The Businessmen of Shanxi and Shaanxi in Ming and Qing Dynasties and Confucian Culture

The dominant merchant force in the Ming and Qing dynasties of China, the businessmen of Shanxi and Shaanxi province developed from grain and cloth merchants into salt, tea, and bill traders, and they then controlled the economic lifelines of the country.The reason why they succeeded lied in that beside geographical advantages and hard struggling spirits, they combined loyal and faithful concepts of Confucian school with business ideas. The affinity of Confucian culture enabled them to open a vast market, while the conservativeness of Confucian culture also caused their rapid decay in competition with the foreign capital.