Huizhou is adjacent to Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces and located in the southeast hinterland of China. The six counties in ancient Huizhou are located in the middle of a basin, and the traffic is extremely inconvenient. The main road to Zhejiang is only one Xin 'anjiang. Although surrounded by mountains, it is close to the developed areas in southeast Jiangsu and Zhejiang, which is also an important reason for the prosperity of Huizhou merchants. The middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River in China, especially the Hangzhou Bay area, have been rich areas for a long time in the history of China. To the east of Huizhou, there is now Xin 'anjiang Reservoir, which borders Hangzhou and is relatively rich. To the north is Nanjing, which has always been relatively developed. The word "Huizhou merchants" first appeared in Chenghua period of Ming Dynasty. In the middle of the Ming Dynasty, social life was relatively stable, and the business situation and social situation were not as tense as in the early Ming Dynasty. Huizhou merchants began to appear, which formed the phenomenon that Huizhou people collectively worked hard to get rich, left people with the overall impression of "Huizhou camel" in society, and had an impact, forming Huizhou merchants. In this way, between Qin Long and Wanli, it can be said that the development of Huizhou merchants reached the first peak, and their business groups were famous all over the country.
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First, the relatively weak feudal ideological foundation of ancient Huizhou. Because the mountain is high and the emperor is far away, the control of feudal autocracy is relatively weak, which makes Huizhou people have a relatively pragmatic attitude and a relatively liberated consciousness. Attitude and consciousness can often determine many things.
Second, ancient Huizhou people were smarter. Most of them are immigrants from the Central Plains, including many nobles in the northern part of the Central Plains. Most of them moved to the south to escape the war in the north. These people were originally in the north, and many of them were aristocrats with good education, good cultural background and good quality. Huizhou residents are mostly descendants, so Huizhou people are invisible, flexible and can think clearly.
Third, the power of tradition and example. Huizhou merchants have a heavy spirit of benevolence and righteousness. Some people made money and set an example for their fellow villagers. Huizhou merchants are willing to contribute generously to the public welfare undertakings in their hometown. Attracted people to follow suit. At the same time, those successful Huizhou merchants also provided some convenience for the latecomers.
Fourth, attach importance to education. After the mid-Ming Dynasty, Huizhou merchants attached great importance to education, which made Huizhou education more prosperous. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Huizhou produced 28 top scholars, accounting for one-eighth of the total number of top scholars in these two dynasties. Huizhou people value culture and love reading, which has a great influence on their customs and habits.
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More than 300 years from the middle of the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty was the golden age for the development of Huizhou merchants, ranking first among all the merchants in the country in terms of business quantity, scope of activities, business sectors and capital scale. At that time, commerce became the "first-class cause" of Huizhou people. Among adult men, business accounts for 70%, even higher at the peak. Huizhou merchants rose after Ming and Qing Dynasties, and Huizhou ushered in the most prosperous period in her development history, forming a distinctive Huizhou culture with regional characteristics. Huizhou represents a rich and glorious history.
So why did Huizhou merchants decline?
First, there is no ideological support. In the history of China, the biggest influence and restriction on business is the concept. Under the autocratic system for thousands of years, the mainstream thought of society is "cultivate one's morality, keep the family in order, govern the country and level the world", that is, study and be an official. Businessmen have a low status.
Second, the feudal system does not support it.
The third is exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous fees. In the late Qing Dynasty, the feudal rule declined, the tax payment became more and more serious, and the situation of Huizhou merchants became more and more difficult. 183 1 year, the governor of liangjiang was in charge of the salt affairs of huaihe river, which eliminated the long-standing disadvantages of huaiyan river and changed it to "ticket law". Huizhou merchants who made their fortune with salt patents began to decline, and the pawn industry also declined because of the left monopoly and the invasion of foreign banks.
The fourth is the impact of foreign capital. 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 warlord bureaucrats, began to rise. Huizhou merchants who only mastered traditional business knowledge and skills gradually lost their manipulation, monopoly and monopoly position in the commercial field and began to decline.
The fifth is the destruction of war. Influenced by the Qing army's entry into the customs, the Opium War and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement, Huizhou merchants suffered losses year after year. The tug-of-war between Zeng Guofan and Taiping Army in southern Anhui and Huizhou led to the destruction of ten villages and nine villages in Huizhou.
In the 20th century, there was a civil war, then an eight-year war of resistance and finally a three-year war of liberation. Whether it is a civil war or a foreign war, after more than half a century of war, this country is already a scorched earth. Under such circumstances, Huizhou merchants naturally ceased to exist and everything fell silent.
In short, we must have a clear understanding of the history of Huizhou merchants, so as to form lessons, wealth, business philosophy, cultural wealth and so on.