Jiao (Chinese character: 郊; Min Nan Chinese: Kau; pinyin: Jiao), also known as Jiao-shang (郊商), Hang-jiao (行郊),[1] and also known as Ding-shou (頂手) and Jiu-Ba-hang (九八行),[Note 1] was a commercial guild organization that spread throughout Taiwan during the Qing dynasty.
[4] However, after 1937, due to the outbreak of the second Sino-Japanese War and the long-term confrontation between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait after 1949,[5] the commercial function of Jiao gradually declined and had already disappeared.
[6] Most of the existing Hangjiao have been transformed into religious groups dedicated to worship Shuixian Zunwang, Mazu, or Guan Yu.
[6]: 73–74 In the 23rd year of the Kangxi Emperor (1684), after Taiwan and Penghu were included in the territory of the Qing dynasty, immigrants from Fujian and Guangdong gradually flooded in.
[9] In the 49th year of the Qianlong Emperor (1784), after the official opening of Lukang, Changhua, Taiwan and the Han River in Quanzhou, Fujian as opposite ferries, "Hangjiao" began to flourish.
[6]: 72–78 "Hangjiao" is a collective term for various types of trade associations, often referred to as "chambers of commerce" during the Japanese colonial period in Taiwan.
In addition to the Jiao business, furnace owners highly rely on maritime safety in their commercial activities and place special emphasis on the belief in the sea god.
Due to the low efficiency of local governments in the Qing dynasty, it was also common for members of Jiao merchants to take over social welfare, restrain the villagers, and even contribute to the formation of militia groups and the defense of the village (such as the Lin Shuangwen rebellion and Cai Qian events, where Jiao merchants contributed to the war).
[3]: 72–73 Although Hangjiao was a popular commercial organization during the Qing dynasty, it ultimately declined due to environmental and social changes.