In the early years, the Qiao Family Courtyard became famous due to the movie "Raise the Red Lantern" and the TV series "Qiao Family Courtyard". The audience was deeply impressed, and the culture of Shanxi merchants has attracted much attention from the world. Under the background of vigorous economic development, many businessmen have learned how to do business from Shanxi merchants.
As a representative of Shanxi merchant culture, the Qiao family also includes the Qu family in Qixian County, the Cao family in Taigu, the Wang family in Lingshi, and the Chang family in Yuci, as well as the escort agency, bank account, and The ticket number, as well as the many merchants in the three counties of Qi Taiping (Qixian, Taigu, and Pingyao) at that time, formed Shanxi merchants who were very prosperous and wealthy.
The author believes that there are five main reasons why Shanxi merchants developed and grew, and later became as rich as the country. (Take the Qiao family as an example):
1. Ambitious ideals
< p> Qiao Zhiyong, the third generation head of the Qiao family, was originally just a scholar, but he had no choice but to save his family from disaster, so he gave up the imperial examination and went home to do business. After the business improves, I am determined to do a business as big as the sky. It reaches Dongji in the east, Guangdong in the south, Sichuan and Guizhou in the west, and Kyakhta in the north. He realized it and led a caravan south to Wuyi Mountain to sell tea, and transported it to Kyakhta for export to Tsarist Russia. Later, "Huitong Tianxia" and "Huotong Tianxia" opened the ticket number to Guangzhou. Qiao Zhiyong was the beginning of the Qiao family's heyday. Later, Qiao Yingxia, the fourth generation owner, even expanded the business to France, Japan, Southeast Asia and other places. The Qiao family has the world in mind when doing business and seeks benefits for the people of the world. This lofty ideal eventually made the Qiao family successful.2. Solidarity and mutual assistance
Although the Qiao family is large, it is only a part of Shanxi merchants. The prosperity of Shanxi merchants is inseparable from the unity and mutual assistance of all Shanxi merchants. There are rules among Shanxi merchants. You are not allowed to poach or add insult to injury. You must do business properly and you are not allowed to do shameless and obscene things for profit. Perhaps the original Shanxi merchants had these customs, but under the advocacy of some scholars headed by Qiao Zhiyong, the rules of Shanxi merchants were gradually established. They help each other, gain from each other, and share misfortunes. Shanxi merchants united to overcome one difficulty after another. Even later, the imperial court sent troops to regain lost territory, the Eight-Power Allied Forces invaded Beijing, the Qing royal family fled in panic, and Shanxi merchants donated large amounts of silver to meet the country's needs.
3. Bear hardships and stand hard work
There is no doubt that Shanxi merchants can endure hardships. Ever since Qiao Guifa, the first generation of the Qiao family, went to Baotou to sell tofu, Shanxi merchants have traveled all over the country, including the vast Gobi Desert, the vast Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, in the wind, rain and snow. In order to "transport goods to the world", life and death are ignored. Many people who do business abroad have been separated from their families for long periods of time. Shopkeepers can return home once a year, while apprentices can return home only once every four years. If all other sufferings can be endured, then the suffering of being separated from loved ones is not something that ordinary people can bear. But the Shanxi merchants did it. In this hardship, they actively opened up trade routes, sent goods to the border, to the desert, to bitter cold places, and transported cattle and sheep back. They accumulated a lot of wealth and became famous in the late Qing Dynasty. A business gang with unlimited financial resources.
4. Conduct business with virtue
Qiao family business motto: justice, trust and profit. The Qiao family puts righteousness first. The Qiao family does business not to sell things to customers, but to see what the customers want to buy. Customers want cotton cloth, and Qiao's family sells cotton cloth; customers want pots and pans, and Qiao's sells pots and pans; customers want sesame oil, and Qiao's sells sesame oil... Second is trust, operating with integrity, and no fraud is allowed. Every product in Qiao's family has a Dadexing and Fu brand name label, and if the product is damaged, it is guaranteed to be returned or replaced for life. In the end, profit comes. The Qiao family believes that the profit they seek is meaningful only when the working people of the world use their products and their lives get better. How can such a business be neither big nor strong? (PS: Looking back at today’s businesses, many companies complain that it is difficult to do business. The author would like to ask if you have any problems yourself.)
5. Recruiting talents
The reason why the Qiao family can make their business bigger and stronger is because Qiao Zhiyong alone is not enough. But Qiao Dongjia is very good at gathering talents, and insists on hiring people with no suspicion and not using others with suspicion. Ma Xun, Gao Rui and Pan Weiyan in the TV series, Gao Yu, Yan Jifan, Jia Jiying and Ma Gongfu in history. They served in the Qiao family for 50, 30, and 25 years. They dedicated their lives and talents to the Qiao family and made great contributions to the Qiao family.
There are many reasons for the success of the Qiao family, and there are historical reasons for its decline, but most of them are the result of the decline of family tradition. But its business practices in its heyday left precious business wealth to future generations. Although Shanxi merchants have become history, we can gain something from them.
Ps: I had known that the author’s predecessors were also Shanxi merchants, but this time I learned a lot about family history when I went home for the Chinese New Year. In addition, my family happened to be interested, so the author and his family went to Qiao’s house on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year. I watched Zai Zhongtang and Dexing Hall, went home and watched the TV series "Qiao Family Courtyard", and read the book "Qiao Family Courtyard" written by Zhang Xin and Chen Jie, which made the author have a deeper understanding of Qiao Family Courtyard and Shanxi merchants. The understanding becomes full and vivid. I also indirectly learned about the lives of previous generations of my own family. I also learned how my grandfather gave up business and became a Confucian scholar and his rough life. This piece of family history has its own special historical background. It is interesting to understand but also of great educational significance. It will be compiled into a document in the future.
Attached are actual photos of Qiao’s courtyard: