摘要:无锡作为明清时期江南典型的市镇，其商品经济已发展到了比较高的水准。无锡有“布码头”之称，从事棉纺织业的锡人较多，市场广阔且交通便捷棉纺织业使得无锡棉纺织业发展迅速，商品化程度高。作为“四大米市”的无锡，凭借自身优越的地理位置、诸多有利的市场因素，米市得到了发展并逐步繁荣，最终成为“四大米市”之首。剖析无锡的社会经济生活，利于对无锡明清商品经济和近代经济发展的理解。

关键词：无锡 棉纺织业 米市

Abstract：As a typical town in Jiangnan at Ming and Qing Dynasties ,Wuxi's commodity economy has developed to a relatively high standard.Wuxi is the "cloth terminals", many people are engaged in the cotton textile industry of  Wuxi, the mass markets and the convenient transportation make the cotton textile industry develop rapidly,and it has a high degree of commercialization. Wuxi,as the one of "four rice markets",has the aid of virtue of its location and many favorable market factors, the rice market has been gradually developed and prosperous, and ultimately become the first place"four rice markets".Analysis of the socio-economic life of Wuxi, is helpful to understand the commodity economy at Ming and Qing Dynasties and the economic development of morden Wuxi.

　　　棉纺织业与米市已成为明清无锡商品经济的重要组成部分，是无锡商品经济的支柱产业。棉纺织业的发展为无锡近代新工业超过苏州提供了助力。米市的发展也使无锡一跃成为“四大米市”之首。凭借明清无锡纺织业、米市等商品经济的发展，无锡于近代一举超越苏州、常州，成为典型的近代新工业化城市。