Shanxi Merchants Commercial Regulations Studies In The Qing Dynasty And The Republic Of China

Shanxi merchants were the most powerful and diversified regional merchant groups in the Ming(1368-1644)and Qing Dynasties(1636-1912).Their businesses ranged from grain trade,tea trade,cloth and cotton trade,salt trade,tobacco trade to various grocery trade,etc.,the achievements of whom once drew worldwide attention.Shanxi merchants traded all over the world,not only reaching as far as Sichuan and Guangdong provinces in southern China,but also arriving in Mongolia(A landlocked state adjacent to China)and Kyakhta(A city located in the border between China and Russia).The long and prosperous business history of Shanxi merchants has left extremely valuable wealth for the later generations,and the business regulations of Shanxi merchants is one of them.The business regulations of Shanxi merchants are extremely rich in connotation,including Shanxi merchants’ guide to purchasing goods,Shanxi merchants’ road trade guidelines and Shanxi merchants’ fixed operation norms.First of all,as a guide for Shanxi merchants to purchase goods,the business regulations involve the purchase information of Shanxi merchants,which includes the flexible procurement methods adopted by Shanxi businessmen when purchasing goods,the complex procurement information,the relevant requirements for procurement of goods,and the control over specifications and quality of goods.In addition,in order to ensure the quality of the goods during long-distance transportation,Shanxi merchants will refine the packaging of goods.According to the regulations,the goods purchased by Shanxi merchants are not limited to simple and direct purchases.Instead,they will also process and and reprocess the purchased goods.Also,a large number of records related to the purchase and handling of goods are introduced in the business regulations,such as the purchasing expenses,processing expenses,and employment expenses.The purchase information The procedures allowed Shanxi merchants to flexibly face the complex trade environment.Secondly,the road regulations,which serves as a guide for Shanxi merchants to trade on roads,involve the road information provided to Shanxi merchants when they did businesses all over the country.Shanxi merchants’ itineraries involve a lot of road information,including the north-south vertical trade route from the southern provinces Hankou and Hubei to the northern provinces Henan and Shanxi;the east-west horizontal trade route connecting Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture,and Kashgar in Xinjiang and Zhili,and Shandong.There are also some other trade routes.Shanxi merchants adopted professional transportation methods in the process of trading,such as land transportation methods that tied up goods with mules and camels,and water transportation methods such as boating and shipping.Besides,the regulations also involve the unique shipping information and specifications of Shanxi merchants.In addition,at the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China,there were many changes in the mode of transportation.Shanxi merchants would also incur related transportation costs during their business and trade,such as the transportation expenses and the taxes that they needed to pay when shipping goods.The road regulations allow Shanxi merchants to flexibly face various conditions on the road.Thirdly,the shop and market regulations,as a standard for Shanxi merchants’ fixed business operations,involve the operation information of Shanxi merchants at fixed points such as shops,markets,and transportation hubs.They include the following contents: the capital raising and distribution system of shops,the duties and codes of shop staffs,the punishment system set for shop staffs,and the modes and contents of shop operation.The shop and market regulations also include the contents about selling goods in the fixed places in markets,such as the commodities that Shanxi merchants sold in large,medium and small market towns.The records of the dates of ordinary market and special market are also introduced in the regulations.Also,the regulations include the trade activities in various transportation hubs across the country.In the transportation hubs,it there are not only professional distribution organizations,but also unique "on-help delivery".In addition,unique economic settlements and payment vouchers are designed for the activities implemented in transportation hubs point.The Shop and market regulations allowed Shanxi merchants to operate in different trading locations.To sum up,The commercial regulations of Shanxi merchants are not only the action guide and reference book of Shanxi merchants in business operations,but also the crystallization of their business wisdom.The commercial regulations of Shanxi merchants not only guid Shanxi merchants in terms of purchasing goods,conducting business trade,and fixed-point operations a hundred years ago,making their reference procedures invariably beneficial in trade,but also leaves extremely valuable records for today’s world.And these Historical materials can serve as a reference to recall the actual situations of Shanxi merchants in their business operations.