How big was the tea industry in the Song Dynasty?

Tea in the Song Dynasty developed very rapidly, mainly in the following aspects. First, the scale of tea planting in the Song Dynasty was unprecedented, and the quantity of tea circulating in the market in the Song Dynasty was also huge. Some nobles in the palace went down to the ordinary people and could not do without tea. Even in the end, these teas flowed to other countries, which benefited from the development of overseas trade and shipbuilding in the Song Dynasty. As you can imagine, it is precisely because of the vigorous development of the tea industry in the Song Dynasty that it promoted the upper progress of the entire national economy in the Song Dynasty, which is undoubtedly a huge driving force for the finance of the Song Dynasty. It is precisely because of this that the economy of the Song Dynasty is very famous in past dynasties, which we can get from the Chinese painting "The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival".

In ancient society, economic development was inseparable from the vigorous promotion of agriculture, handicrafts and commerce, but under the rule of most dynasties, agriculture was often the best development and the biggest driving force for the economy, because in ancient agricultural society, they paid attention to the people-oriented thought. Even if your business develops well, your economic output will never be as strong as that of agriculture, but the strength of these businessmen can not be ignored, because with the continuous progress of successive dynasties, it is reflected in their great business and trade, and at the same time, they also vigorously publicize and promote their products, so that more people can accept and recognize their products.

In the Song Dynasty, the flourishing development of markets and commercial streets in the Song Dynasty promoted the development of many economies, such as these teas. Tea was already a very popular industry in the Song Dynasty, so many handicraft workshops appeared in the market, and even many people were employed by these workshops to carry out a series of labor. So we can see from here that the embryonic form of capitalism sprouted in the Song Dynasty, and these private handicrafts reflected the prosperity of a private economy and the unprecedented expansion of trade.

It is precisely because of this that the economy of the Song Dynasty was so dynamic and prosperous, but unfortunately, this kind of economy has never really developed, because this kind of commercial economy is not allowed to surpass agriculture under the feudal autocracy of the Song Dynasty, but it also provides us with a lot of reference significance and reference value.