Based on the businessman biographies of the Mid -ming period ,and taking the analysis of the similarities and differences between salt traders and wood traders as the breakthrough point ,this article introspects some ideas in the studies of the businessmen of Ming Dynasty .80% above of the salt traders and wood traders of the native place is Huizhou ,and the majority of the biographic authors are literati from Huizhou and Jiangzhe ,which indicates that“No Hui Native ,No Town”sounds reliable along the coast .Ac-cording to the biographies ,there were few acts of righteousness ,which means“to take righteousness as benefit”was not a general character for all the businessmen of Ming Dynasty .Salt traders had close relationship with scholars ,while wood traders seldom asso-ciated themselves with scholars .The reason is that salt trading was monopolized by the government ,and the association with scholars would bring about great benefits .Thus ,the degree of familiarity between businessmen and scholars was actually determined by the businessman’s need for benefit and by whether their trades were monopolized by the government .%以明中期的商人传记作为文献基础，以盐商与木商形象的异同分析作为切入点，可以对明代商人研究领域的一些观点进行反思。明中期传记中的盐商与木商70％以上属徽籍，记的作者绝大多数是徽籍文人与江浙文人，这说明在沿江这一空间范围内，“无徽不成镇”说具有一定的可靠性。传记中的盐商与木商都少有义行，说明“以义为利”并非明代所有行业商人的普遍特征。盐商与士人关系密切，木商不重视与士人交往，缘于盐业由官府垄断，与士人交往会带来更可观的利润。商人基于求利的需要，其经营的行业是否由官府垄断，决定了商人与士人之间的亲疏程度。
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