How could Shanxi merchants stay at the top of China's business world throughout the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties? And why did so many Shanxi people take to business? In a sense, this was determined by both geographical and historical factors. At the same time, the spirit of Shanxi merchants was another important reason for their prosperity. They showed no fear towards any kinds of difficulties, which were described by Western scholars as "the Spirit of Shanxi," or more precisely, "the Spirit of Shanxi Merchants."
The Barren Soil
Shanxi is not a good place for crop production. So throughout the ages people had to earn their living through business. The earliest record of this can be found in History Record. According to other historical literature, the southern part of Shanxi was not able to provide enough food for residents, so people had to do business in other areas. Yet few people in north Shanxi needed to do so.
Beginning in theMing Dynasty, the arable soil became more precious due to the increasing population. Therefore, more and more Shanxi people began to leave their home to do business.
Most Shanxi merchants were originally miserable farmers with little property. They were forced to start their business from scratch. When they obtained some profits, they became models for neighborhood, which gradually led to the creation of merchant groups.
A Place of Strategic Importance
Bordering the northern section of theGreat Wall, Shanxi lay next to the nomads of Inner and Outer Mongolia. South Shanxi contained plains for agriculture. Therefore, Shanxi lied in the junction of the stock raising, agriculture, and handicraft industries.
Shanxi merchants' business route
The geographical position made Shanxi into the communication center for the production of the abovementioned industries. The nomads bartered horses for tea, fabric, and crops with Shanxi merchants. Meanwhile, the merchants also carved out trade with the Russians. Since 1768, Kiakhta has been the trade center for Russia and China.
Shanxi's geographical importance has given many advantages to its people. Starting from theYuan Dynasty(1271-1368), the transport channels were gradually developed by Shanxi merchants, who organized camel teams to deliver goods. The merchants also purchased silk, sugar, fabric, and other groceries from different cities, and sold them inXinjiang, Mongolia, and so on, thus completing their primary accumulation of wealth.
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