A Study Of Guizhou Guizhou In Qing Dynasty And Its Social Changes

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties,guild halls emerged in response to the development of the commodity economy and frequent population movements.It is a social organization spontaneously set up by fellow citizens living in other places with their hometown as the link.Tuntian brought a large number of immigrants into Guizhou in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.In the Qing Dynasty,water and land transportation was convenient,and urban commerce rose.Guizhou's merchants increased,commercial trade became more prosperous,and merchants from all over the country poured into Guizhou one after another.With the increasing number of immigrants residing in Guizhou,in order to gain a firm foothold and increase the prestige of themselves and their hometown,immigrants mostly rely on blood,geography,and industry relationships as ties to connect together,establish mutual aid and harmony groups,and create many guild halls.The development process of Guizhou Guizhou in the Qing Dynasty can be divided into four stages.Guizhou's guild halls began to rise before the Qing Dynasty.In the early and mid-Qing Dynasty,various types of guild halls were established in Guizhou,showing a scene of prosperity,mainly reflected in the continuous increase in the number,the types of establishments are becoming more abundant,the geographical distribution is gradually widening,and the scale of assets is increasing.During the Xianfeng and Tongzhi years,It was a turning point in the development of the guild hall.The outbreak of war spurred the intensification of conflicts between locals and immigrants.The hatred of the Miao people towards immigrants became apparent,most prominently manifested in the destruction of the guild hall.During this period,immigrants returned to their places of origin one after another,and Guizhou's guild halls were almost completely destroyed by the war.Until the end of the war,various areas of Guizhou carried out activities to rebuild the guild halls.The late Qing Dynasty was a period of transformation of the guild hall.Since modern times,with the invasion of imperialism,the Qing government's national policy has evolved from the economic field to the political and cultural fields.Guizhou's guild halls have also made positive responses to this.The guild halls in the late Qing Dynasty gradually became chambers of commerce,schools,and official places,indicating that the development of Guizhou guizhou halls in the Qing Dynasty was closely related to the national current situation and local social environment.The development process of the guild hall is also a process of mutual influence between the guild hall and Guizhou society.Politically,the guild hall,as a social organization of people of the same nationality established locally by people from other regions,is an organization spontaneously established by the people,but it is closely connected with the government.Economically,the guild hall has become a link connecting other regional markets,making trade exchanges smoother,and more able to serve as a business position for merchants to pursue their interests,maintaining an orderly and standardized market.Culturally,the guild hall brings together the cultures of all parts of China.It enriches the content and connotation of Guizhou culture with a variety of cultural forms and carriers,and makes Guizhou culture present the characteristics of inclusiveness.The diversification of worshipping gods in the guild hall actually reflects the immigrants' weakening of the concept of origin.The change in the guild hall to worship the gods also reflects the process of the "indigenization" of immigrants,and it is also the process of gradual decline in the guild hall.The evolution of the guild hall also reflects the social development and changes in Guizhou.