A Study On Family Education Of Jin And Hui Merchants In The Ming And Qing Dynasties

Economy in Chinese Ming and Qing dynasties was relatively along the stable and regular path of development, except during the dynasty interval. The social economy was prosperous, and the private economy was booming, in which Shanxi and Huizhou merchants were the most successful business groups. The key to their domination in business left us a lot of thinking. As the saying goes, timing, location, and human conditions are contributing to a successful career, in which human conditions are the most important. Because they are associated with education, the relation between Shanxi and Huizhou merchants and education is worthy of study, especially family education. It relates to the continuation of commercial contacts and expansion of family business.Family Education shoulders the heavy responsibility of the family development and continuity. With good education, the children can successfully take over the business and make it stronger. Even if they give up business, their family will never decline. On the contrary, if education is neglected or misled in a family, their children are probably dudes, who can make their families bankrupt. This is the biggest worry of the merchants.The contents and teaching methods in Shanxi and Huizhou merchant families during Ming and Qing dynasties are great inspiration for contemporary people. It includes moral and intellectual education. The former reflects in keeping promises, hardworking, peace of mind, good manners and thrift, while the latter reflects in calligraphy and calculation with a abacus. As for the teaching methods, they are embodied in teaching by personal examples, environmental influence, ancestor worship, peer supervision, choosing mentors, developing family rules and rewarding for concentration on high official positions. Moral education is put in the most important position, intellectual education and optimized family education environment are emphasized, that is what we should learn today. Because these education contents and methods play an important role in training children.