RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1965 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/s752cj653 135 KUMMER, Dr. M. KURATA, Mrs. L. C. - KVAN, Rev. E.* - - KWAN, The Hon. C. Y.* KWOK, Chan* KWOK, Walter LAI, T. C. LAM, Yung-fai LANDOLT, M. A. LANYON-ORGILL, Dr. P. A. LAU, Wai-mai LAW, Chung-kam LAWRENCE, Mrs. I. - LAWRY, Mrs. B. C. LAWRY, R. E. L LECKIE, J. B. H. - LEE, Din-yi LEE, Harold W. LEE, J. S. LEE, The Hon. R. C.*. LEUNG, Kai-cheong LEUNG, Pak-kui LI, Dr. Choh-ming - LI, Shi-yi LI, T. K. Г + Goethe-Institut, German Cultural Centre, 6th floor, Caxton House, H.K. 27 Grenadier Heights, Toronto 3, Ontario, Canada. St. John's College, The University, H.K. Room 736, Alexandra House, H.K. Hang Seng Bank Ltd., Des Voeux Road, Central, H.K. 39-B, Estoril Court, H.K. The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hang Seng Bank Building, 12th Floor, 677 Nathan Road, Kowloon. c/o Ye Olde Printerie Ltd., 6 Duddel St., H.K. 20 Coombe Road, Flat B-4, H.K. Brentwood College, Cobble Hill P.O., Vancouver Island, B.C., Canada. Institute of Oriental Studies, The University, H.K. Victoria Heights, 43-A Stubbs Rd., Flat 1-A, H.K. 4-B, Cliff View Mansions, 19 Conduit Road, H.K. A9, Bowen Hill, 10 Peak Road, H.K. British Council, 1st floor, Gloucester Building, H.K. c/o Union Insurance Society of Canton, Ltd., Union House, H.K. United College, 9-A Bonham Road, H.K. Lee Hysan Estate Co. Ltd., Prince's Bldg., 25th Floor, H.K. 74, Kennedy Road, H.K. Lee Hysan Estate Co. Ltd., Prince's Bldg., 25th Floor, H.K. c/o Education Dept., Battery Path, H.K. 44 High Street, 2nd Floor, Sai Ying Poon, H.K. + The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Vice-Chancellor's Office, 677 Nathan Road, 12th Floor, Kowloon. 72, La Salle Road, 2nd floor, Kowloon. 49, Village Road, Ground floor, H.K. *Life Member Please notify the Hon. Secretary of any inaccuracy ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1967 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/0c488p70g 200 MILTON, Mrs. Norma J. Flat 51, Dina House, Duddell St., H.K. MOLTKE-HANSEN, Mrs. Olav. MOSLER, Mrs. M. MOYLE, G. C. NEILD, Mrs. Christine NEWBIGGING, D. K. NG, Ronald C. Y. NICHOLS, E. H. NIXON, F. A.* NOLDE, Prof. John J. NORONHA, J. E. P OLIPHANT, R. G. L. OLIVER, J. R. ORD, Miss I. M. OVERBURY, Miss U. M. PATTERSON, G. N. PAYNE, Miss P. M. PEARSON, Miss E. F. PENNELL, W. V. PERESYPKIN, O. P. PHILLIPS, Prof. J. G. PICCIOTTO, Mrs. R. J. PICKFORD, J. B. PIKE, E. N. PLAG, Rev. A. POLAND, T. D. POLDY, Mrs. K. PORDES, F. A-4, Repulse Bay Mansions, 117 Repulse Bay Road, H.K. 3, Macdonnell Road, Flat 602, H.K. c/o Jardine Matheson & Co., Ltd. (Insurance Department), H.K. 12-1, Manson House, Nathan Rd., Kowloon. Jardine, Matheson & Co., Ltd. (Shipping Accounts Dept.) H.K. 148, King Henry's Road, Swiss Cottage, London N.W.3, England. 11, Queen's Gardens, Old Peak Road, H.K. Room 63, Hong Kong Club, H.K. Dept. of Chinese, The University of Maine, Orono, Maine. c/o W.F. Bollmeyer & Co., (H.K.) Ltd. 408, Yu To Sang Building, HK. c/o The H.K. & Shanghai Banking Corpn., H.K. c/o Supreme Court, H.K. Sisters' Qtrs., 802 King's Park House, Kowloon. The Helena May, Garden Road, H.K. 21 South Bay Road, Ground Floor, Repulse Bay, H.K. 54 Buxey Lodge, 8th Floor, 37 Conduit Road, H.K. Flat 1002, 75 Macdonnell Road, H.K. C'an Boye! Mear Puerto Pollensa, Majorca, Spain. P. O. Box 1382, H.K. Alberose, 134 Pokfulum Road, H.K. 46 Stubbs Road, H.K. Flat 2, Buxey Lodge, 37 Conduit Road, H.K. The Asia Foundation, 2 Old Peak Road, H.K. Shouson Villa, Flat B, G/F, 16 Shouson Hill Road, H.K. Butterfield & Swire (H.K.) Ltd. (Staff Dept.), Union House, H.K. 37, Macdonnell Road, H.K. Room 209, Gloucester Building, H.K. * Life Member Please notify the Hon. Secretary of any inaccuracy ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1974 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/x633mp077 LIST OF MEMBERS 259 ORDINARY MEMBERS: MacCALLUM, I. - c/o Colonial Secretariat, Lower Albert Rd., H.K. MacGREGOR, Keith - 19, South Bay Close, Repulse Bay, H.K. MacLEAN, R. - 326-8, Tung Ying Building, 100, Nathan Road, Kowloon. MAHLKE, William J. - c/o Estates Office, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, H.K. MAO, Dr. Philip W. C., F.R.C.S. - P.O. Box 104, Macau. MARKEY, John C. - 117, Main Road, Kam Tin, N.T. MARTINHO-MARQUES, E. J. - 1, Abermor Court, May Road, H.K. MATHIAS, John R. G. - Johnson, Stokes & Master, Hong Kong Bank Building, H.K. MCCABE, Mrs. S. J. - Dept. of Sociology, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, H.K. McELNEY, Brian S. - 1206, Shell House, 24, Queen's Road, C., H.K. McGOUGH, James P. - 10, Fort Street, 2nd floor, H.K. MEGGITT, Mrs. B. - 34, Kennedy Road, Block C, 9th floor, H.K. MIAO, Miss Irene Hung - c/o Miss G. Ou, P.O. Box 6440, Kowloon. MILLER, A. C. - 36, New Henry House, 10, Ice House St., H.K. MORGAN, Mrs. Carole - 3, Macdonnell Road, Flat 602, H.K. MORROW, Miss Sharon E. - c/o Jardine Matheson & Co. Ltd., Insurance Dept., Jardine House, H.K. MOSLER, Mrs. M. - c/o Jardine Matheson & Co. Ltd., Jardine House, H.K. MOYLE, G. C. - Anthropology Section, New Asia College, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T. MUNN, Mrs. E. - Jardine Matheson & Co. Ltd., Jardine House, H.K. MYERS, John T. - 304, Man Yee Building, H.K. NEWBIGGING, D. K. - 8, Abermor Court, 15 May Road, H.K. NG, Peter P. K. - Parker Pen Co. (F.E.) Ltd., Caxton House, 1 Duddell Street, H.K. NICOL, C. A. A. - Sandy Bay Children's Orthopaedic Hospital, Sandy Bay, H.K. NISHIMURA, Masato - c/o The British Council, Star House, 3rd floor, Kowloon. O'BRIEN, Dr. John P. - O'HARA, Mrs. Margaret - Jardine House, 12th floor, H.K. ... Cameraman Ltd., 22A, Westlands Road, 6th floor, H.K. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1981 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/ff36bt18m 96 There is no slavery carried on." CARL T SMITH In commenting on the questions raised in Parliament the editor of the South China Morning Post said there could not be much harm in the traditional Chinese custom when throughout the eighty years of the Colony's history no steps had been taken to abolish it. The children in domestic service had the full protection of the law and there was no evidence that they were frequently ill-treated. What few cases are brought before the courts are sharply dealt with. He did admit that some reform might be needed, "to guarantee the child's rights and those of its parents", but any changes should only be introduced gradually and with the co-operation of the leading Chinese, "whose services have never been withheld in any case having for its aim the uplifting and enlightenment of the people".3 Reaction in Hong Kong -- Mass Meeting at Tai Ping Theatre – July 1921 The Chinese elite "establishment" in Hong Kong was disturbed by the discussion in Britain of one of their long established customs. They and the Hong Kong Government were also annoyed by a letter published in the correspondence column of all four English newspapers written by Mrs. Haselwood, the wife of a Commander in the Naval Dockyard. Her husband was officially warned that unless he stopped his wife from airing the question, he would be superseded and sent home. He refused to submit and was shortly sent home where he retired on half-pay. The Haselwoods, however, continued their campaign in Britain. When the Hong Kong Government was asked to explain Commander Haselwood's early termination of service in Hong Kong, it replied that the activities of his wife were "causing annoyance to the Chinese community". The leadership of the Chinese community was sufficiently aroused by the statements being made in the English press concerning the practice that it called a mass meeting to be held at the Tai Ping Theatre in July, 1921. The meeting was convened by the two Chinese representatives on the Legislative Council, the Hon. Ho Fook, brother of Sir Robert Ho Tung and one-time compradore of Jardine, Matheson and Co., and the Hon. Mr. Lau Chu-pak, compradore of Messrs. A. S. Watson and Co. Also particularly mentioned were S. W. Tso, a solicitor, Chow Shou-son, a Hong Kong-born former official of the Chinese Government who had extensive business interests in Hong Kong, and Chau Siu-ki, shipping and insurance magnate. The theatre was crowded with about three hundred including a ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1981 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/ff36bt18m 104 CARL T SMITH to prevent mui tsai from seeing the Secretary for Chinese Affairs. The fourteen member committee composed equally of members from the Protection Society and the Anti Mui Tsai Society met with the Secretary for Chinese Affairs, Mr. Hallifax, to formulate suggestions for drafting a Bill for the abolition of the mui tsai system. In June 1922 their report was sent to London with a comment by the Governor that he did not think the suggestions were an altogether satisfactory solution. The members of the Committee representing the Anti Mui Tsai Society were: Mr. Joseph Mau-lam Wong (1897 - 1869), compradore of Messrs. A. S. Watson and Co. Mr. Charles Graham Anderson (1889 – 1949), a Eurasian, manager of the International Savings Society of Hong Kong, also newspaper reporter. Ngan Kwan-yu, Government vernacular teacher of the Gap Road School later Head-master, Congregational Church Primary School, Ladder Street. Hung To-fei ― Rev. Wong Oi Tong (1888 – 1941), for forty years pastor of the Rhenish Church, Bonham Road. Dr. T.P. Woo (1878-1941), medical practitioner. Dr. Yeung Shiu-chuen (1878 – 1950), dentist. All were members of Protestant Churches. The members of the committee representing the Society for the Protection of the Mui Tsai were: Mr. M. K. Lo (later Sir Man-kam Lo) (1893 - 1959), son of a compradore of Jardine, Matheson and Co. and son-in-law of Sir Robert Ho Tung. He was a solicitor. Mr. Tsun-nin Chau (1893 – 1971), son of a shipping and insurance magnate, Chau Shiu-ki. A cousin of Sir Sik-nin Chau. By profession a barrister. Mr. Wong Kwong-tin (1879 - 1936), son of a wealthy Chinese merchant. He was a Supreme Court Interpreter when young, later Manager and Director of Kai Tack Land Investment Co., Manager of China Specie Bank, Manager of Chinese Stock Exchange, etc. A Roman Catholic. Ip Lan-chuen (1865 ...), one of founders of Chinese ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1986 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/jq08c7063 224 CARL SMITH Secretary of the On Tai Insurance Company. He remained at this post until his retirement in 1898. During these years he was involved in many other business ventures and in community affairs. He was an enterprising entrepreneur and financier, as well as a prominent public personality. The organisation of the On Tai Insurance Co was one step in the latter part of the 19th century of the intrusion of Chinese into areas of commerce and finance formerly monopolised by foreign merchants. With the introduction of steam vessels into the China trade, more and more Chinese firms began to ship by them rather than by junks. Insurance as practised in Western trade was not a feature of traditional Chinese business methods. The more progressive Chinese merchants, however, realised its value. They began to patronise the established marine and fire insurance companies. These insurance companies were profitable ventures and paid substantial dividends to shareholders. The Chinese, however, found it difficult to acquire shares. They were shut out. The excuse was given that the companies could not determine the financial standing of prospective Chinese shareholders because of the secrecy and complicated arrangement of their firms. In 1871 a group of Chinese merchants in Hongkong secured the services of the American firm of Olyphant and Co to assist them in organising the Chinese Insurance Company and in providing foreign management for it. At its organisation the board consisted of five foreign merchants and two Chinese. The press recognised its formation as a revolutionary move in the balance between Chinese and foreign business in China. "The step will mark an important era in the history of commercial affairs in China; as there can be very little doubt that the plan will be followed in other matters besides insurance. It is already well known that the Chinese merchants are large supporters of some of the most important companies, and their adoption of the plan of organising companies consisting avowedly chiefly of Chinese ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1986 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/jq08c7063 225 shareholders will, in all likelihood, result in a species of competition such as must gradually work a complete revolution in enterprises of the natives. The foreign businessman did not have long to wait before this prognostication began to be realised. In 1872, under the patronage of the Chinese Government, the China Merchants Steam Navigation Co was organised at Shanghai. Progressively the Chinese entered areas of business formerly monopolised by foreigners. In 1877 the On Tai Insurance Co was organised in Hongkong. At the annual meeting of the Chinese Insurance Co, the chairman took notice of the new competition. The two companies had almost the same constituencies. The chairman reported at the meeting that this overlapping threatened to have a serious effect on the company's resources, but as yet was not as disastrous as had first been expected. He remarked: “This is proof that the habit of insuring is being developed amongst the natives of this mighty empire.” In 1881 the On Tai Insurance Co applied for and was granted membership in the Hongkong General Chamber of Commerce. They were its first Chinese members. At the annual meeting at which the firm was elected as a constituent member, Ho A-mei thanked the chamber and then asked if the rules permitted him, as a new member, to propose anything. If so permitted, he wished to bring up a matter that was to the general interests of the commercial life of the whole Colony. The chairman ruled him to be quite in order. A-mei then proposed: “That a memorial be addressed to His Excellency, the Governor, asking that restrictions recently put upon emigration to Honolulu be done away with.” Not only had Ho A-mei a long-standing interest in emigration, but the Wo Hang firm of the Li family, whose interests he represented and who were the principal shareholders in the On Tai Insurance Co, had been engaged in the sending of Chinese labour ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1986 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/jq08c7063 249 JEALOUSIES SURFACE IN THE JOCKEYING FOR A SEAT IN LEGCO The year 1883 presented opportunities for Ho A-mei to become the recognised leader of the Chinese community. First, there was his election as Chairman of the Tung Wah Hospital Committee to be followed by that of the Po Leung Kuk. These positions were honours awarded by the Chinese community to a member who merited recognition for his concern about their welfare. Second, there was the prospect of selection by the Governor to the vacant seat in the Legislative Council created by the resignation of the Honourable Ng Choy. One of the hurdles to get across was the competition provided by other possible candidates, particularly Dr. Ho Kai, for this position of leadership. Remarks made by Dr. Ho Kai, acting as spokesman for the Chinese, when an official deputation visited the Officer Administering the Colony in January 1883, provided an opportunity for Ho A-mei to suggest publicly that Dr. Ho Kai was not representative of the Chinese community and, by implication, not a suitable person to represent them on the Legislative Council. Ho A-mei had been elected Chairman of the Tung Wah Hospital in 1882. In the official list of directors his name appears as Ho Hin-ping, otherwise Kwan Shan, of the On Tai Insurance Co. The following year he became the Chairman of the Po Leung Kuk, an organisation for the prevention of kidnapping and the protection of women and children. These offices, the highest the Chinese community in Hongkong had to bestow, made Ho A-mei a possible candidate for the Legislative Council. Ng Choy, who had recently resigned, was the first Chinese member of the council. He had been appointed by Governor John Pope Hennessy in 1878. His nomination had been part of what the English language press liked to call "Hennessy's pro-Chinese policy." Governor Hennessy's object was to establish closer rela- ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1987 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/rx919b522 117 A SENSE OF HISTORY (PART II) CARL SMITH JEALOUSIES SURFACE IN THE JOCKEYING FOR A SEAT IN LEGCO The year 1883 presented opportunities for Ho A-mei to become the recognised leader of the Chinese community. First, there was his election as Chairman of the Tung Wah Hospital Committee to be followed by that of the Po Leung Kuk. These positions were honours awarded by the Chinese community to a member who merited recognition for his concern about their welfare. Second, there was the prospect of selection by the Governor to the vacant seat in the Legislative Council created by the resignation of the Honourable Ng Choy. One of the hurdles to get across was the competition provided by other possible candidates, particularly Dr. Ho Kai, for this position of leadership. Remarks made by Dr. Ho Kai, acting as spokesman for the Chinese, when an official deputation visited the Officer Administering the Colony in January 1883, provided an opportunity for Ho A-mei to suggest publicly that Dr. Ho Kai was not representative of the Chinese community and, by implication, not a suitable person to represent them on the Legislative Council. Ho A-mei had been elected Chairman of the Tung Wah Hospital in 1882. In the official list of directors his name appears as Ho Hin-ping, otherwise Kwan Shan, of the On Tai Insurance Co. The following year he became the Chairman of the Po Leung Kuk, an organisation for the prevention of kidnapping and the protection of women and children. These offices, the highest the Chinese community in Hongkong This instalment completes the reprinting, with the author's kind permission, of “A sense of History" that appeared in the South China Morning Post between 1977 and 1979. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1991 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/k356gt84j ports. He received a lot of honours from many countries including a baronetcy and other decorations from Britain and China. He was said to have been a “leading expert in insurance, shipping and the import and export business,” and also "director of eighteen of the leading companies in Hong Kong and Shanghai, chairman and largest shareholder of a number of them." We know little of the details of his investments in the modern business in Hong Kong, Canton, or Shanghai, but we understand that he had an investment in some guandu-shangban enterprises and had close relations with Chinese officials. He was probably a multimillionaire by the turn of the century. It was known that when he worked in Jardines, he had been the manager of Jardine's affiliates, the Hong Kong Fire Insurance Co., Ltd. and the Canton Insurance Co., Ltd. He had invested in refined and raw sugar in Shanghai and most of the Yangzi and northern ports of China. He owned a lot of landed properties in Hong Kong, Macau, Shanghai, Tsingtao (Qingdao), and London. He was a director of Humphreys Estate and Finance Co. Ltd., Hong Kong Reclamation Co., Ltd., and Hong Kong Hotel Co., Ltd. at the end of the nineteenth century. Law Pak Sheung was the first comprador to the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank when it opened in 1865, and remained the chief comprador until his death in 1877. Law came from the port of Whampoa in Canton. His life in Hong Kong proved very successful. He was an organising director of the Tung Wah Hospital from 1869 to 1871. It became the leading Chinese charitable institution in Hong Kong. Page 10 Law died in 1877. He had interests in at least five businesses as mentioned in his will. He might also have had other business interests which were in the name of his sons or other relatives. The five firms mentioned in the will were a ship chartering office, a store, a gold dealer's shop, a native bank, and a general trading company. These he left to his third son Lo Hok Pang (Luo Hepeng), who succeeded him as comprador. In 1879, two years after the death of Law Pak Sheung, his son was said to have had connections with Chinese banks and had invested in a number of firms. He was regarded as one of the leading businessmen in the Chinese community; this was in addition to his position as a comprador. Law might also have had business interests in Canton or elsewhere which were not mentioned in his Hong Kong will. The testator's shares in insurance companies and a Chinese newspaper are signs of one who has moved away from strictly Chinese business enterprises, though the insurance shares were not large, but these were ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1991 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/k356gt84j in a period when Chinese were only allowed to invest in European insurance companies. But at the same time, he still had large interests in traditional business. Cantonese compradors in Hong Kong, of course, should not be considered as only a few persons; they could probably be identified from archives of the firms they worked for. However, we are limited by sources, which make it quite difficult, but not impossible, to assess compradors' wealth which they had accumulated when they were in office. Furthermore, most of the wealthy Chinese in Hong Kong, including compradors at that time, had investments or property in China. From their business activities, a Canton-Macau-Hong Kong linkage is shown in their wills deposited in the Hong Kong Public Records Office. Names of the Cantonese compradors in Hong Kong were probably Cheang Hoong of Philips Moore & Co., Wong Kong and Kwong A Hang of Smith, Archer & Co.; Ng A Cheong of Douglas Lapraik & Co., Law Pak Sheung of Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corporation, Wai A Kwong of Chartered Mercantile Bank of India, London & China, Law Sai Nam of McBain & Co., Lau Cheong of Gilman & Co. (Fuzhou), Au Yeung Shing of Russell & Co., Sung Chin Tseung of Messrs. Turner & Co., Tong Mow Chee (Tang Maozhi) of Jardine, Matheson & Co. (Tianjin), and Choa Chee Bee of China Sugar Refining Co., Ltd. They all left wills in which some indicated business connections with Canton, Macau, and Hong Kong. For example, the will of Wai A Kwong written in 1866 reads: I am a native of Tsin Shan in the District of Heung Shan, Empire of China, at present residing in Victoria, Hong Kong, and holding the office of compradore of the Chartered Mercantile Bank of India, London, and China. At the age of eleven years, I left my native place and proceeded to Macau, where I obtained employment as a domestic servant to a Portuguese; at the age of thirteen, I was sent down to Singapore by the Reverend E. C. Bridgman, missionary to the Chinese, and became the first pupil of the Morrison Education Society. I returned to Hong Kong in the year 1843, and I have ever since lived under the just and equitable rule of the British Government. I married in Hong Kong and have several children, all born in this colony. By industry and thriftiness, I have acquired and am possessed of sundry houses, lands, shares in business, and other property and effects. Knowing Page 30 Page 31 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1991 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/k356gt84j 15 He returned with his savings. In middle age, he started his own business, a timber shop in Hong Kong. When I was young I lived in the village. When grown up I went to California. I came to Hong Kong in my middle age and established the business of the Kwong Ut Lung timber shop. Fortunately I accumulated some savings and invested them in property, business and shares of which the following... Li Hing, a Dongguan native, had worked in an opium shop in Hong Kong for more than twenty years. As he said, he was diligent and economical otherwise he could not save money. It was known that his "little money" amounted to 5,440 taels, for Li held partnerships in a native bank, two opium shops, a timber shop and a wharf in Hong Kong. In addition he also had eleven shops and a share in the Hong Kong Fire Insurance Co. of $340. As he mentioned in his will: I (Li Hing), alias Peng Sam, maker of this will, I am a native of the Village called Tong Mei, in the District of Tung Koon, I have been employed, as a Manager, in the Tuk Lung opium shop over twenty years. I have always been contented with my lot, and I have always behaved myself with decorum. I have been diligent and economical, and by self-denial, I have fortunately obtained favour from Heaven above, and saved a little money. Li was not only employed in the opium shop, but he had also invested for himself, though we do not know from the above whether his investment was started after he left the Tuk Lung firm or when he worked in the firm. Table 1 Native Origins of Hong Kong Merchants Native places 1850-70 1871-80 1881-90 1891-1900 1901-06 Total Xinning 7 3 4 14 Xinhui 3 4 6 I 14 Kaiping 2 2 4 Xiangshan 2 2 9 3 17 Baoan 1 2 2 6 Panyu 3 5 9 2 8 5 15 Nanhai among the richest of the Chinese compradors in the treaty ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1991 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/k356gt84j 22 Hao has selected modern enterprises such as steam shipping, coal mines, cotton textile, and machine manufacturing and detected the share of investment by compradors as being substantial. In steamship enterprise, compradors' capital in British and American steamship companies established between 1862 and 1875 amounted to 499,975 taels; a modest 19.5% of the total of 2,559,000 taels. However, in steamship companies wholly Chinese-owned and under Chinese directorate between 1871 and 1893, compradors' investment amounted to 54.5% while the government had only 6.94% of the total capital of 1,958,000 taels. In the modern coal mines, compradors' capital amounted to a bigger share of 62.7% or a total of 1,350,116 Mexican dollars. In the total Chinese investment of 18,047,544 dollars in cotton textile manufacturing, compradors' share was 23.23%, second only to the 33.89% of gentry-officials, and in the machine manufacturing industries, the largest share of investment fell to the compradors with a percentage of 27.68 or a total sum of 2,887,000 dollars. The compradors were the first Chinese merchants to invest in the insurance business. They were the pioneers in introducing new types of business such as insurance and later other business methods such as contract, insuring, and limited liability. New forms of business like the joint-stock company with limited liability proved successful in attracting investment from the private sector in some guandu shangban enterprises, which also were the first Chinese large-scale modern enterprises like the China Merchants' Steam Navigation Co., the Kaiping Coal Mines, and the Shanghai Cotton Cloth Mill, in which compradors' capital shared 77.8, 100.0, and 70.4 percentages respectively. Definitely, compradors played a decisive role in forming the above enterprises, for they were the first generation of modern enterprises owned and operated by Chinese. Cantonese Compradors in Shanghai The compradors played the role as entrepreneurs in modern Chinese enterprises. They were not only fund suppliers but also employed new ways of raising the large amounts of capital needed for these large-scale industrial projects. The typical examples of Cantonese compradors active in Shanghai were Xu Run, Tang Tingshu, and Zheng Guanying. They successfully used the joint-stock system in raising capital for the China Merchants' Steam Navigation Co. in 1873 and Shanghai Cotton ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1991 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/k356gt84j 24 As Table 4 shows, the largest amount of Xu's investment was real property. Xu was said to have started the business in real property when his boss E. Webb advised him to do so before Xu retired from Dent & Co. in 1868. He told Xu that a boom in landed properties in Shanghai would come within a few years as Shanghai was developing and its population was expanding. Xu did more than Webb said; he bought a lot of land and built a number of houses from which he could derive a rental income of about 122,980 taels per year. Xu was quite confident he could derive a large amount of profit even though he had to borrow money at a high rate of interest. Though Xu did plan to share his business with other persons by setting up a new firm named the Baoyuanxiang Real Property Co. with a subscribed capital of four million taels, his plan was unfortunately interrupted when he recognized it was not easy to raise sufficient capital in Shanghai. Even worse, his only partner, Boyd & Co. in England, failed to solicit the capital and suddenly withdrew from partnership. Therefore, he became the sole proprietor liable to all the debts of this company. In 1883, he had accumulated a loan of 2,522,237 taels from twenty-two native banks. Unfortunately, in 1883, Shanghai experienced a financial crisis and foreign banks and the Shenxi bankers withdrew financial credits from the native banks in Shanghai. At a time when real properties were declining in price, Xu was forced to repay debts. He finally became bankrupt. As Xu estimated, due to the recovery from depression in Shanghai after the crisis, the total value of his property in 1883 was now valued at about eighteen million taels. He complained he had lost a million taels. Concerning Xu's investment in modern enterprises, it is to be noted that he had been active only after his failure in the speculation of landed property in 1883. Table 5 shows Xu's business interests were not only confined to Shanghai but also other parts of China, including Hong Kong. The amount shown in this table is mainly based on Xu's autobiography. It is interesting that in stating his total investment, he had omitted the amount of investment in foreign enterprises and also partnership in the native banks. Perhaps he thought they were not in the category of modern Chinese enterprises. Of his investment in modern Chinese enterprises, the biggest amount was in steam navigation, mines, industrial manufactories, insurance, and land reclamation.43 Tang Tingshu (1832-1892) As has been described before, Tang Tingshu was born in Zhongshan ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1991 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/k356gt84j 25 Item Table 5 Xu Run's Investment in Modern Enterprises Company Amount (T) % Place China Merchants' Steam Navigation Co 480,000 33.44 Shanghai Yun Wo Insurance Co. 100,000 Shanghai Chi Wo Insurance Co. 50,000 10 45 Shanghai Kaiping Coal Mines 150,000 Tianjin Guichi Coal Mines 100,000 Anhui Sanshan Silver Mines 60,000 Rehe Pingchuan Copper Mines 60,000 Jinzhou Mines 50,000 Other Mines 10,000 29 96 Shanghai Cotton Mill 50,000 Shanghai Shang Jinglun Cotton Mill 170,000 Shanghai Craseman & Hagen's Filanda (Yantai Saosi Ju) 10,200 Yantai Paper Manufactury 20,000 Shanghai Chinese Glass Works Co. 30,000 Shanghai Shanghai Dairy Farm Co. 30,000 Shanghai Hong Kong Liyuan Sugar Refinery 30,000 Hong Kong Tianyi Land Reclamation Co 5,000 Jinzhou Taggu Cultivation Co. 30,000 2.44 Tianjin Zhongshan Tongyi Ranyuan Cultivation Co 1,000($) Guangdong Total 1,435,200 99.99 (+$1,000)* * Mexican dollars have not been added in the total or calculated in the percentage Source: Xu Run, Qing Xu Yuzhi Xiansheng Run Zixu Nianpu. but educated in Hong Kong. He first came to Shanghai as an interpreter in the Chinese Maritime Customs in 1859. It is believed that he was introduced by an officer named Horatio Nelson Lay whom Tang had met in Hong Kong. Tang was recruited as a comprador by the Jardine, Matheson & Co. in 1863 but he left in 1872. During the decade of his compradorial career, he invested, planned, organized and assisted in the sale of stocks of a number of enterprises. These enterprises were called modern because they had adopted a new form of ownership, organization and management. Moreover, some of them such as steam navigation and insurance companies were the first to take place in China. Unlike Xu Page 45 Page 46 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1991 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/k356gt84j Table 6 Zheng Guanying's Investment in Modern Enterprises 29 Item Amount (taels) Place Union Steamship Navigation Co. ? Shanghai China Merchants' Steam Navigation Co. 1,200 Shanghai Yuehan Railway Co. ? Canton Renhe Insurance Co. Shanghai Cotton Mill A Paper Manufactory A Glass Work A Dairy Co. ? ? 50,000 ? ? Shanghai Shanghai ? ? Shanghai A Silk Filature ? ? Tongwen Book Co. 14,000 Shanghai Ma'an shan Coal Mines ? ? Jinzhou Coal Mines 100,000 ? Jilin Gold Mines Xuancheng Coal Mines Shandong Mines Pingchuan Gold Mines Mianning Gold Mines Jianping Gold Mines Chefoo Coal Mines Yongping Gold Mines ? ? several thousand 36 shares + 4,320 20 shares + several thousand ? several thousand ? Shanghai ? ? ? ? ? Pingxiang Coal Mines Hupei Nantaiwu Shan Coal Mines Fujian Chengping Silk several thousand ? Kaiping Canton Land 5,000 Canton Tianjin Kutang Land Reclamation 3,000 Tianjin A Nacre Co. ? ? A Reclamation Project in Malaya ? Malaya Tianjin Peihailou ? Tianjin A Gambling Co. 5,000 ? Total 232,520+? Sources: Wu Chang-chuan, Cheng Kuan-ying: A Case Study of Merchant Participation in the Self-strengthening Movement (1878-1884): Xia-Dongyuan, Zheng Guanying Zhuan. early development of modern Chinese enterprises. As shown in the case of Xu, Tang and Zheng, they not only provided funds to modern ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1991 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/k356gt84j 32 29 The term 'comprador' in Chinese history is quite argumentative. In late Qing times it referred to a commercial broker, an agent and employee of a foreign firm. With the rise of Chinese nationalism in the Republican period, the meaning was gradually expanded beyond its original sense to include politics in a negative meaning or collaboration with foreigners of serving interest of imperialists. In Chinese Marxist scholarship, comprador has taken on a political meaning. See Jung-fang Tsai (1981), The Predicament of the Comprador Ideologists, pp. 191-7. However, economic historians such as Wang Jingyu, realizing the role of Chinese merchants in the economic development of the nineteenth century, said they included compradors who had large investment in modern enterprises, been active in huashang fugu huodong as well as buying capital in from foreign aggressive enterprises. See Wang (1965), Shijiu shiji waiguo qinhua qiye zhong de huashang fugu yundong (The Activities of Chinese Merchants to Buy Capital-Shares from the Foreign Aggressive Enterprises in China During the Late Nineteenth Century) and (1983b) Shiji xifang ziben zhuyi dui Zhongguo de jingji qinlue (The Economic Invasion of Western Capitalism on China in Nineteenth Century), pp. 483-526. 10 Xu Run, Qing Xu Yuzhi xiansheng Run zixu nianpu, pp. 4-5. 31 As Xu himself stated, the estimate value of this amount after discount should be 3,219,470 taels. See ibid, p. 68. 17 Other investments, though the amounts are uncertain, can also be ascertained from his autobiography. They are: a pier company at Guangdong, a grocery at Shanghai; also silk cloth shop, tea shop, partnership in Huya'an Insurance Co., Huaxing Insurance Co., Difeng Co., Shanghai Land Investment Co., Ltd., Shanghai Tramway Co., Xunhuan Newspaper in Hong Kong, a water works, and Tongyi cultivation company in Guangdong. See Qing Xu Yuzhi xiansheng Run zixu nianpu, preface. 33 See Liu Kwang-ching (1962), Anglo-American Steamship Rivalry in China, 1862-1874, p. 155. 14 See Hao (1970a), p. 100. As Xia Dongyuan found that in the Zheng's zhushu (will) written in 1914, Zheng regarded 4,088 taels the interest from share-stocks as one of his main sources of income. See Xia (1985b), p. 268. 35 See Zheng Guanying, Zhi Li Zhaomin Fangbo lun zhuang Lundun Hongyuan Gongsi (Letter addressed to Li Zhaomin in discussing the founding of Hongyuan Company in London), in Xia Dongyuan (1988a), pp. 507-3; Wu Chang-chuan (1974), pp. 86-8. 36 As Wang Shui has concluded from various sources, during 1840 to 1894 Chinese compradors had accumulated a total income of about half a billion taels, see Wang (1983), Qingdai maiban shouru de guji jiqi shiyong fangshi (An Assessment of Compradors' Income and Its Spending Ways in Qing Dynasty), pp. 298-307. 37 See Thomas G. Rawski (1970), Chinese Dominance of Treaty Port Commerce and its Implications, 1860-1875, pp. 451-73. ================================================================================