近代“渝行”与长江流域商贸的发展

Modern“Yu-Hang”and the Development of Commerce and Trade in the Yangtze River Basin

“渝行”是近代长江航道沿线的一种特殊报关行,由经营轮船公司的洋行和华商委托代理人而开设,以代客商办理报关手续及装运货物为主要业务。与普通报关行相比,其经营规模较大,与轮船公司关系密切,且多在长江沿线口岸设有支店。作为西方特种商业向中国移植与本土化的实践,“渝行”的经营与发展推动了长江上游地区的货物流通,带动了近代长江沿线港口城市的商业繁荣,促进了近代长江航运业的发展,丰富了近代商业的经营模式。

“Yu-Hang”was a special kind of customs brokers along the Yangtze River Channel in modern times.They were set up by foreign firms and Chinese merchants who operating the steamship companies.Their main business was to handle customs clearance procedures and ship goods on behalf of merchants.Compared with ordinary customs brokers,they had larger business,related closer with steamship companies,and set branches at ports along the Yangtze River.As a practice of transplanting and localizing western special businesses to China,the operation and development of“Yu-Hang”had driven the circulation of goods in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River,led to the commercial prosperity of modern port cities along the Yangtze River,promoted the development of modern Yangtze River shipping industry and enriched the management model of modern commerce.