After the middle and late Ming Dynasty, China society sprouted the wind of worshipping business, especially in the south of the Yangtze River. A large number of nouveau riche spend money like water, and extravagance and waste have become a common phenomenon. In the second volume (the first volume was written by Ouyang), Jin Anqing, a Qing Dynasty man, recorded two stories of rich households in Jiangsu and Zhejiang who were rich but not extravagant. One of them tells the story of the rich in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

During the Qianlong period, there were many wealthy families in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, including tens of thousands and 120 thousand families, and unknown families. Only those rich people with millions of property are rumoured. There are many rich households in Dongting Mountain area of Taihu Lake in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, among which the richest is the xi family. In the hometown of Wang, Zhejiang Province and Xingxian County, there is a rich man named Tao, whose family can be compared with him. The marriage of these two families is a secret struggle for power and profit in their communication.

One day, Tao went home to visit relatives and went to Dongting Mountain by water. It was already evening. It's about two miles from where the ship docked to Xifu. There are light sheds on both sides of the road, and the lights are on all night. You don't need to light lanterns and raise torches when you walk at night. When they arrived in Xifu, they played music, hosted banquets and feasted for several days. Tao, who is both enthusiastic and shows off his wealth, is well aware of this. Ask Tao:? Are there any imperfections in the place where I live? ? Tao said: There is nothing imperfect, except that the floor tiles in the hall are several feet long and several feet wide, which are too big, and some of them are similar to the buildings in the court. There are some lotus water chestnuts missing from the pond outside the study window. ? Xi was silent. More than two hours later, when Tao was invited to walk through the pavilion by the pond, the pond was already full of blooming lotus flowers. Xi sent the guests out. After crossing the hall, all the floor tiles in the hall have been replaced by one foot square. Tao was shocked.

However, Tao also appeared in Suzhou. Tao once went to Suzhou to watch the performance of Juexiu class. The performer hated his peasant appearance and jokingly said, You love the theatre so much, why don't you hire a troupe to perform at home? It's just that there must be chicken, fish and ham in the meal every day, otherwise the actors can't get chopsticks. ? At that time, it was necessary to set up a troupe in the society, which required 220 taels of silver every day. After Tao returned to China, he immediately sent someone to Suzhou to package a unique troupe and ordered a hundred plays. Then, he shut the troupe in the hall and let them perform by themselves. No one watched the play. Two meals a day, no other dishes except chicken, fish and ham. Ten days later, the actors were so embarrassed that they apologized to Tao and stopped.

About Jiangsu and Zhejiang in Qing Dynasty? Local tyrants? Unofficial history's notes in Qing Dynasty recorded the story of children fighting for wealth. Qian Yong's Lu Yuan Cong Hua records that in the early years of Kangxi, there was a wealthy businessman Zhu Mingyu in Suzhou. Fu Jiasheng Wu? . His neighbor, surnamed Zhao, is Wu Sangui's confidant bodyguard, rich and powerful. These two people who live together? Local tyrants? , like two cocks, the first time PK. The troupe was invited by Zhujiajian. Where is Zhao's bodyguard? Will it be sent to you? How much did Zhujiajian Island give the troupe? Zhao Jiaken will definitely surpass it. One year during the Lantern Festival, the Zhujiajian family hung dozens of luxurious and exquisite pearl lanterns in front of their house to show their strength, making the lights of Zhao's bodyguard's house next door dim. Zhao's bodyguard? Shame like a horse? , become angry from embarrassment, call the family smashed all the luxury lighting of Zhujiajian. Zhu Mingyu didn't dare to move Zhao's bodyguard, so she spent a lot of money to get to know Wu Sangui's son-in-law who lived in Suzhou and help him drive away Zhao's bodyguard.

Jiangsu and Zhejiang in Qing Dynasty? Local tyrants? Love to compete for money and spend money like water.

Former residence of Hu Xueyan, a wealthy businessman in Qing Dynasty.

? Local tyrants? The example of children competing for money and showing off their wealth in this way is not a case in the Qing Dynasty, but often happens, especially in Jiangnan. This article only mentions Jiangsu and Zhejiang? Local tyrants? Eat? An example of luxury. Yangtze shad is a very precious fish, which is also called Yangtze River with puffer fish and swordfish. Sambo? , and shad more? The king of fish? The reputation of. This kind of fish produces very little, and it dies when it comes out of the water, so it is extremely difficult to transport. It is a rare food in Jiangnan and other places. According to the records of the Qing dynasty: When shad first came out, a tail cost 1000 dollars, and you are not allowed to touch it unless you are rich and powerful. ? According to the records of the Qing dynasty, when the shad in Hangzhou and other places went on the market, the rich nobles rushed to pay for it. As an expensive gift, its price is too expensive for ordinary people to buy. In a general banquet, fish is usually put at the back, but shad is different, so it is often served first at a large banquet to add flavor to the banquet. Prosperous city, high society? A bowl of rice that took a day? , as a common situation. What's more, he drank for days and nights. What can it eat? Never tire of eating? . "Water Window Spring" (Volume II) records: At that time, the emphasis on dishes became increasingly complicated. The number of banquets (in the past) was up to 24 dishes, eight big and eight small, and Yan cuisine was just a barbecue. After the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, there were so-called assorted dishes, from four kinds of cold dishes to four kinds of cold dishes and sixteen kinds of dishes. And eight big and eight small are also complicated? It's not the same as before Ganjia. ? Qian Yong, a A Qing dynasty, also recorded in Luyuan Conghua: In times of peace and prosperity, all parties are happy, so the literati are extravagant, especially fond of narrow and evil trips. In Liaoning, it is on the Qinhuai River, in Suzhou, it is the Tiger Hill Pool, and in Yangzhou, it is the Pingshan Hall outside Tianning Gate. It is almost impossible to draw boats and drums. ? Chen Qiyuan, A Qing Dynasty, also recorded in Notes of Yongxianzhai:? In recent years, I have been to Jiangnan. At the beginning of each year, I go to Su Hezheng, and my friends invite me to drink. Three or four or five places a day, extremely poor. However, you will frown when you smell the brand, but will it be different when you take it orally? The edge of the cover is too full. ? You see, the local gentry are very sad when they go to eat, and they don't know what to eat. It's all because they are too full and too good.

In the extravagant wind around Jiangsu and Zhejiang in the Qing Dynasty, businessmen dominated, followed by gentry and doctors. Businessmen have become a striking social class, these? Local tyrants? Have a huge sum of money? There are as many as one million people in Tibet? ,? You can't be rich unless you have hundreds of thousands. . Are you online? Local tyrants? Under the guidance, the city has become the source of social fashion, and the wind of extravagance and waste has quickly blown up, covering all levels of social life. For example, in clothing, the material pursues splendid silk from cloth, the color tends to be bright and bright, and the style pursues strange renovation from uniformity and monotony. Even wearing it? The poorest and purest? So are Confucian scholars? Customs transfer personnel? Under the impact of? Strong clothes? , involving? Is it extravagant? Spring tide. Of course, for local tyrants, eat? Wear? Really common,? Live broadcast? It is the brand that shows its value. The luxury of their life is manifested in the worship of architecture and the management of gardens. In the early Qing Dynasty, in order to welcome the emperor's visit, merchants in the south of the Yangtze River spent huge sums of money to invite celebrities to create manuscripts and renovate gardens and pavilions. At that time, driven by Suzhou and Yangzhou, the beauty of gardens was popular in almost all towns in the south of the Yangtze River. According to statistics, there were more than 270 gardens in Suzhou during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Half a garden pavilion in the city? Said.

In fact, the luxury atmosphere at that time was not only in Jiangnan, but also in all parts of the country. Even in remote areas, the style of eating and drinking is not inferior. "Qing dynasty paper money? Diet: Banquet in Lanzhou, Gansu? In order to spend a lot of money, a barbecue pad needs more than 100 gold, a swallow pad needs more than 80 gold, and a shark fin pad needs more than 40 gold. What's waiting is a sea cucumber mat, and it costs twelve taels of silver. ? As for the complexity of entertainment, money is the most important. This is the place where scholar-officials are concentrated, and princes, officials and nobles exchange banquets as many as four or five times a day. ? Doumen is a place where people gather, and there is a bureaucratic feast every day. However, restaurants are like forests, and the noise is very different. ? Under this wind, the business of restaurants is booming, and restaurants such as Fulongtang and Jubaotang are full of guests all day.

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Jiangsu and Zhejiang in Qing Dynasty? Local tyrants? The phenomenon of spending money like water has a profound background of the times. Under the background of the development of commodity economy since the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the concept of social consumption has also undergone new changes. However, in the Qing Dynasty, the society was stable, various social contradictions were relatively eased, public funds for eating and drinking became more popular, and entertainment, drinking and gluttony were quite popular among the upper class. Especially in Jiangnan area, the pursuit of luxury enjoyment has risen and led the whole country. In the Qing Dynasty, there was a long and fierce debate about extravagance and thrift, in which even the emperors Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong participated. Although some people think that extravagant social atmosphere, local tyrants vying for money and so on can promote consumption and stimulate domestic demand. But more people of insight point out that such prosperity is deformed, and it is difficult for individuals to maintain a solid family background for a long time; For the society, it has many disadvantages to follow the trend and develop bad social psychology and ethos such as extravagance, comparison and striving for wealth. History has proved that getting rich without making progress, coveting luxury and pleasure, and being arrogant and extravagant will inevitably lead to corruption and decline. Today, people should learn a lesson seriously.