Keywords: institutional defects of secret society
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Shanxi's economic status was very special. On the one hand, "Shanxi is barren and cold, and there are few creatures, so there is no tribute in Jizhou, Gong Yu" [1], giving wealth and tens of millions of silver; On the one hand, it is a capable businessman who is accustomed to "running around with light capital" [2]. In a blink of an eye, the situation will change, and the world and the legendary swordsman will be operated by the ticket banks alone, which makes researchers at home and abroad feel surging or admiration for the ticket merchants who "flourished and declined" in modern times.
In the history of more than 500 years in Ming and Qing Dynasties, few business gangs were lucky enough to rely on factors such as weather, geographical location and human harmony to quickly climb the mythical wealth peak and then decline completely. In Qi (county), Tai (valley) and Ping (remote), where rich businessmen and tycoons gathered in those days, there are only a few astounding high-standard houses in Ming and Qing Dynasties, and all the splendor seems to have turned to dust. Why did Shanxi draft bank start and lose? This paper tries to explain this from a new angle.
――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――
1, (Qing) Kang Jitian's Jincheng Louis Volume II. Quoted from Selected Materials of Shanxi Merchants in Ming and Qing Dynasties, edited by Zhang and Xue Huilin, Taiyuan, Shanxi People's Publishing House, 1989 1 Edition, 2 pages.
2. (Ming) Zhang Siwei's "Tiaolutang Collection" Volume 20 "Seventy Honors of Haifeng Princes", cited above.
First, organizational characteristics: the "secret society" attribute of Jinshang Bank.
In principle, "Shanxi merchants" cannot be equated with "banks". The history of Shanxi merchants is much earlier than that of banks and can be traced back to the Han Dynasty and even the Spring and Autumn Period. However, the most brilliant and outstanding achievement of Shanxi merchants still belongs to the draft bank. As for Shanxi merchants in other industries, there seems to be no obvious difference compared with large domestic merchants such as Huizhou merchants in the same period. Therefore, there are more Shanxi businessmen involved in banks. The origin of the draft bank is quite legendary, and there have been many opinions since modern times [3]. Among them, "Gu founded the draft bank" is the most unfounded and legendary [4]. There is more than one similar statement. [5] seconded by every famous scholar [6]. In 1960s, Wang Shouyi and Hao Shuhou from the history department of Shanxi University also paid attention to this.
1, the content of the "secret society" in the legend of the ticket number
Gu and Fu Chuang's theory of banks is not the central content of this paper, but only refers to the confusion at the beginning of the establishment of banks and their "party-meeting" nature to some extent. In fact, in the historical tradition of China, there has always been a very special taxi. They were educated in the previous dynasty, but they lived in the current dynasty, and they were more arrogant than the nobles in the current dynasty in spirit, but they did not (or disdained) obtain superior occupations and prominent positions. They refuse to identify with the privileged dignitaries of society, are still dissatisfied with the existing order, and always criticize the existing system. Scholars usually live in a society that is economically backward and politically more authoritarian than the previous dynasty. It is precisely because of this that when these scholars try to turn the critical spirit into concrete operations and try to trigger drastic social changes, they will form secret societies to show off.
Shanxi merchants' draft banks are said to have been founded by famous anti-government scholars in the Qing Dynasty, and their natural program, purpose and management methods are always different from ordinary people. Therefore, "the rules in the number are extremely strict" and "respecting the line without abolishing it", rather than simply discussing it in business [7]. Similarly, because of its "secret society" nature and the need to keep secret and protect society, it is extremely difficult to obtain files and documents about ticket sellers. Account books, letters, etc. It can completely and accurately restore the bank's operating conditions, but it was accidentally preserved because someone took the ceiling of the glued house and has survived [8].
In short, although legends are different from history, there are often some historical truths hidden behind them. As a matter of fact, Shanxi banks are highly closed in management, act in their own way in business processes, strictly control employees, and tend to become a "secret society". Some scholars believe that banks are more like a "secret army" or an "underground gang" than an enterprise. Shanxi ticket scalpers founded this organization with strict discipline, clear rewards and punishments, and isolation from the world. Through the management of "secret association", it has brought a short-term prosperity to the ticket number in history, and it is also doomed to its demise.
――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――
3. The Modern Economic History of Shanxi, written by Liu and others, summarizes and explains several different views on the origin of the draft bank, such as the theory of late Sui and early Tang, the theory of late Ming and early Qing, the theory of resisting corruption and celebrating the Qing Dynasty, and the theory of opium import. See Modern Economic History of Shanxi, Taiyuan, Shanxi Economic Publishing House, 1995, 1, 85 pages.
4. The description of "Qing Chao Po": "According to legend, Li Zicheng captured huge sums of money in the next season, defeated Shanxi and died. Shanxi people took money to set up a ticket number; Its numbering rules are extremely strict, which was ordered by Gu. It is respected, not abolished, so it has existed in the business world for more than 200 years. " The paper money of Qing Dynasty compiled by Xu Ke, a close friend, is a compilation of anecdotes about Qing Dynasty. The recorded events began in Shunzhi and Kangxi and ended in Guangxu and Xuan Tong. The contents involved in the book are extremely extensive, including military affairs, laws and regulations, social economy, academic culture, famous officials and scholars, diseases and disasters, thieves and hooligans, customs and habits, historical sites and so on. The editor's attitude is serious, covering all the themes of the Qing Dynasty, and deliberately focusing on the ending, which can be used to correct the history of the Qing Dynasty.
5. In the 12th year of the Republic of China (1923), Zhang Yi, a scholar, published a series of "Talks on State Affairs in the Past 50 Years" in the Shanghai Declaration Hall. Taking Gu, Fu and Shanxi Piaozhuang as an example, this paper describes a conversation with the shopkeeper of Shanxi Piaozhuang in the three years of the Republic of China, and expounds the roots of Gu and Fu's creation of Piaozhuang.
6. See Zhang Taiyan's Continuation of Taiyan Luwen: "Recently, it was reported that Lin Ting won the gold hoarded in Li Zicheng. Because of the establishment of the draft bank, it belongs to Fu Qingzhu, so it is used for financial purposes. The ticket number system in the Qing Dynasty was created by Lin Ting and Zhu Qing. "
7. The Qiao Family Courtyard, which reflects the culture of Shanxi merchants, is a typical business fairy tale. If you do business like Qiao Zhiyong in the play, it will be difficult to succeed in the real society. Qiao Zhiyong is desperate to do one thing, which is quite risky, but the purpose is also great: selling tea in Wuyishan, helping the army to rescue drivers, helping victims and defending mines. This is not what ordinary businessmen can and can do, but more like scholars and their secret groups carrying forward an established doctrine or proposition.
8. The surviving letters and some account books of Rishengchang Bank were discovered during the renovation of contemporary houses. Because the above items were originally used to paste the ceiling, they were scattered and damaged seriously, so they can only be partially uncovered and re-bound. Now they are in the museum of China Ticket Office in Pingyao, Shanxi. See Historical Materials of Shanxi Bank (Revised Edition).
2. Secret means in bank operation.
Secret societies usually have their own fixed circles, as well as signs and passwords that make outsiders puzzled. These content technologies have other meanings besides anti-counterfeiting. In the business hall of "Rishengchang" Bank in Pingyao, the bank's articles of association and a seemingly ordinary poem are posted on the wall. Commentators always take the initiative to tell tourists that the poems on the wall are actually the password table of "Rishengchang": the remittance location, remittance amount and withdrawal location of customers are coded in Chinese characters, and the draft is kept secret. Judging from the operation mode of the password table, the password used by Rishengchang draft bank fully has the core principles of codes and passwords in cryptography. Of course, it takes time to understand and master this principle. After Pingyao's "Xiyucheng" pigment line was changed to "Rishengchang" ticket number, the famous "Wei Woods joint number" was born from Rishengchang. The "secret code" of the early "Wei Empress Dowager" draft number is still relatively simple, which shows that Rishengchang's commercial code has undergone a long evolution [10].
The so-called "coding method" means replacing plain text with words, words and numbers. For example, the words 12 "beware of taking fake tickets and don't forget to read the chapters carefully" are the codes of 12 months in a year. "Because the world is thin, heaven is the fairest. Seek personal gain and conspire to kill others. Good and evil will eventually be reported, and eventually it will come out. " 30 words are codes for 30 days in a month. "Look at strangers before you act" means "one, two, three, four, five, seven, eight, nine, pick up". "National treasure circulation" is actually "ten thousand, thousand, hundred and ten" [1 1]. These passwords will be changed after a while, and outsiders can't decipher them. In this case, an algorithm and a key are not needed to recover from code text to plaintext, but a codebook is needed to generate code text or recover plaintext. The codebook lists all numbers (or alternative words) and their corresponding common words or phrases. Encryption requires algorithms and keys to encrypt information.
Rishengchang's ticket certificate not only has watermark mark, but also has agreed secret code content on the handwriting of each semicolon writing silver ticket. Sometimes, the bookshelf structure or strokes of a word may be tampered with and hidden. Once these coded silver tickets are paid, they are often destroyed immediately. It is unreasonable to judge that silver bills paid in a period of time will not be destroyed only by a few broken bills [12]. In a word, the mystery of many practices in bank management far exceeds the contents involved in the normal business of western banks at the same time. The feeling to outsiders is that although financial business involves money and money, it is not so sloppy.
David? David Kahn said: "Encryption is protection. Communication is as important to modern people as carapace is to tortoise, ink to squid and camouflage to chameleon. " [13] Pledge guarantee and other forms used by the financial industry to avoid financial risks are the most important for banks. An obvious example of Shanxi ticket sellers, who are famous for their steady operation, is that Shanxi ticket sellers who have done enough "hedging" in the settlement of bills of exchange never seem to consider the objective moral hazard and take precautions through pledge guarantee. It's really strange that the bank number business is basically empty talk. There seems to be nothing else in this industry except proving that you are a hardcore password lover.
――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――
9. See Modern Economic History of Shaanxi co-authored with Liu, 98 pages.
10, refer to Shanxi Branch of China People's Bank, Historical Materials of Shanxi Finance and Economics Bank (updated edition), Taiyuan, first edition in June 2002, Shanxi Economic Publishing House, 5 pages.
1 1. Different banks have different password settings. Please refer to Historical Materials of Shanxi Bank (Revised Edition): Chapter 11, Draft, Secret Charge and Other remittance formats, 12 17.
12, Huang Jianhui believes that there are several damaged bills remitted to Beijing by Rishengchang Branch in China Bank Museum in Pingyao, Shanxi Province, indicating that the bills paid during Daoguang years were not destroyed. See Historical Materials of Shanxi Bank (Revised Edition).
13, quoted to (America) Richard? Spearman's Classical Cryptography and Modern Cryptography, Tsinghua University Publishing House, July 2005, 1 edition.
Second, management characteristics: the internal system of banks.
All court coups, local rebellions, gang fights and religious associations in Chinese and foreign history. They are all aimed at "fighting to the death" in places where it is impossible to survive and defeating more powerful opponents.
1, the bank strictly controls its members.
To this end, these teams are not only disciplined and orderly, but also have strong characteristics of "secret societies". The "Dadetong" ticket number stipulates that "no matter how old or young, every time you come home from work, you must go to Qipukou first, and you are not allowed to go home privately before going to the shop. If you bring something with other partners, you should also send this number first and keep it for forwarding. " [14] Generally, the time for employees to be stationed in other places is three years. Before employees go to other places, all clothes must be registered at the headquarters. When you return to the headquarters in three years, you should check them one by one. This personal control of members can be described as the pinnacle, beyond the imagination of modern people.
In a tightly controlled organization, there must be high-handed means. Except for those guys above who are not allowed to go home without getting the shares, they will be fired if they are negligent, and no other bank will hire them. And because most of the staff are locals, "if there is an affair, the boss can easily find his family to investigate." This is why China people like to take advantage of their hometown. [15] This employment system, internal prevention system and corresponding personal restrictions can almost be summarized as "born in the bank, died in the bank-the dead": it all started from the day you entered the bank. There are two kinds of share management in Shanxi merchants: silver shares and body shares. The capital contribution is a silver stock, and the capital contribution is a body stock. Joint-stock management is also more prone to contradictions and disputes. Sometimes employees abscond with money, and the store may take measures to detain employees' families or property. If it is a simple loss fault in business, it will implement unlimited responsibility system and pursue the parties to the end.
Regarding the choice of the buddy of the ticket number, the information is shown as follows: "We must first determine the foundation and then engage in development. And those who know how to write and calculate when they are young, who are close to the crown, let the habit become a partner, experience a few years, see if it can be done, take into account the physical stock, and don't pay. You can't buy clothes until you are 65 years old ... you can't return them until you get the shares. If there is a difference, you will not be hired ... "[16] Chen Qitian thinks that" this method is very good, similar to the sharing system implemented by modern western industries. The ticket village in the Qing Dynasty was so developed that the dividend system was a very important factor. " [17] This is a big fallacy.
――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――
14. See Historical Materials of Shanxi Banks (Revised Edition), Taiyuan, first edition in June 2002, Shanxi Economic Publishing House, p. 597.
15, quoted from Historical Materials of Shanxi Bank (Revised Edition). Original text: Peng Xinxian's History of Chinese Currency, Shanghai Shanghai People's Publishing House, 1958 edition, 66 1 page.
16, quoted from Historical Materials of Shanxi Bank (Revised Edition). Original: Tsui Hark's Clearing Banknotes, Volume 17, Nongshang, 70-7 1 page.
17, quoted from Historical Materials of Shanxi Bank (Revised Edition). Original text: Chen Qitian's Textual Research on Shanxi Piaozhuang, pp. 84-85.
2. Problems existing in the management of bank shares
Secret societies are usually higher in rank than formal social groups, with clear rewards and punishments. A 32-year payroll of Guangxu, a Xiecheng dry draft bank, shows that the draft bank, from the lowest unpaid apprentice to the highest semicolon shopkeeper, has a total of 36 levels of salary, just like a hierarchical feudal financial hierarchy. Under such a bureaucratic system, new members need to start from scratch, be cautious everywhere, and strictly abide by the rules of the ticket number, so as not to implicate their families for their own reasons. This management mode runs counter to the basic principles of modern enterprise management, but it is similar to the management mode of traditional society in China.
"Top Stock" is the most praised pioneering work of Shanxi draft bank. In the thirty-second year of Guangxu, about one-third of the salaried workers in Xiechenggan owned top shares, which seemed to be highly operable and motivated. In fact, its negative impact should not be underestimated: at first, the number of banks was always "silver stocks" (monetary capital) more than "body stocks" (human capital), and body stocks were only about half of silver stocks. With the passage of time, the number of body shares of bank members has far exceeded that of silver shares. 1906, the number of shares of Xiecheng Dry Bank reached 130% of that of silver shares. 1908, the number of body shares of Dadetong Bank is 120% of that of silver shares. The share of employees has exceeded that of owners. This proportion of shares is not a serious problem in contemporary limited liability companies, but it is a very realistic management problem in the environment of "one share dominates" in Shanxi merchants' banks.
3. The abnormal relationship between the shopkeeper and the bank boss.
The bank's "east (home)-palm (cabinet)" relationship is another place widely praised by Shanxi businessmen. However, this relationship has developed abnormally: the owner who controls the bank's funds is like an "outsider" facing the "expert" when facing the big shopkeeper who is in charge of the bank's operation. In addition, due to the agreement that the host will "ignore state affairs", professional members in banks will further expand their original dominant position by keeping their knowledge and intentions secret.
Limited by its mode of operation, the boss of the bank can only rely on its big shopkeeper to provide information. If these big shopkeepers control the economic resources of owners and employees, and combine their own powers to create an "industry monopoly" against higher-level people such as owners and even local officials, it will undoubtedly pose a serious threat. Therefore, although the owner is superior to others and can decide whether to abolish or keep a shopkeeper, there has been a strange situation in history in which the owner of the ticket number kneels down to beg for mercy from the big shopkeeper [18].
It can be seen that management methods similar to "secret societies" can often achieve immediate results. This effect is actually effective and inefficient; There is speed, but the direction is unknown. The efficient, centralized and unified leadership mode of Jinshang Bank has led the big shopkeeper to veto the correct proposal of his subordinates in one sentence, and even made the owners feel scared. It can be seen that it is not a recognized advantage and advantage in bank management that a bank boss appoints a big shopkeeper without asking about business, but a problem that the shopkeeper monopolizes for personal gain. An organization that does not respect shareholders' rights and interests and only pays attention to managers will not have long-term vitality. This is the "dogma" of enterprise management, and violation of this "dogma" will definitely pay a heavy price.
Third, institutional defects: the fatal reason for the decline of Shanxi merchants' draft banks.
Some scholars believe that China has not produced a "utilitarian organization" (modern enterprise) similar to western modern industrialization, but is characterized by a "survival organization" (traditional enterprise). Investigating the utilitarian logic of Shanxi merchants' banks at the micro level, we can basically draw the conclusion that their "technical rationality" has never risen to the "institutional level" of commercial financial management. This is of course influenced by his environment, but it also shows that behind the seemingly advanced management, banks are essentially supported by beliefs such as "long-term stability" and "adequate food and clothing" [19]. In terms of capital accumulation and profits, it is also mainly to donate money to help pay, buy farmland houses, build roads and bridges, and learn monks from temples [20].
1, the influence of traditional culture on the behavior of Shanxi merchants
Under the situation that traditional ideas are dominant, there is no room for survival and development involving technical rationality and functional rationality. In the history of China, the tendency of attaching importance to agriculture and restraining commerce is very serious, so both technical rationality and functional rationality can only exist in a limited or disguised form within the scope permitted by the system. The success of Shanxi merchants is not so much because of their own business wisdom as because of their understanding and clever use of China's management tradition. In the end, it failed in this traditional established law.
Steady management has always been the characteristic of Shanxi merchants. Since stability is paramount, other pursuits and goals can only play a role within a fixed framework. The stability of an organization is more related to members' interests, attitudes, ideas and the interpersonal network structure within the organization, that is, to the informal management structure. The function and space of technical rationality and utilitarian logic, which play a major role in organizational management, will be greatly limited. This is determined by the cycle of agricultural production, the self-sufficiency of natural economy and the cycle of rural society.
The traditional ideal pursuit, moral concept and spiritual temperament derived from the above process are still a supreme ideal and moral law in modern times. However, once Shanxi Merchants Bank is moralized and occupies the position of the main spirit, it cannot form a standardized and clear management system and corresponding framework. The real life environment created by education itself will inevitably stifle individuality and creativity, resulting in extremely unfavorable consequences in management. In a sense, Shanxi Merchants Bank, with its agricultural and handicraft production methods and long-term lack of liquidity, emphasizes the "self-cultivation" of its members and relegates skills, norms and utilitarianism to a secondary position. "Virtue" is the most important evaluation standard for bank members. These characteristics are consistent with the loyalty and obedience emphasized by politicized management and the goal of seeking goodness and governance in China's traditional management.
Therefore, although Jinshang Bank is well-organized and orderly, its management and control process has not been modernized and institutionalized, and it relies more on emotional factors such as parents, friends and fellow villagers for funding, influence or deterrence. Although Jinshang Bank has trained a large number of qualified professionals in modern financial industry, it absolutely prohibits the flow of human capital. As one of the factors of production, the mobility of human capital is required by objective reality. It is also a necessary condition. In addition, the management logic that banks value experience over speculation is also the objective reason why this group failed to produce professional and technical norms although it was once prominent [2 1].
2. The wrong choice of Shanxi businessmen to avoid commercial and financial risks.
Some measures taken by businessmen in Ming and Qing dynasties to guard against commercial risks are: first, worship and attachment to political forces. Like "Yu Jing"? "Examination of Salt Law" (Volume 50) says: "Officials should be rewarded with business wealth, and businesses should be rewarded with functions to protect themselves." Traffic princes are an important flow of businessmen's profits, and the practice of Shanxi businessmen in "flattering dignitaries" can be said to be more prominent [22]. Second, businessmen form a joint force through the formation of business gangs and the establishment of guild halls to enhance their ability to resist risks. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Shanxi merchants' guild halls all over the country were mostly fellow villagers and trade organizations gradually established after Shanxi merchants formed business gangs and settled in guest places. On this basis, Shanxi merchants conducted self-organization and management, and established a community-based grass-roots society through activities such as "worshipping gods, having fun together, doing righteous deeds, and making conventions". [23]
――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――
18, The Modern Economic History of Shanxi, co-authored by Liu, contains that Lei Lvtai, the shopkeeper of Rishengchang, threatened to cancel the semicolon of Rishengchang because of the intensified contradiction with his deputy, forcing Li Daquan, the owner of the ticket office, to abolish his opponent and kneel down to Lei Lvtai to calm the matter. Page 99.
19. See "Modern Economic History of Shanxi" by Liu: Chapter III, ups and downs of Shanxi merchants, 333 pages. The author thinks that Shanxi merchants are conservative because of their monopoly position and combination with political power. Therefore, his ideological system is compatible with the feudal system, and he is satisfied with making profits instead of making progress.
20. See Selected Materials of Shanxi Merchants in Ming and Qing Dynasties, pp. 294-309.
2 1. Taking the TV series "Qiao Family Courtyard" as an example, the social summary of Shanxi merchant culture is nothing more than three statements: "wisdom", "faith" and "righteousness". On the whole, it still stays in the core value range of traditional Confucianism, which has nothing to do with the professional management thought of economy and finance. This view is also the reason why today's study of Shanxi merchants can't get rid of the confusion of emphasizing practicality.
22. In the article "Looking at Enterprise Management and System Innovation from the Decline of Shanxi Bank", Liu Kewei concluded that Shanxi Bank was too closely linked with the feudal government and divorced from the soil of commodity economy, making it a victim of the Qing Dynasty. Have you seen the editor-in-chief Mu Wenying? A Study on Historical Materials of Shanxi Merchants by China Modern History Information Society, Taiyuan and Shanxi People's Publishing House, March 2006, 5438+0, 1 edition, 268 pages.
23. Wang Rigen: "The Local Chain: Guilds in Ming and Qing Dynasties and Social Changes", Tianjin, Tianjin People's Publishing House, 1, 132, 1996.
conclusion
Modern China society has not experienced historical changes similar to western industrialization, so technical rationality and instrumental rationality are extremely underdeveloped, and specialization and professionalization are always in a state of confusion and underdevelopment. In addition, the integrated social system and concept formed in history can easily regard the management process in different fields as the same process. This kind of integrated management takes human education and training as the starting point, and there is neither technical specification nor professional specification, and there is no reasonable division of functions. In the traditional management mode, the good and evil of things are always more important than right and wrong. Similarly, stability and coordination, survival and continuity are always more important than efficiency and effect, and even "achievement". To some extent, this determines the historical fate of Shanxi merchants' draft banks.
The gains and losses of traditional management can be summarized in five basic aspects: 1, which is longer than spirit and worse than material; 2. Be good at coordination and lose effectiveness; 3. Being good at stability and losing to change; 4. Be good at integration and lose to concreteness; 5, longer than personnel and lost to reason. All these have become the historical burden of the management modernization of Shanxi Merchants Bank, which has seriously hindered the progress of bank management thought, organizational innovation and internal system reform. The strong psychological inertia of opposing change, giving up competition and fearing risks not only affected the further development of banks, but also hindered the technical professionalization and instrumental rational development of China's early financial industry. This is the reason why modern financial management tools and management methods have not grown up in Jinshang Bank, and it is also the thinking obstacle for bank managers to learn western modern management.
Taking the concept, culture and ideology at the level of environmental system as the highest value concept and corresponding management methods and means as tools, traditional strict political management will inevitably form. Because the value of technical rationality and formal functional rationality has not yet been established, the power that plays a role in the organization is mainly manifested as a political process. The inertia of this process is so great that when it is found that "efficiency" and "utility" violate or hinder the traditional business principles and basic business beliefs, institutions like Shanxi merchants who receive traditional education would rather abandon them. A basic condition recognized by the new institutional economics is that any behavior of a person is chosen. It doesn't matter whether you choose wisely or rationally here. What is important is that people who have the instinct to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages always do what is beneficial to them. In other words, Shanxi merchants' draft banks, which were once brilliant for a while, may automatically withdraw from the historical stage in view of the actual situation of institutional defects in their times.