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

通过三年的研究活动，取得了以下两个成果：1、四川农村集镇“长镇”是集贸区的中心，具有动态特征。笔者通过在四川农村的田野调查，了解到集镇的兴衰，并用《乡真志》或《乡志》来揭示三台县集镇的变迁。针对四川农村集镇的动态特征，通过对集镇的建设、创始、周期性集市、区位、拆迁、伴随现象的分析，给出了“产长镇”的形象。集镇的产生不仅意味着构建经济活动的场所，而且还意味着在社会、政治和文化维度上构建支撑当地居民生活的空间体系。2：集镇作为低层行政区划的形成，表现为集镇转型中逻辑上提取的集贸区的动态特征。通过对省档案馆保存档案的实地考察和分析，经验表明，1940年《S新县法》将市场区划为行政区划，作为与国家建设平行的现代形态，在一定程度上实现了这一目标，但也存在许多问题。特别是作为农村研究的空间参照系的市场区域的探讨一直在进行。本文作者在2007.3-03日本地理学家协会年会上就这些问题作了陈述：日本的农村研究存在着过于看重乡村的偏见。因此，有必要从历史-地理的角度来理解市场区域作为一种分层的居住空间。

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.