The Dayinggu Approach and Taizhou's Shareholding Cooperative System

Taizhou was the birthplace of contemporary China's shareholding cooperative system. Its prototype of shareholding cooperative system -- the Dayinggu approach -- came into being more than 100 years ago. The economy of Taizhou was underdeveloped and somewhat backward for a long time and the coastal residents had to rely on fishing to earn a living. Larger boats were better for fishing, but one household was often unable to afford a big boat independently, and therefore, the Dayinggu approach was adopted to solve this problem. It denoted an approach that pooled human, material and financial resources from a number of households for a big project. In this case, the fishermen combined more than one household's supply to acquire a larger boat. The profits from fishing would be distributed according to the amount of funds every household had provided. The mode of Dayinggu was in essence a shareholding cooperative system, and dividends were paid to shareholders according to the amounts they had invested. Having the basic elements of a modern shareholding cooperative system, the Dayinggu approach could thus be regarded as the origin of Taizhou's shareholding cooperative system.

Since 1949, the Dayinggu approach has consistently played an important role in Taizhou's development. During periods of depression in the collective agricultural economy, farmers and fishermen trapped in economic plight would turn to the Dayinggu approach to set up shareholding cooperative enterprises, and innovated the business operation system. The innovation and development of shareholding cooperative system in Taizhou can be roughly divided into three stages:

The first stage spanned from the 1960s to the late 1970s, when joint-stock enterprises were set up in secret. Some farmers in Taizhou established joint-stock enterprises such as the Hongwei Instrument and Meter Factory in Yuhuan. Such enterprises at that time were established in the name of collectives. In the 1970s, setting up business partnerships became a commonplace in Taizhou. 

The second stage started from the early 1980s, and these secret joint-stock enterprises began to operate openly. The implementation of the household contract responsibility system allowed farming households to take the initiative in managing agricultural production. This inspired more and more households to establish joint-stock enterprises.

The third stage was the period between 1984 and 1990 when the system was further developed. In 1985, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council issued Ten Policies on Further Invigorating the Rural Economy, in which joint-stock cooperation was encouraged officially for the first time. It thus endorsed the form of business partnership in Taizhou, provided policy support for Taizhou's shareholding cooperative system and promoted its further development.

In China's reform of the economic system, Taizhou's shareholding cooperative system differs from both the southern Jiangsu mode featuring collective operation and the Wenzhou mode characterized by individual and private operation. Underlying Taizhou's shareholding cooperative system is exactly the city's Hehe Culture.

“打硬股”與臺(tái)州式股份合作制

臺(tái)州是當(dāng)代中國股份合作制的發(fā)源地。臺(tái)州歷史上就有“打硬股”的傳統(tǒng)生產(chǎn)方式，距今已有百余年歷史。臺(tái)州經(jīng)濟(jì)曾長期落后，沿海漁民靠出海打魚為生。那時(shí)，小船打不了魚，大船才能多打一些，可一家一戶又沒錢造大船，于是臺(tái)州人就采用“打硬股”的方式?！按蛴补伞?，就是多個(gè)家庭聚集人力、物力和財(cái)力來完成一件大事，比如幾個(gè)人、幾戶人家湊錢造一艘大船，大船出海獲得的收入，按各個(gè)家庭出資的多少進(jìn)行分紅。這種“打硬股”的方式，在所有制上是股份制的，在經(jīng)營方式上是合作經(jīng)營的，在分配方式上是按股分紅的?？梢?，“打硬股”其實(shí)已經(jīng)具備了現(xiàn)代股份合作制的基本要素，可以被視為臺(tái)州股份合作制的起源。

1949年后，“打硬股”在臺(tái)州一直沒有中斷過，每當(dāng)農(nóng)業(yè)集體經(jīng)濟(jì)不景氣，農(nóng)漁民生活困難時(shí)，人們就會(huì)聯(lián)合起來，采用“打硬股”的傳統(tǒng)方式創(chuàng)辦股份合作企業(yè)，實(shí)現(xiàn)企業(yè)經(jīng)營制度的創(chuàng)新?？v觀臺(tái)州股份合作制的創(chuàng)新、成長過程，大致可分為三個(gè)階段：第一階段為20世紀(jì)60年代到70年代末的隱蔽創(chuàng)辦階段，臺(tái)州農(nóng)民以股份形式創(chuàng)辦企業(yè)，如玉環(huán)的“紅衛(wèi)儀表廠”，當(dāng)時(shí)的股份合作企業(yè)是以集體企業(yè)的形式出現(xiàn)的，到20世紀(jì)70年代，合伙辦企業(yè)的現(xiàn)象在臺(tái)州已非常普遍。第二階段為20世紀(jì)80年代前期的公開創(chuàng)辦階段，隨著農(nóng)村家庭聯(lián)產(chǎn)承包責(zé)任制的推行，農(nóng)民生產(chǎn)經(jīng)營自主權(quán)的增強(qiáng)，多家合股辦企業(yè)進(jìn)一步發(fā)展。第三階段是1984年到1990年的發(fā)展階段，1985年中共中央、國務(wù)院頒布《關(guān)于進(jìn)一步活躍農(nóng)村經(jīng)濟(jì)的十項(xiàng)政策》第一次明確提倡股份式合作，為臺(tái)州的“集體合作經(jīng)營”正了名，也為臺(tái)州股份合作制的發(fā)展提供了政策依據(jù)，促進(jìn)了臺(tái)州股份合作制的大發(fā)展。

在中國經(jīng)濟(jì)體制改革進(jìn)程中，臺(tái)州創(chuàng)建的以股份合作為主的企業(yè)制度，既區(qū)別于北面的以集體經(jīng)營為主的“蘇南模式”，也不同于南面的以個(gè)體和私營為主的“溫州模式”。這種股份合作制的文化基礎(chǔ)就是臺(tái)州的和合文化。