The term tai-pan (Chinese: 大班; pinyin: Dàbān; Cantonese Yale: Daai6Baan1) was originally used to describe a foreign businessman in China or Hong Kong in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The Cantonese[1] colloquialism is now used in a more general sense for business executives of any origin. Its literal meaning is top class,[2] which is comparable to the English slang term big shot.
The term was commonly used to refer to senior business executives and entrepreneurs in Hong Kong when it was under British rule, particularly those in charge of historic trading companies such as Jardine Matheson and Swire Group.
Its first recorded use in English is in the Canton Register of 28 October 1834.[3] Historical variant spellings include taepan (first appearance), typan, and tai-pan.[3] The term gained wide currency outside China after the publication of Somerset Maugham's 1922 short story "The Taipan" and James Clavell's 1966 novel Tai-Pan. It is a naturalised word which is not usually italicised or hyphenated.[3]
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