Commercial Activities of Chinese Merchants in the Late Nineteenth Century Korea : with a Focus on the Documents of Tong Shun Tai Archived at Seoul National University, South Korea
Journal Title: International Journal of Korean History - Year 2009, Vol 13, Issue 1
Abstract
In the late 19th century, treaties of commerce imposed by imperial Western powers compelled East Asian nations to participate in trade. Western merchants brought industrial products to exchange for the raw materials of the East, instigating and intensifying a separation of roles within the East Asian region. Asian merchants, Chinese merchants in particular, who were familiar with the local conditions, played a central role in intraregional trade. Without relying on support from their government, Chinese merchants built a vast pan-Asian commercial network based on territorial hometown connections and blood relations. The activities of Chinese merchants remained under-examined by scholars until the 1980s when Asian industrialization drew attention to the implications of the regional markets established in the late 19th century. This prompted further research into the Chinese merchants who were the major players in the market.
Authors and Affiliations
Ryota Ishikawa
Keywords
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