A Study On Suzhou Huiguan During Ming And Qing Dynasties

About huiguan's definition, always has two viewpoints: One thought that the huiguan is the industrial and commercial guild, the other thought that the huiguan is one kind of fellow villager organize, these two viewpoint stems from the different understanding of nature of the huiguan. This article attempts to abandon this absolutely kind of the nature of the huiguan's discussion, access to Ming and Qing Dynasties of Suzhou, take the industrial and commercial stele carvings as material, by historical and commercial viewpoint analyzed the Suzhou huiguan's material during Ming and Qing Dynasties. From analysing the evolution of the Suzhou huiguan, the nature of the Suzhou huiguan, the organization and operation of the Suzhou huiguan, the social function of the Suzhou huiguan, the region culture and the Suzhou huiguan during Ming and Qing Dynasties, proved that the Suzhou huiguan was a link between merchant and government, becomes government's beneficial supplement during Ming and Qing Dynasties, could not substitute in the Suzhou society then.This article is divided four parts: the first part, from the anachronic point of view inspecting the evolution of the Suzhou huiguan, from the synchronic point of view inspecting the character of the distribution of the Suzhou huiguan, obtains the basic condition of the Suzhou huiguan during Ming and Qing Dynasties. The second part, analyzing the difference and relation between the Suzhou huiguan and the guild, as well as between the Suzhou huiguan and gongsuo separately, to explain the nature of the Suzhou huiguan. The third part, from the huiguan buildings, the component of the huiguan, the source of funds of the huiguan, huiguan's daily management to discuss the organization and operation of the Suzhou huiguan. The fourth part, from the communicating with people from the same native place, the imperceptible influence of people from the same native place, people from the same native place helping each other to inspect the function of the Suzhou huiguan. The fifth part, analyzing the cultural phenomenon of worships gods, explains the relationship between the huiguan and the region culture. The sixth part, analyzing the stele carvings of the Suzhou huiguan, proved that the Suzhou huiguan become government's beneficial supplement,it was a link between the merchant and the government during Ming and Qing Dynasties.