Constructing new frame of reference for rural studies through fieldwork on spatiality of marketing area in rural Sichuan, China

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Two results have been attained through research activity for three years as follows:1: Market towns, named "ChangZhen" in rural Sichuan, which are the center of marketing area have dynamic characteristics. Through fieldwork in rural Sichuan the author became aware of unexpected rise and fall of market towns, and used "Xiangzhenzhi" or chorography of township to reveal the transition of market town in Santai County. Analyzing of construction, founder, periodic market, location, abolition and movement, and accompanying phenomenon, the image of "producing Changzhen" is given for the dynamic characteristics of market town in rural Sichuan. Produce of market town means not only constructing the place of economic activity but also the spatial system that sustains local residents' lives in social, political and cultural dimension.2: The formation of township as lowlevel administraive district is revealed as dynamic characteristics of marketing area logically extracted from the transition of market towns. Fieldworks and analysis of archives preserved in the Provincial Archives empirically show marketing area were made into administrative district in the New County Act of 1940's as the modem formation parallel with state construction.The purpose of this project has been accomplished to some degree but also remained many problems to be solved. Especially an inquiry into marketing area as spatial frame of referece for rural studies has been going on. The author made presentation about these problems on annual meeting of the Association of Japanese Geographers in March 2007.3: Rural studies in Japan have had a bias of regarding village as important too much. It is necessary to understand marketing area as one of stratified living spaces by historical-geographical perspective suitable for the field.