Shanxi Migrants
Day Thirty Four
Yang was the first friend I made who is from Shanxi province in China. I met him over thirty years ago when I was with my young bride roaming around Singapore River during the Chinese New Year holidays, looking for scenic spots to capture our new life together. There he was, a solitary tourist with a camera in hand also checking out the tourists spots along the river. Thus we struck up a conversation after I had requested his assistance in taking a snapshot for us.
I learnt he was from Taiyuan city in Shanxi province in China, and was a musician visiting Singapore for the River Hongbao performances during the festive period. In fact, he was one of the top erhu (a 2-stringed chinese fiddle) players not only in Shanxi but in the whole of China. As a pastor of a church in Singapore then, I invited him to church that weekend.
I was overjoyed when Yang came for the church service, and I gladly introduced him. I also requested for him to play a tune for us during the service since I saw he had brought along not only his camera, but also his musical instrument. He gladly obliged and played for us “Amazing Grace” on the erhu. Afterwards, we hosted him the day. Thus started a friendship with Yang.
The following year, when his wife came to perform in Singapore, also a musician with the Taiyuan performing arts troupe who played the pipa (a 4-stringed lute), my wife and I had the opportunity to host her to meals after her nightly performance. I started to learn more about Taiyuan and in particular, the province of Shanxi from Yang and his wife. I read up about this industrial city, situated just west of Beijing and the interesting history of this place in northern China.
It would be ten years later in 2002 when I would meet other friends from Shanxi province, firstly in Inner Mongolia and then in Beijing (more on the Shanxi friends living in Beijing in a subsequent post). The friends in Inner Mongolia in the county town of Duolun led me on a journey of discovery about Shanxi through their Shanxi Guild House (Shanxi Huiguan). It was an old dilapidated building complex built over two hundred years ago (during Emperor Qianlong’s era) by migrants who had left their hometowns in Shanxi to venture to the grasslands in search of work and ways to eke out a living.
The dry arid terrains of Shanxi made farming impossible and drought compounded the issue which drove many men, young and old, to move up north. They had to go through the dangerous Tiger Mouth pass among the mountains onto the grasslands of Inner Mongolia. A place which appeared to be cursed and a community which seemed condemned to perish, however, saw a turning point in their collective destiny.
As the enterprising Shanxi migrants settled in Duolun, their community grew and eventually they built the Shanxi guild house. It became a focal point for the tenacious migrants who made good as business owners to gather socially and to give thanks to Guangong (the deity called Lord Guan). It was also a place where they could welcome and help new arrivals to settle and learn the ropes. These nouve riche business leaders would become known as the Shanxi merchants or Jinshang.
Their nose for business and adventurous spirit led them to venture forth beyond the grassland and across the Gobi desert into Tsarist Russia to trade Chinese tea for Russian animal (bear) fur and European goods. They became the most successful merchants in the whole of China during the 18th and 19th century and returned home to Shanxi to build impressive and expansive mansions in Taiyuan as well as Pingyao and Qixian. The most eminent ones were also appointed as imperial merchants, with patronage from the Emperor of China.
When I visited the Shanxi Huiguan in 2011, the entire building complex had been renovated, complete with a street filled with souvenir shops. I learnt that a Shanxi merchant, Qian Xiaohu, who had amassed his millions from coal mining, had begun to invest in the town with the support of the local government. He started with the renewal of the guild house to recover the heritage of the illustrious Shanxi merchants.
At its height, Duolun was an important thriving trading post in the obscure grassland of Mongolia thanks to these Jinshang. More importantly, Shanxi as a province had became a vibrant place with wealth in spite of the dry yellow loess plateau. Indeed, Shanxi had become the cradle of a breed of Chinese merchants who dominated Chinese trade for over 200 years.
My team was glad to have met Qian when he happened to visit that summer, and hear him personally declare his aspiration to see the spirit of Shanxi entrepreneurs being revived in the 21st century. The Chinese has an adage which says “Human ingenuity can turn an obscure place into an outstanding one” (Renjie Diling). The Shanxi merchants embodied the fierce drive for survival and success with a spirit of innovation and tenacity which overcame difficulties and disadvantages. May a new generation arise which can make the world a better place, no matter how challenging it was originally.
Journey with me as I reflect on the life and hope in the wilderness of Asia.
See previous day’s reflection on Wuchang Fish. See next day’s reflection on Shanxi in Chawu
See previous day’s reflection on Wuchang Fish.
