| Thirteen Factories | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Painting of the factories, circa 1820, with flags of Denmark, Spain, the U.S., Sweden, Britain, and the Netherlands | |||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese | 十三行 | ||||||||||||||||||
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The Thirteen Factories was an area of Canton (Guangzhou), China, where the first foreign trade was allowed in the 18th century since the hai jin ban on maritime activities. It is also referred to as the "Thirteen Hongs" or the "Canton Factories". The site where the factories stood is now Wenhua Park, and Thirteen Hong Street, onto which the factories backed is now named Shisanhang Road.[1]
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Factories were "foreigners quarters" outside the city walls in Guangzhou. These were business markets, not actual factories where goods were manufactured. The name came from the foreign agent term of "factors",[2] who maintained offices or factories. Chinese citizens often referred to the factories as "Barbarian Houses".[2]
In 1684, the Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty allowed foreigners to trade with China in four cities, including Guangzhou.[3] In 1686, Westerners were allowed to also live in the area of the factories in Canton, at the head of the Pearl River. In 1757, the Emperor Qianlong limited Westerners to the port of Canton, and no other area.
In 1793, attempts were made by King George III who sent representative Lord George Macartney to request that ports in northern China be opened to trade. Emperor Qianlong refused[2] the request.
The Thirteen Factories gradually lost importance after the First Opium War (1839–42), a conflict after China banned the import of British opium. The Qing court was defeated by the United Kingdom and as a consequence of the Treaty of Nanking (1842), was forced to open five ports to foreigners and to cede Hong Kong Island to the UK. The Thirteen Factories was no longer the sole place for foreigners to trade and live in China. The factories burned down in 1856 during the Second Opium War and the western traders relocated to warehouses across the Pearl River on Honam until the British succeeded in claiming the site of a sandbar (Shamian Island) in 1859, and it was developed to become a foreign enclave.[1]
The Hongs in Hong Kong that became major economic powerhouses beginning in the 1890s are usually credited to the British and other overseas merchants. Despite this, the factories did not play a role in Hong Kong's economy in the 20th century.
The Western factors were allowed to occupy two- or three-story buildings, set back one hundred yards from the river. Each factory contained three or four houses. The warehouses occupied the first floors and elegant apartments were on the second and third floors of the houses. The square in front of the factories was fenced and reserved for foreigners. The streets immediately adjoining the factories were named Thirteen Factory Street, Old China Street, and Hog Lane. These streets were filled with retail stores selling a wide variety of Chinese goods.
The following are the structures of factory buildings and streets that make up the thirteen factories area. The list is in the order of which they are lined up. The names of the hong-merchants are Howqua, Mowqua, Puankhequa, Goqua, Fatqua, Kingqua, Sunshing, Mingqua, Saoqua and Punboqua.[4]
| English names | Chinese names[4] | Transliteration of the Chinese names |
|---|---|---|
| Factory of Justice and Peace | 義和行（小溪馆） | E-wo-hong |
| Factory of Tranquillity | 新英國館（保和行）？？ | paeon-ho-hong |
| Hog Lane | 豬巷 | |
| Chow-Chow Factory | 炒炒館（豐泰行、巴斯行） | fung-tae-hong |
| Old English Factory | 舊英國館（隆順行） | bung-shan-hong |
| Swedish Factory | 瑞典行（瑞行） | suy-hang |
| Imperial Factory | 帝國館（孖鹰行） | ma-ying-hang |
| Precious and Prosperous Factory | 寶順館（寶順行） | paon-shun-hang |
| American Factory | 美國行（廣源行） | kwang-yuen-hang |
| Old China Street | 老中國街 | |
| French Factory | 法蘭西館（高公行） | |
| Spanish Factory | 西班牙館（大呂宋行） | |
| Danish Factory | 丹麥行 |
In 1835, medical missionary Peter Parker, M.D. opened an Ophthalmic Hospital at 3 Hog Lane. Lam Qua, a Western-trained Chinese painter who also had workshops in the Thirteen Factories area, was commissioned by Parker to paint pre-operative portraits of patients who had large tumors or other major deformities.
The emperor appointed an official called the hoppo, to take charge and collect taxes from the goods traded. The position also overlook whether the trades went accordingly. The hoppo was responsible for merchant relations on behalf of the Qing court. It was an important position since merchants were not allowed to communicate with the emperor directly.[2]
Foreigners were also not allowed to learn Chinese by rule at the time[2] though the British did have Robert Morrison as a translator.[4] The four linguists representing the Chinese side included Atom, Achow, Atung and Akang.[4]