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Jewish Merchants' Community in Shanghai :A Study of the Kadoorie Enterprise, 1890-1950 Yuk Chui Kong

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Jewish Merchants' Community in Shanghai :A Study of the Kadoorie Enterprise, 1890-1950 Yuk Chui Kong Hong Kong Baptist University HKBU Institutional Repository Open Access Theses and Dissertations Electronic Theses and Dissertations 8-30-2017 Jewish merchants' community in Shanghai :a study of the Kadoorie Enterprise, 1890-1950 Yuk Chui Kong Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.hkbu.edu.hk/etd_oa Recommended Citation Kong, Yuk Chui, "Jewish merchants' community in Shanghai :a study of the Kadoorie Enterprise, 1890-1950" (2017). Open Access Theses and Dissertations. 417. https://repository.hkbu.edu.hk/etd_oa/417 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Electronic Theses and Dissertations at HKBU Institutional Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Open Access Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of HKBU Institutional Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. HONG KONG BAPTIST UNIVERSITY Doctor of Philosophy THESIS ACCEPTANCE DATE: August 30, 2017 STUDENT'S NAME: KONG Yuk Chui THESIS TITLE: Jewish Merchants’ Community in Shanghai - A Study of the Kadoorie Enterprise, 1890-1950 This is to certify that the above student's thesis has been examined by the following panel members and has received full approval for acceptance in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Chairman: Prof. Chu Cindy Y Y Professor, Department of History, HKBU (Designated by Dean of Faculty of Social Sciences) Internal Members: Prof. Ho Clara Wing-chung Head, Department of History, HKBU Dr. Wong Man Kong Associate Professor, Department of History, HKBU External Members: Prof. Ho Pui Yin Professor Department of History The Chinese University of Hong Kong Prof. Chiu Yu Lok Professor School of Arts and Social Sciences The Open University of Hong Kong In-attendance: Prof. Chung Po Yin Professor, Department of History, HKBU Issued by Graduate School, HKBU Jewish Merchants' Community in Shanghai - A Study of the Kadoorie Enterprise, 1890-1950 KONG Yuk Chui A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Principal Supervisor: Prof. Stephanie Po-yin Chung (Hong Kong Baptist University) August 2017 DECLARATION I hereby declare that this thesis represents my own work which has been done after registration for the degree of PhD at Hong Kong Baptist University, and has not been previously included in a thesis or dissertation submitted to this or any other institution for a degree, diploma or other qualifications. I have read the University’s current research ethics guidelines, and accept responsibility for the conduct of the procedures in accordance with the University’s Committee on the Use of Human & Animal Subjects in Teaching and Research (HASC). I have attempted to identify all the risks related to this research that may arise in conducting this research, obtained the relevant ethical and/or safety approval (where applicable), and acknowledged my obligations and the rights of the participants. Signature: _______________ Date: August 2017 i Abstract Following the footsteps of British merchants, Jewish merchants began migrating to China’s coastal ports starting from the 1840s. Small in their number, they exerted great influence on Shanghai’s economic development. The community of Jews from Baghdad, for instance, wielded enormous clout in coastal China’s economic and financial markets. To fill the gap of the economic and financial activities of the Jewish merchants’ community in the existing literature, this dissertation considers Jewish economic activities in Shanghai using the Kadoorie enterprise as a case study. It examines the emergence, development and retreat of the Jewish merchants’ community and argues that the Jewish merchants’ community seized the opportunity of the changing political and economic environment in China to engage in the capital market in Shanghai and to enlarge their influence in the Chinese economy. Through the case study of the Kadoories, this dissertation focuses on the financial side of their operations and suggests that the Jewish merchants’ community in Shanghai had established their identity and status in the Far East through expanding their economic influences. This dissertation starts by analyzing how the Kadoories knocked over the obstacles on the problem of nationality and started their business in Shanghai with the British legal tools. It further investigates their methods of raising capital and highlights their economic contributions. This dissertation examines the business strategies of the Jewish merchants, as a migration diaspora given the vagaries of the global economy and the changing political situation in coastal China. It then explores the interactions and power struggles between the Kadoories and their business partners to explain the business network of the Jewish merchants and account for the building up of the economic influence of the Jewish merchants’ ii community in China. Furthermore, the case study examines how the Jewish merchants adapted their business strategies in response to political and economic changes. Examining the economic activities of these Jewish merchants provides insight into China’s economic history. The case study of the Kadoories also reveals the fluctuations in Shanghai’s economy and the characteristics of economic changes in contemporary China. Finally, this dissertation highlights the retreat of the Kadoories from Shanghai after 1945. At present, the Kadoories are still conducting business in China. iii Acknowledgements At the outset, I would like to express my deepest gratefulness to Prof. Stephanie Po-yin Chung, my principal supervisor, who introduced me to the field of economic and social history and the history of Jewish merchants. I must also record my gratitude to Prof. Clara Wing-chung Ho, Head and Professor of Department of History of Hong Kong Baptist University, who offered her kindest support and cordial encouragement. Throughout the period of my study, I have benefited a lot from the teachers in the History Department. My utmost gratitude also goes to my co-supervisor Dr. Ka-chai Tam for sharing with me his knowledge. I am grateful to Prof. Ricardo King-sang Mak, Prof. Kam-keung Lee, Prof. Cindy Yik-yi Chu, Dr. Timothy Man-kong Wong, Dr. David Schley and Dr. Catherine Ladds, who gave me their priceless academic advice. I would also like to thank my external examiners, Prof. Yu-lok Chiu and Prof. Pui-yin Ho, for reading my dissertation attentively and giving me invaluable feedbacks. Tons of archival materials are used in this dissertation. I have to present my greatest gratitude to Mr. Clement Cheung, Manager of Archives and Records, and Mr. Sing-ping Lee, Project Assistant, of the Hong Kong Heritage Project for allowing me to access such an invaluable archival materials and their guidance in using the collections. Millions thanks are also given to the staff of Shanghai Municipal Archives, the archivists of Hong Kong Public Records Office, the staff of Shanghai Library and the staff of Hong Kong Baptist University Library. It is impossible to figure out the tremendous amount of materials without their help. iv Special thanks to my friends for giving me a helping hand throughout the adventure of my study. I am most indebted to Mr. Peter Kwok-fai Law who help me to duplicate the governmental documents about the Kadoorie family in the National Archives Kew in the United Kingdom. I am also truly grateful for the generous help from Mr. Qing Zhu who duplicated several companies’ files from the Singapore National Archives. I remain grateful to Mr. Kin-sum Siu and his wife Ms. Pei-xin Liu for accommodating me and the hospitality extended to me during my stay in Shanghai. Thanks to Ms. Winnie Wing-sze Wong, my acquaintance, provided me some professional knowledge on finance and investment. I cannot miss to express my sincerely thanks to Mr. Zachary Kwok-keung Ng, Ms. Ada Siu-ying Mok and my mother Ms. Kathy Mei-lan Ng for the great help on editing and proofreading. The warmest thanks also go to my roommates in the History Department, Mr. Thomas Chi-fung Ho, Mr. Vincent Chung-hang Ho, Miss Joyce Yi-qiao Wang and Miss Beatrice Nga-yin Tse, for their encouragement and generous sharing. Also, thanks especially to Ms. Renee Yuet-mei Chan for her generous support. Last but not least, I would like to extend my sincerest and deepest thanks to my family, my dearest grandmother Ms. Moon Hung in Heaven, my father Mr. David Fu-ching Kong, my mother Ms. Kathy Mei-lan Ng, and my sisters Miss Ruby Kwai-yee Kong and Miss Ada Kwai-yue Kong, for their understanding and tolerance, and the immense amount of unconditionally support that I can never repay. v Table of Contents Page Declaration i Abstract ii Acknowledgments iv Table of Contents vi List of Abbreviations ix Glossary x List of Tables xiii List of Illustrations xv Chapter 1 Introduction 1. Literature review: Studies on Jewish merchants in the Far East in 1 the late 19th and early 20th centuries 2. Aim, scope of study and significance 9 3. Sources and methodology 15 4. Structure of the dissertation 18 2 Historical Setting – The Business Environment in Shanghai, 1840s-1950s 1. Introduction: The business setting in pre-war Shanghai 21 2. The price of silver and its effect on China’s capital market 23 3. Merchant communities in Shanghai 25 4. Jewish merchants in Shanghai 28 5. The Kadoorie family 32 6. Wealth and philanthropy – the Kadoories as business elites in 38 Shanghai 7. Concluding remarks 40 3 From Stockbroker to Rubber Company Financier, 1890s to 1922 1. Introduction 42 2. The rubber boom in Shanghai in the 1890s 42 3. The rubber boom and the Cathay Trust (1910) 45 4. Elly Kadoorie – From stockbroker to financer of rubber 49 companies 5. E.S. Kadoorie & Co. and the rubber market in the early 1920s 63 6. A failed experiment – The Shanghai Plantations Trust Limited 67 (1921) 7.
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