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Faith and Business: On the Causes of Hebei’s Businessmen Money Ticket Patterns in the Late Qing Dynasty and the Early Republic of China

This version is not peer-reviewed.

Submitted:

28 January 2025

Posted:

28 January 2025

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Abstract
At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, the Jishang (China Hebei Businessman) money stamps played an important role in economic activities, and at the same time carried deep cultural connotations and symbols of faith. The design incorporates traditional elements, contains expressions of psychosocial needs and religious beliefs, and reflects the unique understanding of power, well-being and cultural values at that time. In this paper, we use the method of iconography to place the Jishang money stamps in a specific historical and cultural context, and explore the compositional factors and cultural roots of their design from the three levels of form, content and symbolism. It is found that while carrying decorative functions, the design of money stamps also maps the profound influence of social concepts and belief systems on commercial culture. It is hoped that this study will provide new perspectives for exploring the artistic value and cultural significance of money stamp motifs.
Keywords: 
Pattern Study; Ji Shang (China Hebei Businessman); Money Stamps; Iconography; Religious Beliefs
Subject: 
Arts and Humanities  -   Art
Copyright: This open access article is published under a Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license, which permit the free download, distribution, and reuse, provided that the author and preprint are cited in any reuse.

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