Research on Merchants and Commercial Capital during the Warring States, Qin, and Han Periods

Author: Zhang Hong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-06-01
Features: The book is divided into 7 chapters and mainly consists of 4 parts. Part I includes chapters 1 and 2, focusing on the characteristics of merchants and commercial capital during the Warring States and Qin-Han periods. First, it outlines the historical process of the emergence and development of merchants before the Warring States period. Based on the nature of the goods merchants traded and the categories of their business activities, merchants during the Warring States and Qin-Han periods are broadly classified, and the features of merchants in different categories are discussed. From a micro perspective on commercial operations, it elaborates on the practical business strategies that merchants gradually developed during the Warring States and Qin-Han periods. The aim is to provide a fundamental understanding of merchants during this period from both macro and micro perspectives. Second, it explores and explains issues related to the emergence, development, accumulation methods, and accumulation amounts of commercial capital; it also emphasizes the various flows of commercial capital during the Warring States and Qin-Han periods, such as engaging in commerce, investing in land and usury, hoarding and waste, and inflowing into state treasuries or being embezzled. The goal is to gain a relatively comprehensive and systematic understanding of the development trajectory and general situation of commercial capital during this period.
Part II covers chapters 3, 4, and 5, focusing on the role and influence of merchants and commercial capital on social, political, economic, and cultural-ideological aspects during the Warring States and Qin-Han periods. This part attempts to examine merchants and commercial capital within the broader social context of the Warring States and Qin-Han periods. Issues such as the status and role of merchants in the early feudal society, the relationship between merchants and commercial capital and the state or officials, the relationship between merchants and commercial capital and commercial markets or urban-rural economies, and representative business management ideas during different periods—all are discussed from multiple perspectives and different levels. Due to the complexity of the issues involved, a summary-like narrative is often provided after each section or subheading. This approach may help readers grasp the overall role and influence of merchants and commercial capital in social, political, economic, and cultural life.
Part III is chapter 6, which analyzes the relationship between merchants and commercial capital during the Warring States and Qin-Han periods and ethnic minorities, foreign regions, and other states. During the Warring States and Qin-Han periods, especially in the Han Dynasty, the opening of foreign trade routes was primarily driven by political and military objectives, yet it provided convenient access for merchants and commercial capital to thrive and expand. Driven by the pursuit of profit, merchants from both China and abroad ventured tirelessly along international trade routes, making significant contributions to economic, cultural, and other exchanges between China and the world. To highlight the role and influence of merchants and commercial capital on the global stage, this chapter first provides an overview of the foreign trade routes during the Warring States and Qin-Han periods, then elaborates on the forms of economic and cultural exchanges between the Central Plains and ethnic minorities or foreign regions and states, thereby showcasing the immense radiating power of merchants and commercial capital.
Part IV, chapter 7, concerns the business management policies during the Warring States and Qin-Han periods. This chapter discusses the private industrial and commercial management policies of the Warring States, Qin, Western Han, Wang Mang's Xin Dynasty, and Eastern Han periods in chronological order. As for state-owned industrial and commercial policies, except for those involving social commodity production and circulation, they are generally not discussed. Since the business management policies of each period have both continuity in historical development and their own unique characteristics, this chapter adopts a structure where each period's policy features are described in separate sections, followed by a summary and a brief conclusion. The aim is to reveal the overall evolution of business management policies during the Warring States and Qin-Han periods and to understand their characteristics in different historical periods.