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钱庄

錢莊
qiánzhuāng
noun #45,351

Measure Word

一家钱庄 jiā

Meanings

  1. 1 old-style Chinese private bank
  2. 2 traditional money shop
  3. 3 (modern, pejorative) informal/underground money lender

Examples

上海老城厢里曾经钱庄林立。
Shànghǎi lǎochéngxiāng lǐ céngjīng qiánzhuāng línlì.
Shanghai's old town was once packed with traditional money shops.
警方破获了一个地下钱庄。
Jǐngfāng pòhuò le yí gè dìxià qiánzhuāng.
Police cracked down on an underground money shop.

Tips

history
Private banks that emerged in the Ming and flourished in the Qing, clustered in commercial centers like Shanghai, Ningbo, and Shaoxing. They issued their own银票 banknotes and handled 汇兑 (remittance). Phased out after 1949 as the state banking system consolidated.
usage
In modern news, 地下钱庄 ('underground 钱庄') refers to illegal shadow-banking operations — often used for capital-flight money laundering and foreign-exchange evasion.

Stroke Order

钱 qián
庄 zhuāng