Research on Huishang

Author: Zhang Haipeng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-10-24
Features: The Huishang, also known as the Xin'an merchants or Huizhou merchants, formed the "Hui Gang," a collective term for merchant groups from the old Huizhou prefecture (Shexian, Qiuhua, Wuyuan, Qimen, Yi, and Jixi counties). The Huizhou people's engagement in commerce has a long history; records of Xin'an merchants date back to the Eastern Jin Dynasty. It continued to develop through the generations, forming a merchant group during the Chenghua and Hongzhi reigns of the Ming Dynasty. From the Xihai to the Qianlong and Jiaqing periods of the Qing Dynasty, Huishang commerce reached its peak. From the Daoguang and Xianfeng periods of the Qing Dynasty to the late Qing and early Republican era, the Huishang gradually declined. As a formidable force in China's business world, the Huishang were active across the Yangtze and Yellow River basins, as well as in Japan, Siam, Southeast Asian countries, and Portugal. In terms of commercial capital, the number of merchants, the breadth of their operations, the diversity of industries they engaged in, and their business capabilities, the Huishang were unmatched by other merchant groups, dominating China's business world for hundreds of years. Huizhou was traditionally known as the "Southeast Zoroastria," and the Huishang, who were born and raised there, had a distinct characteristic of "merchants who loved Confucianism" or "the integration of commerce and Confucianism." The essence of the Huishang was that of Confucian merchants. Huishang studies are an indispensable topic in Huizhou culture research and have always attracted the attention of scholars both at home and abroad. As a significant merchant group, the Huishang's vast commercial capital, extensive operational scope, strong business acumen, and large number of practitioners placed them at the forefront of the business world. The Huishang not only achieved a glorious career that dominated China for over three hundred years through their outstanding practices but also became a major miracle in the economic development history of China's feudal society.