The region of South Fukien did not develop economically to any marked
degree until the Sung dynasty. Its development during the Sung can
be divided into three periods. The first period lasted from the
rule of the independent local warlords to the last quarter of the
eleventh century . During this one hundred years, agriculture
underwent improvements which made substantial population growth and
accumulation of capital possible . This generated a substantial
momentum for development in commerce by local merchants, and a
flourishing transit trade . The second period , which lasted to the end
of the twelfth century , was a time of general prosperity in the
region's economy. The overseas trade now became a mixture of transit
and export trade and expanded to an unprecedented extent, and other
economic sectors developed in response to this commercial boom.
The third phase - the latter half of the Southern Sung - was a time
when overseas trade declined markedly and problems appeared in the
local economy. The region turned its commercial orientation from
overseas to domestic trade and was not able to enjoy the balanced
prosperity it had earlier