Shanxi Province

Much of the antique chinese furniture in Distant Lands is from a province in China called Shanxi.  For that reason it might be good to talk about the history of that province.  The history is an interesting one.

Location

Shanxi is located in an area that at many times was a border area between the Han Chinese on one side and the people outside the empire on the other.  The dividing line between these two different groups was the Great Wall of China.  The Great Wall is such a mammoth and imposing man made wonder.  But it was being built for  over two millenia.  And although it seems like one gigantic structure( try to imagine 3,800 miles of wall), the Great Wall is made up of many different walls that were eventually connected.

The first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, unified China for the first time in 246 BC.  He had grand visions for his empire.  He undertook unifying the country on many different levels.  First he did it militarily by conquering all the other states that existed during the Warring States period.  But beyond that the Qin instituted sytems that bound the county together.

Money

Money had been invented and used by the Chinese since in the Warring States period.  In fact, coins were being mass produced by this time.  But under the Qin, the engine of production cranked up to a higher gear.  Basically, the technology changed at the end of the Warring States period.  Earlier, molds that were somewhat like a tree were being used.  Molten bronze would run from a starting point from one end of the tree mold to the other end.  At the beginning of the mold the channel would be wide.  At the other end the channel would taper and stop.  This channel is the trunk of the “tree”.  On either side of this channel would be coin shapes.  These shapes would be filled in by the molten bronze that was poured into the main channel.

But they came up with better, more modular technology.  So instead of having a mold with coins on the same plane as the trunk, they turned the coins 90 degrees.  Imagine a square plate.  The plate has the face of four coins on it.  Each coin has a small open channel to a hole in the center of the plate.  Place on top of this another identical plate, again with the face of four coins facing up.  This second plate has on its underside the back of four coins.  Again there is a hole in the middle of the plate.

When the two plates are put one above the other, a space is created for four coins.  The hole in the plates creates the main channel for the molten bronze to travel.  The molten bronze travels out from the main channel into the smaller channels to fill up the coin spaces.  The beauty of the system is that it allows for the production of hundreds of coins at a single pouring.1

So what effect does coin production have.  By getting most of China onto the same currency, the Qin helped stimulate trade within the country.  It is much easier to trade if everyone is trading in the same coin.  Also, my guess is that it had a very beneficial effect on the ability of the Chinese government to collect taxes.  Instead of having to collect your taxes in grain or chickens, which take immense resources to store and transport, you have coins.  Storage is easy and so is transportation.

Transportation

For instance, a national transportation system was born.  Roads across the vast empire were connected.  The Great Wall was begun in order to keep out the hostile tribes of the north, known then as the Hu.   The building of the wall was a public works project on a mammoth scale.

The Army

The army had been based on feudal relationships but was revamped so that any soldier could move up through the ranks based on merit.  Along with this professionalization of the army came a new ability to institute discipline, which made the army  much more effective.  In addition, the army was trained in how to deal with many different situations and environments.

Writing System

In the realm of culture, a national writing system was put in place which was to have great repercussions for the future, up until the present time.   By unifying the writing system, the ability to move ideas was greatly increased.  Ideas about what this new empire meant, about what responsibilities the Chinese owed their Emperor, about why the Emperor carried the mandate of heaven.  And in this beginning of the Chinese state, the communication was meant to go one way – from the Emperor out and down.  There was no need of competing ideas.  In fact, competing ideas were punishable by death.  Qin Shi Huang is still known for having burnt vast amounts of books and having killed hundreds of scholars.

Climate

Another factor besides location was the climate in Shanxi.  Shanxi is a dry, somewhat desolate area.  The winds can be intense as they come off the steppes of Mongolia southward.  It is not abundant in food sources or other natural resources.  So Shanxi people were often forced to go to other areas for trade and for work.

Perhaps another way in which environment has played a part in the history of Shanxi is that the environment is harsh.  People need to be very tough to survive in Shanxi.  It takes a lot of work.  And the Shanxi are known for their ability to work hard and long.

History

Shanxi province was pivotal at many different times in Chinese history.  During the early part of the Northern Wei,   the northernmost city of Datong served as the capital.  Gradually Shanxi became overcrowded and depleted.  The people of Shanxi were forced out during the Song, Yuan and early Ming dynasties.  They became travelers.  Some became laborers in distant lands. Others became traders making a living by serving two very different worlds – that of the Han Chinese living in the interior of China and that of the border areas that served as the front line to ward off the Northern tribes that were always invading China.

It is interesting that this forced exile became the root of their extreme wealth many centuries later.  For in trading the Shanxi people excelled.  Hard working and clever they began humbly by transporting grain from the south towards the provinces that held the  Great Wall.  On the way back down they brought salt.

Traders

By the middle of the Ming dynasty Shanxi traders were known in all provinces as astute traders and business people.  By the Qing dynasty, Shanxi traders controlled the vast majority of trade within China.  In the 19th Century they developed China’s first banking system.  This gave them even more leverage over trade within China and making the city of Pingyao in Shanxi the financial capital of the country.  As Shanxi gained more and more financial power it attracted artists and craftsmen of the highest caliber.  By this time the simple trade route north and south had grown into a national network covering all of China.  Shanxi merchant was the term for somebody extremely wealthy.

 

 

1. Coins and Coin Molds by Anthony Barbieri-Low in ‘Recarving China’s Past’.