A Korean merchant in Beijing during the Qing Dynasty.
From the end of the 15th century to the beginning of the 16th century, as the course of world history entered the Age of Geographical Discoveries or the Age of Discovery, "globalization" began to emerge, and this change profoundly changed the overall pattern of world history. In the context of globalization, China naturally cannot be outside the world. In the Ming Dynasty, the opening of international routes with Macao as the intermediary quickly pushed Chinese goods to the international market, and the ties between China and other countries in the world continued to become closer. As the capital of the Ming and Qing dynasties, Beijing is not only the venue for major national diplomatic activities, but also an important consumption center city at home and abroad, including tributary, pilgrimage system associated with the mission**, as well as the ocean**, not only become a typical "international" composition in the region's commercial development, but also become another narrative of China's globalization.
In addition to the tribute: the Chinese and Korean dynasties in the Huitong Pavilion**.
In the Qing Dynasty's foreign relations, it had the closest contact with Korea. Before the Qing Dynasty entered the customs, after two expeditions, the Korean kingdom of the Lee family became a vassal state of the Qing Dynasty. Since then, on the day of major festivals, North Korea has to send envoys to Beijing to pay tribute. According to statistics, from the first year of Yongzheng (1723) to the last year of Qianlong (1795), North Korea sent a total of 205 missions to China, and the Qing Dynasty sent 53 missions to Korea, which greatly deepened the political, economic and cultural exchanges between the two countries. The Qing Dynasty stipulated that any surplus goods after foreign tributaries came to Beijing to give rewards could be traded with Chinese merchants in the guild, and the opening date was generally three or five days.
The frequent exchanges between Chinese and North Korean missions have promoted the prosperity of tribute to Beijing. In the sixteenth year of Kangxi (1677), Li Yuanzhen, the chief secretary, reported that "the vehicles that went to Yan Shangjia in the year were more than the previous ones, and they covered dozens of miles." Every time the Huitong Pavilion posted the opening of the market, there were Hu people who came to trade with all kinds of goods, and the prosperity of the transaction even caused the interpreter in charge of the Korean mission** to "eat no food every day, but eat wine and cold things". According to the records of the contemporaries, at that time, every day when the hall opened, the hall was full of people, noisy and noisy, and it was extremely lively. On a certain day in February during the Qianlong period, when the Korean mission was about to return to China, some merchants rushed to trade in the dark of night. ”
The merchants who participated in the Qing Dynasty came from all over the country, and the number was "uncountable", and they all had their own tricks to promote **. For example, when a merchant surnamed Xiang in Bangqingdian (now Sanhe City, Hebei) arrived at Shanhaiguan with a Korean tribute envoy, he would "lead his son to welcome the translation and laugh and make money". Another merchant surnamed Yu had a close relationship with the embassy and "bought and sold more than he paid". At that time, the person who was closest to the North Korean mission ** and had the most financial resources, "only the surnames Zheng and Huang deserved it, and they both caused huge millions." Among them, Zheng Shitai, a businessman, was Zheng Shitai, whose father started with a Korean businessman engaged in silk **, and when Zheng Shitai arrived, he had "accumulated 100,000 gold in the family business, and was in Beijing", and was known as "Beijing Dajia". Zheng was basically in a monopoly position in China and North Korea at that time, and all the goods that were difficult to buy on the market, "ask for this home, there are no people, down to flowers and fruits, bamboo and stone, famous incense, treasures, and all kinds of things." Therefore, North Korean buyers at that time would "run to their homes day and night, big and small, to buy and sell." "Outer Pavilion: Mongolian goods from Beijing to Kulun**.
As early as the Ming Dynasty, Mongolian merchants acted as middlemen between China and Russia, and they were responsible for trafficking goods from China and reselling them to Russian merchants. After the Qing Dynasty entered the customs, the Qing Dynasty set up the Li Fan Yuan to manage the affairs of Mongolian, Hui, Xinjiang and other ethnic minorities, among which the inner pavilion and the outer hall are both subordinate institutions of the Li Fan Yuan, as the reception hall of the annual envoys of the Inner and Outer Mongolia who come to Beijing for pilgrimage. During the Hajj pilgrimage to the Mongolian ministries in Beijing, the daily dumplings and the Mongolian livestock should be fed in the official stables, all of which were checked and reported to the Imperial Court by the Inner and Outer Pavilions.
Along with the Mongolian annual class system, the Qing system stipulated that the Mongolian princes could be allowed to bring a certain amount of goods to Beijing during the annual class of the Mongolian princes**, and stipulated that they would be managed in the same way as the tributary of the vassals**, and that "no tax should be paid on the goods". At that time, the Mongolian princes brought to Beijing Tuyi mushrooms, butter, skins and other things, all stored in the stack room near the outer hall, and its four to the range, east to Andingmen Avenue, west to Huangsi West Village, north to Tucheng, south to Guanxiang. Since then, with the abolition of the Mongolian annual class system, the outer embassy has gradually evolved into a special Mongolian goods ** center in Beijing. According to the record in "Tianjia Occasional News", outside Anding Gate, "the east of the Lianghuang Temple, is the Mongolian Foreign Museum." The market is lined up, and the roof tiles are lined up. Filling the streets and alleys, I saw bright camels, and the columns were even boxes, but Chen was hidden. In addition to Mongolia, the people are also Jia people. Yin Yin Khotan, like a plain seal". In addition, the inner hall on the side of the Yuhe Bridge, ** is also very prosperous, and the people of the time recorded that here "Jia is full of people, where the leather things, the shell things, the wild things, the mountain things, the fat things, the cheese things, are listed in the square and Bo Yiyan".
* During the year, a large number of foreign pavilions were their head offices, and a number of branch villages were set up in Kulen, Uriya Sutai, Kobdo and other places in Outer Mongolia, engaged in the first exchanges between China, Mongolia and China. Kulun, now Ulaanbaatar in Outer Mongolia, because the Qing Dynasty signed a demarcation and ** treaty with ** during the Kangxi and Qianlong periods, Nibuchu, Kyakhta, Kulun and other places obtained the legal status, and Kulen has also become one of the areas with the most branches of foreign pavilion firms. It is recorded that "the most dominant Chinese store in Kulen is the store of the Pekingese" and "relatively clean", so "the lucky ones are easy to get rich with profits". Among them, there are 10 large-scale companies, including Tonghehao, Fulaihao, Xiehegong, Longheyu, Renhehou, Longxinghe, Longjuhe, etc., with a capital of more than 50,000 yuan. These businesses started from the Beijing Outer Pavilion, passed through Zhangjiakou, and finally arrived at the official ** places such as Kulen, Uriya Sutai, Kyakhta and other official places in Outer Mongolia, becoming an important part of the business travel team on the Grassland Silk Road.
The Russian Pavilion is directly connected to China and Russia**.
Although China and Russia have no tributary relations, the indirect origin between the two countries is very early. According to the ** people's records: "Chinese silk, brocade and other commodities have been introduced as early as the 10th century AD. In the 13th and 14th centuries, such goods were resold in various cities of the first place through Central Asian merchants. The Central Asian merchants were the Bukharan merchants of present-day Uzbekistan, who were widely distributed on various trade routes and were important intermediary merchants in the heart of Asia, "they played an important intermediary role in ** with the countries of the farther East." From the 15th century onwards, a direct link with China was explored. Before the official establishment of official contacts, the Russian Cossacks, who were active in the northern border areas of Mongolia, had already carried out frequent activities with the Ming Dynasty and the Mongol ministries. By 1656, the first mission sent by ** was the Baykov mission, they brought 50,000 rubles of goods to Beijing**, the caravan totaled 100 people, and after successfully selling furs, diamonds, leather and other goods in Beijing, they purchased 30,000 rubles of Chinese goods and returned home.
In the twenty-eighth year of Kangxi (1689), China and Russia signed the "Treaty of Nebuchu", and in the thirty-first year (1692), the Qing Dynasty allowed Russia to come directly to Beijing, stipulating that the number of people should not exceed 200, and they came to Beijing once every three years, and promised that "no tax should be paid on goods". At the same time, for the purpose of "eternal rest, eternal reconciliation", the Qing Dynasty gave courtesy to foreign missions and caravans coming to Beijing, and set up special residences to be accommodated. The Russian Pavilion built by the Imperial River in Beijing in the Qing Dynasty was formerly known as the Huitong Pavilion built in the Ming Dynasty, which was divided into two pavilions, north and south, mainly used to receive foreign students and caravans.
Russian caravans mainly brought **, silver nuggets, porcelain, precious stones, tea, silk and other commercial goods to Beijing**, and the Chinese goods purchased from Beijing mainly included tea, silk fabrics, cotton fabrics, rhubarb, tobacco, various precious stones, porcelain, silverware and lacquer (wood) utensils. Leather goods are the most important commodities in China and Russia, it is said that Russian businessmen brought out 1,000 rubles or equivalent leather goods in Moscow, and the goods exchanged from Beijing can be worth 6,000 rubles, which is extremely profitable. The first group of merchants to Beijing consisted of 205 people, with 1,650 horses, 562 cattle, 475 trucks, and goods worth 285,400 rubles, including 1.5 million squirrel skins, mink skins, fox skins, lynx skins, etc. The prosperity of Chinese and Russian leather goods has had an important impact on the consumption structure of Beijing. For example, at that time, the clothing made of fur and woolen wool led the trend of clothing consumption in Beijing, from the court dignitaries to the merchants and ordinary people all rushed to wear them.
Since the Ming and Qing dynasties, a large number of envoys and merchants from Korea, Russia, Mongolia, Vietnam, Ryukyu and other places have gathered in Beijing, who not only brought a dazzling array of rare treasures, but also added a strong exotic color to the metropolis of Beijing. In the prosperous commercial market of Beijing in the Ming and Qing dynasties, there were not only blue-eyed Hu merchants and drifting customers, but also coral trees, emeralds, cat's eyes and other commodities from exotic lands. Hong Darong, the Korean envoy of the Qing Dynasty, saw a lot of goods from the Western region when he observed the temple fair of Longfu Temple, and sighed that the "sharp weapons of Western good work" are everywhere in the Beijing market. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, Beijing as the capital city had the function of a consumption center and an international exchange center, which was not only the core urban characteristics and internal driving force, but also had an important impact on the economic and cultural exchanges between Beijing and related regions. Today, Beijing is making every effort to build a consumption center and an international exchange center, and from the perspective of the city's development process, there is no doubt that it has a deep historical origin and cultural background. (The author is the deputy director of the Institute of History of the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences) (original title: "International**" in Beijing Commerce in the Qing Dynasty).
Written by Gao Fumei.