No. 7149 · dated by century
Ch'eng Cheng
3rd century BCMerchantAsia · c. 250 BCMost named place: China (approximate)
Ch'eng Cheng was a Chinese merchant who made a considerable wealth doing business with the native barbarians of Szechwan and Yunnan toward the end of the 3rd century BC.
Active in the iron industry, Ch’eng maintained commercial relations on a frequent basis with barbarian tribes described as “wearing their hair in the mallet-shape fashion” collectively known as the Southwestern barbarians under the Han dynasty. Chinese merchants like Ch’eng are credited for spreading of Chinese objects, especially metal works, to the southwestern frontier of China.