A Study Of Business And Businessmen In Hangzhou From1912to1937in Republic Of China

Business in Hangzhou has experienced profound changes in modern history, especially after Shanghai began to trade with the foreigners. In the past, Hangzhou, as the center of business and culture in southeast of China, had always been famous for its developed business. After Shanghai became the economic center of China, business status of Hangzhou is no longer influential and as a result, Hangzhou has become one of the radial areas greatly influenced by Shanghai. So far as the business category is concerned, on one hand, traditional business, with the support of the policies of the successive governments of Zhejiang Province and Hangzhou since the end of the Qing Dynasty, carried on a zigzag development, especially during the years from1912to1927when business in Hangzhou was prosperous in general due to the favorable international situation and the sound domestic policy of light taxes. On the other hand, new types of business such as tourism, new transportation, modern finance and recreation came into being because of the shift of the market setup and the impact of the western elements. The founding and development of the new business category greatly influenced people's social life in Hangzhou. After Hangzhou City was founded in1927, based on researches on the development of the regional market relationship and the characteristics of Hangzhou City, tourism was designated by the government as the focus of development. Since then, tourism as a new type of business has developed very quickly.Businessmen and business community in Hangzhou also experienced deep changes under the circumstance of the shift of the new and old historical setup. With the modern transformation of society and business and based on the inheritance of the old elements and self-transformation, businessmen and business community in Hangzhou emerged in a new appearance. Various new types of businessmen appeared and consequently followed by new types of business community with their status gradually improved and power developed. In different historical periods, new businessmen and business community showed different level of passion to the participation of the political affairs. In social life, they also contributed a lot, including to the management of the city, to the social charity, to the public utility and to modern education. What they did not only was influenced by the environmental factors, but also influenced the economy, culture and custom of people in Hangzhou. However, the weak points of the businessmen in Hangzhou influenced the development model of business and its final achievements to some extent. Hangzhou government, whenever it's from1912to1927, or from1927to1937, played an important role both in the progress of social life and in business development. The economic system and policy to business and businessmen made by the government, the government's attitude and behavior in dealing with trade disputes, and the tendency of the choice of the development of city and business in different stages, all exerted a very important or even decisive influence on business and businessmen.After observing the commercial geography and the shift of its pattern in Hangzhou since the end of the Qing Dynasty and based on the different role Hangzhou played in the regional business of the Yangtze Delta area, this dissertation studies dialectically the shift of business in Hangzhou. On the premise of reviewing and analyzing the general uprising and downfalling of business in Hangzhou, the author chooses to explore the law of ups and downs of typical business categories, aiming to disclose the general law and analyze the relationship and interaction among political, economic, social and cultural elements in Hangzhou. The theory of the mental unity of crowds by Gustave Le Bon, a famous French sociologist, is used as a theoretical base to discuss the group behavior of the leaders of Hangzhou Business Community. In addition, the business of the city of Suzhou is also included and a comparative study of the two cities is made to further disclose the historical logic of the rise and decline of the traditional business cities.Case studies are made to observe the relationship between the officials and the businessmen in different periods. In the author's view, the unstable political situation and the personal style of the officials are two main important factors which influence the development of business in a certain period. The factors like the shift of business development, the management model of the businessmen, and the policy and manner of the government are all overlapped and interacted, thus exerting an extensive and profound influence on all aspects of life in Hangzhou City.