Shanxi merchants, usually in the sense of Shanxi merchants, refer to Shanxi merchants in the five hundred years of Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Huizhou merchants, namely Huizhou merchants and Xin 'an merchants, commonly known as "Hui Gang", refer to Huizhou merchants (official merchants) and are one of the three major business schools.

2. Different operation modes

Shanxi merchants operate salt industry, banks and other businesses, especially banks. Shanxi merchants also left rich architectural heritages for China, such as the famous Qiao Family Courtyard, Changjia Manor, Sanduotang of Cao Family and Wang Family Courtyard. The feudalization of Shanxi merchants' profits in Ming and Qing Dynasties mainly manifested in donating money to help pay, buying land and usury capital.

Huizhou merchants mainly engaged in salt, pawn, tea and wood, followed by rice, grain, cotton cloth, silk, paper, ink and porcelain. There are many tea merchants in Wuyuan, salt merchants in Shexian, restaurants in Jixi, pawn shops in Xiuning, cloth groceries in Qimen and Yixian.

Extended data

Historical background

1. Huizhou "Wutou Chuwei" is a marginal zone with high mountains and dense forests, changeable terrain and late development. Before the Han Dynasty, the population was small, but in the late Jin, late Song, late Tang and China history, the north moved to Huizhou in southern Anhui with a large population. What if the population is large and the mountains are small? Going out to do business is a way out.

Abundant resources promote business development. The earliest business of Huizhou merchants was grain in mountain products and other places. If the abundant wood resources are used in construction, ink making, painting, tung oil and paper making, these are all commodities exported abroad, and tea is a well-known brand such as Qimenhong and Wuyuan Green. Going out to do business mainly deals in salt, cotton (cloth) and grain.

Huizhou culture shaped the character of Huizhou merchants-Confucian merchants, and guided their management with Confucian culture. China's commodity economy developed in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and capitalism sprouted in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, which was the heyday of Huizhou merchants.

Shanxi's commercial capital has a long history. As early as the pre-Qin era, the commercial trading activities of "Japan and China are the market, the people in the world, the things in the world, and the retreat of transactions, each in its proper place" began to occur in Jinnan.

From the Zhou and Qin Dynasties to the Sui and Tang Dynasties, although there were some big businessmen in Shanxi, compared with businessmen in other places, they did not have a prominent position and a certain organization, and did not form a merchant force.

New commercial towns such as Jinzhou, Luzhou, Zezhou, Taigu, Pingding and Datong appeared in Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties. Li Tang started his army in Taiyuan, made its capital in Taiyuan, crossed the banks of Fenhe River and enjoyed the prosperous business.

Baidu encyclopedia-Huizhou merchants

Baidu Encyclopedia-Shanxi Merchants