Compared to previous dynasties, the pawn industry in the Qing Dynasty was unprecedented in terms of capital scale, number, varieties, and momentum. Statistics show that in the 18th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign, there was a total of 1,807 pawnshops across the country. By the 17th year of the Emperor Jiaqing's reign, the number had grown to 23,139. In the late Qing Dynasty, there were 210 pawnshops in Beijing alone.

During the Republic of China (1911-1949), social unrest and a shrunken economy contributed to the pawnshop boom, reflecting the miserable lives of people at the bottom of society.

  Shaoxing Pawnshop

Most of the counters in Shaoxing pawnshops are about two meters high. A person of normal height would have to lift their hands high to reach the counter to hock their goods and get money in return. As an adult, Lu Xun was only a bit over 1.6 m tall, so when he went to the pawnshop as a 10-year-old child, he was only half the height of the counter.

Hengji Pawnshop is the place Lu Xun described in Call to Arms. Xia Zongyi, the boss of the pawnshop, was on intimate terms with Lu Xun's father when he was still an official. But after Lu Xun's father was jailed, Xia's attitude towards the family changed dramatically. When young Lu Xun went to the pawnshop with clothes and jewelry, taunts and insults were what he usually got from the pawnshop owner who once treated little Lu Xun as a prince. Lu Xun developed a deep understanding of the fickleness of so-called friends from a very young age.

  Chengdu Pawnshop

Local files reveal that in the late Qing Dynasty, there were 32 pawnshops in Chengdu. During the Republic of China, pawnshops experienced ups and downs due to frequent changes of the currency system and there were more than 60 pawnshops at the peak time. By 1934, there were 21.

Usually, the price paid for pawned goods was only half of the original value. After the deal was made, three per cent monthly interest was charged, and if the pawned goods weren't redeemed in time - usually within three months to one year, they were considered "dead loans," and the shop owner could dispose of the items at will.

These "dead loan" goods flooded the market that had developed to sell them. Later this market also dealt in secondhand clothes and other goods.

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