1. Reasons:

The objective needs of social and economic development, expansion of commodity circulation, developed transportation, and domestic and foreign exchange. The bank handles exchanges and deposits, which solves the difficulty of transporting cash, accelerates capital turnover, and promotes commercial prosperity.

The Shanxi merchant bank account appeared in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. It was first created by Shanxi pigment merchants. The most famous performance of the Pingyao Rishengchang bank bank account is "Huitong Tianxia", and long-distance exchange has become its unique business. Of course, the bank also operates deposits, loans, issuance of private notes and other businesses. There are nearly 100 branches all over the country and even in countries such as Singapore, Russia, Japan, and North Korea.

2. Conditions:

In the early Ming Dynasty, Shanxi merchants rose up to raise military pay in the northern border towns for the rulers of the Ming Dynasty. After entering the Qing Dynasty, they acted as imperial merchants and obtained commercial privileges. He also became a leader in the financial world because of his role in disbursing advances to the Qing government and exchanging military pay. In a word, Shanxi merchants in the Ming and Qing Dynasties always prospered by relying on and serving the feudal government. But when the feudal government declined, Shanxi merchants would inevitably bring disaster to themselves.

Like Zhicheng Xintiaohao, after the Gengzi Incident, they once shipped capital to Nan Province for lending, but most of the funds shipped to Nan Province were lost during the Revolution of 1911. The Qing government urgently needed to withdraw money. As a result, there were 4 million taels of silver receivable and 2 million taels of silver payable on the books, but in fact it was unable to turn over and was forced to close down.

In the early years of the Republic of China, most of the creditors came to Taigu, Pingyao, and Qi County in Shanxi Province to claim their arrears. Caidong suffered heavy losses due to his banknotes and was unable to repay them. He could only sell his house and land, or even fled to other places. And became a beggar.

3. Features:

The most distinctive features of Shanxi merchants’ exchange notes are the seals: the header seal, the number seal, the floor seal, and the seam seal. The design is full of strong cultural and artistic colors. , which not only has the anti-counterfeiting function, but also reflects the simple, honest and straightforward folk customs of Shanxi. The borders of Shanxi merchant bills are often decorated with the name of the bill number and the Eight Immortals, Plum, Orchid, Bamboo and Chrysanthemum, Baoding, and Cornucopia in a fashionable design.

As the author has collected, this is a 300-note collection issued by Shanxi merchants in Hongdao Branch, Ting County, Shanxi Province on March 18, the sixth year of the Republic of China (1917). The design pattern is blue and the border is blue. The name of the ticket number and the "Dark Eight Immortals" (that is, the magic weapon used by the Eight Immortals) are written on it, and the amount is written with a brush. Each of the six seals has its own characteristics. The most interesting one is the use of a set of red statues of Zhao Gongming, the God of Wealth, as the monogram, which is lively and interesting.

4. Influence:

In the history of China’s modern economic development since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Shanxi merchants traveling across Europe and Asia have attracted worldwide attention. Shanxi, especially Etaigu, Qixian, Yuci, The senior businessmen of Jinzhong Basin, represented by Pingyao and others, promoted the great cause of commerce.

The business scope is all-encompassing, taking the lead in finance, bank accounts are connected to the world, ruling the roost for more than 500 years, creating unprecedented century-long prosperity, and leaving a splendid business culture on the land of China. .

Extended information:

Cultural representatives of Shanxi merchants:

The Qiao family, the Qu family and the Cao family all walked through the west entrance, and the wind and sand outside the Great Wall tempered them With their will and perseverance to be unwilling to be poor, they used their sweat-filled achievements to leave behind these carved and painted houses for future generations, as well as thousands of courtyard buildings with antique flavor and charm that still exist in urban and rural areas. It also provides rare intuitive information for the teaching and research of architecture and Shanxi merchant culture.

It covers an area of ??8,724 square meters, consists of 6 large courtyards, 20 small courtyards, and 313 houses. The overall layout is "Double Happiness". The whole courtyard is connected with 6 courtyards by a straight passage. Separating the two sides, there is a courtyard within the courtyard, and a garden within the courtyard. It not only emphasizes the overall beauty, but also has local characteristics. All of them are exquisite in shape and unique in craftsmanship.

There are more than 300 decorative wood carvings in the whole hospital, almost every one of which is an ancient folk tale. The brick carvings in the courtyard can be seen when looking up. The screen wall composed of 100 Chinese characters for "longevity" has hundreds of different characters. It is square, strong, simple, smart and graceful.

Baidu Encyclopedia - Shanxi Merchant’s Bill of Exchange