Rules and Order of the Commercial Society in the Qing Dynasty: Interpreting the Commercial Customary Law of Qing China from Stele Materials

Author: Sun Lijuan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-10-01
Features: According to traditional academic views, there was no commercial law in China before the commercial legislation in the late Qing Dynasty. Based on the records of Qing Dynasty industrial and commercial stele inscriptions, the commercial society in the Qing Dynasty had established rules and systems in various trades and industries, which were very similar to the merchant customary law of medieval Europe. These rules and regulations, along with the norms related to commercial matters in statutes, collectively formed the system of traditional Chinese commercial law. The emergence of traditional Chinese commercial law in the Qing Dynasty had its historical foundation and statutory background, driven by the demand for regulation and order in the development of Chinese commerce. The main commercial systems in the Qing commercial society included commercial name and commercial registration, commercial account books, and other fundamental commercial systems; commercial organizations and apprentice systems; the management and operation of public properties such as guilds and associations; and regulations on general commercial activities as well as the system of commercial intermediaries—yaxing. Their punitive rules played a role in ensuring the effective operation of Qing Dynasty commercial customary law and demonstrated reliance on statutes; "worship of deities" also served a certain function in controlling merchants to maintain internal order in the commercial society. Qing Dynasty Chinese commercial customary law had certain attributes of self-governing law and reliance on statutes, as well as diversified legal sources and diversified judicial authorities. The emergence and development of the river transport customary law in Ankang region not only represent a typical example of Chinese customary law on river transport but also epitomize the emergence and development of Qing Dynasty Chinese commercial customary law.