The Research Of Ming And Qing Dynasties’s Guild Hall Of Shaanxi Merchants

The research on guild hall of Shaanxi merchants in Ming and Qing Dynasties starts from the nineties of the 20th century and gradually increases.Guild hall of Shaanxi merchants becomes an integral part of economic history of Shaanxi.However,the research on guild hall of Shaanxi merchants is more attached to Shanxi merchants and guild hall of Shanxi merchants and independent research on distribution,function and influence of guild hall of Shaanxi merchants is ignored.Shaanxi merchants with strong force of commerce in the period of Ming and Qing Dynasties,known as Xi merchants,establishes the largest quantity of guild halls in Ming and Qing Dynasties,which makes important contributions to economy of Shaanxi and overall economy in Ming and Qing Dynasties.Therefore,through the research on guild hall of Shaanxi merchants,the number and distribution of guild hall of Shaanxi merchants and its support of Shaanxi merchants can be explored and analyzed for the purpose of understanding of the rule of success of Shaanxi merchants and summarizing its enlightenment to contemporary era.The development of guild hall has gone through more than 500 years.Various large commercial groups have established thousands of guild halls with different scale in total in Ming and Qing Dynasties.The function of the initial guild hall of scholars,namely,guild hall of officials and gentries,is extended to three categories of guild halls,in which the trace of merchants’ participation can be seen.In the first chapter,the initial classification of guild hall of Shaanxi merchants in Ming and Qing Dynasties is introduced,which is also origin of the rise of guild hall of Shaanxi merchants.Guild hall of entry invested by merchants under the lead of official and entries,guild hall of emigration comprised of numerous small handicraftsmen and merchant people in pursuit of wealth and guild hall of industry and commerce safeguarding rights and interests of merchants jointly constitute many guild halls of Shaanxi merchants at last.Subsequently,by collecting and sorting the materials,the distribution of guild hall of Shaanxi merchants in various regions in Ming and Qing Dynasties and Shanxi-Shaanxi guild hall jointly established by Shaanxi merchants and Shanxi merchants are demonstrated in a form of table.Next,this essay analyzes the rise of guild hall of Shaanxi merchants and the course of history of decline and adopts economic and historical analysis to discuss the establishment and regional distribution of guild hall of Shaanxi merchants.Finally,this essay analyzes historical influence of guild hall of Shaanxi merchants and the enlightenment to the contemporary era,the role in development of Shaanxi merchants played by guild hall of Shaanxi merchants and the cultural connotation that guild hall itself has.By the research on quantity,distribution and system of rise and decline of guild hall of Shaanxi merchants,the essay is characteristic of independent research on guild hall of Shaanxi merchants and takes a special research on its specific distribution and characteristics of distribution as innovation so as to avoid limitations of Shaanxi merchants and Shanxi merchants that are integrated confusingly.In Ming and Qing Dynasties,the rise and decline of guild hall of Shaanxi merchants does not only witness the history of Shaanxi and Shaanxi merchants but also is integral part of overall commercial history of Ming and Qing Dynasties.The research on the rise and decline of guild hall of Shaanxi merchants has a profound significance for historical changes of Shaanxi economy and is instructive for another economic take-off of Shaanxi in new era.