In which dynasty was the guild hall formed?

Guild Hall was a feudal group composed of fellow villagers or peers in China in Ming and Qing Dynasties. Built in the early Ming Dynasty, the earliest known guild hall is Wuhu Guild Hall in Beijing, which was built in Yongle period. Jiajing and Wanli periods tended to be prosperous, with the most in the middle of Qing Dynasty. Even in the late Qing Dynasty, the guild halls that broke through regional boundaries were still quite individual. At this time, some super-regional trade organizations appeared, mostly in the form of trade associations. The appearance of a large number of industrial and commercial halls in Ming and Qing Dynasties played a certain role in protecting the interests of industrial and commercial people under certain conditions. However, the combination of guild halls with local concepts and feudal forces also hindered the expansion of commodity exchange and the development of social economy. There are mainly three kinds of guilds in Ming and Qing Dynasties: most guilds in Beijing are mainly for fellow bureaucrats, gentry and imperial examination scholars, which are called trial halls; A few guild halls in Beijing and most of the guild halls in Suzhou, Hankou, Shanghai and other industrial and commercial cities are hometown associations with businessmen and gangs as the main body; Most of the guilds in Sichuan were established by immigrants from Shaanxi, Huguang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong and other provinces after the Qing Dynasty. Most of the early halls were located in Beijing. During this period, the Beijing Guild Hall was mainly established on the basis of regional relations, and it was a fellow-townsman organization, which had little to do with businessmen. After the mid-Ming dynasty, a large number of guild halls with industrial and commercial nature appeared, and the guild hall system began to develop from a simple fellow organization to an industrial and commercial organization. Later industrial and commercial halls may also be related to the outline transportation system in ancient China. In the late Ming Dynasty, although industrial and commercial guilds accounted for a large proportion, they still maintained a strong regional concept, and most of them were fellow townsmen's guilds.

[1] It should be in the early Ming Dynasty that all localities began to set up guild halls in Beijing. After Zhu Yuanzhang established and stabilized the country, the development of China entered another heyday, and the southern industry and commerce developed rapidly. When people have money, they advocate reading when they have enough food and clothes. Because of the imperial examination system in Ming and Qing dynasties, the style of study was extremely prosperous at that time. In the 13th year of Yongle (A.D. 14 15), the imperial examination was resumed after the emperor moved to the capital in the Ming Dynasty. Attracted by the imperial examination system, students all over the country study hard in order to become famous. Every year between exams, hundreds of candidates from all over the country come to Beijing one after another. Most of them are from ordinary families, and some of them are still very poor. Besides, they still have a long way to go, a strange place, and their local accent is hard to change. They are often bullied by some shops that rent hotels and some trivial things in daily life. They are eager for help to solve these problems. With the emergence of more and more of these problems, it has attracted the attention of some local people who came to Beijing in advance for official business. Out of the friendship of fellow villagers, they invited each other, raised funds, purchased real estate, and provided accommodation for their sons and other people who came to Beijing for business or sojourn, and the guild hall was born. These auditoriums are also called "examination rooms" because they are mainly used to take Juzi's exams in Beijing. As the national political, cultural and economic center of Ming and Qing Dynasties, especially these two dynasties, the capital economy reached its peak, and some successful businessmen began to set up guild halls in Beijing. Because the guild halls they set up are restricted by the industry to a certain extent, they also form an industry monopoly, so this kind of guild hall is also called "traveling pavilion". At that time, in addition to the main property, there were many additional properties (including schools and some social charities) in general clubs. Of course, this is mainly related to their donors being officials in Beijing, the size and amount of business, and the rich and the poor. At its peak, there were more than 400 large and small halls in Beijing. Most of these halls are built outside the first three doors, mostly outside the Xuanwu Gate, forming a larger hall area.

In the 30th year of Guangxu reign in Qing Dynasty (A.D. 1904), the imperial examination system was abolished, and officials from all over Beijing, their families, businessmen and students continued to use the guild halls to safeguard their own interests and combat the xenophobic behavior of political opponents. Coordinate industrial and commercial business and deal with horizontal competition; Contact the feelings of fellow villagers and express political opinions. Of course, there are also old friends of villagers who temporarily borrow a corner to stay for a period of time, come here for parties, banquets, sacrifices to rural sages, care for the villagers, or contact the nostalgia. In short, the purpose of the guild hall has changed to a certain extent, thus developing into a place with the nature of "hometown association" and "trade union" The famous "Reform Movement of 1898" in modern history is closely related to the guild hall. At that time, Kang Youwei, a famous person, lived in Nanhai Hall of Mishi Hutong, and Tan Sitong lived in Liuyang Hall of Beiban Hutong. Kang Youwei wrote the suicide note of the Qing emperor in the guild hall, established the "Strong Society" (the venue was in Anhui Guild Hall) and founded "Chinese and Foreign News". After the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, Emperor Shangqing's second book was written to urge Emperor Guangxu to carry out political reform under the principle of "the country is the imperial edict". Tan Sitong also wrote poems and letters in the guild hall to talk about reform with friends and people with lofty ideals. After Guangxu made up his mind to reform, he summoned Tan Sitong, awarded him four titles and named him Zhang Jing, a military aircraft. However, because the reform touched many vested interests, it failed in only 103 days. After the party's minions captured Kang Ren Guang, Kang Youwei's younger brother, alive in Nanhai Hall and Tan Sitong, a generation of people with lofty ideals, alive in Liuyang Hall. Seven days later, he and four others, Xu Lin, Liu Guangdi, Yang Shenxiu and Yang Rui, were killed at the nearby food market.