Although it is said that in ancient Chinese society, heavy agriculture and suppression of commerce were the mainstream development mode of the whole society, but with the changes of the times, the status of merchants has also been improved to a certain extent. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Jin merchants in Shanxi in China became the object of many people's attention, among them, within the Eight Greats of Shanxi Jin Merchants, the reputation of the Kang clan was also very loud.
The origin process of this family is very special, once, the ancestors of the Kang family became the richest man in China by grinding tofu, and the story of the Kang family has become a legend praised by many people. But it is regrettable that nowadays, the descendants of the Kang family have also disappeared from the public. So, what kind of history has been experienced in the Kang family? In the days that followed, how did the Kang family fall?
Mention of Shanxi Jinshang one of the eight big people of the Kang family, presumably everyone is very familiar, in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the Kang family gathered tens of millions of dollars, can be called the richest man in Shanxi, and in the process of later development, the Kang family also with their own efforts, became the richest man in China. After understanding the experience of the Kang family, it will be found that their experience of origin is a certain legend. There are rumors that the Kang family originated from The peasant army uprising of Li Zicheng in the late Ming Dynasty, at that time, Li Zicheng, in the process of withdrawing from Beijing, had deposited the gold and silver treasures he carried in the Kang family, and after Li Zicheng's sacrifice, the Kang family also used the gold and silver treasures deposited before to successfully make a fortune. Although it is said that the glory of the Kang family is a historical fact, the origin of its origin has never been conclusive, and the treasure of Li Zicheng is just a kind of anecdotal rumor.
After a careful understanding of the history of Shanxi, we will also find that as early as the Ming Dynasty society, the ancestors of the Kang family began to operate the business, at that time, the ancestors of the Kang family first relied on the craft of grinding tofu, saved a fortune, and then, as their business became bigger and bigger, the local influence of the Kang family in Shanxi gradually increased. Under this circumstance, the Kang family has become a wealthy businessman that the Shanxi government has focused on cultivating.
Although in that era, the status of merchants was relatively low, but the development of commerce can bring a certain role in promoting the local economy, so in this case, with the gradual expansion of the scale of the Kang family, the Kang family has gradually become an important business family in Shanxi.
With the development of the times, the business of the Kang family from grinding tofu has become bigger and bigger, and in the later days, in order to obtain more wealth, the descendants of the Kang family have also begun to explore other industries. During the Qing Dynasty, due to the emperor's implementation of the salt monopoly system, the business path of salt merchants in various places was also hindered to a certain extent, but the Kang family successfully obtained the privilege of selling salt by virtue of their own strength. At that time, the ancestors of the Kang family took advantage of this privilege and became a family of the rich side of the local area. For ordinary salt merchants, because they cannot obtain the privilege of selling salt, they cannot get any profit from the salt industry, but because the Kang family has a relatively close relationship with the government, the emergence of monopoly has further stabilized the economic position of the Kang family, and with the help of the salt industry, the economic level of the Kang family has also achieved a huge improvement in a short period of time.
After this, the Kang family also opened a large-scale pawn shop and grain shop, from the process of the Kang family's operation, you can feel that the business acumen of the kang family members is also very outstanding, it can be seen that it is precisely because the Kang family has a relatively strong economic strength, therefore, they can become a generation of rich merchants in the Ming and Qing dynasties. It can also be seen in many historical sources that the Kang family's industry was spread throughout the country in that era. It can be seen that the economic strength of the Kang family can be described as extraordinary.
However, with the change of the times, the Qing Dynasty gradually declined, and in this case, the Kang family also declined in a war-torn environment. Nowadays, the descendants of the Kang family have also become ordinary people, and for them, the glory of history has long been a passing cloud.
epilogue
By understanding the story of the Kang family in Shanxi, it will be found that although the status of merchants in that era was still relatively low, the ancestors of the Kang family were able to achieve class promotion through their special abilities, and it can be said that the reason why the Kang family was able to become the richest man in the Chinese mainland at that time was also based on its accurate grasp of the development characteristics of the times. Although it is said that in the later days, the Kang family gradually declined, and was no different from ordinary people's families, the former glory of the Kang family has been deeply imprinted in the process of China's historical development. Perhaps for the descendants of the Kang family, they will also feel sad about their current situation, but in fact, the decline of the Kang family is also based on the development and changes of the times.