|
Qianzhuang Township
Qianzhuang () were local independent Chinese banks in the early modern period, as distinguished from the nation-wide bank networks headquartered in Shanxi province called the "Shanxi banks" (票號, ''piaohao''). Also known by a variety of regional names, such as ''qiansi'' (錢肆), ''qianpu'' (錢鋪), ''yinhao'' (銀號), ''duihuan qianzhuang'' (兌換錢莊), ''qiandian'' (錢店), ''qianzhuo'' (錢桌), ''duidian'' (兌店), ''qianju'' (錢局), ''yinju'' (銀局), or ''yinpu'' (銀鋪) in Mandarin Chinese, and translated as ''money shops'', ''native banks'', ''private Chinese banks'', or ''old-style banks'' in English, ''qianzhuang'' banks first sprung up during the Ming dynasty but greatly expanded during the Qing dynasty. Unlike the Shanxi banks, the ''qianzhuang'' tended to have much more risky business practices. These institutions first appeared in the Yangzi Delta region, in Shanghai, Ningbo, and Shaoxing. The first ''qianzhuang'' can be traced to at least the mi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northern China
Northern China () and Southern China () are two approximate regions within China. The exact boundary between these two regions is not precisely defined and only serve to depict where there appears to be regional differences between the climates and localities of northern regions of China vs southern regions of China. Nevertheless, regional differences in culture and language have historically fostered a number of local identities. Extent Often used as the geographical dividing line between northern and southern China is the Qinling–Huaihe Line (lit. Qin Mountains–Huai River Line). This line approximates the 0 °C January isotherm and the isohyet in China. Culturally, however, the division is more ambiguous. In the eastern provinces like Jiangsu and Anhui, the Yangtze River may instead be perceived as the north–south boundary instead of the Huai River, but this is a recent development. There is an ambiguous area, the region around Nanyang, Henan, that lies in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shanxi Merchants
Shanxi merchants, also known as Jin merchants (), were the group of merchants from Shanxi province, China. ''Jin'' is an abbreviated name of Shanxi. Even though the history of noticeable Shanxi merchants can be dated back to as early as the Spring and Autumn Period, more than 2000 years ago, Shanxi merchants became prominent during the Ming and Qing dynasties, and their dominant influence in Chinese commerce, within the nation and with neighboring Mongolia, Russia, and Japan, lasted for more than 500 years. The Shanxi merchants also operated an early Chinese type of draft bank known as the ''piaohao''; these were the dominant form of banks in China until the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911. History Shanxi merchants were among the earliest Chinese businessmen and their history could be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States period. Southern Shanxi first came into commercial prominence due to its proximity to the political and cultural centers of ancien ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Treaty Port
Treaty ports (; ja, 条約港) were the port cities in China and Japan that were opened to foreign trade mainly by the unequal treaties forced upon them by Western powers, as well as cities in Korea opened up similarly by the Japanese Empire. Chinese treaty ports The British established their first treaty ports in China after the First Opium War by the Treaty of Nanking in 1842. As well as ceding the island of Hong Kong to the United Kingdom in perpetuity, the treaty also established five treaty ports at Shanghai, Canton (Guangzhou), Ningpo (Ningbo), Foochow (Fuzhou), and Amoy (Xiamen). The following year the Chinese and British signed the Treaty of the Bogue, which added provisions for extraterritoriality and the most favored nation status for the latter country. Subsequent negotiations with the Americans (1843 Treaty of Wanghia) and the French (1844 Treaty of Whampoa) led to further concessions for these nations on the same terms as the British. The second group of treaty ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
