Zhang Wenhui

Northwest Minzu University

Abstract：

In ancient Northwest China, the diverse landforms and concentrated settlement of ethnic groups enabled various peoples to carry out long-term and in-depth interethnic economic exchanges by relying on differences in resources, an inclusive social structure, and transportation networks. In the course of history, the Northwest developed a trinitarian economic and trade system integrating folk, market, and official channels, which promoted the complementary and symbiotic development of agriculture, animal husbandry, and handicrafts and established a deeply integrated mechanism of material circulation, technological sharing, and cultural empowerment. Interethnic economic integration effectively reshaped the fragmented regional structure, built a diversified and coordinated economic system, significantly improved people's living standards, and continuously deepened interethnic contacts, exchanges, and integration. On this basis, the article reviews the developmental logic and historical achievements of economic exchanges among ethnic groups in ancient Northwest China and summarizes the underlying patterns of complementarity, symbiosis, and institutionalization, thereby providing a historical reference for understanding the integrated economic development of multiple ethnic groups.

Key Words：

ancient Northwest China; various ethnic groups; economic exchange; industrial coordination; ethnic integration