MANUALS AND PETITIONS: COMMERCIAL PROBLEM SOLVING IN LATE IMPERIAL CHINA (QING)

This is a study of how merchants solved business problems during the Qing dynasty (1644-1912). Western scholars originally believed that because of the hostility or indifference of the late imperial state toward commerce and because of the harshness of the economic environment, merchants were all but helpless to solve many of the serious problems confronting them. The highly commercialized nature of the late imperial economy, however, indicates that merchants must have somehow managed to circumvent obstacles presented by state and environment. An examination of merchant manuals and merchant petitions suggests two means Qing dynasty merchants may have employed to protect themselves and to ply their trade successfully.;Merchant petitions, submitted to the local government, ruled upon, and engraved upon strategically placed steles, represented a regular and lawful channel by which Qing merchants gained access to a dependable forum where they could solve a broad range of problems. The first chapter in this second section discusses the role of the state and its relationship to commerce and the process of petitioning. The remainder of the section is devoted to the issues found in the petitions, and when relevant, the arguments associated with them.;Although this study does not find evidence of an autonomous merchant culture during the Qing period, it does conclude that the two approaches to problem solving studied here did foster the development of certain values and practices unique to the merchant community.;The authors of the manuals, themselves merchants, drew upon the Confucian tradition, especially the concept of self-cultivation, to help merchants steer clear of dangers lurking in the relatively unprotected economic environment of the late imperial period. The first chapter places the manuals in the social and economic context of the day. The second explores the ideas from the Confucian tradition which the manual authors used to prepare the apprentice for a life in business. The third chapter investigates the authors' emphasis on human relations in life and business and their importance in business success. The final chapter in this first section discusses the importance of technical knowledge in the manuals.