Pan Zhencheng

Pan Zhencheng, also known as Puankequa as the Westerners called him, was one of the major officially licensed (hong) merchants permitted to trade with Westerners at Guangzhou. He also traded throughout Southeast Asian ports and had his own ocean-going trading company called the Tongwen hang.

One of his advantages was working knowledge of English and Spanish. Zhencheng traded with the English East India Company at least from 1753, and in 1770s started to invest in the Swedish East India Company. Swedish copper, iron, and timber products were sold for Spanish silver in Cadiz, which were then imported into Guangzhou. Zhencheng also had a close working arrangement with the Spanish as well. Zhencheng’s son inherited around 20 million Spanish dollars.

Pan Zhencheng was also highly attuned to the social civilities of international trade. He was famous for his banquets for Western merchants and sea captains. On the first evening the meals were served in the Western style, with knives and forks. The banquet on the next day was in Chinese style, including chopsticks. On the first evening entertainment was a performance of Chinese opera and on the next day guests would be entertained in their host’s garden where they enjoyed in series of shows of fireworks, acrobatics and juggling.