The Transformation of Commerce from Ming dynasty to Modern China

For centuries, China has been a feudal society with the majority of its output being based on agriculture. In this paper, a feudal society refers to a society that its economy is based on land and relied on agriculture and handicraft industry that all product activities are restrained within a family. In light of Economism, along with the development of the commodity economy and the rise of merchants, China went through a commercial revolution during sixteen to nineteen centuries, resulting in the shift of business ideas and the social status of the merchants. As Yeh states in Shanghai Splendor, Economism “distances the mind from the reverence of immanence and turns it towards the secular reasoning of calculation and transaction.”[1] Although the revolution to capitalism itself ended unsuccessfully, it indeed provided a powerful base for the formation of the commerce-based modern China. The enlightenment in commerce in Ming and Qing dynasty, which leads to the widespread idea of mercantilism, plays a crucial role in the breakdown of the feudal autocracy and the transformation of China from an agricultural society to an industrial society. Thus, this paper aims to identify the transformation of Commerce in China from Ming and Qing dynasty to 20^th century. This paper will begin by examining the historical and social background of the time to find elements that lead to the change in the field of commerce ideology and the gradual establishment of modern China’s industrial and commercial system. Then this paper will provide specific comparisons regarding the differences between the commerce in Ming dynasty and 20^th century.

The Shift of Economic ideas

The Feudal society of China has gradually collapsed since the Ming dynasty. In the process of the decay, changes in many traditional ideas took place. One of the most significant changes is the shift of people’s attitudes toward business. Before the Ming dynasty, it is commonly accepted that agriculture is the essential base for a nation’s economic development. Li Kui, an ancient Chinese government minister, believes that a nation’s wealth is derived solely from agriculture, and advocates for the restriction of commerce because of its detrimental effects on agriculture.[2]

However, as the population grow and the labor market expanded, both the production of the agriculture and handicrafts increased. In the Confusions of Pleasure, Brook marked that the demand from the imperial households and elites also stimulated industries.[3] The remarkable progress made in agricultural production and handicrafts planted the seeds of commoditization. Toward the end of the dynasty, along with the development of commodity economy, the rise of the social status of the merchants, the thought of economic gradually changed. For instance, Jun Qiu, a famous economist in the Ming dynasty, realized not only that the exchange of commodity is essential to people’s life, but also the importance of market, as the bridge between production and consumption. In Jun Qiu’s opinion, the dynamic of the market reflects the wellness of the economy of a nation: “民用足则国有余矣”.[4] In addition, Jun Xun believes that markets are the affair of the merchants.[5]He supports the merchants’ freedom to run their business for the reason that the market will regulate itself and opposes any commercial activities made by government. Althoug