As traditional business organizations that played an important role in China's economy, guilds have faced unprecedented challenges in modern times due to the invasion of Western capitalism and the changes of the traditional Chinese economic structure. It was difficult to maintain the old guild rules, such as limitations on opening new workshops, recruiting new apprentices, etc. Thus, some guilds that insisted on maintaining the old rules fell into decline, while other guilds, either willingly or unwillingly, made reforms in their organization a...
