Inspired by historical events, EMPIRE OF SILVER features a "piaohao," Chinese precursor to the modern-day bank. Like the group of merchants in EMPIRE OF SILVER, piaohao controlled the whole nation's finances, concurrently monopolizing the money transfer business (the equivalent of wiring funds today) and managing funds on loan and deposit. In EMPIRE OF SILVER, the fictitious group is representative of the piaohao of the time, with its numerous branches all over China and also in nearby countries such as Russia, Mongolia and Japan.
China's Shanxi province is an area that was dubbed "the Wall Street of China" by Sterling Seagrave in his book The Soong Dynasty. Shanxi merchants were known for their erudition and efficient business system which enabled them to financially challenge the imperial courts of the Ming and Qing dynasties.
Piaohao controlled the financial world of China like Wall Street has controlled the US financial system. As lending institutions, piaohaos' mainstay was money transfer. They were the inventors of a wiring (for lack of a better description, this was done by bank checks) system that was secured by secret codes, which enabled the businesses and governments to do transactions without shipping huge amounts of silver.
Profit sharing was also invented by the Shanxi merchants. Unique at the time, investors and staff owned shares of their joint business at the onset. This guaranteed continuity in management and in staff loyalty. Staff strived to reach profit-sharing status, similar to today’s junior lawyers seeking to become partner in a law firm.
All piaohao operated on CEO systems. The investors were not to interfere with the operations and businesses of the banks. They and their families were not allowed on the premises of the banks. This guaranteed professionalism inside the system and avoided nepotism inherent in family businesses.