A Study On The Family Life Of The Normal Shanxi Merehants In The Late Qing Dynasty

Shanxi Merchants was the Qing Dynasty and even the early days of the important business community,had this period of Chinese society had an important impact.In this paper,"Wu’ “s family Letters”as the main perspective,through it to study the modern Shanxi merchants family life.This paper attempts to analyze the relevant historical materials such as" Wu’ “s family Letters”a,and study the content of family,economy,education,marriage and social communication in the early Qing Dynasty by means of case analysis and overall investigation.The results show that there are obvious differences in the structure,scale and way of life between the ordinary family and the ordinary people in the same area.At the end of the Qing Dynasty,the structure of ordinary Shanxi merchants was mostly two structures,namely,small-scale.Its family size is constantly changing,but there is a certain law.Family members within the division of labor,Shanxi Merchants family and small family division of sex are male and female,the difference is that the ordinary Shanxi Merchants family men go out to do business all year round,while the small family men perennial farming in the land.In the family property relations,ordinary Shanxi Merchants family income of one year mainly from the home men’s business income,the level of their family living standards and business directly linked to Shanxi business.Ordinary Shanxi Merchants family consumption of more than a year is mainly low consumption,mainly stay in the basic necessities such as living expenses.Family education,the general Shanxi Merchants to the quality of Confucianism to the cultivation of their children,heavy business,to achieve the children’s business skills and good moral character of the good combination of the formation of a unique educational system of thinking.Marriage,the ordinary family of Shanxi Merchants marriage in the maternity of marriage on the performance of mercantile,marriage area is not broad,confined to the local territory.Dowry and dowry are different depending on the family’s economic situation.Women’s marriage age is generally around 17 years old,men’s age of marriage is generally about 20 years old,women in the family life after marriage played an important role.With the external contact,the general characteristics of ordinary family of Shanxi business contacts for the majority of business people,more content and business-related contacts,the geographical area of radiation,the number of people.In addition,among the social exchanges between the groups of Shanxi,the size of the social circles of different people is different.An ordinary family of Shanxi Merchants,from the father to the child,a common understanding of the Shanxi business personnel,as well as their extended circle of friends,forming a vast network of Shanxi relations.The unique social interaction of Shanxi merchants constitutes the internal condition of prosperity of Shanxi merchants.In short,the ordinary family of Shanxi Merchants is a small social unit,but it contains a very rich content.It is of great practical significance to understand the similarities and differences between the family structure,the scale and the way of life of the ordinary people in the same area in the same period.It is of great practical significance to understand the society of Shanxi Merchants,Shanxi Merchants culture and so on.