There is no detailed historical data about the date of the beginning of the thirteenth line in Guangzhou. Scholars have studied this issue in the past, and to sum up, there are about the following three opinions:
The first and earliest suggestion is that the year of the fifty-ninth year of Kangxi (1720) when Guangzhou foreign investors organized Volkswagen Bank should be regarded as the year when the thirteenth Guangzhou Bank was established. Western scholars such as British Moss and American Hande all advocate this theory. Later, Liang Jiabin pointed out the fallacy of this statement in his book "Examination of Thirteen Banks in Guangdong", arguing that "2008 was nothing more than the year when thirteen banks of businessmen began to have the same organization (public bank)".
The second view is that the 13th Guangdong Bank appeared after the establishment of the Public Bank. For example, Japanese scholar Inaba Yanhei believes that after twenty-five years of Qianlong, the thirteen lines have gradually become synonymous with the public treasury. This statement obviously doesn't hold water.
The third opinion is that Guangdong Foreign Goods Company started in the 24th year of Kangxi (1685), which is a proposition in the Examination of Thirteen Lines in Guangdong: "In the 24th year of Kangxi, Guangdong Sea was established, and thirteen lines can be determined". Wu Han basically agreed with Liang when introducing the book review written by the 13th Line Examination in Guangdong. However, he recorded the story of Wu Xingzuo according to Zhao Lian's Miscellaneous Notes on Xiao Ting: "Fighting merchant ships and establishing thirteen lines". It is believed that this happened during Wu Xingzuo's tenure as the first governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, and he set up a customs office in Guangdong. Therefore, it is concluded that "Thirteen banks should be established in the four years from the 21st to 24th of Kangxi (1682- 1685)." In the early Qing Dynasty, the Hong merchants in Guangzhou monopolized the whole foreign trade and formed a "public treasury" trade system by virtue of the privileges granted by the government.
Gongku was founded in the forty-second year of Kangxi. In (1703), foreign trade agents were initially appointed by the corresponding governments. This person received 42,000 yuan as an official and took over the power of foreign trade. Later, from the perspective of their own interests, businessmen from all walks of life organized themselves to form a guild group, the so-called public library. According to historical records, 1720, 165438, on June 26th, all the merchants in all walks of life made a blood oath and made 13 rules:
Article 1: Chinese and foreign businessmen, both wool eaters and soil cultivators, should respect and dress Ren Huang as a whole, and tear down the drawings and report them.
Article 2: In order to clearly distinguish between public interests and private interests, formulate and abide by rules and regulations.
Article 3: Chinese and foreign businessmen are treated equally. If foreign businessmen have to buy cheap ones and sell expensive ones, they will lose money, and they are afraid of the disadvantages of confusing fish with pearls. So all businessmen and foreign businessmen get together to bargain with each other, and those who act alone will be punished.
Article 4: When businessmen from other places or provinces come to this province to trade with foreign businessmen, banks should negotiate the order price with them in order to get a fair selling price. Those who set prices or buy goods privately will be punished.
Article 5: After the price of the goods is agreed, the goods must be genuine, and those who cheat foreign businessmen with inferior goods will be punished.
Article 6: In order to prevent illegal trafficking, all goods must be filled in when the foreign ship lands, and those who deliberately evade or have unclear procedures will be punished.
Article 7: Handmade products such as fans, lacquerware, embroidery, traditional Chinese painting, etc. can be sold by ordinary merchants at will.
Article 8: No one may sell porcelain (ancient porcelain) that needs special appraisal, but the seller must pay 30% of the selling price regardless of the loss.
Article 9: The net content of green tea shall be truthfully declared, and offenders shall be prosecuted.
Article 10: When discharging the cargo and concluding the loading contract, the foreign ship must pay the payment in advance, and then pay the balance, and offenders will be prosecuted.
Article 11: Foreign ships should choose merchants to trade. Merchants can bear half of the cargo on board, but the other half will be shared by our colleagues. Those who monopolize the cargo on board will be punished.
Article 12: Among Hong Kong businessmen, the party with the greatest responsibility and the most capital for public banks can hold all the shares in foreign trade, the second party holds half of the shares and the rest one quarter.
Article 13: first class, that is, a whole copy, of which five copies; Second-class five; Third-class six; New entrants to the public sector should pay 1200 yuan as public expenditure and be included in the third-class sector.
At the beginning, the public bank did not have a legitimate leader, nor did it achieve a completely unified deployment. This organization is quite loose and intermittent. Until forty-five years of Qianlong (1780), Li Hu, governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, etc. Calling for the establishment of a regulation, it is suggested that "from this year on, when foreign ships set sail, they will still listen to the itinerary life that foreigners are familiar with, but they should bring all kinds of things so that businessmen from all walks of life can sell them at the current price, and the goods bought back to China should also be priced and bought on their behalf", that is to say, a bus service should be re-established. Two years later, with the approval of the Qing government, the public treasury was officially restored, and it continued until the treaty of nanking was signed in 1842, and it was never dissolved again. Before the Opium War, Guangzhou government chartered foreign trade companies. Also known as public treasury, foreign firm, foreign goods firm and foreign firm. According to legend, its name originated in the Ming Dynasty. This statement is copied from the records of Guangdong Customs, and it is a myth. The number is "Thirteen Lines", but it is not fixed as 13. In the Qing Dynasty, the closed door policy was strictly implemented, and the foreign trade was limited to Guangzhou, and the thirteen banks were very developed. Guangzhou 16 monopolized foreign trade and set up "public banks" in 1720 and 12 (Kangxi 59 1 1 month), but it was opposed by foreign businessmen. The following year was abolished by the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi. 1760 (twenty-five years of Qianlong), nine foreign businessmen, including Pan Zhencheng, requested Guangdong Customs to set up a public treasury, which has both official and commercial functions. 1770, cancel the public bank and set up all commercial branches separately. It was not until 1782 that the public banking system was finally established. Public banks have obligations to the government, such as underwriting and paying taxes and rates on foreign ships, formulating rules and regulations, conveying government decrees, delivering foreign official documents, and managing foreign merchant personnel. They play the role of intermediaries in the negotiations between the Qing government and foreign businessmen. On the other hand, it enjoys the privilege of foreign trade, and all importers and exporters have to buy and sell goods through it. At first, it was a dental company, and later it also ran its own business. Since 1820 (twenty-five years of Jiaqing), the smuggling trade of Ding Yang noodles opium and various commodities has risen, and most experts have lost money, lack of funds, are heavily in debt and often close down. The treaty of nanking provides for the opening of five ports of trade and the cancellation of the privilege of thirteen banks to monopolize China's foreign trade. Since then, the thirteen lines have gradually declined.
When the thirteenth foreign goods company was established, the Guangdong provincial government stipulated that it was an intermediary trading company for importing foreign goods and exporting local goods (including Guangzhou goods and Qiong goods). Initially, the trade targets designated by Thirteen Foreign Goods Company actually included three parts: foreign countries, Hong Kong and Hainan.
In order to rectify the foreign firm system and further strengthen the direct management of foreign businessmen, the Qing court chose five wealthy businessmen from more than 20 merchants in Guangzhou, which lasted for ten years and established a commercial guarantee system. The responsibility of the insurer is to insure foreign merchant ships to trade and pay taxes in Guangzhou, to insure the import of foreign goods, to purchase and export silk tea, to provide warehouse housing for foreign businessmen, and to hire trade workers on their behalf. Insurance companies have priority over insured foreign commercial goods. When other distributors fail to pay import duties, they must pay them first. When foreign businessmen report the situation to the government, the government should order them to tell them, and be responsible for stopping the illegal acts of foreign businessmen. Although foreign businessmen expressed dissatisfaction with the merchant protection system, the Qing court always maintained it. When the interests of hong merchants and foreign businessmen are consistent, they collude with each other; When interests conflict, they cheat and blackmail each other, which leads to various disputes. Some hong merchants took advantage of the opportunities between feudal officials and foreign businessmen to get rich; However, most hong merchants were attacked by feudal officials and foreign businessmen, which led to bankruptcy.
In the eighteenth year of Qianlong (1753), my career split in two. The company specializing in foreign trade in Guangzhou is called foreign firm, and the company engaged in maritime trade is called Hainan Bank. Since 25 years ago, foreign firms no longer run Hong Kong's trade affairs concurrently. Several Hong Kong firms specialize in the trade taxes and tax rates of Siam (now the Kingdom of Thailand) envoys and their businessmen, which are called our local banks. Hainan Bank was renamed Qian Chao Bank, and its business includes business tax among merchants in Chaoshan, Guangdong and Nan 'an. At this time, more and more merchant ships came to Haikou, Guangzhou, and the trade was also developing. All walks of life have a little more capital for foreign goods tax, followed by local cargo tax and Chao Fu cargo tax. In the past 60 years, our Hong Kong bank was dismissed by the government because some businessmen went bankrupt, and its business was transferred to foreign firms, and two companies were selected to handle it in turn every year.
After five years of Jiaqing (1800), only foreign firms and Chao Fu firms operated in Guangzhou according to their business scope. The former is still called foreign goods store or thirteen stores. Thirteen foreign goods companies specially established to manage Guangzhou's foreign trade tax are an important part of the Qing court's strict management of foreign trade policies and measures, with the aim of preventing Chinese and foreign businessmen from freely traveling. Supported by feudal government forces, it became an agent of foreign trade, with the status of official and merchant society, and was also an important merchant capital group in Qing Dynasty.
There is a merchant's guild organization in the thirteenth line of Guangzhou, which is the so-called "foreign firm guild hall" (public bank). On the surface, public banks agree to the rules and regulations to restrain illegal activities and support foreign trade, but in fact it has added many prohibitions. It monopolizes goods by public banks, thus adjusting prices according to the interests of guilds. In order to break the monopoly of public banks, British businessmen usually buy off individual banks and bribe the government, making public banks unsustainable. For example, in the twenty-five years of Qianlong, Guangzhou Public Bank was formally established and dissolved in the thirty-six years. In addition, during the existence of Volkswagen Bank, in order to compete for commercial profits, foreign businessmen were able to take advantage of the contradiction between import and export prices and trading volume, thus causing losses and debts of Volkswagen Bank; Under the public banking system, Hong Kong businessmen are jointly and severally liable for the debts owed by banks, so they continue to close down. In the forty-seventh year of Qianlong, the public treasury was restored, and the public treasury fund accumulated by bankers was set up to pay off the debts and fines of businessmen, so as to maintain the stability of the public treasury. After reconstruction, this business line continued for nearly 60 years. After the Opium War, treaty of nanking stipulated that the system of free travel in China's foreign trade should be abolished, and British businessmen were allowed to trade with China businessmen at various ports at will. In the 23rd year of Daoguang (July 27th, 1843), on the first day of July, Guangzhou opened for trade, and some Hong Kong businessmen were still in business. They once resisted the newly established free trade and tried to maintain their previous exclusive position, but failed to do so. In the sixth year of Xianfeng (1856), thirteen lines were destroyed by the Xiguan fire in Guangzhou. After the Qing Dynasty, China pursued a foreign policy of closing its doors to the outside world.
Impact: Foreign aggression has played a certain role in self-defense. But China can't see the development and changes of the world, and gradually falls behind in the world.
Reasons: the feudal self-sufficient economy is dominant; From the middle and late Ming Dynasty, China suffered foreign aggression; Feudal rule was in crisis. According to the business items, Guangdong merchants in Ming and Qing Dynasties can be divided into tooth merchants, salt merchants, iron merchants, rice merchants, sugar merchants, silk merchants, pottery merchants, tobacco merchants, pawnbrokers, cloth merchants, and drug merchants. Among them, the tooth dealer is the most famous.
The so-called tooth dealer originally refers to the intermediary businessman who negotiates transactions for buyers and sellers in urban and rural markets and draws commissions from them, also known as tooth man. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, with the further development of commodity economy, the number of dental merchants increased greatly, forming a special kind of business called dental merchants. The famous Guangdong Thirteen Banks in Qing Dynasty refers to thirteen dentists engaged in import and export trade. In addition to doing business, thirteen banks have to deal with foreign businessmen in China. Everything from buying and selling goods to daily life goes through thirteen banks. But the number of teeth rows here is not fixed, and it increases or decreases from time to time. When it comes to the trade history of China, Taiping Road was once the land of Longkou where everything was called rain. Pan, Wu, Lu and Ye, the four major merchants in the thirteenth line, were truly "extremely rich" because their property exceeded the income of the state treasury at that time. Guangzhou is not only attractive to overseas businessmen, but also to domestic businessmen. It seems that this land is particularly suitable for doing business. Many of these 13 Hong Kong businessmen immigrated from Fujian. They are just mediocre in their hometown, but when they arrive in Guangdong, they are like flying dragons in the sky and diving into the sea, and they have achieved a vigorous career. Guangzhou will always be the best platform for heroes in the world to start businesses.
However, at that time, no one thought it was a "heroic act", but they were ashamed and afraid of being investigated by the court and being implicated by future generations. So, thirteen businessmen who deal with foreign businessmen don't want others to know their real names, either change their names or adopt their father's names, or several brothers * * * use the same name. For example, the name of Liang Lunshu was changed to Liang Chengxi, and Wu Bingjian also has several names in history books.
Ye Shanglin's ancestral home is Nan 'an House, Qianzhou, Zhang Yu, and he runs a righteous business. Together with Pan Youdu, Lu Guanheng and Wu Bingjian, they are called "the four richest people in Guangzhou". There is a villa garden in Pantang, which is the only foreign firm owner who has successfully retired.
Wu Bingjian's ancestral home is Nan 'an Prefecture in Ganzhou. Since he founded Jardine Matheson, he ranked third among Hong Kong businessmen in the second year, second in five years, and in the top position in two years. It is really arrogant and has created a shocking money myth.
With a capital of more than 28 million silver dollars, Wu Bingjian not only owns an amazing number of real estate, real estate, tea hills, shops and tens of millions of wealth in China, but also invests in railway, securities trading and insurance business in the United States, and is also the largest creditor of the British East India Company. An American businessman owed him 72,000 yuan in silver tickets and was stranded in Guangzhou, unable to return home. Hearing this, Wu Bingjian tore up the iou and said that the account had been settled and he could leave at any time. In 200 1 year, the wall street journal published a photo album, which counted the 50 richest people in the world in the last thousand years, and Wu Bingjian was among them.
The reason why these billionaires have left a deep impression in history is not because they have any special virtues and good deeds, but because they are the epitome of an era. In the conflict and entanglement of various cultural values, they have been able to form their own group. In the sixth year of Xianfeng in Qing Dynasty (1856), thirteen lines were burned by a big fire, ending its glorious history of monopolizing China's foreign trade for more than one hundred years. Things change, see a few poor, see a few rich, see a few poor. Pan Zhencheng, Leader of Thirteen Lines
1. Jardine Matheson, a famous businessman Wu Bingjian,
2. Lu Jiguang's Guanglixing, a famous businessman,
3. Pan Shaoguang's Tong Fuxing, a commercial official,
4. Xie Youren's Dongxing firm, the business name Aoguan,
5. Liang Jixi's Tianbaoxing, a famous businessman and official,
6. Yan Qichang's Xingtai Bank, Sun Qing,
7. Pan's neutralization, business name and official,
8. Ma is a famous businessman, Shun Tai Hang.
9. Ren Hexing of Pan Wenhai, Guan Hai of Shang Ming,
10. Guan Shuang Shangming Wu Tianyuan's smooth travel.
1 1. Yi Yuanchang's Learning Taihang, commonly known as Kun Guan,
12. dongchang star of Luo futai, forest canopy of Shang Ming,
13. An Changxing, Rong Youguang, is a famous official. Pan Qi, also known as Pan Zhencheng, was born in Guangzhou Flagstaff Club in the 53rd year of Qing Emperor Kangxi (17 14), died in Guangzhou in the 52nd year of Qianlong (1788) and was buried at the foot of Wenpu Mountain in his hometown.
His father, Pan Xiang, is a real farmer with a poor family. Pan Qi, the eldest son of Pan Xiang's five sons, is also the chief businessman of Guangzhou 13th Line, and the richest man in the world in the18th century. Guangdong enjoys a superior human and geographical environment, and commodity agriculture is booming. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the imperial court implemented an open foreign trade policy towards Guangdong, and Guangdong businessmen rose from then on, dominating the business circles at home and abroad.
In addition, the formation of Guangdong business gangs is closely related to Guangdong's long business tradition and strong commodity consciousness. Since Qin and Han Dynasties, Guangdong has been an important foreign trade center. Thousands of years of commercial precipitation gave birth to a strong sense of doing business in Guangdong and promoted the development of Guangdong businessmen in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Guangdong businessmen worked hard in Ming and Qing Dynasties and made great contributions to the development of ancient commerce in China.