Merchants of Canton and Macao: Success and Failure in Eighteenth-Century Chinese Trade

533 Pages·2016·44.912 MB·English

by  Paul A. Van Dyke

Merchants of Canton and Macao

Merchants of Canton and Macao
Success and Failure in Eighteenth-Century Chinese Trade
Paul A. Van Dyke
Hong Kong University Press
The University of Hong Kong
Pokfulam Road
Hong Kong
www.hkupress.org
© 2016 Paul A. Van Dyke
ISBN 978-988-8139-32-3
All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information
storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed and bound by Paramount Printing Co., Ltd. in Hong Kong, China
Dedicated to all Chinese who have no records or memories of their ancestors
who lived, worked and died in the Pearl River Delta.

qqqqq
Contents
List of Tables ix
List of Appendixes xi
Preface xv
Acknowledgements xxxiii
Moneys, Weights, and Measures xxxv
List of Abbreviations xxxvii
Introduction
Global Influences and Their Consequences 1
Chapter One
Swequa 蔡瑞官 and Brothers 1741–1772 19
Chapter Two
Monqua 蔡文官 and Family 1734–1796 39
Chapter Three
Poankeequa 潘振承 and Family 1748–1788 61
Chapter Four
Tan Anqua 陳安觀 1749–1790 and the Inland Tea Men 97
Chapter Five
The Wu 伍 Family 1772–1802 107
Chapter Six
The Porcelain Trade 123
Chapter Seven
Thirteen Prominent Porcelain Dealers 1746–1806 133
Chapter Eight
Miscellaneous Porcelain Dealers 1724–1844 161
Chapter Nine
The Silk Trade 171
Chapter Ten
Silk Weavers, Embroiderers, and Painters 187
viii Contents
Conclusion
Unwritten Realities of Trade 209
Appendixes 217
Notes 325
Bibliography 381
Index 425
qqqqq
tables
1.1 European China Trade Records 1698–1833 xxiv
2.1 Number of Ships at Whampoa 1751–1760 4
5.1 EIC Shares of Trade Granted to the Four New Hong Merchants of 1792 118
7.1 Thirteen Prominent Porcelain Dealers 1746–1806 134
8.1 Other Porcelain Dealers Who Were Operating around 1779 162
8.2 Names of Porcelain Shops That Appear on Jinlun Huiguan (Silk Guild)
Steles 166
9.1 Total Silk Exports from Canton in 1810 (from British Records) 182
9.2 Total Silk Exports from Canton in 1810 (from Dutch Records) 183
10.1 Prices of Nanking Raw Silk for 1777, 1781, and 1794 193
10.2 Average Silk Fabric Prices from Four Weavers in 1784 195