Transformation (The Rise and Fall of Commerce in an Ancient Chinese Village)

Author: Huang Dehai
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-10-01
Features: On the high plains of Weinan in Shaanxi Province, the ancient village of Dangjia Village still stands today. It has a history of over 660 years and has left behind a commercial legend that was once described as "earning a thousand taels of silver daily." During the late Yuan Dynasty and throughout the Ming Dynasty, the people of Dangjia Village accomplished two major events: the marriage alliance between the Dang and Jia clans and their joint settlement. These laid a solid ethnic foundation for the rise of their business in the early Qing Dynasty. In 1654, Dang clan member Dang Depai traveled to Henan to engage in business and achieved great success shortly after. Several decades later, Jia clan member Jia Yitang also went to Henan for business. The latter not only established a larger commercial firm but also adopted the "joint-stock system" of management, mimicking the practices of the Jin merchants. The immense success in business led the people of Dangjia Village to embark on large-scale construction in their ancestral village, leaving behind 123 ancient and elegant siheyuan (traditional Chinese courtyard houses). By the late Qing Dynasty, due to the gradual decline of their business in Henan and the unstable political situation, the commercial firms of the Dang and Jia clans either closed down or moved far away, with some returning to their ancestral homes in Shaanxi. From starting from scratch to "earning a thousand taels of silver daily," and then to the gradual decline in the late Qing Dynasty, it seems that behind all of this, there was always a hand that lifted Dangjia Village high in the early Qing Dynasty and then threw it down hard in the late Qing Dynasty. The commercial development of Dangjia Village has attracted the interest of economists. The author of this book analyzes this issue from an economic perspective, combining cultural and geographical factors, revealing the deep-seated reasons behind its rise and fall in business. This not only fills a gap in the study of Dangjia Village but also provides a new case and perspective for enriching the research on Shaanxi merchants.