- Howqua
Howqua (Chinese: 伍秉鉴
Pinyin : Wu Bingjian) was the most important of the Hong merchants in theThirteen Factories , and the leader of the CantonCohong . He was once one of the richest men in the world. [ [http://www.amazon.ca/Rich-How-They-Got-That/dp/product-description/0812932676 Amazon.ca: The Rich and How They Got That Way: How the Wealthiest People of All Time - From Genghis Khan to Bill Gates - Made Their Fortunes: Books ] ] [ "The Rich And How They Got That Way" By Cynthia Crossen Publisher: Crown Publishing Group Pub. Date: 2000 ISBN 0812932676 ]Born in
Fujian , China, he was known to the West as "Howqua" (the second). His father, Wu Guorong was also "Howqua" (the first) and was founder of the family company. He became rich on the trade between China and theBritish Empire in the middle of the 19th century during theOpium Wars . Perhaps the wealthiest man in China during the nineteenth century, Howqua was the senior of the hong merchants in Canton, one of the few authorized to trade silk and porcelain with foreigners. The volume of his wealth was almost unimaginable. InNanjing Treaty , amount the 3 million dollars of compensations that were required to pay back to the British, he single-handedly contributed one million, one third of the total sum. [ [http://www.szdaj.gov.cn/dadg/rwzz/19.html 档案揭秘:被称为“天下第一大富翁”的伍秉鉴-欢迎进入深圳档案网 ] ] Because his Chinese name was too difficult for western traders to pronounce, the name Howqua comes from his Chinese Business Name "浩官" (Pinyin : Haoguan), very similar to a DBA. [ http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/廣州十三行 ] Portraits of the pigtailed Howqua in his robes still hang in Salem and Newport mansions built by U.S. merchants grateful for his assistance.He had close ties to
James Matheson ,Matthew Jardine , William Jardine,Samuel Russell andAbiel Abbot Low .Howqua is also a town in North East Victoria, Australia.
External links
* [http://www.szdaj.gov.cn/dadg/rwzz/19.html "In Chinese" - Official Bio from Shenzhen Gov. Archives]
* [http://baike.baidu.com/view/247732.htm "In Chinese" - Howqua's Bio on Baidu Baike]
* [http://history.163.com/07/0929/08/3PHVJBFD00011246.html "In Chinese" - Howqua's Bio on NetEase]References
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