The Development Pattern of Business in China during the Ming and Qing Dynasties
Shanxi
During the 500 years of the Ming and Qing dynasties, Shanxi merchants with strong capital invested in hiring local local merchants to jointly operate and profit, becoming a relatively loose group of merchants. Later, it developed into the Donghuo system, similar to the joint-stock system, which was a major innovation of the Jin merchants and an important reason for their enduring strength.
The ticket number is the biggest innovation of Shanxi merchants, which is a financial institution specializing in foreign exchange business. Rishengchang Bank is the first private financial institution in China to specialize in deposit, lending, and exchange services, pioneering the Chinese banking industry.
The Camel Gang is mainly engaged in foreign tea trade. They travel north and west through camel caravans to transport tea to Russia, Mongolia, and other places.
Jin merchants organized ships to purchase foreign copper for foreign trade.
The Jin merchants left rich architectural heritage for China, such as the famous Qiao family courtyard, Chang family manor, Cao family three halls, Wang family courtyard, and so on.
Huizhou merchants
Hui merchants, also known as "Xin'an merchants" and commonly known as "Hui Gang", were a collective term for merchants or merchant groups from Huizhou Prefecture in the old days.
Huizhou merchants have a wide range of business varieties, including salt, cotton, (cloth), grain, pawns, stationery and ink (the four treasures of the study), and classic old brands such as Wang Zhihe, Heshe inkstone, Huimo, Chengxintang paper, and Hu Qingyutang.
The Huizhou merchant culture shaped the character of Huizhou merchants - Confucian merchants, guided by Confucian culture in business.
Zhejiang merchants
Zhejiang merchants were a powerful business group that propelled the development of China's industry and commerce in the 19th century. The characteristics of Zhejiang merchants are amiable, win-win, low-key, and daring to take risks. The most active merchants in Zhejiang are Wen merchants, the most hardworking are Xiao Shao merchants, the most active city is Yiwu, the most representative are Ningbo merchants, and the most low-key are Yue merchants.
Shen Wansan, a native of Huzhou, was the richest man in the world during the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties; Ye Chengzhong, a native of Zhenhai in the late Qing Dynasty, was a pioneer in China's modern hardware industry; The merchants of Nanxun, Huzhou, led by Liu Pu, Zhang Songxian, Pang Yunsieve, and Gu Fuchang, who started their business by managing the collection of silk, were the earliest powerful group of merchants in China.
Lu Shang
Lu Shang was a commercial group in Shandong during the Ming and Qing dynasties. They were known for their business philosophy of "putting morality first, righteousness first, and righteousness for profit", which had a profound historical origin and strong vitality.
Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, many Lu merchants have been engaged in both industry and business, and their business mode is "front shop and back shop", such as the merchants who produce and operate Shaobing (Baked cake in griddle) and cloth in Zhoucun. Zhoucun has become the largest commercial center in northern China.
Cantonese merchants
The rise of Guangdong merchants occurred during the Ming and Qing dynasties. At that time, capitalism in China was still in its infancy. Guangdong merchants relied on Guangdong's cultural and geographical environment, developed handicrafts, and close connections with overseas markets to form another major business group in China.
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Cantonese merchants spread throughout the country, even crossing the sea, and Guangdong guilds gradually spread to various parts of the world. In the Qing Dynasty, the Thirteen Factories of Guangzhou became the only foreign trade window in China, and Cantonese merchants were prominent in the foreign trade comprador industry for a time. After opening trading ports, they gradually transformed into modern merchants.
