Information about Thirteen Factories

Thirteen Factories (十三行) is an area of Canton City, China where the first foreign trade was allowed in the 18th century since Hai jin. It is also referred to as "Thirteen Hong" or "Canton Factories".

Terminology

Factories were "foreigners quarters" outside the city walls in Guangzhou. These were business markets, not actual factories where goods were manufactured. The name came from the foreign agent term of "factors"^[1], who maintained offices or factories. Chinese citizens often referred to the factories as "Barbarian Houses"<ref name="Tamura" />.

History

In 1684, the Emperor Kangxi of the Qing allowed foreigners to trade with China in four cities, including Guangzhou^[2]. In 1686, Westerners were allowed to also live in the area of the factories in Canton, at the head of the Pearl River. In 1757, the Emperor Qianlong limited Westerners to the port of Canton, and no other area.

In 1793, attempts were made by King George III who sent representative Lord George Macartney to request that ports in northern China be opened to trade. Emperor Qianlong denied<ref name="Tamura" /> the request.

The Thirteen Factories gradually lost importance after the First Opium War, a conflict after China banned the import of British opium. The Qing court was defeated by Great Britain and forced to open five ports to foreigners and to cede Hong Kong to Great Britain. The Thirteen Factories was no longer the sole place for foreigners to trade and live in China.

The Hongs in Hong Kong that became major economic powerhouses beginning in the 1890s are usually credited to the British and other overseas merchants. Despite the origin of the name "Hong", the factories did not play a role in Hong Kong's economy in the 20th century.

Factories

The Western factors were allowed to occupy two- or three-story buildings, set back one hundred yards from the river. Each factory contain 3 or 4 houses. The warehouses occupied the first floors and elegant apartments were on the second and third floors of the houses. The square in front of the factories was fenced and reserved for foreigners. The streets immediately adjoining the factories were named Thirteen Factory Street, Old China Street, and Hog Lane. These streets were filled with retail stores selling a wide variety of Chinese goods.

Thirteen factories

The following are the structures of factory buildings and streets that make up the thirteen factories area. The list is in the order of which they are lined up. The names of the hong-merchants are Howqua, Mowqua, Puankhequa, Goqua, Fatqua, Kingqua, Sunshing, Mingqua, Saoqua and Punboqua^[3]

Chinese Pinyin Names	English Names	Chinese Names<ref name="Roberts" />
e-ho-hong	Factory of Justice and Peace	义和行（小溪馆)
paeon-ho-hong	Factory of Tranquillity	新英国馆（保和行）？?
	Hog lane	猪?
fung-tae-hong	Chow-Chow Factory	炒炒馆（丰泰行、巴斯行)
bung-shan-hong	Old English Factory	旧英国馆（隆顺行)
suy-hang	Swedish Factory	瑞典行（瑞行)
ma-ying-hang	Imperial Factory	帝国馆（孖鹰行)
paon-shun-hang	Precious and Prosperous Factory	宝顺馆（宝顺行)
kwang-yuen-hang	American Factory	美国行（广源行)
	Old China street	老中国?
	French Factory	法兰西馆（高公行)
	Spanish Factory	西班牙馆（大吕宋行)
	Danish Factory	丹麦?

In 1835, medical missionary Peter Parker, M.D. opened an Ophthalmic Hospital at 3 Hog Lane. Lam Qua, a Western-trained Chinese painter who also had workshops in the Thirteen Factories area, was commissioned by Parker to paint pre-operative portraits of patients who had large tumors or other major deformities.

Policies

The emperor appointed an official called the hoppo, to take charge and collect taxes from the goods traded. The position also overlook whether the trades went accordingly. The hoppo was responsible for merchant relations on behalf of the Qing court. It was an important position since merchants were not allowed to communicate with the emperor directly. <ref name="Tamura" />

Foreigners were also not allowed to learn Chinese by rule at the time<ref name="Tamura" />. Though the British did have Robert Morrison as the translator<ref name="Roberts" />. The four linguist representing the Chinese side include Atom, Achow, Atung and Akang<ref name="Roberts" />.

See also

• The Hongs
• Hong
• Zaibatsu
• Lam Qua

References

• Fan, F. British Naturalists in Qing China Harvard University Press (2004) ISBN 0-674-01143-0
• Key JD, Callahan JA, Walters W. Hog Lane surgery (Ophthalmic Hospital, Canton, China)http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=3526111&dopt=Abstract Minn Med. (May, 1986)

Notes