A PICTORIAL RECORD OF THE QING DYNASTY
Business Documents
compiled by the Tianjin Municipal Archive
About the Author
Tianjin Municipal Archives is a comprehensive national archive museum. It became a member of the International Council on Archives in 1996, and was rated as a Grade A national archives in 1997. Currently, it prides itself on a collection of 799 fonds, 1.34 million files, 165 audio and video cassettes, 40,000 photographs, and over 50,000 volumes of written data. These archives have truthfully recorded the different phases of the history of Tianjin, offering valuable reference for the study of the city's political, economic, cultural, scientific, and educational heritage.
Some archives in the museum date back to 1722 (the 61st year of Emperor Kangxi), with its top treasures being the files of the Tianjin Chamber of Commerce and artifacts from the Tianjin postal system. The catalog of archives and documents housed in the museum is accessible at www.tjdag.gov.cn. The museum has won many national and municipal awards for its research achievements, and has a capable team of experts engaged in archival research and compilation, who have edited over 30 kinds of historical resources that add up to over 30 million Chinese characters.
Tianjin is one of the most important cities in northern China and a gate to the nation's capital. To some extent, Tianjin in the history of pre-modern China is a microcosm of Chinese society at that time. After the first Opium War in 1840, the Western powers accelerated their incursion and plunder of China. During the second Opium War, the Qing Dynasty was forced to sign the Treaty of Tianjin with Great Britain, France, and the United States of America. In 1860, it was again forced to sign the Treaty of Beijing with Great Britain, France, and Russia. According to these treaties, Tianjin was designated as a trade port, paving the way for the Western powers to economically exploit Tianjin and China as a whole.
A Pictorial Record of the Qing Dynasty — Business Documents, compiled by the Tianjin Municipal Archives, is a marvelous catalogue of various business documents. It contains full-color photographs with informative description, including names of business firms and registration dates. This one volume is the first of the four titles in the Pictorial Record of the Qing Dynasty series, covering trademarks, business firm seals, contracts, bills, stamps, etc. from the mid-19th century through 1911. This book makes invaluable reference for historical study on business documents during the Qing Dynasty.
Published by Cengage Learning Asia and marketed by World Scientific Publishing Co.
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