Tianjin Chamber Of Commerce And The Urban Social Life In Late Qing Dynasty

Tianjin Chamber of Commerce is one of the earliest establishments in China. It aims at exchanging information, developing business, promoting development of commerce and protecting the benefits of the commerce. Since the founding of Tianjin Chamber of Commerce, it has played a great role in the growth and development of Tianjin with its active engagement in the every corner of social life.The situation in Tianjin is rather complex in the late Qing dynasty. The corruption of Qing dynasty and invasion of foreign big powers have made the social customs and practice deteriorating, including the extravagant and wasteful life, taking opium, backwardness of urban construction, bad environment and epidemic disease. It is the government that should take the responsibility to deal with all these problems. But the authority at that time failed to do so because of the government inefficiency. So Tianjin Chamber of Commerce actively takes up the duty and contributes a lot to the development of Tianjin.As a joint organization of industry and commerce, Tianjin Chamber of Commerce is a nongovernmental association. But it has taken part in the activities of abolishing irrational practices, improving urban environment and defending social order directly and indirectly. The influence of Tianjin Chamber of Commerce can be felt in every field of social life. The Chamber can break the boundary of the obligations and gets involved in the social public welfare. In this way the Chamber makes a great contribution to the social development and secures the progress of commerce. In a word, the Chamber serves a unique role in the social and urban development of Tianjin.