A Research On Huizhou Merchants In The Ming And Qing Dynasties,Liangzhe Salt Industry And The Local Society

The salt business of Huizhou merchants in Liangzhe lasted throughout the period of the Ming and Qing dynasties.According to its development and prosperity,it can be roughly divided into three periods:the developing period from the early Ming Dynasty to Wanli period;the flourishing period from the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty to the early years of the Qing Dynasty and the decline period in late Qing Dynasty.When Huizhou merchants were running salt business in Liangzhe,because of the well-develpoed economy in Jiangsu and Zhejiang and the need of learning salt business skills,their children often went along with them.The education of merchants' children living far away from hometown became an important issue concerning the prosperity of family and the status of businessmen.Therefore,the salt industry officials and merchants set up the businessman registration system in Liangzhe,and founded school registration for childre,through which they could sit in the imperial examinations different places,to a priority the expedition.Huizhou salt merchants played a crucial role in the establishment of the businessman registration system,which in turn laid the foundation for the further development of Huizhou salt merchants in two Zhejiang.The association between Huizhou merchants in Liangzhe and political forces became a distinct feature of their commercial activities.There were many factors for this phenomenon.Because of the particularity of salt production and its indispensability to life,salt tax was always an important financial source of feudal court.The monopoly of the salt industry made it closely related with the feudal regime.Huizhou merchants led the salt industry of through their cultural cultivation,the combination of Confucianism and Commercialism as well as the association with t he officials.And the close association between the salt merchants and the officials had its advantages as well as disadvantages.The business of Huizhou salt merchants in Liangzhe had a considerable influence on many social aspects of Hangzhou.The Salt Transportation Division of Liangzhe was located in Hangzhou,where salt merchants gathered and the salt tax payment,salt profits using,especially the luxury consumption of salt merchants and their children all influenced the economic and social development in HangzhouThe huge profits of Salt business let Huizhou merchants have the financial resources to pay attention to and greatly invest in the education of children.In addition to the private family schools,supported by the officials,salt merchants also set up such important educational institutions as academies.Apart from Ziyang academy,Chongwen Academy and zhengwen Academy in Hangzhou,Ziyang Academy in Wuxi was also an important educational institution founded by Huizhou merchants in liangzhe at that time.Among them,Ziyang Academy and Chongwen Academy lasted for hundreds of years,training a large number of talents not only for the merchants,but also for Liangzhe and even regions south of the Yangtze River.Merchants gathered in Hangzhou,and the emergence of businessman registrationsystem and residence registration system had an important influence on the loosening of the household registration system in Liangzhe.The shift of the concept of despising business,the cultural integration and the commercial prosperity had profound influence on the social development in Liangzhe.Huizhou salt merchants had all kinds of connections with the social changes in Liangzhe.Based on the research of numerous Huizhou salt merchants in Liangzhe,especially the case analysis of typical salt merchants,this paper discusses the influence of Huizhou salt merchants on the economy,culture,education and social changes in Liangzhe,hoping to further promote the research on the Huizhou salt merchants and at the same time clarify all kinds of factors in the social and economic development in Liangzhe in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.