Fu Sheng Xidian Yongji Dajin Black Tea, taken by Sun Hua at Guandi Temple in Beiliang.
Photo by Yang Jianlin, Qiaojiajin Street, Baotou City
In the museum of Baotou City, Inner Mongolia, there are a number of special cultural relics-big brick tea, whole bundle of tobacco leaves, rusty camel bells, camel racks for freight transportation ... not precious, not to mention gorgeous, but common items in Baotou area from Qing Dynasty to Republic of China, but they have unique historical and cultural significance to this grassland city on the north bank of the Yellow River.
Wanli tea ceremony Xin trade city
At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, the once-blocked Grassland Silk Road resumed its prosperity, forming an international trade channel starting from Wuyishan in Fujian and Hankou in Hubei, southbound across more than half of China, and passing through Inner Mongolia to St. Petersburg in Russia. This passage passes through Wan Li, and the main commodity on the commercial road has changed from silk to tea, so it is also called "Wanli Tea Ceremony".
/kloc-In the 1940s of 0/9, in Chaktou, a border trade city between China and Russia, tea had ranked first in Sino-Russian trade. The prosperity of tea trade stems from the huge demand for tea by grassland nationalities. Everyone on the grassland loves to drink tea, regardless of age, wealth and poverty. "A day without food is better than a day without tea." Tea is not only a necessity of life, but also plays a monetary role in trade. "When pedestrians enter their territory, they need to buy brick tea to help the two sides." On the grassland, "a sheep is worth about 12 brick tea, or 15 brick tea, ten times as much as a camel."
While tea sells well in grassland, a large number of fur raw materials are transported to the Central Plains. Some Yellow River wharves with superior geographical conditions have become the gathering places of North and South merchants.
More than 200 years ago, Baotou was just an unknown small village by the Yellow River. Due to the diversion of the Yellow River, Baotou, a new Yellow River pier, was created. With the prosperity of international trade of Wanli Tea Ceremony, Baotou has gradually developed into a famous fur distribution center in northwest China. A large number of mainland tea, tobacco, cotton cloth and other items gathered here and were transported to the hinterland of grassland for sale in exchange for fur, sheep, camels and so on, and then sold to the Central Plains.
Camel team was an important means of transportation on the grassland commercial road at that time. In the heyday of the famous firm "Dashengkui", there were nearly 20,000 camels, and many laborers at the bottom made a living by pulling camels. Tea, tobacco, camel bells and other items have witnessed the urban development history of Baotou. Nowadays, they are put in the showcase of the museum to tell people the story of Wanli Tea Ceremony.
First Fushenggong, then Baotou City.
In the Qing Dynasty, residents in the Great Wall called Shahukou the "West Exit" and Zhangjiakou the "East Exit". After entering the northwest grassland, it can reach Ningxia, Qinghai and Xinjiang to the west and enter the hinterland of Mongolia to the north. The vast market of desert grassland and the wealth story of Wanli Tea Ceremony have attracted a large number of Shanxi and Shaanxi people to make a living outside their mouths, which is called "westward advancement" by the people. Baotou has become one of the ideal destinations for "westward advancement" because of Nanhaizi Yellow River Wharf.
Among many stories about "going west", Qiao Guifa, a native of Qixian County, Shanxi Province, has a legendary experience. He is the grandfather of Shanxi businessman Qiao Zhiyong. Qiao Guifa came to Baotou in the 20th year of Qianlong (1755). He started by providing forage, soybeans and other materials for the army and business travelers, and then managed the warehouse to provide goods, food and accommodation for Mongolian businessmen, and established a "Guangshenggong" firm. Guangshenggong was hit hard by investment failure when its business was booming, and was once on the verge of bankruptcy. After re-emergence, it was renamed "Resurrection Palace". After Qiao Zhiyong took over the business of the Qiao family, he set up an enterprise group with pride as its brand. The business scope of renaming is very wide, including tea, silks and satins, medicinal materials, leather goods, grain, pawn, clothing valuation and currency industry. Qiao Zhiyong valued business over profit, attached importance to management talents and made good use of talents, which laid the foundation for Joe's sustained prosperity throughout his life.
The development of commerce has brought about the concentration of population and the development of towns. In the 14th year of Jiaqing (1809), the chief judge Sarazzi moved the inspection yamen to Baotou, and Baotou village was changed to Baotou town. Around the ninth year of Tongzhi (1870), Baotou built a city wall around the business district with Qiao's shop as the core. This is the earliest history of building a city in Baotou, so there is a saying among the people that "there is a public revival first, and then there is Baotou City".
There are many religious buildings in Baotou city, which reflects the intersection of multiculturalism at that time. Shanxi merchants worship the God of Wealth and Guan Gong, and the Temple of God of Wealth and Guan Di are their frequent places. Fuzheng Temple is a Tibetan Buddhist temple with local Mongolian beliefs. Mosque is a religious place for Hui people in Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningxia.
In order to meet the needs of local residents and businessmen, Longwang Temple in the southeast of the city has built many vegetable gardens, and even developed a special guild to organize a "garden tour". Joe's vegetable garden is a large vegetable garden in Baotou. In the existing inscriptions in Guangxu period, there is also a record that Fushengyuan participated in raising funds to rebuild Longwang Temple.
A new chapter in the era of grassland silk road
After becoming rich in business, Qiao Zhiyong built a house in his hometown. In the early years of Tongzhi (1862), a new building named "nave" was built in the northwest of the old house in Qiaojiabao Village, Qixian County. Ten years of Tongzhi (187 1), the Southeast Courtyard and Sainaning were built, and the four courtyards were located at the four corners of the street. In the 24th year of Guangxu (1898), the Qiao family bought two streets and lanes in the middle of the fourth courtyard, built a gatehouse in the east and a ancestral hall in the west, and closed all courtyards. During the Republic of China, with the increase of Joe's population, the house expanded.
This private house has been built by several generations of the Qiao family, and it has become a famous mansion. It is widely rumored among the people that "the royal family has the Forbidden City, and the houses look after the Qiao family". The whole building complex has a rigorous and exquisite layout, exquisite masonry and wood carving techniques, and is a model of residential buildings in northern China.
With the advancement of industrialization and modernization, the traditional Wanli tea ceremony gradually declined. Joe's business kingdom has also become the back of history.
Today, as a national key cultural relics protection unit and a national second-class museum, Shanxi Qiaojia Courtyard shows Shanxi merchant culture and Shanxi folk customs to tourists at home and abroad. On the former site of Fushengxi Grain and Oil Store in Donghe District, a retro commercial street "Qiaojiajin Street" was built, and the Qing Dynasty buildings such as Lvzu Temple and God of Wealth Temple preserved on the street became the witness of this prosperous history.
The proposal of the "Belt and Road Initiative" has brought new opportunities for the grassland Silk Road to be brilliant again. With the steady progress of the construction of the "China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor", the infrastructure such as roads and railways has been continuously improved, cooperation projects among the three countries have been launched one after another, trade volume has been increasing, and personnel exchanges have become more frequent. The spirit of pioneering and mutually beneficial cooperation on the Grassland Silk Road has written a brilliant new chapter in the new era, which will surely bring new benefits to people of all ethnic groups along the route and create more wonderful stories.
(The author Kang Jianguo is an associate researcher at the Academy of Social Sciences in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region)
People's Daily Overseas Edition (07th Edition, April 7, 2020)