试论五至六世纪拜占庭的丝绸贸易与丝织业

为了控制丝绸贸易和保证丝织业生产，5—6世纪的拜占庭国家垄断了生丝交易。由于拜占庭的桑树种植地主要处于容易受波斯进攻的叙利亚和小亚细亚山区，正常的种桑活动往往得不到保障，因此拜占庭所需生丝仍然依赖进口。为了获得较为廉价的生丝，拜占庭利用国家权力对丝绸贸易和丝绸价格实行了严格的控制，并建立了一支身份世袭的织工队伍。拜占庭的丝织业采取集约化的生产方式，形成了集种桑、养蚕、纺纱、染色、绘图等一系列完整流程为一体的生产体系。丝绸贸易在拜占庭经济结构中虽然不占主导地位，但紫色丝绸却是拜占庭国家中央集权和社会等级制度在经济和社会生活中的反映。

On the Silk Trade and Silk Industry of Byzantium in the Fifth and Sixth Centuries

During the fifth and sixth centuries, the government of the Byzantium monopolized the raw silk trade and silk industry. Because the mulberry cultivation fields were largely located to Syrian and the mountainous regions of Asia Minor, which were regularly facing the attacks from the Persia, the Byzantium Empire had to import its raw silk. To obtain the raw silk at lower price, the Byzantium used the state power to implement strict control over silk trade and established a forced hereditary weaver labor team....