I have visited Huizhou twice, and I was amazed at the paradise in southern Anhui and the antique Huizhou culture, but I also felt the richness of this land, which can be seen from the ancient high-rise mansions and carved beams and painted buildings. This prosperous atmosphere continues to this day, and it is inextricably linked with Huizhou merchants.
Huizhou merchants came from Huizhou, the ancient Xin 'an County, including six counties, namely, Shening, Xiuning, Wuyuan, Qimen, Yi and Jixi, collectively known as "one government and six counties", which is an important economic and cultural development area in history. The unique geographical and cultural conditions urged a caravan that affected the whole of China.
In the Ming Dynasty's Anhui Geography, it was recorded that "Hui people buy more from merchants, and it is natural." "Huizhou Prefecture Records" contains: "Huizhou Baojie Valley, the mountains are in accordance with the original foothills, the fields are barren, and the production is extremely thin. Most of them enter at the age of one, and they cannot support anything. People who practice more skills, or who sell goods and eat other counties, are often nineteen. Huizhou, located at the end of Wutou Chuwei, is a marginal zone with high mountains and dense forests and changeable terrain, which is known as "eight mountains, half water and half fields, one road and one manor". At the end of Jin Dynasty, the end of Song Dynasty, the end of Tang Dynasty and the history of China, three waves of immigrants moved a large number of people from the north to Huizhou. Huizhou, which has little land, is overwhelmed, with barren mountains and little cultivated land, and is forced to go out for business. The proverb "I was born in Huizhou in my previous life, but I was thirteen or fourteen years old, and I lost it abroad" truly describes the tradition of Huizhou people in doing business.
Huizhou, located in the area surrounded by mountains, is not conducive to the growth of food crops, but it is very conducive to the growth of cash crops such as wood, bamboo and tea. Huizhou people adjust measures to local conditions, make full use of these mountain resources and embark on the road of business. Kangxi's Huizhou Fuzhi recorded that "the people of heaven sent their lives to agriculture, and the people of Huizhou sent their lives to business". In addition, the dense water network provides excellent conditions for the transportation and dissemination of Huizhou merchants, laying the groundwork for Huizhou merchants to radiate the whole country.
Huizhou has been chosen by history, and Huizhou merchants are the best in the world, which is closely related to his culture. Huizhou region has a strong cultural and historical flavor, and has a prosperous writing style of "a village of ten households, which does not waste reading". "Although it is a Jia, it is salty and close to a scholar's style." Historically, Jia and Confucianism have been closely linked, which has become a major feature of Huizhou business gangs.
In the fierce competitive market, the relationship between supply and demand is constantly changing. To grasp the market situation, you must have certain business knowledge. When the industry expands, it is necessary to have management skills, which requires the knowledge of businessmen. In addition, once the Huizhou merchants abroad made a fortune and returned to their hometown with rich clothes, they built buildings, ancestral halls, roads and bridges, and halls, especially keen on opening schools and running test museums, which provided a stable supply of talents for the development of Huizhou merchants.
"granary knows etiquette, and food and clothing know honor and disgrace". Huizhou merchants who became rich after doing business did not forget to pursue their own cultural and spiritual life.
Neo-Confucianism in Song and Ming Dynasties pushed Confucianism to a new stage of development. "There are Zhu Xi in Wuyuan, Mencius in Youzou, and Confucius in Qufu." Zhu Xi and his Neo-Confucianism, whose hometown is Huizhou, have a far-reaching influence on Huizhou. After the development of Yuan Dynasty, Xin 'an Neo-Confucianism School was formed. "Although Zhu Zi's learning is all over the world, it is only the people in Xin 'an who are familiar with it, detailed in it and solid in keeping it." Huizhou has become a model of practicing Neo-Confucianism. In a subtle way, Confucianism, ethics and morality have become the guide for Huizhou merchants to act on their own, and the Confucian "benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom and trust" is reflected in all aspects of business.
more than 311 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. Especially the development of commodity economy after the middle of Ming Dynasty, the formation of national market and the germination of new production relations greatly promoted the development of Huizhou merchants. From the inland central plains to the frontier fortress overseas, Huizhou merchants have traveled all over the country. "Rich room, jiangnan push xin' an, jiangbei push mountain right. Xin' an dajia, fish and salt are the industry, and there are millions of people in Tibet, and the other 211,111 to 311,111 are in Jiaer. " In salt industry, pawn industry and so on, Huizhou merchants are even in a monopoly position.
At that time, a number of successful Huizhou merchants were established. Today, these time-honored Huizhou merchants are still active in the market and are well known by people.
a century of Hu Yumei:
? In the tenth year of Daoguang reign, a Hu family moved to Anqing from Wuyuan, Huizhou (now Jiangxi), and a man named Hu Zhaoxiang began to walk around the local streets, selling sauce goods on his shoulders, and then set up "Simei" sauce garden and "Yucheng" sauce garden, and then set up "Hu Yumei" sauce garden ("Yumei" is the store number) in the four-storey building of Anqing Commercial Center, which not only reflects the hardships of previous entrepreneurs, but also shows that. "Hu Yumei" not only set up multi-branch stores in this city, but also set up branches or distribution offices in Shanghai, Nanjing, Hankou and other places, and gradually opened the Jinpu, Shanghai-Nanjing and Heping Hantong Canal, and its business became increasingly developed. Products are also increasing, with new varieties such as canned food, cold drinks, cakes and medicinal liquor, especially the long-standing broad bean hot sauce and shrimp seed soy sauce. Up to now, it has been 181 years, and it is a prestigious "China Time-honored Brand" enterprise.
Zhang Xiaoquan scissors:
? Zhang Xiaoquan brand became famous in 1628 (the first year of Chongzhen in Ming Dynasty). It is an old Chinese brand and the only well-known trademark in China in the knife and scissors industry. For more than 311 years, Zhang Xiaoquan's successors have been adhering to the ancestral motto of "Excellent Steel Works" and doing their work well. Traditional civil scissors are the first products of Zhang Xiaoquan. They have five styles, namely "Xinhua, Shanlang, Wuhua, Round Head and Long Head". They dominate the cutting industry by ten characteristics, such as uniform steel inlay, clear steel, fine grinding, sharp blade, firm pin, smooth opening and closing, exquisite style, novel engraving, durability, high quality and low price.
Xie Yuda Tea Shop:
? Xie Yuda is a famous brand of Huangshan Mao Feng in Anhui, which is the quality and symbol of Huangshan Mao Feng. Xie Yuda Tea Shop is committed to developing and selling famous teas of origin. At the end of 2119 and the beginning of the 21th century, Xie Yuda tea shops spread all over Kyushu, and also exported tea to the Far East and Western Europe through foreign firms, which had the reputation of "famous in Europe for four or five years". Zhang Zhidong, an important minister of Westernization in the late Qing Dynasty, appreciated his concept of honest management, and wrote in his own handwriting "Sincerely recruiting guests from all over the world and enjoying a good reputation in Xiegong Building". Later, Huang Binhong, a master of Xin 'an Painting School, praised Xie Yuwei as "the first one in Huangshan and Mao Feng". Xie Yuda Tea Shop is really the leader of China's time-honored tea shop.
Hu qingyutang:
? Hu Qingyutang was a drugstore in Hu Xueyan, a "red-top businessman" in the late Qing Dynasty, in the 13th year of Tongzhi in Qing Dynasty (1874). It started to build a drugstore for Qingyutang in Hu Xueyan, and was built and officially opened in Dajing Lane in Guangxu four years. Based on the Royal Pharmacopoeia of Song Dynasty, Hu Qingyutang collected various ancient prescriptions, proven prescriptions and secret recipes, and combined with clinical experience, carefully prepared more than 411 prescriptions of Qingyutang Pill, Powder, Cream, Dan, Gel, Dew, Oil and Medicinal Liquor, and wrote a special book, Complete Works of Hu Qingyutang Xueji Pill Powder, which was handed down from generation to generation. Up to now, it still inherits the ancestral prescription and traditional pharmaceutical technology, and retains a large number of traditional brand-name products.