Tai Businessmen’s Personal Characters, History, and Enterprises in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province Yuan Yuelu

Abstract： This article gives a brief introduction of the personal characters of Laoting people， the history of Tai Businessmen， and Wu Baixiang， the most remarkable figure of Tai Businessmen.

Key words： Tai Businessmen; Laoting; Harbin; Wu Baixiang

Picture1  DaluoxinGlobal Department Store（大罗新寰球百货店 ）

In the North Avenue of Daowai District in Harbin， Heilongjiang Province， people can still remember that about 100 years ago， this building used to be a prosperous modern shopping mall： Daluoxin Global Department Store（大羅新寰球百货店）.  Its founder， Wu Baixiang（武百祥），was one of the most famous Tai Businessmen from Laoting County（乐亭县）， Tangshan（唐山）in Hebei Province， and they were said to be the most remarkable businessmen who had made great contributions to the commerce of Northeast China.

1. Personal Characters of Laoting People

Picture 2  Six Outstanding Figures among Tai Businessmen

In the northeastern dialect， Tai（呔）means speaking with nonlocal accents. In the local peoples eyes， these businessmen were old-fashioned and rustic. However， those businessmen were very creative. What are the factors that influenced their personal characters？

Laoting is located along the seashore. Many immigrants came to settle down， and they brought different cultures， so， Laoting became a gathering place with multiple cultures. The immigrants brought the ethos of attaching greater importance to education so much so that most of the Laoting People were well-educated and open-minded. They were trying new ways to lead a better life. Another factor is that since the Ming Dynasty， many canals had been built in Laoting， and the convenient river transportation system opened the door of connecting the outside world for the local people. They came to admire the nonlocal businessmen and devoted themselves to commerce development.

2. The History of Tai Businessmen

Picture 3  Stone Tablet Recorded the Glorious History of Tai Businessmen

Since the middle of the Qing Dynasty， some far-sighted Laoting people decided to make a living in Northeast China. This migration lasted for many years until the Republican Period. It was called “Brave Journey to Northeast China”（闯关东）.

The most important period of Tai Businessmens development was from the early Republican Period to Manchurian Incident（九一八事变）， there were many favorable factors for them. First of all， after the Revolution of 1911， the capitalist economy developed rapidly in China. Secondly， in the 1920s， the Great Depression of the capitalist world brought them new opportunities and challenges. Thirdly， Tai Businessmen had been engaged in business for more than 70 years. Having accumulated much experience， they were acquainted with the economic and political condition of the Northeast China. They had been tightly linked to this area. Whats more， the Mid-East Railway had been put into use， and it became a driving force for the economy.

During this period， their enterprises spread all over Northeast China， such as Shenyang， Changchun， and Harbin， etc. Each one of these three cities had more than 100 famous firms， owned by Tai Businessmen. As the biggest， most advanced city in Northeast China， Harbin was a perfect city for Tai Businessmen. Tongji Shopping Mall（同记商场）.

3. Tongji Shopping Mall

Picture 4  Tongji Shopping Mall

Wu Baixiang（武百祥） was the founder of Tongji shopping mall. Born in Laoting in 1879， he started to do business together with his uncle in Northeast China at the age of 13. In 1901， he realized that Mid-East Railway could be a great help to his business， and also that Harbin was a prosperous city， so he went to Harbin. At this time， Harbin was the largest business center in the Far Eastern Region. Capitalists from all around the world built factories， stores and banks in Harbin. Due to the immigrant policy of Russia， many Russian immigrants came to Harbin. The population soared sharply， peoples demand for consumption also expanded. Wu Baixiang seized the opportunity， and established Tongji Shopping  Mall in Harbin.

Daluoxin was the most creative achievement of Tongji Shopping Mall. Da（大）in Chinese means the building was huge and tall. It was the largest shopping mall in Harbin. Luo（羅）in Chinese means that there are all kinds of goods all around the world. Xin（新） in Chinese means that the concepts of this stores are innovative. On October 10th， 1921， the shopping mall opened. This well-managed store attracted all the people in Harbin.

What are the secrets to the success of Daluoxin？ First， each department of this mall held their meetings by the end of each day to summarize their daily business and came up with new ideas. Second， all the employees attended business seminars every week. Third， many employees were sent to other cities each year to learn about the updated trend of business so that Daluoxin could keep pace with the times. Wu Baixiang was far-sighted because those concepts have been practical today.

4. Conclusion

Open-minded， far-sighted Tai Businessmen have exerted a profound effect on Harbin a century ago. I admired their encouragement， their innovative thoughts， and their diligence. They are the pride of Laoting County， they are the pride of Tangshan City. I am descended from a Tai Businessman. My great-great-grandfather， Pang Bohai（庞波海），was a businessman who worked in Harbin 100 years ago. My hometown and Harbin have had a close tie with each other for more than 100 years， and I am lucky to study in Harbin right now. I hope I will make a further exploration into these two cities and find more in the future.

References：

1. The Road of Tai Businessmen《呔商之路》

The author， Yuan Yuelu， is a student majors in English from School of Foreign Languages， Harbin Institute of Technology