Ma Yueguan

A wealthy merchant from Yangzhou, Ma Yueguan was known as the greatest patron of literature and art in the 18th century Yangzhou, and as an owner of the greatest private library in China.

Born in Yangzhou, the center of the lucrative Chinese salt business, Ma Yueguan was raised to inherit the family business in salt trade. The town was situated on the intersection of the Yangtze River and the Grand Canal, near rich salt deposits, and was supplier of a large part of China. According to some estimates, the annual profit of the salt merchants of Yangzhou during the 18th century when they were at the height of productivity was about 5 million taels of silver.

Although the exact amount of his wealth is unknown, Ma Yueguan and Ma Yuelu,his younger brother and business partner, were among the wealthiest of the two hundred head merchants of the Lianghuai district.

They used their large fortune to become the greatest literature and art patrons in Chinese history by supporting the finest scholars, artists and poets of the Qing China.