As early as the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty, there was such a song about the "Eight Masters" in Tianjin: "Han, Gao, Shi, Liu, Mu, Changyuan, Zhende and Yizhaolin."
They are: Tiancheng Hanjia, Yideyu Gaojia, Yangliuqing Shi Jia, Tucheng Liu Jia, Zhengxing Demujia, Changyuan Yangjia, Zhende Huangjia and Zhao Yi Linzhang (namely Hai Zhangwu).
Among them, Gao, Yang, Huang and Zhang made their fortunes by salt, Shi, Liu and Mu by grain, and Han by sea. This shows that Tianjin at that time has become the base of Luchang salt industry, the hub of water transportation and the port of maritime transportation. Because of the patents of salt companies, the monopoly of grain companies, the monopoly of seagoing ships, and the collusion between officials and businessmen, it is possible that the upstart of "Eight Lords" will appear.
After Tongzhi and Guangxu, some old "Eight Lords" have declined and been replaced by newly rising rich people, and new jingles have appeared in society. "Rich, charting the home, east Korea west mu also count him. Zhen, Yi, Yi's parents, Yuan Yang. High steps, Huajiamen, Li of Hutong "
The * * * proposed here are Bian, Han, Mu, Huang, Wang, Zhang, Yang, Hua and Li Jiujia. Among the four newly-added enterprises, Bian started with imported gauze, Wang started with a money house, and Li was a salt merchant, but it was mainly money houses, firms and large enterprises such as Kailuan and Qixin that invested and bought a lot of real estate, thus expanding the family business. Besides being famous for salt affairs and calligrapher Hua Shikui, Huajia also runs oil mills and tea gardens. All these show that Tianjin has become a trading port and an industrial and commercial city at this time, and its commerce and financial industry have developed rapidly.
In the 1920s and 1930s, the gauze industry in Tianjin had a great development. These silk and yarn companies have made a lot of money and invested in many banks, factories and other banks. A new rich man has emerged in Tianjin, forming a "new eight lords". They are Jin, Pan, Sun, Hu, Bian, Fan, Qiao and Ji. Namely Jin Guishan and Pan from Ruixing No.1 Cotton Mill, Sun and Hu Shuping from Long Yuan Silk Store, Bian Runwu from Longshun Cotton Mill, Fan Zhuqi from Yixing Cotton Mill, Ji Weizhan and Joe from Dunqinglong Silk Store.
In fact, the eight great masters have become a general term referring to the local rich families and giants in Tianjin. The rise and fall of the Eight Masters reflected the social outlook of Tianjin in modern times from one side, which had a certain influence on politics and economy.
The formation of Tianjin Eight Masters is directly related to the development of Tianjin's shipping, grain industry and salt affairs in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties. As early as the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, Tianjin became the hub of northern grain transportation, and thus formed a grain distribution center in North China and Northeast China. In the Qing Dynasty, the shipping and water transportation industries developed, and Tianjin's economic status became increasingly important. During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, the "outline law" was implemented in salt affairs, which changed the salt sales system of merchants in the Song Dynasty into the monopoly system of salt merchants, allowing hereditary management. In the early Qing Dynasty, Luchang Salt Transportation Bureau moved from Cangzhou to Tianjin, and Tianjin became the base of Luchang Salt Project (Lugang Office). Therefore, in Tianjin, shipping, grain and salt affairs have become the main means for wealthy businessmen to accumulate wealth.
Since the early Qing dynasty, especially since the so-called prosperous period of Kanggan, the rich households who started with salt affairs have become increasingly prominent in society. For example, Zhang Lin, a salt merchant, built luxurious mansions and gardens in Beijing and Tianjin after he became rich. Anlu Village, a salt merchant, bought many precious paintings and calligraphy with a large amount of accumulated wealth, and became a big collector, with the book "The View of Mo Yuan Hui". Cha Rigan, a salt merchant, built the famous Garden Water West Village in the northwest of Tianjin. When Emperor Qianlong visited Tianjin in the south, he went to Shuixizhuang for banquets several times, which showed the status and influence of salt merchants in the society at that time.
During the Qianlong and Jiaqing years, there were well-known families in Tianjin, including You family in Dongmen, Gao family in Street and Dong Shi in Hutong, Gao family in Haixia and Han family engaged in shipping outside Dongmen, Shi family in Yangliuqing town, grain merchants and big landlords. Rich families and tycoons tried their best to expand their influence in society, so they gradually formed the saying of "Top Ten Masters" and "Eight Masters" and spread it among the masses.
According to legend, from the early years of Xianfeng (185 1 year later), there have been formulas about the eight masters of Korea, Gao, Shi, Liu, Mu, Huang, Yang and Yi. The popularity of the formula shows that these families have become the eight masters recognized by the society at that time. Before the surnames of the major families, people used to use the names of the guild halls or their places of residence, namely: Tiancheng Hanjia, Yide Guoyu, Yangliuqing Shi Jia, Tucheng Liu Jia, Zhengxing Demeu, Zhende Huangjia, Changyuan Yangjia and Yizhaolin Zhangjia. Among the eight masters, four are mainly engaged in salt affairs (Gao, Huang, Yang and Zhang), three are engaged in grain industry (Shi, Liu and Mu) and one is engaged in marine industry (North Korea); Two of them (Shi and Liu) are also big landlords, and other families have become big landlords (such as Mu, Yang and Zhang) after making a fortune. After the property was expanded, these families invested heavily in other aspects according to their own economic situation. The concentrated industries are pawn, grain, money houses, silk goods, groceries and so on. For example, in addition to keeping dozens of seagoing ships, Tiancheng Han sells grain and opens pawn shops. In addition to protecting salt from the four counties, the Yangjia of Changyuan concentrated its power on the pawn industry and opened twenty or thirty pawn shops in Tianjin and other places. After the Mu family made a fortune running a grain store, it was mainly known as Kaizheng Xingde Tea House. Although it also took over the introduction of salt affairs, it did not make much progress in salt affairs.
Among the eight masters, the most impressive is the Zhang family of Yi. Zhang Jinwen, an entrepreneur, was in charge of the investigation of Tianjin salt merchants in his early years. When Chajia declined, Zhang helped solve the problem and made great contributions. Later, Chajia funded him to take over Yanjie, so he made a fortune and became a big gentry and businessman in Tianjin.
The eight families listed in the formula were in their heyday during Xianfeng and Tongzhi years, and then some families began to decline (such as Yi Deyu Gaojia). At the same time, new super-rich people are constantly forming, especially the Shan Li family and the "Yide Wangs" who made a fortune by contracting salt. Their momentum is not under the eight masters. The rising family replaced the declining family and entered the list of the eight great masters, but the titles of the eight great masters remained unchanged. Among them, there are different opinions about which houses should be demolished and which should be replaced. As for the supplementary families, the socially recognized ones are: Shi, Wang Yide, Xiangzibian and Jiehua. In this way, the eight masters in the early and late stages are different.
After the Republic of China, the saying of "new eight lords" became popular in the society, such as "Sun Shi", "Dunqing Dragon Family", "Tongli Fanshi" and "Tongli Ruixing Family". Some are classified by industry, such as "Eight Lords in Money Industry", "Eight Lords in Cotton Industry" and "Eight Lords in electrical materials", and so on. Some even include comprador figures. In this way, the meaning of "eight people" is not so clear. At the same time, with the rapid development of modern industry and commerce and fierce competition, the financial resources of the so-called "big men" are far less abundant than those of the original eight big men, and it is difficult for the new eight big men to gain unanimous recognition from the society, and then they are out of reach.
For reference only.