Merchants in thousands of years of history, in the struggle for survival, either resigned themselves to the last stream and endured humiliation under the low eaves to survive;Either they are attached to the powerful, become official vassals, or even become official businessmen and imperial merchants. 
China's traditional residential buildings, "north to the west, south to the south", are the most worth seeing. At the foot of the Yellow Mountain in Anhui Province, the ancient buildings with white walls and gray tiles are as quiet and serene as the peach blossom spring. Shanxi dwellings are famous for their various compounds, such as the Wang Family Compound, the Qiao Family Compound, the Cao Family Compound, the Qu Family Compound, the Chang Family Compound, ......One in the south and the other in the north, the architectural styles are very different, but behind these buildings, there is the same special social class in the Ming and Qing dynasties: merchants. "Thousands of miles of flag pavilion guests, classified as Tian Sheweng. "Historically, Chinese businessmen traveled under the banner pavilion for thousands of miles, and after some savings, they mostly returned to their hometowns to buy fields and build houses. Shanxi and Anhui have preserved so many residential buildings, thanks to the famous Jin and Hui merchants. "The rich are the heroes, the south of the Yangtze River pushes Xin'an, and the north of the river pushes the right side of the mountain. "Xin'an is Huizhou, and Shanxi is on the right side of the mountain. The Hui merchants and the Jin merchants, inherited from generation to generation, went out to do business because of the remoteness of the countryside, prospered because of the control of the salt industry, and developed into the two merchant gangs with the largest number and the strongest strength in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Today, the high-rise houses and deep courtyards in Shanxi and the alleys of water villages in Anhui are already crowded tourist attractions, in line with people's imagination of rich and noble families. Perhaps, only when there is a rare silence, can they truly become the relics of history, take us to listen to their low moaning, recall the stories of the past, and ponder the pursuits and ideals of generations of businessmen. 
90 years ago, the land of the Central Plains was a mess.
The "Great War of the Central Plains", known as the largest and longest warlord melee in modern history, was fought from the spring to the autumn of 1930. The Jin warlord Yan Xishan was defeated. The Jin banknotes he issued in Shanxi were severely depreciated and almost reduced to waste paper. One of the largest ticket numbers at the time.
1. The "Dade Tong" of Qiao's family in Qi County, Shanxi Province, decided to convert it to depositors according to the new currency, risking the risk of bankruptcy, and put the savings into "righteous compensation", which eventually caused a deficit of 300,000 taels. In the mighty tide of history, no one can retreat from it entirely. That particular era in which the Jin merchants dominated China's financial world was destined to be gone forever. At the time when the building was about to collapse, "Dadetong" chose to stick to faith. In traditional Chinese society, agriculture is valued and merchants are suppressed, and the prejudice against businessmen is consistent. However, businessmen have their own insistence. Qiao's family opened a ticket number, which began when Qiao Zhiyong, the first family. Qiao Zhiyong was known as the "Bright Rich Man", leading the Qiao family's career into Zhongxing, and also became a representative figure of the Jin merchants at that time. He arranged the way of doing business as: one is to be trustworthy, the second is to be righteous, and the third is to make profits. Qiao Zhiyong was born in the Jiaqing period and died in the Guangxu period, living to be ninety years old. The rise and fall of the country is all in his eyes, and Qiao Zhiyong naturally understands that no matter how big the business is, it is closely related to the country's luck. Qiao Zhiyong has done a lot of good deeds in his life, opening warehouses for the people and raising military salaries for the country. A businessman, who has not taken a literary and military career, can also be described as "for the country and the people". The Qiao family's philosophy has been passed down from generation to generation, so when the money dissipates, there is still morality deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. 
At about the same time as Qiao Zhiyong, in southern China, there was another merchant who spent a long life in the business world, his name was Wang Dinggui. Wang Dinggui also lived a long life, even longer than Qiao Zhiyong. Unlike Qiao Zhiyong, who inherited his ancestral business, Wang Dinggui started from scratch. He was born in Yixian County, Huizhou, and is a fellow countryman like Zhang Xiaoquan, who is famous for making scissors, and like generations of Huizhou businessmen, he went out in his teens. For the merchants who ran away from Huizhou, there is no time to describe the history one by one. There is also not much pen and ink left to Wang Dinggui, but Wang Dinggui left a rich legacy to future generations: the "Chengzhi Hall" where he lived in Yixian County is now the largest of more than 100 ancient buildings in Hongcun, Anhui Province, and is known as the "Folk Forbidden City". 
I can't help but wonder: a businessman named his mansion "Cheng Zhi" - what kind of Zhi does it want to inherit?Is it to flaunt the ambition of inheriting the ancestors?Or do you want to encourage future generations to inherit your aspirations?From a historical point of view, looking back at the past, is it more like representing all businessmen and the people's aspirations to the world?Whether it is a Hui merchant or a Jin merchant, doing business is either forced by life or out of tradition. Qiao Zhiyong and Wang Dinggui were originally people who regarded "Shi" as their ideal, but fate forced them to choose "Shang". Even if you are a businessman, you must have your own backbone. If you are not a businessman, how can you have such a colorful, majestic and tragic life?If you are not a businessman, how can you understand the various situations in the world and the sufferings of the people?If you are not a businessman, how can you grasp the treacherous current situation and the trend of the times?In the front hall of Chengzhi Hall, there is a middle door that symbolizes the majesty of the official family, and the side doors on both sides are carved with the word "Shang" pattern. What a peculiar and incomprehensible combination! The merchant repeatedly searched in his own destiny, and in his own way, while fighting against the world and prejudices, he paid tribute to his ancestors and ideals. 
Historically, the intersection between Jin merchants and Hui merchants was limited, but they left the same story.
Shanxi and Huizhou have a tradition of doing business since ancient times. Shanxi is narrow and densely populated, and the mountains and fields of Huizhou are barren, making it difficult to support themselves by relying on the natural economy, so people from both places invariably choose to go out to do business. By the time of the Ming Dynasty, they had the same opportunity for development: salt. In order to raise soldiers, the Ming Dynasty successively implemented the "Kaizhong system" and the "folding color system", and merchants could obtain the right to sell salt by transporting military salaries in exchange for "salt introduction". The people of Shanxi and Huizhou became a powerful regional merchant group and formed a merchant gang, which was for the Jin merchants and Huizhou merchants. 
The Jin merchants worked tirelessly, from the granary in the south of the Yangtze River to the border area in the upper part of the Yangtze River, and from the coastal salt-producing land to the salt-deficient poor countryside, traveling thousands of miles and running on the way, expanding the economic ties between regions. The accumulation and expansion of private wealth by Huizhou merchants turned the towns and cities of the southern country into places of commercial convergence, which paved the way for modernization and invisibly promoted the transfer of the cultural center from the Central Plains to the southeast. In addition to regional and economic power, the reason why businessmen can form business gangs is also because of the belief of business and the recognition of business culture. Dare to break through, be good at traveling, specialize in career, and be good at calculating ......The necessary traits of merchants all appeared in the Jin merchants and Hui merchants. In the process of doing business, many etiquette, gang rules, charters and traditions have been derived. The business ethics and principles of "taking righteousness for profit" and "righteousness for profit" have been valued by Jin merchants and Hui merchants. 
The history of the development of Jin Merchants and Hui Merchants is a glorious history, but also a history of blood and tears. In the early years of Shunzhi, Fan Yongdou and other eight Jin merchants were rewarded with the privilege of "imperial merchants" for their meritorious service to the Qing army. Kangxi pacified the Junggar Department, and the Fan Emperor was ordered to deliver grain and salary, and was extremely effective in handling affairs, which was praised by the emperor. By the time of Yongzheng, Fan's family already had a second grade**. However, by the time of Qianlong, the Fan family's career gradually became useless. Qianlong went to the south of the Yangtze River several times, which cost a lot, and the treasury urgently needed to be filled, so he put on the idea of a rich family. Fan was found guilty of a crime and his property was raided. The smash hit Fan's imperial business career began with a comedy and ended with a tragedy. 
Hui merchants are also the target of extortion by the royal family and magnates, and all court ceremonies, engineering disaster relief, and even raising border salaries do not need salt merchants to donate and repay. The second emperor of Kangqian went down to the south of the Yangtze River twelve times, and the Hui merchants spent a lot of money on the glorious landscape of the "prosperous Kangqian era". Even Hu Xueyan, a "red-topped businessman", was inevitably extorted, and when he faced the exclusion of foreign businessmen, factional attacks, and was dismissed from his post and his home, no one in the court said a fair word for him. Where it is extremely ostentatious, that is, where it declines. The deformed relationship between officials and merchants in ancient China added a doomed sorrow to the fate of merchants.
When the TV series "Qiao's Courtyard" was near the end, there was a scene where Qiao Zhiyong, in his later years, faced himself in the mirror and delivered an inner monologue: "I hate you, I hate you." You've ruined my whole life, do you know? I have talent, I have wisdom, I have courage, I have enthusiasm, if I can follow my own path, why am I not a Li Bai, Du Fu, Bai Juyi, Wang Wei? "And now? An old landowner sat in this large courtyard. An old landlord, an old rich man, this is not the ...... I wantYou ruined my whole life, you still saved the country and the people, you can't even save yourself. Qiao Zhiyong's monologue, intertwined with affection, remorse and pain, is not only a summary of his own life, but also a torture of the fate of this special class of businessmen.
If Qiao Zhiyong hadn't been ordered to abandon literature and business and take over the family business, he would have been a scholar. Hui merchants are known as Confucian merchants, and as long as conditions permit, they will require their children to participate in the imperial examination; It is generally believed that the Jin merchants did not particularly attach importance to fame, and even the emperor once complained that Shanxi people were rich, but did not attach importance to the imperial examination. However, in Qiao Zhiyong's body, we can also see the brilliance of Confucian businessmen. At that time, merchants had guild halls, Jin merchants worshipped Guan Gong, and Hui merchants worshipped Zhu Xi. In the courtyard of Qiao's family, Qiao Zhiyong will also engrave "Zhu Zi's Maxims for Governing the Family" on the screen door, as a criterion for governing the family and a compulsory reading course for the enlightenment of children and grandchildren.
Qiao Zhiyong can "connect the world", but he can't "follow his own path", and he will end his life as an "old landlord". Wang Dinggui, who also gave up literature and business, finally took the money to donate to an official, but what he cared about most at that time was to vent his anger for businessmen. It may be difficult for people today to understand that those businessmen who seem to us to be rich and successful are forced by fate and are unable to break free. In the interweaving of reality and ideals, where is belonging?
Merchants in thousands of years of history, in the struggle for survival, either resigned themselves to the last stream and endured humiliation under the low eaves to survive;Either they are attached to the powerful, become official vassals, or even become official businessmen and imperial merchants. Today's businessmen, status and business environment have changed dramatically compared with those days. However, in the modern commercial society, Jin merchants and Hui merchants are still mentioned from time to time. The reason for this, of course, is not only because of the aura of wealth on them, but also because of their progress, faith, ideals, and those hidden pains that are not known. How should a businessman be remembered? Is it Hu Xueyan's legend, Qiao Zhiyong's faithfulness, or Wang Dinggui's secretive ambition? The era of traditional merchant gangs has passed, and modern commerce is exerting a more dominant force in society. However, no matter how the times change, businessmen are usually the first to smell the breath of the times, and society often depends on their pioneering and perseverance. When the Jin merchants and the Hui merchants have become a thing of the past, we will still mention their stories again and again. We are all wrapped up in the trend of the times, and whoever is breaking through and who is annihilated will also become the story of the latecomers.