Cohong

Cohong
Traditional Chinese	公行
Simplified Chinese	公行
Literal meaning	"public profession"
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin gōng háng IPA [kʊ́ŋ xǎŋ] Yue: Cantonese Jyutping gung1 hong4 IPA [kʊ̂ŋ hɔ̏ːŋ] Yale Romanization gùng hòhng

The Cohong, sometimes spelled kehang or gonghang, was a guild of Chinese merchants or hongs who operated the import-export monopoly in Canton (now Guangzhou) during the Qing dynasty (1644–1911). During the century prior to the First Opium War of 1839, trade relations between China and Europe were exclusively conducted via the Cohong, which was formalised by imperial edict in 1760 by the Qianlong Emperor. The Chinese merchants who made up the Cohong were referred to as hangshang (行商) and their foreign counterparts yanghang (洋行, literally "ocean traders").

Foundation and structure

According to John Phipps, author of the 19th century Practical Treatise on the China and Eastern Trade, the merchant Ponkequathe (潘启官) founded the guild in the 1790s, although Chinese historian Immanuel C.Y. Hsu cites an earlier date of 1720.

Number of Chinese Merchants Operating in Canton

Year	Number	Year	Number	Year	Number	Year	Number
1757	26	1791	5~6	1811	10~12	1831	10
1759	>20	1792	12	1813	10~13	1832	10
1760	9	1794	10	1815	10	1833	10
1765	10	1795	10	1822	11	1834	10
1776	8	1796	10	1823	11	1835	10
1777	8	1798	8	1824	10	1836	11
1778	8	1799	8	1825	10	1837	13
1779	8	1800	8	1826	10	1838	11
1781	4	1801	8	1827	9	1839	10
1782	9	1807	12	1828	7
1786	20	1808	9	1829	7
1790	5	1810	10	1830	10

Nominally a guild of thirteen merchants operating from "factories" located on the banks of the Pearl River outside Canton, over time membership of the Cohong fluctuated between five and 26 merchants authorized by the Chinese Central Government to handle trade, particularly rights to trade tea and silk, with the West. They were the only group at the time authorized to do this, making them the main controllers of all foreign trade in the nation.

Consoo Fund

The Cohong further functioned as controller of the Consoo Fund (公所, gōngsuǒ), actually the name of the office of the Cohong in Thirteen Factory Street), a pool of money raised by levies （公所费, gōngsuǒfèi) on the trades of individual merchants to cover the debts of any bankrupt hong at year end and to pay the various exactions demanded by the government. Officially, the rate levied for the fund was 3% of the value of goods. This tax originally applied only to tea but by the late eighteenth century had expanded to cover 69 different products.

See also

• Canton System
• Old China Trade
• Hong
• Howqua
• Thirteen Factories