Lesson 23 of this book is about Taigu. Although there are not many words, it comprehensively summarizes the position and role of Taigu commerce in Shanxi merchants.
The transcript is as follows: Taigu is the first business district in Shanxi Province.
Its influence in the business world can affect the province's finance. There are many firms in the city, most of which are wholesale villages with branches all over the country.
The commerce in central Shanxi is the first to promote Qi, Tai, Ping and Yu, but Qi, Ping and Yu have their own strengths, such as the teahouse in Qixian County and the Piao Village in Pingyao, which is particularly sensational.
However, to sum up, it does not mean Taigu, and the history of the two cannot be mentioned in the same breath.
In the Ming Dynasty, foreigners traded with China and were alone in a corner of Macau. Our northern province is far from Macao, and no one dares to go abroad, but Taigu people have a long-term vision and go to Macao to do business first.
As for the territory of China, there were Taigu merchants' footprints 300 years ago, not to mention.
Therefore, Shen Rong Village, Satin Village, Mianjian Village, Yangbu Village and other large-scale shops have appeared in Taigu, and other money houses, cloth shops, iron shops, bamboo shops and Nanjing grocery stores have also occupied an advanced position.
There are many big stores in Taigu, and the goods sold are not available elsewhere. Naturally, the business in the whole province is concentrated in Taigu County.
Merchants from Pingpu in the south, Jiangxi, Xin, Dai, Ning, Bao in the north, and even Dashuo and Guisui all come to Taigu to purchase goods and transport them back to us for sale.
From an ordinary point of view, Taigu has actually become a commercial port.
Since the train passed, sellers in central counties and northern provinces near Jingsui Road have mostly gone to other provinces to handle goods, but the sales of main goods in Taigu have not declined.
As for the merchants of Han Hou Lingnan, they still come to Taigu to purchase everything.
This is all because of its large scale and good credit.
As stated in the business textbook, Taigu has a long history of business, and people began to engage in business activities as early as the Song and Jin Dynasties. However, under the cruel rule of Jin and Yuan Dynasties, the social economy was in a backward stage and the development of commercial activities was relatively slow.
At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the weather in Taigu area was favorable, people's lives improved, the country implemented the policy of recuperation, the agricultural economy was revived, and Taigu's commercial activities also grew from small to large, with a certain scale.
It was not until the mid-Ming Dynasty that Taigu commerce developed greatly, not only the number of participants increased greatly, but also the forms of commercial activities were diversified and the scale was further expanded.