A Preliminary Report on Craftsmens’ and Merchants’ Old Guild-halls in Beijing : A Re-examination on Guild-halls Reported in Materials on Craftsmens’ and Merchants’ Guilds in Beijing Collected by Dr. Niida Noboru

I have had three chances to visit Beijing to inquire about craftsmens’ and merchants’ old guild-halls: from August 8 to August 11 in 2005; August 18 to August 24 in 2006; and March 12 to March 16 in 2007. To explain the purpose and the significance of this report, I must go back to the survey on guilds in Beijing conducted by Dr. Niida Noboru in cooperation with Professor Imahori Seiji ( with Professor Okuno Shintaro in last year) from 1942 to 1944. Dr. Niida visited 60 guild-halls and collected a mass of important materials. The fruits of his labor at last began to emerge into full view by the posthumous publication of Materials on Craftsmens’ and Merchants’ Guilds in Beijing Collected by Dr. Niida Noboru vol.1-6 in the mid-1970s. In 1961, Mr. Li Hua also inquired about guilds’ materials in Beijing, but he did not know Niida’s results, and in China, whole objective and scientific research was interrupted by Great Cultural Revolution until 1976, so we can not know enough the circumstances of guild-halls after Dr. Niida’s examination. (Just before sending in this report, I could receive an important work named Beijing Huiguan Ziliao Jicheng published in China, renew my description in haste.) I attempted to visit the guild-halls where Dr. Niida had visited in the 1940s, and to record the present situations and historical changes. This paper is a small result of this re-examination. First, I will describe guild-halls at the southern era of Beijing where most of the guild-halls are concentrated. Second, I will describe materials of Dongyuemiao Temple, which has the special importance for the study of guild-halls in Beijing