Commercial History Investigation Of Shandong In The Republic Of China (1912-1937)

In late Qing Dynasty, traditional commerce in Shandong province was overwhelmed with the open of treaty port and ingression of foreign capital. The structure of domestic and foreign trade here underwent great changes. With the establishment of Republic of China, the political situation was in turbulence. However, the commerce aforementioned in Shandong Province developed prompotly on the basis of that in late Qing DynastyWhen the Beiyang government administrated Shandong province, the capitalist economy there advanced further following the expansion of the communication of goods between city and rural areas, the development of transportation, the increase of population and promulgation of a series of laws and regulations relevant to trade promulgated.After the massacre by Japan on May 3^rd in 1928, KuoMingtang controlled Shandong Province. Stricken by the turmoil caused by Zhang Zongchang , Japanese invasion, and the war in the central China, the commerce of Shandong Province declined. Because Han Fuqu advocated the policy of using domestic goods when he was in power, the commerce here embraced a glean of vital force and increased to a certain degree. The communication of commodity was strengthened with the increase of its variety and sales. And thus the commerce of Shandong province came to the summit before the anti-Japanese war. However, shortly after that, affected by the currency reform in 1935 and impact of foreign capital, the commerce here fell into depression again.In the early years of the Republic China, the city commerce in Shandong province developed quickly, centering on Jinan city, Zhoucun and Wei county as well as some cities with seaports like Qingdao, Yantai, Longkou, and Weihai. The quantity and quality of domestic and foreign trade in these cities changed in different times with their special characteristics and advantages respectively. In general, the development of the commerce of Qingdao and Jinan was in full swing while the that of Zhoucun and Yantai faded away caused by the vicissitudes of transportation and other factors.Generally speaking, rapid progress in commerce of Shandong province was achieved in the early years of Republic of China compared with late Qing Dynasty. However, the development of the commerce here was abnormal for the imbalanced portion of foreign capital, overexpansion of the communication structure of that time. The development of the commerce of Shangdong province was strictly restrained by social environment, policy, transportation, the animation of domestic and foreign capital.