湘籍盐商与扬州湖南会馆

Salt Merchant from Hunan and Hunan Guildhall of Yangzhou

扬州湖南会馆的前身是棣园。棣园是道光年间扬州最著名的园林。太平天国覆灭以后,有些湘军将士留在扬州经营盐业,迅速致富。他们买下棣园,进行了精心改造,把它建成了一座富丽堂皇的园林,改名为"湖南会馆"。清末民初,扬州湖南会馆成为湘籍盐商在扬州的活动中心。抗日战争爆发以后,淮盐运销体制发生了巨大变化。随着扬州盐商的衰落,扬州湖南会馆迅速凋零。目前扬州湖南会馆仅存门楼等少量建筑,是扬州市文物保护单位。

Di Garden was the former Hunan Guildhall of Yangzhou. It was the famous garden in Daoguang period. After the demise of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, some Hunan officers and soldiers stayed in Yangzhou to do salt business and got wealthy rapidly. They bought Di Garden, made it a splendid garden with elaborate design and construction, and changed its name to ＂Hunan Guildhall＂. Hunan Guildhall became the activity center of salt merchants from Hunan in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China. After the outbreak of Anti-Japanese War, great changes took place in the distribution system of Huai salt. With the decline of Yangzhou salt merchants, Hunan Guildhall of Yangzhou fade quickly. Now, only a few facilities, like gate house, exist, and the Guildhall is one of the cultural relics protection units of Yangzhou city.