Foil Business And Modern Shanghai Society

This article talks about private tinfoil paper industry.The period it talks about is from late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China.This article mainly talks about private tinfoil paper industry in Shanghai and its industry groups by studying its origin and development,investigating the elements and links in its circulation domain.Then it explores the characteristic of the industry and its groups and analyses the reason of its decline.The main date of this articaal is from the documents in the Shinghai Archieves,Shanghai local chronicles,the Shen Newspapers and otrer newspapers in the ROC period.Tinfoil paper industry in modern Shanghai existed in the complex social environment.Its origin,development and decline is associated with the economic environment and social custom in modern Shanghai society.The tinfoil paper industry started later than that in Hangzhou.However,Shanghai eventually ocercomed Hangzhou and became the largest tinfoil paper collection and distribution center of the region of Jiangsu and Zhejiang because of the convenient transportation and the big market.People managed the tinfoil paper industry needed lots of money,so most of the tinfoil paper shops were joint venture.The tinfoil paper industry benefited a lot due to traditional custum in Shanghai.Most people who ran this industry were from Zhejiang Province.Both sides of labour and capital had their orgnizations which named the Board of tinfoil paper trade in Shanghai and the Union of tinfoil paper shop stuff in Shanghai to protect the rights of both sides.People in their noon of life leaded the industry.The young shop assistants were the fundamental of the industry.They were educated and skilled.Their salaries were connected with the operating conditions of the shops.Their vocations were setted in the slack-season of tinfoil paper industry.Since morden times,the government of the ROC adovacated breaking the feudal superstition.The thought of science and democracy spreaded in the society.The social traditions started transforming.There were revolutions in the funerals and ritual activities.The government restricted the tinfoil paper industry by collecting heavy taxes.It also tried to clamp down on feudal superstition by executive orders.Under their influence,the trajectory of the tinfoil paper industry in Shanghai showed declkine trend.Due to the existence of tradituional customs,the tinfoil paper industry declined and existed for a long time until Three Major Transformations finished in the 1950 s.It finally became included in the planned economy systom.