The Nature of Ho-huo in the 16th Century and Thereafter

Abstract

Ho-hou _??__??_ is a kind of partnership which is usually based upon joint ownership of properties (Eigentum zur gesamten Hand). This form of partnership was used frequently, when two or more partners established an enterprise to undertake commerce, manufacturing industry, agriculture, forestry or fishing.Prototypes of ho-huo can be traced back at least to the Sung dynasty. But its classical form was completed under the Ming dynasty.The classical form involves two or more merchants, handicraftsmen or farmers in a joint enterprise, who invest equal sums and share the work pertaining to the operation of the enterprise. The members are liable unlimitedly.This form represents the first stage in the process of transition from personal management of enterprises in the feudal age to the capitalistic form of enterprises. Its historical role was to institutionalize capital accumulation and social division of labor in an enterprise. In Italy, similar developments were observed in the formation of societas. Ho-huo represents a form of enterprise in the stage of the small-scale commodity production in the historical development of economy.Under the Ching dynasty, which succeeded Ming, the classical form of ho-huo remained to be the principal form. But the number of the members was on the increase and ho-huo was thus quantitatively enlarged.As for historical data concerning ho-huo, many examples are found in court records and official documents, while several specimens of ho-huo contract were discovered by Dr. Noboru Niida in a vade mecum of the Ming period.