The Research On The Guild Halls In Henan During The Qing Dynasty

The guild hall was born in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.It is a social organization based on industry or rural ties,generally built in commercial towns and immigrant areas.The Guild Hall first appeared in the form of the Imperial Examination Guild Hall in Beijing.With the rapid development of commodity economy in Ming and Qing Dynasties,it gradually expanded to all parts of the country.Its activities involved politics,economy,culture and other aspects,which had a significant impact in Ming,Qing dynasties and modern China.Henan is located in the Centre of Heaven and Earth,Thoroughfare to Nine Provinces,water distribution,convenient transportation,with the development of regional commerce,commodity market prosperity,the flow of Businessmen groups,the guild hall in Henan gradually established.During the reign of Emperor Kangxi and Qianlong,the development of guild halls in Henan area had a great leap.Commercial activities were frequent and reached the peak of development.But in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China,social economy has undergone fundamental changes,traffic mode innovation,the guild hall in struggle and helplessness can only slowly decline and transformation.Some guild halls have been transformed into the form of fellow townsmen associations,trade associations and chambers of commerce,and some of the buildings have been transformed into schools,factories and hospitals.From the point of view of the composition of the guild halls,Henan is basically a commercial guild hall,involving the passenger and commercial guild halls are Shanshan guild hall(Guandi Temple),Hubei guild hall(Yuwang Palace),Jiangnan guild hall,Jiangxi guild hall,Anhui guild hall.There are a large number of industry guild halls,such as medicinal materials guild hall,shipping guild hall(Dawang Temple),grain guild hall(Luchen guild hall).Regional guild halls and industrial guild halls blending with each other,which constitutes the panorama of the development of guild halls in Henan.As a commercial organization,the guild hall has its unique organizational system and operation rules.The system ensures the normal operation of the guild hall,reflects the fairness of decision-making,and takes into account the interests of multiple businesses;The duty system assigns duties to individuals and clarifies the division of responsibilities.The fund-raising methods of the guild hall are mainly sampling and pledge.These incomes generally depend on the level of economic development in the region and the scale of operation of the donor.As an organization,the guild hall has the property of land,lending business,to some extent can also be regarded as the survival and development of commercial individuals,which shows that the guild hall is closely linked with the market.Faced with political forces,the guild halls more adopt a dependent attitude.The management of the floating population and the adjustment of the market order are supplements to the administrative means,making up for the lack of local government management of social economy.There were many restrictions on civil organizations in the Qing Dynasty,and the guild hall hidden the economic interests under the appearance of worshiping the gods and urging rural friendship,which ensured the normal survival of the guild hall.The social activities of the guild hall are more frequent and active,such as relief,sacrifice,drama,etc.,the guild hall through these activities and all sectors of society linked,showing a good and responsible image,expand their social influence.The guild hall was established and disappeared in Henan for about 300 years.The guild hall is a miniature of the commercial development in Henan Province.It is constantly adapted to the local social and economic changes in the development process,but also promotes cultural exchanges and dissemination,and objectively promotes the economic development and social progress of Henan.