports on yarns spun incude the following: (a) Seven Chinese-and foreign-owned mills in Shanghai, 1908: 16-count yarn made up 60 percent of the output; 14-, 10-, and 12-count were progressively less important in that order. Tōa Dōbunkai, comp., Shina keizai zensho (China economic series), (12 vols.; Osaka: Maruzen, and Tokyo: Tōa Dōbunkai, 1907–1908), XI, 420Google Scholar. (b) Hupei Weaving Mill, 1908: 16-count, 70 percent; 14- and 15- count, 10 percent. Ibid., XI, 425. (c) Hupei Spinning Mill, 1908: mainly 14-count. Ch'en Chen, Modern Industry, III, 290–91. (d) Predecessor of Heng-feng Spinning Mill, ca. 1904–1909: 16-count, and 10-, 12-, 14-, and some 20-count. Shanghai Economic Research Institute, Academy of Sciences, and Economic Research Institute of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, comps., Heng-feng sha-ch'ang ti fa-sheng fa-chan yü kai-tsao (the origin, development, and transformation of the Heng-feng Spinning Mill), (Shanghai: Jen-min, 1959), pp. 17, 19, 20Google Scholar. (e) Ewo Spinning and Weaving Co., Ltd., 1907–1908: the average count of yarns produced was 15.5. Wright, Arnold, ed., Twentieth Century Impressions of Hongkong, Shanghai, and Other Treaty Ports of China (London: Lloyd's Greater Britain Publishing Co., 1908), p. 573Google Scholar; North-China Herald (Shanghai), November 13, 1909, pp. 370–72. (f) Six Shanghai mills, ca. 1911: mainly 12- and 14-counts. Ch'ien, Chang, Chang Chi-tzu chiu-lu (nine records of Chang Chitzu), (6 vols.; Taipei: Wen-hai reprint, 1965), III, 1331–33Google Scholar. (g) Naigaiwata Spinning Mill, 1912: 16-count. Kiichi, Nishikawa, Men kōgyō to menshi mempu (the cotton industry and cotton yarn and cloth), (Shanghai: Nippondō, 1924), p. 371Google Scholar.

15 Tzu-chien, Wang and Chen-chung, Wang, Ch'i-sheng Hua-shang sha-ch'ang tiao-ch'a pao-kao (report of a survey of Chinese cotton mills in seven provinces), (Shanghai: Commercial Press, 1935), pp. 20Google Scholar, 34, 35 [hereafter cited as Cotton Mills)..

16 Ibid., pp. 149, 151, 154.

17 (a) Laou-kung-mao Mill, Shanghai, 1897: 1.0 lb. Imperial Maritime Customs, Decennial Reports on the Trade, Navigation, Industries, etc., of the Ports Open to Foreign Commerce in China and on the Conditions and Developments of the Treaty Port Provinces, 1892–1901 (2 vols.; Shanghai: Statistical Department of the Inspectorate General of Customs, 1904–1906), I, 515Google Scholar. (b) T'ung-i-kung Mill, Hangchow, 1900: 0.73 lbs. Wang Ching-yü, comp., Chung-kuo chin-tai kung-yeh shih tzu-liao, ti-erh-chi, 1895–1914 nien (materials on the history of modern Chinese industry, second collection, 1895–1914), (2 vols.; Peking: K'o-hsüeh, 1957)Google Scholar, II, 691 [hereafter cited as Modern Industry], (c) T'ung-chiu-yuan Mill, Ningpo, 1896–1900: 0.75 lbs. Decennial Reports … 1892–1901, II, 64–65. (d) Heng-feng Spinning Mill, Shanghai, 1904–1909: 0.82 lbs.; 1909–1910: 0.70 lbs. Heng-feng sha-ch'ang ti fasheng fa-chan yü kai-tsao, pp. 12, 19. (e) Ewo Spinning and Weaving Co., Ltd., Shanghai, 1907: 0.52 lbs. (possibly this figure is for a 12-hour shift?). Wright, ed., Twentieth Century Impressions, p. 573. (f) Seven Shanghai mills, 1908: 0.89 lbs. Shina keizai zensho, XI, 419–20. (g) Six Shanghai mills, ca. 1911: 1.062 lbs. Chang Ch'ien, Chang Chi-tzu chiu-lu, pp. 1331–33. (h) Naigaiwata Spinning Mill, Shanghai, 1911–1912: 0.84 lbs. Wang Ching-yü, Modern Industry, I, 371.

18 Odell, Ralph M., Cotton Goods in China, Department of Commerce, Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, Special Agents Series, No. 107 (Washington: G. P. O., 1916), pp. 162–70Google Scholar.

19 Pearse, Arno S., The Cotton Industry of China and Japan (Manchester: International Association of Master Cotton Spinners' and Manufacturers' Association, 1929), pp. 175–80Google Scholar.

20 North-China Herald, March 8, 1913, p. 692.

21 H. D. Fong, Cotton Industry, I, 90–91. While the Ewo mill is reported to have spun 271 lbs. of yam per spindle in 1908 (North-China Herald, November 13, 1909, pp. 370–72), it should be noted that in 1912, and probably in other years, it operated more days than the average mill.

22 Yen Chung-p'ing, Textile Industry, p. 308, estimates 10 percent wastage for the 1930's. Data in Chang Ch'ien, Chang Chi-tzu chiu-lu, III, 1331–33, suggest 14 percent for Shanghai mills (which were more efficient than others) in 1911; and in Wang and Wang, Cotton Mills, pp. 15 and 21, 10–11 percent for 1932.

23 Yen Chung-p'ing, Textile Industry, p. 308.

24 Ibid.

25 Ch'en Chen, Modern Industry, IV, 201.

26 Yen Chung-p'ing, Textile Industry, p. 368 and pp. 341–67.

27 H. D. Fong, Cotton Industry, I, 80, estimates 1,826 looms in 1895. Odell, Cotton Goods, p. 157, suggests 2,100 for 1896, and 4,564 for 1915. Yen Chung-p'ing's figures for 1896 and 1915 are 1,800 and 4,002 looms respectively.

28 Wang and Wang, Cotton Mills, pp. 21–22, 45–46.

29 The following are samples of reports on the weight of cloth woven: (a) All Chinese mills, 1888–1911: mainly 14-lb. sheetings, followed by 16-, 18-, 12-, and 11-lb. cloth in that order. Ch'en Chen, Modern Industry, IV, 283. (b) Shanghai Cotton Cloth Mill, 1891: 14-lb. sheetings “suitable for use by Chinese.” Sun Yü-t'ang, comp., Chung-kuo chin-tai kung-yeh shih tzu-liao, ti-i-chi, 1840–1895 nien (materials on the history of modern Chinese industry, first collection, 1840–1895), (2 vols.; Peking: K'o-hsüeh, 1957), II, 1065Google Scholar. (c) Hupei Weaving Mill (which was equipped with 1,000 of the 2,100 total looms), 1904: mainly 15-lb. sheetings. Wang Ching-yü, Modem Industry, II, 580–81. (d) Chinese mills as a whole, 1915: 14- to 16-lb. sheetings most important, followed by 13- and 14-lb. drills. Odell, Cotton Goods, pp. 162–74.

30 Decennial Reports … 1892–1901, I, 305, Wang Ching-yü, Modern Industry, II, 573, 578.

31 Shina keizai zensho, XI, 425; Wang Ching-yü, Modern Industry, II, 582.

32 In 1930, when many weaving mills were working two shifts, the average production per loom in Chinese-owned mills was 447 pieces. H. D. Fong, Cotton Industry, I, 92.

33 Yen Chung-p'ing, Textile Industry, p. 307.

34 Anderson, George E., Cotton-Goods Trade in China, Department of Commerce, Bureau of Manufactures, Special Consular Reports—No. 44 (Washington: G. P. O., 1911), pp. 25–26Google Scholar.

35 Yen Chung-p'ing, Textile Industry, p. 310.

36 Decennial Reports.… 1922–1931 (2 vols.; Shanghai: Statistical Department of the Inspectorate General of Customs, 1933), I, 182Google Scholar.

37 This equivalence is derived from data in Odell, Cotton Goods, pp. 41–42, and in Decennial Reports.: 1922–1931, I, 182.

38 Yen Chung-p'ing, Textile Industry, p. 382, reprints some of Yeh's data from Fang-chih shih-pao (textile news), Nos. 1345–1350 (1936). I have not seen Liang, Yeh, Chung-kuo mien-hou ts'ung ch'an-hsiao liang chih chieh-suan (a calculation of China's production and consumption of cotton products), (Shanghai: Ministry of Finance, National Tariff Commission, 1934)Google Scholar.

39 Data on number of pieces imported 1871–1880 from Decennial Reports … 1922–1931, I, 113.

40 Report on the Manufacture of Native Cloth in the Consular District of Pakhoi (Great Britain: Foreign Office, 1887), Miscellaneous Series, No. 38, p. 2.

41 Nishikawa Kiichi, Men Kōgyō, pp. 188–225, surveys the situation of the handicraft weaving industry in the second decade of this century. For the changes in the cloth woven in Kaoyang, Hopei, an important rural handicraft center, see Chih, Wu, Hsiang-ts'un chih-pu kung-yeh ti i-ko yen-chiu (an investigation of the rural weaving industry), (Shanghai: Commercial Press, 1936), pp. 221–24Google Scholar.

42 Yen Chung-p'ing, Textile Industry, p. 311.

43 See National Economic Commission, Mien-hua t'ung-chi (cotton statistics), (Nanking?: Dec. 1933), pp. 2–14Google Scholar, for 1918–1932 estimates.

44 The 1931–1936 estimates are given in Yen Chung-p'ing, Textile Industry, p. 340, in shih-tan which I have converted to tan.

45 Tadashi, Negishi, ed., Shinkoku shōgyō sōran (a general survey of commerce and industry in China), (5 vols.; Tokyo: Maruzen, 1906–1908), V, 292–93Google Scholar; Tōa Dōbunkai, comp., Shina shōbetsu zenshi (a complete gazetteer of China by provinces), (18 vols.; Tokyo: Tōa Dōbunkai, 1917–1920), XV, 447–50Google Scholar.

46 Buck, J. L., Land Utilization in China (Nanking: University of Nanking, 1937), pp. 217–18Google Scholar.

47 Yen Chung-p'ing, Textile Industry, pp. 323–33.

48 See n. 9 above.

49 China, State Statistical Bureau, Wo-kuo kang-t'ieh, tien-li, mei-t'an, chi-hsieh, fang-chih, tsao-chih kung-yeh ti chin hsi (the past and present of China's iron and steel, electric power, coal, machinery, textile, and paper industries), (Peking: T'ungchi, 1958), p. 186Google Scholar.

50 Perkins, Dwight H., Agricultural Development in China, 1368–1968 (Chicago: Aldine, 1969), pp. 297–307Google Scholar.

51 Ibid., pp. 26–32.

52 C. M. Chiao and J. L. Buck, “The Composition and Growth of Rural Population Groups in China,” Chinese Economic Journal, II (Mar. 1928), 219–35. Dwight Perkins, Agricultural Development, pp. 192–216, has reexamined the whole matter of China's population size not only on the basis of the important institutional analyses of Ho Ping-ti and John S. Aird, but also through a comprehensive discussion of the plausibility of the actual data. His conclusions strongly support my 350 million estimate for the 1870's—after the demographic catastrophe of the Taiping Rebellion—as well as my 430–440 million figure for the 1910's. I am reasonably comfortable, therefore, in using these population estimates although they have been generally regarded as being at the lower boundary of the plausible range.

53 It might be noted that the Ch'ing-ch'ao hsti wen-hsien t'ung-k'ao (encyclopedia of the historical records of the Ch'ing dynasty), (Shanghai: Commercial Press, 1936), IV, 11, 295–96Google Scholar, cites an estimate for about 1910 of 7,788,000 tan of ginned cotton produced on an acreage of 29,554,090 mou. This may perhaps be too high an estimate to represent the first decade of the twentieth century as a whole, but it does lend some support to my Alternative C as an average for that decade. That 29,554, 090 mou of land were planted in cotton is, of course, only a guess; no comprehensive field survey was made in 1910. Yet the guess comes close to the acreage suggested by later survey data. For the early 1930's, the percentage of the cultivated area planted in cotton was (according to Buck's estimate for 1929–1933) 4.3 percent of the total. Buck's investigators found that cotton acreage increased 82 percent between 1904–1909 and 1933; in the earlier period it would thus have been about 2.4 percent of total cultivated acreage. (Liu, Ta-chung and Yeh, Kung-chia, The Economy of the Chinese Mainland: National Income and Economic Development, 1933–1959 [Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1965]CrossRefGoogle Scholar, Table A-9, p. 300; and J. L. Buck, Land Utilization, p. 217.) Data on the area of land under cultivation in the Kuanghsü edition (1899) of the Ta-Ch'ing hui-tien (collected statutes of the Ch'ing dynasty)—with some adjustments the official figure for 1887 is 847,760,554 mou— are imperfect and should be adjusted upward by perhaps one-third to compensate for under-registration. This would give a cultivated area of possibly 1,130,345,000 mou. The output of unginned cotton per mou was about 80 catties, with a ginned cotton yield of about 33 percent or 27 catties (0.27 tan). Thus 27,127,560 mou of land (2.4 percent of the total) could produce about 7,324,441 tan of ginned cotton. (Shinkoku shōgyō sōran, V, 292; Odell, Cotton Goods, p. 207; Li Wen-chih, comp., Chung-kuo chin-tai nung-yeh shih tzu-liao, ti-i-chi, 1840–1911 [source materials on agriculture in modern China, first collection, 1840–1911], [Peking: San-lien, 1957], pp. 620–21.)Google Scholar

54 Hou, Chi-ming, Foreign Investment and Economic Development in China, 1840–1937 (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1965), pp. 173–77CrossRefGoogle Scholar, argues that there was no decline in the handspinning industry between 1913 and 1936, and states that any “serious decline” was “highly unlikely” for the years before 1913. At least for the pre-1913 years, I obviously find myself uncomfortable with his conclusions.

55 Yen Chung-p'ing, Textile Industry, pp. 24–26; Shih Hung-ta, “Shih-lun Sung Yuan Ming san-tai mien fang chih sheng-ch'an kung-chü fa-chan ti li-shih kuo-ch'eng” (the historical stages of the development of cotton textile machinery in the Sung, Yuan, and Ming dynasties), Li-shih yen-chiu (historical studies), No. 4 (1957), 35, 40, 42; Blackburn Report, Neville and Bell's Sec, p. 56.

56 Wang Ching-yü, Modern Industry, II, 1184–92.

57 J. L. Buck, Land Utilization, p. 298.

58 Yen Chung-p'ing, Textile Industry, p. 311.