Merchants of Canton and Macao

Success and Failure in Eighteenth-Century Chinese Trade

Paul A. Van Dyke

• Publisher: Hong Kong University Press
• Year: 2015
• Topic: History
• eBook ISBN:
  9789888313853
• Subtopic: Chinese History
• Index: History

Merchants were central to the huge growth in China's foreign trade and contributed to the development of world markets and networks. Merchants of Canton and Macao: Success and Failure in Eighteenth-Century Chinese Trade brings together much new research about the inner workings of the merchants of Canton and Macao. The book studies in detail the leading Chinese merchants and merchant families as well as the porcelain and silk trades. By examining the successes and failures of dozens of Chinese merchants involved in foreign trade, it provides fresh insights into China's unique form of capitalism and her role in the rise of global commerce. Van Dyke's conclusions on the nature of Qing policy towards foreign trade are bold, original and supported by intensive research. In contrast to the traditional focus on British and American trade, his research draws on archives in multiple languages, spread around the world.

Table of contents

• Dedication
• Contents
• List of Tables
• List of Appendixes
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• Moneys, Weights, and Measures
• Abbreviations
• Introduction: Global Influences and their Consequences
• Chapter 1: Swequa 蔡瑞官 and Brothers 1741–1772
• Chapter 2: Monqua 蔡文官 and Family 1734–1796
• Chapter 3: Poankeequa 潘振承 and Family 1748–1788
• Chapter 4: Tan Anqua 陳安觀 1749–1790 and the Inland Tea Men
• Chapter 5: The Wu 伍 Family 1772–1802
• Chapter 6: The Porcelain Trade
• Chapter 7: Thirteen Prominent Porcelain Dealers 1746–1806
• Chapter 8: Miscellaneous Porcelain Dealers 1724–1844
• Chapter 9: The Silk Trade
• Chapter 10: Silk Weavers, Embroiderers, and Painters
• Conclusion: Unwritten Realities of Trade
• Introduction to Appendixes
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index
• 4c inserts