The real end of the textile industry was from the late 1920s to the 1930s.
An American survey found that in the late 1920s, in Jiangning County, which was once the center of the weaving industry, the total labor force engaged in by women had dropped to 0-4.62%; in Wujin County, it was only 1%, and the records of women engaged in sericulture and textiles were quite limited. Almost divorced from productive labor.
In Jiaxing County, women account for 42% of the total labor force, and in field farming, the proportion of women working is 41.8%. It can be seen that women have almost completely separated from the textile industry and have returned to the less efficient and more primitive male-female farming method. model.
Only in Changxing and Wuxing where the sericulture industry is developed, the industry of women raising sericulture still exists, thus maintaining more than 30% of the total labor force.
This decline rate is extremely exaggerated, indicating that all local industries that can absorb women's employment, from rural cottage industries, to rural workshops, to new machine factories, have all collapsed. Working women are almost completely unemployed and can only engage in the lowest-end raw material production.
In comparison, even the long-term tug-of-war during the Taiping Rebellion and the brutal massacre by the Qing army failed to cause such serious damage.
By the early to mid-1930s, the local textile industry in Jiangnan, which had lasted for six to seven hundred years, was basically completely destroyed and had withdrawn from the stage of history.
In other words, the vitality of this industry and the enthusiasm of women to participate in labor can flourish under the rule of the Qing Dynasty. The traditional ancient Seris dynasty did not have to worry about hindering its development. Only certain regimes in modern times have been able to do this...
Although the management ability of the Purple Horde Khanate is not as good as that of its counterparts in the Central Plains, in order to survive, it has always been more generous to ordinary citizens, for fear of offending these uncles and causing them to be beaten to death by the barbarians. Therefore, there should be no need to worry about problems in this regard.
Moreover, Guo Kang feels that even if it develops further, this industry still has great prospects.
There is actually a very interesting question here: Why did the "abnormal" phenomenon occur at that time that the machine industry could not destroy the handicraft industry, and was even "counter-killed"?
This situation is not even due to the "tyranny of distance" issue.
After the opening of the port in the late Qing Dynasty, in Songjiang alone, the value of imported goods in 1846 dropped by 13% compared with the previous year; in 1847, it dropped by 5.4%; in 1848, it dropped by an even greater 20.1%. Although it rebounded later, But extremely unstable. Until 1854, it had not yet recovered to the level of 1845.
In fact, in 1844, British people came to Fujian specifically to investigate the situation of cotton cloth production. He collected samples of various textures, marked the price of each, and sent them back to England for people's reference. However, at the price quoted, the factory in Manchester couldn't make it. Fujian was not the most developed place at that time.
Other countries are even more powerless. In 1850, the U.S. consul in Xiamen even had to report to the country that a large amount of American bed sheets, shirt cloth, and twill cloth had been backlogged and could not be sold at a suitable price. He did not know what to do.
If we look closely at the reasons for this result, there are only two possibilities:
Or, the weaver women in Jiangnan are all female captains of Seris, and they can produce steam engine-level output power by stepping on the loom. The British saw it and called Maria down to earth;
Or, the British themselves are too good at it and have not realized the potential of steam production at all. Even machines cannot compete with handmade ones.
After much deliberation, the latter is more likely.
In early steam factories, operators would try to save costs wherever possible, and squeezed them to an exaggerated degree, making the living standards of ordinary people even worse than those in the Middle Ages. But even so, judging from the results, his efficiency is actually not that high...
This management ability basically belongs to the category of stupid and bad.
In other words, if Chinese people can use equivalent steam engines, they can beat foreigners. Judging from the development of later generations, this is not a blind guess.
Therefore, if hydraulic and steam power are mature, just use them directly. Guo Kang felt that he might even see this day with his own eyes. Changing the power source is not a big deal for a skilled weaver. On the contrary, it can increase efficiency and enable more efficient production.
Moreover, Guo Kang believes that in the foreseeable period, there is actually no need to squeeze weavers like in modern Europe. This textile organization is directly under the Khan's court. Its goal is not so much to make money, but to organize production and then liberate more people and more resources so that they can devote themselves to the war.
——And war is the foundation of the Purple Horde Khanate.
If there really is a situation where other countries also participate in the competition and try to lower the price, in fact, according to Tuohuan's idea, just hit them directly. After all, instead of oppressing your own people and making them reduce costs, it is better to feed your own people and let the enemy have no costs.
If you eliminate your competitors, won't you win the competition?
The only one that could truly compete with the Purple Horde Khanate was the Ming Dynasty. But the Ming Dynasty was too far away after all, and with the current navigation conditions, it was impossible to import a large amount of ordinary textiles in the short term. When technology reaches the point where ocean trade is unimpeded, it will be a completely different scenario, and it cannot be considered now.
If it still fails to operate well during such a long golden development period, it only means that managing it yourself is a waste of resources. With food like this, it would be better to surrender to the Ming Dynasty...
Guo Kang thought for a while and introduced the characteristics of this industry to Guo Ponu. Although I don't know if she can understand it, but it can strengthen her confidence anyway.
It's still a start-up period. After all, theory is different from actual operation. In actual implementation, there will definitely be a lot of problems. As long as you can stick to it, that's fine.
Guo Ponu is actually a kind-hearted person, and she is always generous. No matter nobles or common people like her, she is very popular. But her temper is always too impatient, and she wants to take action whenever she encounters something unpleasant. To put it nicely, it sounds like a chivalrous spirit; to put it harshly, it sounds like a gangster...
This kind of person can be chivalrous and righteous. If she is allowed to run an organization, Guo Kang feels that the biggest problem is that she may not be patient. She may know this herself.
But this time, Guo Ponu was determined. She said she would go to the Empress Temple with Guo Kang and finish the work.
Guo Kang started to feel guilty now. He felt that something was wrong with Guo Ponu agreeing too quickly this time. As the saying goes, when things go wrong, there must be a monster, and I don't know what will happen this time.
"You can think more about this matter, or go back and discuss it with your parents. There is no need to agree directly." He told Guo Ponu: "If you really want something, just tell me directly. No need to be coy and anxious. You have to cater to me. Which one of us will follow which one? How can I refuse to agree?"
"Really?" Guo Ponu, who was walking diagonally ahead, stopped and turned his head and asked.
"Why did I lie to you?" Guo Kang said helplessly.
Guo Ponu turned around, suddenly hugged Guo Kang and kissed him.
Guo Kang did not expect this development at all. He was careless and did not dodge. He was stunned for a moment before he reacted.
"Ouch - what are you doing?" He was shocked and at a loss.
"Thank you." Guo Ponu felt confident: "What are you afraid of? Aren't everyone here like this?"
Guo Kang thought about it and it seemed right. According to Roman and Greek customs, it was normal to greet acquaintances and kiss them. But Guo Ponu had never done this kind of thing before, which made him confused again.
However, Guo Ponu didn't care about him at all. He directly held his hand and urged him to run towards the Empress Temple.
(End of chapter)
