Culture Shanxi: Inventory of the "Seven Great Families" in Jinshang

In the Qing Dynasty, the top 16 large conglomerates in the country were all in Shanxi. According to historical statistics, just adding up the family property of wealthy households in several counties in Shanxi, the number exceeded 100 million taels of silver. This amount was even more than the treasury at that time, and it was truly called "rich and invincible." In China's modern history, Jinshang has ranked first among the national merchant gangs and dominated the business community for more than 500 years.

(1) Qiao family: integrity-based Geography: Qi County

The Qiao family in Qixian is a typical example of a self-made family in Jinshang who rely on hard work and integrity.

Qiao Guifa, the ancestor of the Qiao family, started from scratch to found Guangsheng Gong, which was later changed to Fusheng Gong. Fusheng Gong was the earliest and most powerful business name in Baotou City at that time, so it was said that "there was First Fusheng Gong, and then there was Baotou City".

In addition, the Qiao family also dabbled in ticket numbers, opening Dadetong and Dadeheng ticket numbers. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the Qiao family had more than 200 ticket numbers, money houses, pawnshops, grain stores and other brands throughout the country, with more than 7 million yuan of liquid funds, plus real estate such as land and real estate, and the total assets reached more than 10 million.

(2) Changjia: Cargo through Russia and Mongolia Geography: Yuci

Yuci's Changjia was known for foreign trade among Jin merchants.

According to the "Shanxi Foreign Trade Chronicle": "Among the Shanxi businesses engaged in many trades with Russia in Kyakhta, the one with the longest operation and the largest historical scale was the first to promote the Yuci car Changjia. Chang's first door, starting from the Qianlong period to engage in this trade, through the Qianlong, Jiaqing, Daoguang, Xianfeng, Tongzhi, Guangxu, Xuantong seven dynasties, followed for more than 150 years, especially in the late Qing Dynasty, in the Kyakhta dozen of larger business names, Chang's one door occupies the fourth of them, can be called the Qing Dynasty Shanxi foreign trade family. ”

(3) Cao Family: Taigu Giant Rich Geography: Taigu

The Taigu Cao family was a prominent Jin merchant and wealthy in the Ming and Qing dynasties.

At its peak in the Qing Daoguang and Xianfeng periods, the Cao family's business name spread throughout half of China and developed abroad to Moscow. The business projects include silver money industry, silk, cloth, wool, pigments, medicinal materials, fur, miscellaneous goods, foreign goods, wine, grain stores, etc., with more than 37,000 employees and a total capital of more than 10 million taels.

(4) Qujia: Notorious Geography: Qi County

Qibang merchants are a strong force in China's Qing Dynasty business circles, and the Qu clan is the largest wealthy household among the Qibang merchants, and their tea estate "Changyuchuan" is famous, and the ticket number "Three Jinyuan" is gathered around the world.

According to the "Qing Barnyard Banknotes", Qu's assets were three or four million silver taels. The peak was during the Guangxu period, and in 1902, the Qujia "Baichuantong" dividend reached more than 20,000 taels of silver per share.

(5) Kang Jia: Two Dynasties Great Wealth Geography: Binh Duong Province

The Kang family in Pingyang Province (present-day Linfen City), Shanxi, gathered tens of millions of dollars during the Ming and Qing dynasties, and was the richest man in Shanxi.

After the Kang clan, it is the cao, qiao, qu, chang and other surnames with assets of seven or eight million taels. The Kang clan was a large salt merchant in Pingyang Province (present-day Linfen City) in the Qing Dynasty, and in the Qing Dynasty, the salt monopoly system was implemented, and the government authorized salt merchants used salt to bring salt to designated places for distribution. It is precisely by virtue of this trafficking privilege that the Kang clan obtains wealth and becomes extremely rich. Secondly, the Kang clan is a big grain merchant. At that time, in Beijing, the largest and largest grain store was the grain store opened by the Kang family outside the Zhengyang Gate. In addition, at that time, the Kang clan also owned a large number of farmhouses and grain storage in their original pingyang, known as "the house is full of clouds, like a family", "there are old heavens on the top, there are millions of kang under it, there is no rain for three years, and the old grain has ten thousand stones".

(6) Fan Family: "Imperial Shang" Geography: JieXiu

The ancestor of the Jiexiu Fan clan was called Fan Yongdou, who did business in Zhangjiakou at the end of the Ming Dynasty, often went in and out of Liaodong, and was one of the eight famous merchants at that time.

After the Manchus entered the customs, they were crowned as "Imperial Merchants". The Fan family had held the Qing Dynasty's trade rights to the nomadic peoples of the northwest, and by the time of the Kangxi Dynasty, they had undertaken most of the business of trafficking foreign copper to Japan, and gained huge profits.

(7) Hou Family: Ticket Number Family Geography: JieXiu

The Jiexiu Hou clan was called "Hou Million", and the historical records recorded that there were assets of seven or eight million two silver.

Hou Shi originated in the Kangxi dynasty of the Qing Dynasty, the tenth Hou Wanzhan, specializing in Su and Hangzhou to sell silk, the family business developed rapidly, by the time of his grandson Hou Xingyu, he had become a well-known rich man. Later, the Hou family got involved in the ticket number industry, and successively opened the famous "Wei Zi Wu Lian" in Shanxi, passing through Daoguang and Xianfeng to Tongzhi, and in about thirty years, the Wei zi number gained momentum day by day, and the semicolon spread to more than 30 cities across the country. (Zhao Wei)

Source: Yellow River News Network