下载掌阅APP，畅读海量书库
立即打开
The village chosen for my investigation is called Kaihsienkung, locally pronounced kejiug'on . It is situated on the south-east bank of Lake Tai, in the lower course of the Yangtze River and about eighty miles west of Shanghai. It is in the geographical region of the Yangtze Plain. The geographical foundation of this region has been described by G. B. Cressey: "The Yangtze Plain is a land of rivers and canals. Probably nowhere else in the world is there an area with so many navigable waterways. The Yangtze Kiang, the Hwai Ho, and their tributaries provide a splendid highway through the length of the region. In addition to the many rivers there are a series of great lakes, chief among which are Tungting, Poyang, Tai, and Hungtse Hu. It is the canals, however, which give the most characteristic note to the landscape. These canals are the very arteries of life. In the region of Yangtze Delta they form an intricate network and serve as an artificial drainage system which takes the place of rivers. Their length in the south delta alone is estimated by F. H. King, at twenty-five thousand miles.
在目前阶段的调查中，把村庄作为一个研究单位，这并不是说村庄就是一个自给自足的单位。在中国，地方群体之间的相互依存，是非常密切的，在经济生活中尤为如此。甚至可以说，在上半个世纪中，中国人民已经进入了世界的共同体中。西方的货物和思想已经到达了非常边远的村庄。西方列强的政治、经济压力是目前中国文化变迁的重要因素。在这一点上有人可能会问，既然如此，那么在这样一个小的地区，在一个村庄里搞实地调查，对于这种外来力量及其所引起的变迁会取得什么进一步的了解呢？
显然，身处村庄的调查者不可能用宏观的眼光来观察和分析外来势力的各种影响。例如，由于世界经济萧条及丝绸工业中广泛的技术改革引起了国际市场上土产生丝价格的下跌，进而引起农村家庭收入不足、口粮短缺、婚期推迟以及家庭工业的部分破产。在这种情况下，实地调查者必须尽可能全面地记录外来势力对村庄生活的影响，但他当然应该把对这些势力本身的进一步分析留给其他学科去完成。调查者应承认这些事实，并只专注于跟踪那些可以从村庄生活中直接观察到的影响。
对这样一个小的社会单位进行深入研究而得出的结论并不一定适用于其他单位。但是，这样的结论却可以用作假设，也可以作为在其他地方进行调查时的比较材料。这就是获得真正科学结论的最可靠方法。
我所选择的调查地点叫开弦弓村，坐落在太湖东南岸，位于长江下游，在上海以西约80英里的地方，其地理区域属于长江三角洲。G. B.克雷西曾经这样描述该区域的地理概况：“在长江平原的土地上，布满了河流与运河。世界上大概再也没有其他地区会有那么多可通航的水路。长江、淮河及其支流形成了一条贯穿这个区域的通道，颇为壮观。这里不但河流多，而且还有许多大小湖泊，其中主要有洞庭湖、鄱阳湖、太湖、洪泽湖。然而赋予这个地貌以最显著的特征的是人工河渠。这些河渠正是生活的命脉。在长江三角洲地区，河渠形成了错综复杂的网络，起着人工水系的作用，取代了河流。据F. H.金的估计，仅三角洲南部的河渠长度就有25,000英里左右。
"This region is compound alluvial plain, the accumulation of sediment laid down by the rivers during long ages. There are a few isolated hills, but for the most part the land is level. The country is flat, but innumerable grave mounds and the trees about the villages break the view. Both rural and urban settlement is more congested than in the region of the North, but factors of climate and location combine to make this the most prosperous part of China.
"The Yangtze Plain is...distinctly influenced by summer-monsoon conditions... Here, too, are felt the greatest effects of continental cyclonic storms.
"Owing to the southernly latitude, the summers are subtropical with temperatures which frequently rise to 38℃. (100℉.)... The average (rainfall) for the entire region is about 1,200 mm. (45 in.).... Most of the rain falls during the spring and summer, with June the rainiest month. The period from October to February is comparatively dry with clear skies and stimulating temperatures, making this the most pleasant season of the year.
"Winter temperatures seldom remain below freezing for more than a few days at a time. Ice forms only in thin sheets on the colder nights and there is little snow.... The average of summer maximum temperature for Shanghai is 37℃. (91℉.), and the average of winter minimum is –7℃. (19℉.).
"The Yangtze Plain has climate conditions which are favourable for agriculture during most of the year so that the growing season lasts for about 300 days."
The commanding position of this region in Chinese eco no my is due partly to its superior natural environment and partly to its favourable position in the system of communications. It is located at the crossing point of the two main water routes: namely, the Yangtze River and the Grand Canal. They connect this region with the immense territory of western and northern China. Being a coastal region, it has become more and more important since the development of international trade by ocean transport. Shanghai, the seaport of this region, has developed into the biggest metropolis in the Far East. The railway system in this region is also well developed. From Shanghai, two important lines have been built, one to Nanking, passing Soochow, and one to Hongchow, passing Chianhsing. Recently in 1936 a new line between Soochow and Chianhsing was added to form a circuit between the above-mentioned two main lines. Motor roads have been built for the intra-regional communication; and besides there is an extensive use of the canals and canalized streams.
“这个地区是复合冲积平原，由长期以来河流带来的泥沙淤积而成，只有少数孤立的山丘，大部地区是平川。乡下土地平坦，但是无数的坟墩和村子周围的树林遮住了视线。这里，无论是乡村或城市的居住区都比北方地区人口密集。但由于气候、地理位置等因素的共同作用，这里成为了中国最繁荣的地方。
“长江平原……显然受夏季季节风的影响……也经受大陆性旋风的巨大威力。
“由于纬度偏南，夏季呈亚热带气候，气温经常升至38℃ （100℉）。……整个地区平均降雨量约为1,200毫米（45英寸）……春、夏季多雨，6月份的雨量最多。自10月至来年2月，气候较为干燥，天空晴朗，气温宜人，这时候是一年中最爽快的季节。
“冬天的气温，难得一连数日都在零下，在较冷的夜间才结薄冰，很少下雪。……在上海，夏季平均最高气温37℃（91℉），冬季平均最低气温为–7℃（19℉）。
“长江平原一年四季，大部分时间的气候条件都有利于农业，生长季节约持续300天。”
这个地区之所以在中国经济上取得主导地位，一方面是由于其优越的自然环境，另一方面是由于它在交通上的有利位置。该地区位于长江和大运河这两条水路干线的交叉点上。这两条水路把这个地区与中国西部和北部的广大疆土联结起来。作为沿海地区，自从通过远洋运输发展国际贸易以来，它的重要性与日俱增。该地区的港口上海现已发展成为远东的最大城市。这里的铁路系统也很发达，已经修建了两条重要线路，一条从上海经苏州至南京；另一条由上海经嘉兴至杭州。最近，也就是在1936年，苏州与嘉兴之间又增加了一条新线路，与上述两条干线形成环行铁路。为了便利地区内的交通，还修建了汽车路；除此之外，还广泛利用了运河及改成运河的河道进行交通运输。
This region has supported a very dense population, most of which is resident in villages. A bird's-eye view shows a cluster of villages. Each village is separated from its neighbour by only a walking distance of, on an average, twenty minutes. Kaihsienkung is but one of these thousands of villages crowding on this land.
In the centre of several tens of villages there is a town. The town is the collecting centre of the basic produce from the surrounding villages and the distributing point for manufactured goods brought from the outside cities. The town on which Kaihsienkung depends is called Chên Tsê, about four miles south of the village. It takes about two and a half hours for a single trip by boat. Chên Tsê lies about six miles south-east of Lake Tai and eight miles west of the Grand Canal and the Soochow-Chianhsing line. At present it is connected with the nearest station, Ping Wang, both by motor boat and bus services. By the existing railway lines, one can reach Shanghai from the town within eight hours. The geographical position of Kaihsienkung in relation to the above-mentioned towns and cities is shown in the accompanying maps (Map I and II).
Here the human geographer will be right in inferring the occupation of the people from the natural conditions of the land they occupy. A traveller in a train, passing through that region, would not lose sight of the rice fields for more than intervals of a few minutes. In Kaihsienkung, according to estimates, more than ninety per cent. of the land is used for rice cultivation. This single village produces, on the average, eighteen thousand bushels of rice every year (X–2). Only a little more than half of the produce is consumed by the people themselves (VII–5). Very few households in the village are entirely free from agricultural work. About seventy-six per cent. of the total number of households are engaged in agriculture as their main occupation (VIII–1). The time spent in cultivating rice amounts to six months in the year (IX–3). From this crop the people earn more than half of their income (XII–2). Thus from any angle, rice is of primary importance.
该地区人口密集，大多数人口居住在农村。如从空中俯视，可以看见到处是一簇簇的村庄。每个村子仅与邻村平均相隔走20分钟路的距离。开弦弓只不过是群集在这块土地上成千上万个村庄之一。
在数十个村庄的中心地带就有一个市镇。市镇是收集周围村子土产品的中心，又是分配外地城市工业品下乡的中心。开弦弓所依傍的市镇叫震泽，在开弦弓以南约四英里，坐手摇船单程约需两个半小时。震泽地处太湖东南约六英里，大运河及苏嘉线以西约八英里。目前，可乘轮船或公共汽车到达苏嘉线的平望站。通过现有的铁路线，可在八小时以内从震泽到达上海。开弦弓与上述各城市及集镇间的位置关系，详见所附地图（见地图I、II）。