Because of such traditional business habits, Cantonese people have never stopped their business activities since they were able to go to sea to trade with overseas people. From this perspective, all Cantonese people are descendants of businessmen.
1, from Qin and Han Dynasties to the outbreak of the Opium War (about 200 BC-BC 1840)
This period is a period when Guangdong's foreign trade and economic cooperation began to flourish. The famous Maritime Silk Road in Han Dynasty runs through Southeast Asia and the other side of Indian Ocean. After the Three Kingdoms, Guangzhou became one of China's foreign trade centers and the starting point of the Maritime Silk Road. From Wei and Jin Dynasties, Tang and Song Dynasties to Ming and Qing Dynasties, Guangdong's foreign trade and economic cooperation began to be consciously managed by the government. Foreign trade management institutions and related policies and regulations have gradually improved. By the eve of the Opium War, Guangdong's foreign trade had occupied a decisive position in the national economy.
2. Qin and Han Dynasties
In the sixth year of Emperor Ding Yuan (BC 165438+ BC 0 1), South Guangdong was divided into nine counties. After the county was established in Nanyue, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent a "postman" directly under the imperial court to lead subscribers, and brought a large amount of gold and silk from Xuwen and Hepu to Huang Zhiguo (now India) on the east coast of the Indian Peninsula, where they exchanged "pearls, glazed walls (gems), strange stones and foreign objects". This is an earlier foreign trade recorded in history books. Since then, foreign merchant ships have also bypassed the Straits of Malacca to transport goods to Guangdong for trade.
/kloc-in 0/66, Wang Andong of Daqin (Roman Empire) sent an envoy to the Han Dynasty, which opened the maritime traffic between the two countries. China developed its overseas trade with Daqin through Tianzhu (now India).
3. Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties
During the period of Sun Wu in the Three Kingdoms, a new sea route set sail from Guangzhou and entered the Xisha Islands via the east of Hainan Island, which made the Guangdong sea route enter the stage of cross-sea navigation from the coast, and Guangzhou immediately became the center of Lingnan foreign trade.
In 226, after Qin Lun, a Roman businessman, arrived in Jiao Jiao (now near Hanoi in northern Vietnam), he went to Jianye to meet Sun Quan, expressed his desire to trade with China, and introduced the overseas situation. In the same year, Sun Quan sent Xuanhua to Athena Chu and Zhonglang Kangtai to Linyi (now central Vietnam), Funan (now Cambodia) and Malay Peninsula, which strengthened the ties between China and Southeast Asia.
In the early years of the Western Jin Dynasty, Qin came to China to pay tribute and passed through Guangzhou, bringing countless treasures.
At the end of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the envoys of the Lion Kingdom made their first voyage to Guangzhou in 10 to pay tribute to the king of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
4. Sui and Tang Dynasties
During the reign of Yang Di, the central foreign affairs organization, namely "Sifang Pavilion", was established in Crack Temple. Sifang Pavilion is the first full-time foreign trade and foreign affairs organization established in China.
In the third year of the great cause (607), Pai Changjun and Wang set sail from Guangzhou with a large amount of silk and sent it to songkhla (now Jeddah, Malay Peninsula), which was welcomed by the local people.
By the Tang Dynasty, Guangzhou Port had developed into a port that could accommodate nearly a thousand large and small ships. The official first set up a city envoy in Guangzhou (the first official in charge of overseas trade in China), and opened a route from Guangzhou to the west 14000 km, which was the longest route in the world at that time. Today, there are 6.5438+200,000 foreign businessmen and their families living in the dining room on Guangta Road. At that time, Guangzhou formed an international jewelry market. Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties were the expansion period of the Maritime Silk Road. During this period, Guangzhou became the starting point for calculating sea lanes. The number of countries and regions doing business in China through Guangzhou has greatly increased, reaching as much as 15. Guangzhou became a place where businessmen and court officials made their fortunes at that time. There is a saying that "Guangzhou has a history, but after crossing the city gate, it will take 30 million."
5. Song and Yuan Dynasties
During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, there were tens of thousands of overseas Chinese in Guangzhou, and Guangzhou was famous all over the world. After Sui, Tang and Song Dynasties, Guangzhou Maritime Silk Road developed to an unprecedented stage of prosperity. The government adheres to the open policy. Besides actively operating foreign trade, it also allows private enterprises to go to sea. At the same time, we will vigorously encourage foreign trade with China and set up a city ambassador in Guangzhou to take charge of foreign trade affairs. At that time, there were six regular air routes between China and Nanyang and Persian Gulf, all of which were concentrated in Guangzhou. One of the most famous routes is called "Guangzhou Tonghai Island", which started from Guangzhou and passed through Vietnam Sea, Indian Ocean, Persian Gulf, East Africa, Europe 100 countries and regions, with a total length of * * * 14000 km, which was the longest international route in the world at that time. Since then, Guangzhou has become the largest foreign trade port in China and the oriental port in the world.
6. Ming and Qing Dynasties
In the third year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (1370), the Guangdong Shipping Administration was established in the former site of Guangzhou Museum in the Song Dynasty, specializing in "countries occupying the city, Siam and the western regions". In the seventh year of Hongwu (1374), the city shipping company was abolished and reopened in the first year of Yongle (1403).
In the third year of Zheng De's reign (1508), Guangdong Shipping Company decided to implement a classification system for foreign ships, collecting three-tenths of the goods as import tax (later reduced to two-tenths), and establishing a dental firm, with the official teeth designated by the government as the intermediary and the rest as private trade.
In the first year of Jiajing (1532), the shipping companies in Zhejiang and Fujian were dissolved, leaving only the shipping company in Guangdong. Since then, the shipping companies in Guangdong have basically continued until the end of the Ming Dynasty.
In the last years of Zheng De, Guangdong's foreign trade was affected by the invasion and disturbance of Portuguese colonists along the coast of Guangdong, and the court announced the implementation of the sea ban. It was not until the first year of Qin Long (1566) that the maritime ban was opened that non-governmental trade was regarded as legal.
In the fifth year of Qin Long (157 1), Guangdong Shipping Company decided to replace the pumping system with the pumping system, that is, the ship tax was levied according to the size of the ship.
In Qing Dynasty, Guangzhou set up "Thirteen Banks" to specialize in foreign trade. 1757 (the 22nd year of Qianlong), the Qing government closed three trading ports, Zhangzhou, Ningbo and Yuntai Mountain, leaving only one port in Guangzhou for foreign trade for 83 years. Guangzhou has once again become the only foreign trade port in China. Until the Opium War, Guangzhou's foreign trade was unprecedentedly prosperous. Some historians described Guangzhou at that time: Guangzhou became a place where domestic and foreign trade was extremely prosperous. All the trade between the Chinese empire and western countries is gathered in Guangzhou. Products from all over China are shipped here, and the warehouses of merchants from all provinces are engaged in profitable business here. From the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, Guangzhou vigorously introduced overseas Chinese and foreign capital to set up enterprises, foreign firms and banks, and the development of commerce and foreign trade was in a leading position in the country. It's no accident that Guangdong businessmen rose in Ming and Qing Dynasties and formed a big business gang in China. It is closely related to Guangdong's human and geographical environment, developed commodity agriculture, handicrafts, the contradiction between a large population and a small land, the complex international environment and the imperial court's sea ban policy. Whether businessmen are active or not depends on the business environment, commodity awareness and market background of the whole society, as well as government policies, social production conditions, local natural conditions and other factors. The rise of Guangdong businessmen in Ming and Qing Dynasties was also inseparable from these factors. In the middle and late Ming dynasty, the above factors formed a trend that was obviously beneficial to the development and activities of businessmen, especially in the Pearl River Delta region. Therefore, the rise of Guangdong businessmen in the Ming and Qing Dynasties is a natural thing.
1, three mountains, six waters and one field
Guangdong has a complex terrain, including mountains, hills, plains and terraces. , mainly in mountains and hills. There are few plain areas, and the overall situation is that there are more people and fewer people. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the contradiction between population and land was a serious social problem in Guangdong, especially in the Pearl River Delta. Many Cantonese people try to find another livelihood. They either plant economic crops with good economic benefits on limited land, or adopt new farming methods and adopt "Tangji" to raise silkworms and fish; Others turned to handicraft production, specializing in commodity management; Others give up agriculture to do business. Therefore, the contradiction between large population and small land became an important factor in the rise of Guangdong businessmen in Ming and Qing Dynasties.
2. Convenient transportation
Guangdong is surrounded by the sea on three sides, and the river network in the territory is dense, so the transportation is very convenient whether it leads to overseas or inland. Guangdong, bordering the South China Sea in the south, is the hub of sea passage between the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, Asia and Australia. It is one of the busiest shipping areas in the world, and it is also the link between China and the world. The convenience of transportation provides powerful conditions for the rise of Guangdong businessmen.
3. Overall development of commodity agriculture.
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Guangdong's agricultural production developed greatly, and commodity agriculture rose suddenly. Mulberry fish pond, planting mulberry and raising fish, is a special land use mode in the Pearl River Delta of Guangdong Province. The extensive cultivation of cash crops such as sugar cane, fruit, tea and flowers, and the rapid development of rural commodity economy in some areas of Guangdong during the Ming and Qing Dynasties also promoted the development of Guangzhou's foreign trade, which in turn promoted the social and economic development of Guangdong and the rise of Guangdong businessmen.
4. Extensive shipment and long-distance transportation
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, with the rapid development of commodity agriculture, Guangdong's handicraft industry also developed on the original basis and became one of the developed areas of China. Its variety, variety and exquisite craftsmanship are unprecedented. With the prosperity of commodity agriculture and the rapid development of handicraft production, Guangdong products have risen rapidly, with large quantity and good quality, and have stepped onto the stage of domestic and foreign trade, and the concept of "wide goods" has been formed. The high development of handicraft industry in Guangdong naturally needs a broad sales market, which has promoted Guangdong's commercial prosperity, active businessmen and developed commercial capital.
Westerners come from the east.
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, especially since16th century, with the "great geographical discovery" and the opening of new sea routes, western colonists came to the East for predatory trade and colonial expansion. From 65438 to 0573, the Portuguese forcibly leased Macao, monopolized Macao's foreign trade and controlled Macao's international trade between the east and the west. Subsequently, Spain, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom followed closely. The "sea ban" policy adopted by the Qing government had a great influence on the development of China's commodity economy and the overseas trade of Guangdong businessmen. As a result, a large number of maritime merchants were formed, that is, the so-called "pirates" in Ming and Qing history books. With the combination of maritime merchants, Guangdong merchants really rose after Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty, and the maritime gang group began to appear. After Guangdong's trade, the strength of Guangdong maritime merchants grew with the high development of Guangzhou's exclusive trade.
6, the rise of the professional market
Due to the rapid development of commodity agriculture and handicraft industry in Guangdong, some markets specializing in crop products appeared with the planting of specialized commodity crops, and then expanded and increased. Regardless of the season, goods are available at four o'clock, such as cattle, pigs, cloth and other professional trading places, which are called fairs; The professional trading places of agricultural products with regular harvest such as fruits and peanuts are called markets. The emergence of professional markets is to adapt to the commercialization of agriculture and meet the needs of the development of manual processing industry. Professional fairs not only adapted to the needs of the development of commodity agriculture in the Pearl River Delta, but also adapted to the rise of Guangdong businessmen in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
7. Business tradition
Guangzhou is a city with a long business tradition. In the Biography of Historical Records of Huo Zhi, Guangzhou (called Panyu), one of the nine metropolises, also pointed out that Panyu is "a collection of pearls, rhinoceros, hawksbill, fruit and cloth, and people who go to China businessmen get more wealth." There is no doubt that Guangzhou's long commercial history and tradition have a great influence on urban and rural residents in Guangzhou. In this atmosphere, Guangzhou and Guangdong residents naturally have a strong sense of goods. This had a great influence on the rise of Guangdong businessmen in Ming and Qing Dynasties.
8. Foreign trade monopoly
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, China basically implemented a closed-door policy, and its foreign trade was strictly controlled. The second category is our local bank, which specializes in Siam tribute trade and Nanyang trade; The third category is Fuchaohang, which specializes in domestic trade in Fujian and Chaozhou. In the Qing Dynasty, Guangzhou was always regarded as the center and link of foreign relations, and it was precisely because of its important position that it was able to develop and prosper rapidly and promoted the unprecedented prosperity of Guangdong businessmen. Tribute trade and tribute ship trade were carried out in Ming Dynasty, and one-stop foreign trade policy was generally implemented in Qing Dynasty. After the opening of Guangzhou, there are more and more merchant ships, more and more tax classes and frequent trade. As a result, the firms in Guangzhou are divided into three types of professional firms: the first type is foreign goods firms (that is, thirteen firms), which specialize in handling foreigners' entry and exit.
Guangdong commercial social organization.
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Guangdong businessmen had their own social organizations. These organizations have various names, such as banks, gangs, guilds, offices and so on. Bank refers to the trade organization of businessmen; Help is a combination of businessmen's geographical or business nature; Guild halls, generally speaking, are regional organizations of businessmen; Ccba is a business organization of businessmen. Although the connotations of these organizations have almost evolved to some extent in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, their names still exist.
9. Manufacturers
"Hang" is an earlier known merchant organization. "Xing" appeared in Tang and Song Dynasties. Of course, the "line" at that time, like later, was not entirely a merchant organization, but craftsmen were also included. Moreover, it is also the organization of shops opened by businessmen and craftsmen. The "tooth shop" in Ming and Qing Dynasties is actually a general term for "tooth shop", "expert" and "vendor". Its main function is to buy and evaluate goods for merchants. At that time, the main meaning of "line" was industry, and each industry had its own organization, either church, public office or guild hall. Although the bank itself is not an organization, it is also closely related to industry organizations. Moreover, most banks have a "hall" with different names, but "hall" is a merchant industry organization after all. Therefore, the trip was of special significance at that time.
10, Shangbang
The "gang" was mainly formed by geographical relations, and some of it was formed by business relations at that time. In some prosperous cities, almost all businessmen have their own "gangs", and the "gangs" of Guangdong businessmen are often called "Guangbang". However, "Guangbang" is actually just a well-known name, and there are other gangs formed by regional relations, such as Shunde Gang, Panyu Gang and Chaozhou Gang. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the most famous business gang of Guangdong businessmen was Chaozhou Gang.
1 1, the guild hall
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, people from different countries established a social organization in the guest residence. It adapts to social changes and constantly changes its form. While effectively integrating internally, it constantly seeks integration with the outside world. In a narrow sense, a guild hall refers to a building with offices set up by fellow villagers, while in a broad sense, it refers to a new type of guild hall initiated by fellow villagers' organizations and businessmen to protect the commercial interests of local businessmen or businessmen in this industry.
CCBA 12
The early CCBA was mainly a local merchant organization with geographical relations, and the participants were limited to businessmen. CCBA is often a place where small and medium-sized businessmen seek development and pay more attention to practical results. The continuous establishment and increase of CCBA in Ming and Qing Dynasties reflected the expansion of industry and commerce and the growth of industrial and commercial operators, which was a sign of developed social division of labor. Guangdong businessmen formed and developed in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, although their commercial capital mainly flowed to the land, could not change the traditional economy qualitatively, but they played a variety of social functions in terms of quantity. This is because, although the activities of Guangdong businessmen belong to the category of exchange, all elements are determined by social production. However, as a stage of exchange in production engineering, under certain conditions, it can also have a reaction to production, and then cause some variations in the whole social economy, politics, ideology and culture. The business activities of Guangdong businessmen in Ming and Qing Dynasties had an impact on the economy, politics, ideology and culture of Guangdong at that time.
1, promoting the rise and development of export-oriented handicrafts.
The history of world economic development proves that commercial expansion often precedes industrial development. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the commercial activities of Guangdong businessmen were actually commercial activities that assumed the role of domestic trade intermediary, which promoted the rise and development of export-oriented handicrafts in Guangdong. In order to meet the needs of the market, especially the supply market, Guangdong businessmen tend to favor export-oriented handicraft workshops or factories, and even invest in export-oriented handicrafts, thus promoting the rise and development of export-oriented handicrafts. In Guangdong, the tea and textile industries in Guangzhou and the cotton, iron and porcelain industries in Foshan are the most typical.
2. Promote the development of monetary economy.
With the development of Guangdong's maritime trade and China's foreign trade, foreign silver dollars began to flow into China in the middle of Ming Dynasty. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, China's foreign trade, which mainly exported silk, tea, porcelain and other handicrafts, was always in a super position, and foreign businessmen had to input a lot of silver dollars in exchange for China's goods. The Qing government carried out a one-port trade policy in Guangzhou, and foreign silver dollars were continuously imported into Guangzhou through the hands of thirteen merchants in Guangdong, and then dispersed throughout the province and even the whole country. Guangdong businessmen acted as resellers in the process of inputting silver dollars.
3. Promote urban economic development.
With the increasing development of businessmen in Guangdong, towns in Guangdong have mushroomed and developed. First of all, as a Lingnan metropolis, Guangzhou has become the center of "department store, the city of five capitals", and its population has also developed rapidly. Due to the rapid increase of population and the prosperity of business, Guangzhou has been expanded twice. Obviously, this is to meet the needs of the prosperous business district newly developed due to commercial trade. Due to the development and activity of Guangdong businessmen, commodity production and exchange gradually destroyed the surrounding natural economic structure, making many villages unchanged for thousands of years become the trend of commodity economy development and then become new commercial towns.
4. Promote the economic development of Southeast Asian and American countries.
From 16 to 18, many countries in Southeast Asia and America were in a period of development, and their social and economic development level was far lower than that of China. Maritime merchants among Guangdong businessmen and merchants from these countries have greatly improved the lives of local people through commodity trading. At the same time, Guangdong businessmen who settled in the local area because of trade became overseas Chinese. Advanced iron tools brought by Guangdong businessmen and Chinese workers play a decisive role in developing mineral deposits, reclaiming wasteland and planting cash crops for Southeast Asian people.
5. Promote scientific and cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries.
The channel of trade is also the channel of cultural exchange. The overseas trade of a large number of Guangdong businessmen not only brought China's excellent culture abroad, but also brought foreign advanced science and technology back to China, thus promoting scientific and cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries.
The spread of science, technology and culture in China: Cantonese businessmen have traveled all over the world. They not only delivered China's advanced handicraft products and agricultural products that people of all countries needed, but also believed that these countries spread China's advanced science, technology and culture and made contributions to the economic and cultural development of all countries.
Introduction of new crop varieties: Guangdong maritime merchants who go abroad for business bring some foreign cash crops or new grain crops back to Guangdong for planting from time to time, which has a great influence on Guangdong and even the whole country.
Introducing advanced science and technology from western countries: With the development of Guangdong's foreign trade, western missionaries also came to Guangdong and the mainland to preach, bringing advanced science and technology and injecting new blood into the stagnant science and technology in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
6. Promote the formation of mercantilism in Guangdong society.
Guangdong is a place where commerce has always been relatively developed. Under the influence of international trade, the mercantilism in Guangdong society is constantly strengthening. With the formation and development of Guangdong businessmen in Ming and Qing Dynasties, Guangdong people's awareness of doing business has been deeply rooted in people's hearts. After the middle of Ming Dynasty, Guangdong formed a social mentality of valuing business. The mercantile mentality of Guangdong society is not only reflected in the large number of businessmen and the prosperity of business atmosphere, but also in the development of commodity agriculture.