The One-Time Opulence of Pingyao
Mary and Ay Shin, this is dedicated to both of you. Remember our Pingyao (平遥) trip in December 2001 where we nearly froze to death? Whose idea was it to visit in winter?!
Apparently, Pingyao was so rich that when foreign armies occupied Beijing after the Boxer Rebellion, the Empress Dowager fled the capital and came to the town in Taiyuan (太原).
From Pingyao's banks, she was reportedly able to raise 200,000 taels of silver from one house alone to help pay the enormous indemnity imposed on China by the foreign powers.
Guo Huairen, a sixth-generation descendant of an artisan who founded a shop on Pingyao's main street had reportedly boasted that the Empress Dowager "came and tasted my family's yellow rice wine."
Pingyao's most famous family was the Qiao family which was started by its founder Qiao Guifa (乔贵发) who started by peddling beancurd and yams.
In five generations, the House of Qiao grew into a commercial enterprise that included 18 businesses trading in oil and vegetables, 200 shops, several coalmines and a bank with 20 branches across China.
At the peak of its glory, 70 members of the clan lived together and were waited on by 170 servants. For generations, members had to observe the founder's 50 guidelines on how to employ people and 97 rules of behavior.
Frugality was said to be the order of the day, and concubines, gambling, drinking, and the smoking of opium were all forbidden.
But as many pointed out, Pingyao's fortunes were declining well before 1949.
The rise of Shanghai with its modern factories and financial institutions eventually led to the demise of the once opulent town, even though in recent years, it had been restored to some semblance of its former glory.
Apparently, Pingyao was so rich that when foreign armies occupied Beijing after the Boxer Rebellion, the Empress Dowager fled the capital and came to the town in Taiyuan (太原).
From Pingyao's banks, she was reportedly able to raise 200,000 taels of silver from one house alone to help pay the enormous indemnity imposed on China by the foreign powers.
Guo Huairen, a sixth-generation descendant of an artisan who founded a shop on Pingyao's main street had reportedly boasted that the Empress Dowager "came and tasted my family's yellow rice wine."
Pingyao's most famous family was the Qiao family which was started by its founder Qiao Guifa (乔贵发) who started by peddling beancurd and yams.
In five generations, the House of Qiao grew into a commercial enterprise that included 18 businesses trading in oil and vegetables, 200 shops, several coalmines and a bank with 20 branches across China.
At the peak of its glory, 70 members of the clan lived together and were waited on by 170 servants. For generations, members had to observe the founder's 50 guidelines on how to employ people and 97 rules of behavior.
Frugality was said to be the order of the day, and concubines, gambling, drinking, and the smoking of opium were all forbidden.
But as many pointed out, Pingyao's fortunes were declining well before 1949.
The rise of Shanghai with its modern factories and financial institutions eventually led to the demise of the once opulent town, even though in recent years, it had been restored to some semblance of its former glory.
posted by Maria Siow @ 10:38 AM
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