A Research On Jin Merchants’ Capital Accumulation And Direction Of Flow In Ming And Qing Dinesties

Shanxi merchants are a special group of businessmen who began running Hedong (an ancient name for Shanxi) salt business as early as in the Spring and Autumn Period, and they can be counted on as one of the earliest Chinese merchant groups. Shanxi merchants started early, but their business was not prominent in the long history of Chinese businessmen. They rose gradually and did not reach their peak until the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Early in the Ming Dynasty, the Shanxi merchants seized the golden opportunity of Kaizhong Law, and developed their new markets rapidly which contributed a lot to their enhancement of trade. Shanxi merchants had a considerable development during this period and accumulated a solid capital for their future development. During the reign of Emperor Jiaqing of the Qing Dynasty, the Shanxi merchants innovated on the basis of general business and a small amount of foreign exchange business, and created Shanxi Exchange Bank which operated mainly on exchange business, as a result of which, the accumulation of capital also grew quickly. Shanxi merchants in Ming and Qing Dynasties once dominated the national business and finance, and occupied a very important position in the history of the development of commercial and financial industry. However, due to the Shanxi merchants’ inherent feudality and conservativeness, they did not make full use of the market which could have played a basic role in the process of allocation of resources when the traditional market economy transformed. They deposited a lot of valuable business capital on the land and mansion, which resulted in spillover in the capital operation. All those limitations had an influence on Shannxi merchants’ sustainable development, and weakened their role in promoting the normal development of the capitalist commodity economy.This paper is divided into four chapters. The first chapter gives an introduction. The second chapter elaborates the Shanxi merchants’ capital accumulation process, and mainly presents a summary of Shanxi merchants’ operations and capital accumulation. Chapter three focuses on Shanxi merchants’ capital flows from five aspects:investment in industry and commerce, investment in land, donations and service, other capital flows (including storing and extravagant consumption), and allocation of operating profit. It is hoped to have a clear grasp of Shanxi merchants’capital flows and draw an objective conclusion. The fourth chapter explores the ebb and flow of Shanxi merchants from two aspects:their capital accumulation and capital flows in Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is hoped that the above analysis can provide some useful experience and insights for the development of modern economy.