the Hsin-an merchants
specialized first in silver trade. Later in Ming time, they spread their
activities all over China and often monopolized the salt, silver, rice,
cotton, silk or tea businesses. In the sixteenth century they had
well-established contacts with smugglers on the Fukien coast and brought
foreign goods into the interior. Their home was also close to the main
centres of porcelain production in Kiangsi which was exported to
overseas and to the urban centres. The demand for porcelain had
increased so much that state factories could not fulfil it. The state
factories seem often to have suffered from a lack of labour: indented
artisans were imported from other provinces and later sent back on state
expenses or were taken away from other state industries. Thus, private
porcelain factories began to develop, and in connection with quickly
changing fashions a great diversification of porcelain occurred.

One other industry should also be mentioned. With the development of
printing, which will be discussed below, the paper industry was greatly
stimulated. The state also needed special types of paper for the paper
currency. Printing and book selling became a profitable business, and
with the application of block print to textiles (probably first used in
Sung time) another new field of commercial activity was opened.

As already mentioned, silver in form of bars had been increasingly used
as currency in Sung time. The yearly government production of silver was
_c_. 10,000 kg. Mongol currency was actually based upon silver. The
Ming, however, reverted to copper as basic unit, in addition to the use
of paper money. This encouraged the use of silver for speculative
purposes.

The development of business changed the face of cities. From Sung time
on, the division of cities into wards with gates which were closed
during the night, began to break down. Ming cities had no more wards.
Business was no more restricted to official markets but grew up in all
parts of the cities. The individual trades were no more necessarily all
in one street. Shops did not have to close at sunset. The guilds
developed and in some cases were able to exercise locally some influence
upon the officials.

6 _Growth of the small gentry_

With the spread of book printing, all kinds of books became easily
accessible, including reprints of examination papers. Even businessmen
and farmers increasingly learned to read and to write, and many people