The reasons for the birth of Huizhou merchants

For reference only, the tea market in Qimen was very prosperous in the Tang Dynasty. In the Southern Tang Dynasty, Xiuning people traveled to Fujian by Zang Xun. In Song Dynasty, emblem paper has been exported to Sichuan. Hui merchants with huge sums of money began to appear in the Southern Song Dynasty. Cheng Chengjin and Cheng Chenghai, brothers of Qimen, became rich by doing business, and were called "1, Dagong" and "12, Dagong" respectively, collectively called "Cheng 1,". Zhu Xi's grandfather Zhuque's shops and inns account for half of Huizhou Prefecture, which is called "Zhubanzhou". Some big businessmen with abundant capital also issued "Huizi" in Huizhou. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Jiang Jia, a businessman from Shexian County, paid usury in Huizhou to reap huge profits. At the end of Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of Ming Dynasty, the capital of Huizhou merchants increased greatly compared with that of Song Dynasty. When Zhu Yuanzhang entered Anhui, he was short of money, and Jiang Yuan helped him pay 12, yuan at a time. During Chenghua period, Huizhou merchants successively entered the field of salt industry, and Shanxi and Shaanxi merchant groups, which had always been mainly engaged in salt industry, were severely hit, so Huizhou merchants took salt industry as the center and flew in China business circles.

more than 3 years from the middle of Ming dynasty to the end of Qing dynasty, it was the golden age for the development of Huizhou merchants, ranking first among all merchant groups in China in terms of business number, scope of activities, business industry and capital. At that time, business became the "first-class career" of Huizhou people. Among adult men, business accounted for 7%, which was even higher at its peak. The activities of Huizhou merchants spread all over urban and rural areas, reaching Huainan in the east, Yunnan, Guizhou, Guanlong in the west, Youyan, Liaodong in the north and Fujian and Guangdong in the south. Huizhou merchants have traveled as far as Japan, Siam, Southeast Asian countries and Portugal.

in the last years of Qing dynasty, feudal rule declined, taxation and donation became more and more serious, and the situation of Huizhou merchants became more and more difficult. In 1831, the Governor of Liangjiang was also in charge of the salt administration in Huai River. Tao Shu got rid of the disadvantages of Huai salt and changed to the "ticket law". Huizhou merchants who made their fortune by salt patents began to decline, and the pawn industry was also reduced due to Zuo Zongtang's monopoly and the invasion of foreign banks. Tea and wood merchants suffered losses year after year due to the influence of the Opium War and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement. Especially with the invasion of imperialism, the infiltration of foreign capital and the dumping of foreign goods, most of the industries operated by Huizhou merchants were replaced by them. At the same time, the chaebol in Guangdong and Jiangsu provinces, which are closely related to imperialism and warlords and bureaucrats, began to rise. Huizhou merchants who only mastered traditional business knowledge and skills gradually lost their position of manipulation, monopoly and monopoly in the commercial field and began to decline.

in the late Qing dynasty and the Republic of China, although some figures of Huizhou merchants, such as yi county salt merchant Li Zongmei and Shexian real estate merchant Cheng Linsheng, emerged, they could not save the decline of Huizhou merchants as a whole.

Conditions for the emergence of Huizhou merchants

1. The "Wutou Chuwei" in ancient Huizhou is a marginal zone with high mountains and dense forests, changeable terrain and late development. Before the Han Dynasty, the population was small, but three waves of immigrants in the late Jin Dynasty, the late Song Dynasty, the late Tang Dynasty and the history of China brought a large population to Huizhou in southern Anhui. What should we do? Going out to do business is a way out.

2. Rich resources promote business development. The earliest business of Huizhou merchants was grain from mountain products and other places. If abundant wood resources are used for construction, ink making, paint, tung oil and paper making, these are bulk commodities exported abroad, and tea leaves are famous brands such as Qimenhong and Wuyuan Green. Going out to do business mainly deals in salt, cotton (cloth) and grain.

3. Huizhou culture has shaped the character of Huizhou merchants-Confucian merchants, and guided their business with Confucian culture.

4. The Ming and Qing Dynasties were a period of relatively developed commodity economy in China. Capitalism sprouted in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, which was the peak of Huizhou merchants. 1. It is spread all over the country, enjoying the same reputation as Shanxi merchants, and there are footprints of Huizhou merchants everywhere.

2. There are a wide range of businesses, including salt, cotton (cloth), grain, pawn and stationery pen and ink (Four Treasures of the Study).

3. Be hard-working, diligent and thrifty, operate on a small scale, and grow from small to large.

4. Strong capital. For example, Ren Fuguang, a native of Xiuning, is engaged in selling salt in Jianghuai and owns four ships, accounting for more than half of Huai salt.

at the end of Qing dynasty, the tariff surplus was 852, silver per year, and the tea of Huizhou merchants was the first among the export commodities.

Huizhou merchants engaged in salt industry in Yangzhou had a capital of 4 million taels of silver, while the national treasury of the Qing Dynasty was only 7 million taels.

5, the way of management. Abide by the business philosophy of "morality, honesty", "honesty-oriented, justice-oriented" and gain a good reputation in the market.

6. Return to your hometown after making profits and start social welfare and charity. In 185, when the Yellow River and Huaihe River flooded, Huizhou merchants in Yangzhou donated 6, stones of rice and 2 million taels of silver. Business Ethics of Huizhou Merchants Salt, pawn, tea and wood are the most important businesses of Huizhou merchants, followed by rice, grain, cotton cloth, silk, paper, ink and porcelain. Among them, there are many tea and wood merchants in Wuyuan, salt merchants in Shexian, restaurants in Jixi, pawnbrokers in Xiuning, and cloth and groceries in Qimen and yi county.

Huizhou merchants not only engage in a variety of commercial and trafficking industries, but also run industries directly. Zhu Yun, a businessman from Xiuning, was mining iron ore in Fujian, and Ruan Bi, a businessman from Shexian, set up a paper dyeing factory in Wuhu. They produced and sold it, which was a combination of industry and commerce. Huizhou merchants mainly engage in wholesale and long-distance trafficking. Wang Fuguang, a native of Xiuning, is engaged in selling salt between Jianghuai and owns thousands of ships. Some wealthy businessmen and tycoons have also appointed agents and deputies. Huizhou merchants also used slaves to do business. Cheng Tinghao, a native of Xiuning, once drove dozens of slaves and traveled around Jia. Huizhou merchants pay attention to talents in their management, so as to know people well, pay attention to market conditions and implement flexible management. There is one industry that is mainly engaged in other industries; There are business projects that change according to different market conditions and seasons.

Huizhou merchants pay attention to business ethics, and advocate treating people with sincerity, accepting things with trust, and giving consideration to justice and benefit. Known for being diligent and hard-working, I operate outside, return after three years, get married and leave, and get used to it. Huizhou merchants were scholars, while Jia was good at Confucianism, and they were mixed with feudal bureaucrats, or they were entrusted with each other. Apart from "urgent public discussion", "donation" and "studying for the first place", they also paid a lot of money to get the protection of Cao Shouling, even eunuchs and emperors, and enjoyed the privilege of being an official. Some Huizhou merchants themselves can't be among the bureaucratic industries, so they urge their children to take the exam to be officials, and they become official businessmen themselves. Huizhou is adjacent to economically developed areas, with Xin 'anjiang directly connected to Hangzhou, and the waterway transportation is very convenient. mountain products is rich in native products and has a material basis for commodity circulation. At the same time, there are many mountains and few fields in Huizhou, and farming can not support one, so the mountain people have to "go far away from home." "Seek food from all directions". Moreover, Huizhou merchants have the spirit of "Hui Camel", and they often go out for business for several noon, and they don't hesitate to go to high mountains and long roads. Although they are in secluded villages and even overseas, they are all involved.

Before Chenghua in the Ming Dynasty, the businesses operated by Huizhou merchants were mainly "Four Treasures of the Study", lacquer, buckles and tea. After Chenghua, the Ming Dynasty changed the method of "opening China to France", which changed the merchants' method of transporting grain to the border areas in exchange for salt and selling it in a certain area into merchants' method of buying grain and giving salt in salt-producing areas and listening to them sell it. In this way, the important salt-producing areas, namely, the Huaihe River and Zhejiang River, became the gathering centers of salt merchants, and Huizhou merchants took advantage of people and land, and gradually flew to the business world by developing salt industry management.

after the middle of Ming dynasty, Huizhou merchants formed four major industries: salt, classics, tea and wood. In addition to Bibi, there are various industries, such as cloth, silk, grain and oil, ceramics, lacquerware, medicinal materials, Anhui cuisine, Shanza North and South goods, Beijing Department Store, etc. For Huizhou merchants, as long as they are profitable; Not if you are unemployed. Huizhou merchants are also flexible and diverse in their business methods. Generally speaking, there are five kinds: first, peddling (long-distance trafficking); second, group accumulation (hoarding, buying cheaply and selling expensively); third, opening (setting up shops widely and competing); fourth, pledge (operating pawns, giving rights to children and mothers); and fifth, returning to the easy (making fresh with many things). There are also shops in the front and workshops in the back, or factories that run direct production. For example, Zheng Tianzhen and Zhu Yunzhi mine iron ore in Fujian, Ruanbi set up a dyeing and weaving factory in Wuhu, and Wang Changxi made tillers in Fangcun, all of which are produced and sold at the same time, integrating industry and commerce.

Huizhou merchants' capital, although at first it became rich from small capital, was also mixed with bureaucratic capital. Family members of businessmen have become prominent officials, enjoying privileges. Officials are forbidden to do business in Ming and Qing Dynasties, but bureaucratic family members are not forbidden to increase capital. Or entrust a huge sum of money by other officials to operate on their behalf and share the surplus. Huizhou merchants, who dominated by wealth in the Ming Dynasty, often married powerful people with money and treasures. For example, Luo Xiaohua, an ink merchant, was the guest of Yan Shifan, the son of Yan Song, who raped him in Ming Dynasty. Wu Yanghui, a wealthy businessman, said: His eldest father once owed more than 2, yuan to Na Salt. If you don't collude with powerful people, you can't owe the country this huge sum of money.

Huizhou merchants flourished after the middle of the Ming Dynasty, lasting more than 4 years, and gradually declined at the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China. The reasons can be seen from the following aspects:

First, in the eleventh year of Daoguang Qing Dynasty, Tao Shu, the governor of Liangjiang, got rid of the accumulated disadvantages of Huai salt. During the years when the ticket method was implemented, not only did the tens of millions of salt courses owed by merchants in the past be eliminated, but the income was increased by tens of millions. Therefore, when Tao Shu first proposed to get rid of the disadvantages of salt, the officials of salt merchants strongly opposed it. Although Cao Zhenyong, a Shexian native who started from the salt industry as the prime minister of Qianlong, Jiaqing and Daoguang in the three dynasties, could not come forward to oppose it, Huizhou merchants suffered losses because the salt policy was changed to the ticket law, and he said sourly: "There is no prime minister who starved to death" in the salt policy reform. Despite what Cao Zhenyong said, the reform of Danyan salt policy dealt a great blow to Huizhou merchants.

Second, in the third year of Xianfeng in Qing Dynasty, Wang Maoyin, a native of Shexian County, who was an assistant minister and in charge of the money court, thought that if the money law was to work and do a good job of humiliation, it was necessary to rely on businessmen, give them convenience in operation and give them special benefits. His suggestion was not only not adopted by Yi Xu, but was severely reprimanded for being instructed by others. This has also dealt a great blow to Huizhou merchants who run the money industry.

Third, during the reign of Qing Kang, the merchants were banned and paid more attention to profits, and then the taxes on the merchants were increased. Zuo Zongtang increased the quality and laid down the years, but the merchants were defeated several times. Xianfeng has implemented "Likin" since four years, and there are many tax cards. It is not as easy to make money from Huizhou merchants who are capable of long-distance trafficking as in the past.

4. After the Opium War, imported products from capitalist countries were dumped all over China. Handicraft crystals managed by Huizhou merchants were no match for those produced by foreign commercial machines, that is, the only Huizhou ink, which was also impacted by imported pens and inks. At the same time, with the appearance of foreign merchants, the domestic comprador class colluded with officials and gentry and became the enemy of Huizhou merchants.

5. In the competition with the emerging Fujian, Guangdong, Jiangxi and Zhejiang merchants, Huizhou merchants, who were stuck in the feudal mode of production and management, were gradually overwhelmed by them. In addition, there was another important reason, that is, during the reign of Emperor Xianfeng Tongzhi, the war in Huizhou lasted for years. At first, the Yong Tuan was plundered, and then Zeng Guofan's inspector Qimen plundered the whole county, which made the whole county empty. In addition, the Taiping Army and the. Huizhou suffered a rare disaster since ancient times, which made Huizhou merchants severely devastated in manpower, financial resources and material resources. In a word, Huizhou merchants are the product of feudal social economy. Although they have a long history, they failed to adapt to the development of society, and their inevitable decline fate was determined in the semi-feudal and semi-colonial society.