Qian Jishan

Qian Jishan was the copper merchant. In 1795 he hired the ship belonging to Fan Sanxi 范三錫 from Pinghu County in Jiaxing, Zhejiang.

In order to obtain Japanese copper, he purchased silk fabrics and raw silk for exchange. But at that time, the Qing government had already set up restrictions for the exportation of raw silk. Qian Jishan could, thus, only buy the permitted quantity of raw silk and fabrics and then had these items taken to Fan Sanxi’s ship. Subsequently, everything was registered in a certificate issued by the Provincial Administration Commission (xianzhao 憲照) and was then shipped to Japan by a professional overseas merchant, named Fei Shunxing 費順興. Fei Shunxing left China via the port of Zhapu and managed all business affairs for Qian Jishan.