Hedong salt merchants in Luoyang, the ancient capital of water system research

　　Day 651 of Salt Lake Water System Investigation

　　Hedong salt merchants in Luoyang, the ancient capital.

　　From July 2nd to 8th, it lasted for 7 days, and the working group of "Investigation on Hedong Salt Culture" visited more than 30 cultural sites along the route, which confirmed many literature records and gained new enlightenment and understanding on important aspects such as transportation, storage and sales of salt in Hedong Lake. On the basis of a series of reports of Mr. Zheng Zhenfu's Luoyang Salt Record, this paper intends to comb and think about the information of salt merchants in Luoyang, the ancient capital, in order to get the effect of attracting jade.

　　First, two records of salt merchants before the Qing Dynasty

　　West of Luoyang Galand: "He who has Liu Bao is the richest. Every prefecture and county has a house, and each has ten horses. As for salt millet, the market price is high and low, which is an example. The boat and the car are connected, and the footprints are all vendors. It is based on the goods from home and abroad. Produce a bronze mountain, and hide a golden cave at home. The house is over-controlled, the building is out of the clouds, and the horses and horses are intended to be kings. "

　　The author of Luoyang Galand Ji is Sima Yang Lizhi, the Fujun of the Eastern Wei Dynasty. This book, written in the 5th year of Wuding in the Eastern Wei Dynasty (547), is a historical and geographical note to trace the Buddhist temple in Luoyang City in the Northern Wei Dynasty and related figures and events. Together with Li Daoyuan's Notes on Water Classics, it is considered to be a double gem of northern literature. Liu Bao is the richest man in Luoyang. He has built mansions in various counties and traffic arteries, and keeps ten horses, buying and selling salt, grain and other commodities. As long as the car and boat are accessible and within walking distance, there is no place where he cannot do business. Therefore, goods from all over the world gather in the courtyard, and the property is like a golden cave in Tongshan. The size of the mansion exceeds the regulations, and the view of the building goes straight into the sky. The horses and chariots and the costumes are similar to those of the princes. From this narrative, we can know that Liu Bao is a big businessman who got rich with salt and grain.

　　The History of Salt Industry in China, edited by Guo Zhengzhong, said: "In the Northern Wei Dynasty, the existing literature only saw pool salt, which was not as good as sea salt, and the benefits of pool salt were great." There are two sets of data in Wei Shu that deserve our attention. First, Wang Yuanyong of Levin and others turned to advocate that the queen of the main book called the benefits of pool salt "please provide 20,000 yuan of salt for the officials, and hope to lose 1,000 horses and 500 cows at the age of". Second, Sun Zhi, the servant of Shangshu, said in the table above that the tax on Yanchi "should not be reduced by 300,000 horses in a year", "that is, moving to Hebei, setting two states and placing them in Jidian". Hedong Yanchi can supply salt and horses and cattle to the capital city of Luoyang, and its tax revenue is equivalent to the income of Hebei and Dingding. The Northern Wei Dynasty collected taxes from pools, and merchants paid taxes for distribution. Liu Baodang used villas along the road as private stations and horses as vehicles to supply salt and grain to the capital Luoyang and its vicinity, thus benefiting greatly.

　　"Biography of the Ming Dynasty VIII": "(Fu Wang Chang Xun) invited Huaiyan for 1,300 yuan to set up a shop in Luoyang and the people's market. From the middle envoy to Huaiyang branch, it takes several times to dry it. However, Zhongzhou used to eat Hedong salt instead of Huai salt, so it was forbidden for Wang Si to make a meal, and Hedong could not stop it, resulting in a shortage of money. Courtiers please change the salt to the king in Hedong, and there is no market with the people. Listen. "

　　Ming Shenzong is very fond of Zheng Guifei, and dotes on his third son, the Emperor, who is often alone, and has not established a prince for fifteen years. In the 29th year of Wanli (1601), it was established as Fu Wang, but not as a vassal. In the spring of forty-two years, Fu Wang was forced to move to Luoyang Mansion. According to the ancestral system, Fu Wangfu should close the salt pond in Hedong. However, according to the example of King Lu of Weihui Mansion, Fu Wang played for 1,300 citations of Huai salt, and the gods allowed him to play. At that time, Lu Wang had changed to Lu salt in this salt area. Salt ministers, courtiers and local ministers repeatedly applied for Fu Wang to change food, but Shenzong did not respond. According to Ming Shi Lu, it was not until the end of forty-three that Fu Wangfu stopped supporting Huai salt.

　　For every 660 kg of Huai salt, 1,300 kg is 858,000 kg. Gao Chao, the eunuch of Fufu Prefecture, went to Yangzhou not only for 740 Jin of salt per lead, but also for 130 leads with the sealing of officials. Regardless of the reputation of the royal family, Fufu openly sold the special salt provided by the imperial court in Luoyang, contended with salt merchants and the people for profits, disrupted the official salt market, and caused strong opposition from all the ministers. Around the variety, use, quantity and withdrawal method of Fufu salt, there were constant disputes between emperors and ministers, which became an influential political event in the late Ming Dynasty.

　　2. Inscriptions and Salt Merchants in Qing Dynasty in Literature

　　In Guanlin Square, Luoyang, there is a theater building (Qianqiu Jianlou) built in the 56th year of Qianlong (1791). On the side of the building, there is a stone tablet engraved with the name of the donor. Their names are classified by industry and arranged according to the amount of donations. The leader is in the first line, and is a salt merchant □ Baoquan and Zhang Hecheng, who donated 220 yuan. The following are, in turn, urban merchants, rural merchants, and silks and satins in Beijing (? ) Cloth merchants and Luze merchants, the last act of Jin Yan □□ Merchants, were all engraved with donated silver. A Survey of Hedong Salt Law clearly records that Cheng Baoquan and Zhang Hecheng are taboo. Mianchi Nancun Inspection Department Museum keeps the signboard of "Shanxi Merchants Official Salt Grocery", and the missing word after the last line of salt is probably "Grocery" by analogy. These stores are comprehensive retail stores featuring Jinyan Salt, with small scale, low profit and the least amount of donations.

　　In the forty-seventh year of Qianlong (1782), the governor of Shanxi Province and the salt farmer of Hedong started to play the standard, and the land sold in Hedong salt area was divided into three grades according to the degree of fat and barren, and considering the factors along the way, the collocation was 56. There are more than 88 citations per copy, and as few as 76 citations, with an average of about 80 citations, each with 120 citations and each citation with 240 kg, that is, the salt task per copy is between 2.2 million and 2.5 million kg. Each set a lot, and the merchants draw lots to determine the land. Among them, there are 3 double-signed businessmen, 45 single-signed businessmen and 10 semi-signed businessmen.

　　Cheng Baoquan, a semi-signed businessman, should sell 37 quotations from 43 people in Luoyang County, with a total of 5,197 quotations and a total of 1,247,280 kilograms. Zhang Hecheng, a single-signing businessman, should sell some salt cited in Luoyang County and Mianchi County, among which Luoyang County cited 28 people with 37 cited items, with a total of 3397 cited items and a total weight of 815,280 kg. They are jointly responsible for underwriting salt in Luoyang county, so Lin donated money to repair the theater.

　　There is also a donation monument in the Shanshan Guild Hall in Luoyang, which was founded in the Jiadao period and listed 562 donors. There are 3 salt shops in the list, all of which are located in the first row and are in the forefront. Among them, Jimei Salt Shop donated 344 taels of silver, Shide Salt Shop donated 140 taels of silver and Jinfeng Salt Shop donated 120 taels of silver. According to the Survey of Adding and Repairing Hedong Salt Law, the underwriting places of Zhang Jinfeng from Taiping County and Li Jimei from Jiexiu County respectively correspond to the salt merchants Cheng Baoquan and Zhang Hecheng in Qianlong period, and the underwriting tasks are exactly the same as the original quotations. In addition, Zhang Jinfeng and Li Jimei joined hands with all the shippers to set up a living introduction in Jilantai. Zhang Jinfeng cited 6 students with 83 citations in Luoyang County, and Li Jimei cited 6 students with 42 citations in Luoyang County. Jimei and Jinfeng Second Salt Shop are the batch points set up by two shippers in Luoyang. In the classification list of Hedong commercial plots in Zengxiu, we can find that there is a second-class plot in Dongpapu, a fourth-class plot in Zhongwupu and a fourth-class plot in Xijiupu of Zhang Shide. Suspicious Shide Salt Shop is run by Zhang Shide, a businessman. According to the calculation, the share of Li Jimei and Zhang Jinfeng in Luoyang's publicity is 64%, and the contribution share of Jimei Salt Shop is 60%, and Shide Salt Shop and Jinfeng Salt Shop account for 40% together. After the list, there is an author's note: "All the front lines are quoted, signed and named according to the original time. Since then, the shippers have changed frequently, or they are friends or top-filled, but it is never easier to sign the land. "According to this analysis, Zhang Shide, a businessman, should have taken over part of Zhang Jinfeng's salt underwriting business and opened a distribution point in Luoyang.

　　In the fifty-seventh year of Qianlong (1792), Jiang Zhaokui, who was once the envoy of Hedong Salt Transportation and Shanxi Provincial Judge in charge of Hedong Salt Affairs, was transferred from Gansu to Shanxi. With the support of Governor Feng Guangxiong, he presided over the reform of Hedong class returning to Diding. The so-called class belongs to Diding, in essence, it is to abandon the old method of paying salt class to the transportation department, and instead allocate the amount of salt class to the provincial Diding tax, and the counties are responsible for paying it. At the same time, the salt introduction system and the specialized business system were abolished, and the salt in Hedong pond was free to be transported and sold without paying taxes. Revocation of the transportation organization since the Yuan Dynasty, with Hedong Road in charge of salt affairs. The reform of returning courses to Diding reduced the operating cost of salt in Hedong pond, stimulated the enthusiasm of the people to transport and sell salt, and reversed the crisis of salt administration and business in Hedong in a short time. However, the reform of returning the curriculum to Diding increased the burden on farmers, especially the low-priced pool salt hit the Huai salt and Lu salt markets. In order to maintain the income of salt courses in Huaibei and Changlu, the Qing government decided in the 11th year of Jiaqing (1806) to re-invite investment and resume commercial transportation in Hedong salt area. It is in this context that the old commercial firms of Qianlong Baoquan and Zhang Hecheng withdrew from Luoyang market, while the new commercial firms of Jiaqing, Li Jimei and Zhang Jinfeng, underwritten Luoyang Salt Import.

　　The introduction of Jilantai mentioned above is directly related to the reform of returning to Diding. Hedong salt area belongs to Diding, and the market is completely open. Ma Junxuan, a Hui nationality, fished for tax-free salt in Jilantai Salt Pond, which belonged to the Alashan captaincy of Mongolia, and sold it along the Yellow River in Shanxi, Shaanxi and Henan provinces, making great profits. However, it was reported that it colluded with foreign vassals, and after it was found out, it was sent to the frontier, and Jichi was abandoned. In the 11th year of Jiaqing (1806), Hedong returned to commercial transportation and implemented the Yellow River water ban. The Qing government planned to take advantage of the auspicious salt, and designated the five halls outside Shanxi Province, Datong and Shuozhou prefectures, Taiyuan and Fenyang prefectures as the local salt sales areas, and both local salt and auspicious salt were sold. According to Ma Junxuan's average salt sales in that year, it was determined that the amount of salt in Kyrgyzstan was 87,500, and the amount was 63,588. The Qing government ordered Hedong shippers to run Jiyan salt concurrently, but it was unsuccessful. Many attempts to attract investment were also unsuccessful, so Jichi was returned to Alashan captaincy. In the seventeenth year of Jiaqing, Hedong merchants also sold Lu salt in the northern Shanxi soil salt area. Hedong salt merchants knew it was impossible, so they had to ask for amortization of Jilantai salt in Hedong salt area, which was called live quotation, which was no different from the amount quoted. Among the 67 shippers, Wang Hengtai, the first merchant, was the most, and 38 shippers from Tongbai County and Dengzhou were awarded 46 citations. The least is Zhang Qingfeng, with 2 live citations and 16 citations in Lintong County. At the beginning of Xianfeng, Hedong donated money to avoid charging merchants and implemented official transportation. With the cancellation of the signing system, Gilantai Huoyin died out.

　　In the seventh year of Xianfeng (1857), Guo Xin, a businessman from Luoyang, paid tribute to Jin Liben and his wife in Shanxi Province, and went to Jinjiadi Village in Pinglu County to set up a banquet, clothes and a monument. Qin Bangdao, a veteran cadre in Pinglu County, was born in Mianchi, Henan Province. He worked here in his early years and was very fond of Yu Jintong. During this salt culture inspection, he is very familiar with the geography and humanities of counties on both sides of the Yellow River in western Henan. As soon as I arrived in Luoyang, I contacted Luoyang Daily and found Mr. Guo Jian, a descendant of Guo Xin.

　　According to Mr. Guo Jian, he is the eighth generation descendant of Guo Xin. My ancestors used to be a literary official in Luoxian County. They won 18 piles of salt in a gamble and started to manage the salt industry. His great-grandfather Guo Jinsheng is still doing salt business in Yandiankou Street. Grandfather Guo Yufu served as the chairman of Luoyang Salt Industry Association during the Republic of China.

　　Jinjiadi Village was inscribed on a tablet in 2008. On September 15th, the fifth year of Xianfeng, Guo Xin left 81 taels of silver in Jinjiadi Village on the north bank of the Yellow River. Duke Jin picked it up on the road and appealed to the four heads of families, and generously paid the full amount together. On the 10th day of February in the seventh year of Xianfeng, Guo Xin felt that "Jin's surname was benevolence and righteousness, and he felt uneasy", and he went back to Jinjiadi Village to erect a monument to thank him.

　　What did Guo Xin do in Pinglu in the fifth year of Xianfeng? The biggest possibility is to find the source of Luyan salt. In the twenty-fourth year of Jiaqing, Yu 'an carried out commercial transportation and civilian sales. After all the salt was transported to Huixing Town, the people were free to buy and sell. Xianfeng three years, the abolition of the signing business, and then changed to official transport and civilian sales. During the Taiping Rebellion, the marketing of Huai salt was almost interrupted, and the best-selling Lu salt was in short supply. Henan Luyan salt wholesale is concentrated in Huixing Town. On the one hand, the supply is tight and it is not easy to buy salt. On the one hand, there are many people selling goods, and the price difference becomes smaller. Guo Xin, a businessman, is likely to bypass Huixing Town and cross the river from Bailangdu to Pinglu and Yuncheng to inquire about information and seek new channels for salt purchase. In the sixth year of Xianfeng, due to the lack of official transportation capital, Yuncheng changed the transportation of salt from Huixing Town to both official and civilian transportation. At this time, Guo Xin may also join the ranks of direct transportation of salt from Yuncheng.

　　There has been a new breakthrough in the information of Hedong salt merchants in Tongguang period recently. Li Jinzhang and Cao Shuji's Collection of Rare Documents of Shanxi Merchants 01 was published by Guangdong People's Publishing House in March 2023. Dr. Jia Rui from the editorial department of Yuncheng University contacted the publishing house, and let us first see the catalogue of the whole book. The book is divided into two parts, the first part is Shanxi Dangshang Document, and the second part is Shanxi Fengshengtai Salt Merchant Document. Fengshengtai's account books began in the sixth year of Xianfeng and ended in the sixteenth year of Guangxu, lasting for 34 years. It contains nearly 100 books of salt merchants, including about 30 books of salt sales. According to Cao Shuji and other papers, Fengshengtai is a joint-stock salt snack firm, which was founded by businessmen in Gaoping County, Shanxi Province and was active in the eastern suburbs of Luoyang, Henan Province in the late Qing Dynasty. Fengshengtai firm has a permanent outlet in Huixing Town, which is responsible for purchasing salt and then transporting it back to our store through foot households. After arriving at the store, it will be sold to nearby villagers or resold to smaller retail stores. This book has important data value for studying the retail situation of Hedong pond salt in Luoyang area in the late Qing Dynasty.

　　Third, the Luoyang Old Salt in the Republic of China

　　At the beginning of the Republic of China, Yuan Shikai's government obtained huge loans from banks in five countries with China salt tax as collateral, and set up the salt audit headquarters and branches to monitor the salt policy of the Republic of China. Its basic management policy is on-site taxation and free trade. Luyan sold to Yu 'an still takes Maojindu as the ferry. In 1967, there were frequent wars in the Central Plains. Luyan was blocked from going south, Luyan sold well, and Maojindu was crowded. The authorities took the opportunity to open Wanjin, Taiyang, Checun and Hongyang to the west of Maojin, and Nangou, Jianping and Dongtan to the east. The newly opened ferry is different from the free trafficking in Maojin, and the system of special transportation by contractors is implemented. Among them, Luoyang contractor is Datong Heng, which transits from Hongyangdu, with an annual contracted amount of 42,000 tons.

　　In March 1938, Yuncheng fell and Hedong Yanchi was controlled by the Japanese army. At this time, there are 14 major salt brands in Luoyang, including Yudong Salt, Baoluo Salt, Dachang Salt, Yuchang, Hengyu, Yufengren, Wanchang, Zhenxing, Tongxing, Xieda, Huiyuan, Yiju and Convergence Salt. Mainly distributed in the old railway station and the old city Nanguan area. These 14 salt companies are both shippers and distributors, and all of them have dual brands. For example, Dachang Salt Company also has the brand of Dachang Luyan Transportation and Henan Company. After the battle of Zhongtiaoshan, the national government monopolized the salt industry, tried its best to raise and transport sweet salt, rushed to transport Huai salt and Lu salt, and set up Luoyang storage point to implement fixed sales of 14 salt brands. In 1944, the Japanese army invaded Luoyang and sealed all the salt stored in the salt number, resulting in a net loss of the salt number.

　　In 1945, the Japanese army surrendered, and the number of salt merchants in Luoyang increased rapidly. According to statistics, there were more than 120 merchants in Luoyang Salt Cotton Company in 1949. Among them, there are 43 Fenghua Street, 27 Tiekuo Lane, 10 Nanmenkou Street, 9 Mashi Street and 8 South Street. These salt brands are small in scale and mainly retail. There are basically less than 5 people who specialize in salt, and there are a little more people who run salt cotton, mountain groceries and other projects, and there are rarely more than 10 people. Yixing, located in Nanmenkou Street, used to be an underground traffic station of our party. Its manager was Shi Weichen, a well-known business person in Luoyang, and its sons Shi Liming and Shi Chengyu were underground workers of our party.

　　In ancient China, scholars, peasants and businessmen were called the four people of the country, and the status of businessmen was at the lowest level. In the policy of salt industry, the interests of salt merchants were absolutely subordinate to the interests of the dynasty. Ancient dynasties often adopted the strategy of supporting or restraining salt merchants according to the national financial needs. Before the Qing Dynasty, official historical records and even folk documents about salt merchants were very rare, and even sporadic information was mostly donations or even negative information. Since the Qing Dynasty, there have been more and more information about salt merchants, and basically they only recorded their names from the official point of view, and their deeds were omitted. We expect to find more information about salt merchants like Fengshengtai Salt, so as to make the image of salt merchants live in line with history and truth in the works of researchers.

　　Xian Zeng Han Xiaochen Xue Jixin

　　Source: Huaxia Salt Lake