本文旨在闡明十六世紀以後中國城市�堣@種新形態工商社團組織的組織特徵與誕生策略。 十六世紀以後，中國的市場經濟又有了進一步的成長，蘇州是當時中國工商業最發達的大城市之一，工商業人口的大量聚集以及彼此互動關係的增多，為新形態工商社團的出現提供了生態背景。 十六世紀以後，出現在蘇州城的新形態工商社團，大多取名為「會館」或是「公所」。在組織特徵士，這是一種「組織驅力發諸工商業者自身的」工商組織。此與九世紀以來一直存在於中國歷史上的「行役制」有很大均不同，因為「行役制」是一種「組織驅力發諸政府的」工商組織。異時代社會結構�堙A「行役制」組織特徵的淡薄，以及「會館公所制」組織特徵的普及，正是本文所謂的「工商組織的變革」。 「會館」原是同鄉團體的專稱，「公所」則是辦理公益事務處所的名詞，二者本來皆是先於新形態工商組織存在的既有名詞。新形態工商業組織特別借用這兩個既有名詞，為自己的社團組織做命名。這種借用名詞的行為，其實正反映著新形態工商組織的誕生策略，具有預防與降低既成社會結構壓抑迫害可能性的作用。

This article tries to elucidate the nature and strategy of the formation of new associations in a Chinese City Sozhou after the sixteenth century. There are many kinds of associations consist of merchants or artisans in Chinese history, albeit "Hang" and "Hui-Kuan" (or "Kung-so")are two major kinds among them. This article does not propose a dichotmy, but being to explicate the distinctions did exist in the two major associations. Namely, the compulsory associations of "Hang" and the voluntary associations of "Hui-Kuan" (or "Kung-so"). It is not a short run process of tranisition from the compulsory to the voluntary ones, the sixteenth century seeming the timing overshed. Market economy had made progress since the sixteenth century in China, Suzhou having become then one of the most prosperous cities until the late nineteenth century. During that period the transition did occur in this affluent city, a kind of new associations never existing before in Chinese cities was emerging. Clarifying the distinct nature and interesting strategy that those new associations had made and adopted in Suzhou is the theme of this article.