Jump to content

Taipan (corporate title): Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Content deleted Content added
Taipans: Changed section header to use tai-pans spelling.
Tags: Visual edit Mobile edit Mobile web edit Advanced mobile edit
No edit summary
Line 21: Line 21:
==Tai-pans==
==Tai-pans==
{{expand list|date=January 2013}}
{{expand list|date=January 2013}}
*[[Anthony Nightingale|Anthony John Liddell Nightingale]], [[Jardine Matheson]] (2006-2012), Hong Kong
*[[William Jardine (merchant)|William Jardine]],<ref name=NYT>{{cite news |title=Jardine Matheson's Heir-Elect: Brian M. Powers; An Asian Trading Empire Picks an American 'Tai-pan' |author=Nicholas D. Kristof |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=June 21, 1987 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/21/business/jardine-matheson-s-heir-elect-brian-m-powers-asian-trading-empire-picks-american.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm |quote=... William Jardine, the first tai-pan, a shrewd Scotsman ...}}</ref> [[Jardine Matheson]] (1843–1845), Hong Kong
*[[William Jardine (merchant)|William Jardine]],<ref name="NYT">{{cite news |title=Jardine Matheson's Heir-Elect: Brian M. Powers; An Asian Trading Empire Picks an American 'Tai-pan' |author=Nicholas D. Kristof |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=June 21, 1987 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/21/business/jardine-matheson-s-heir-elect-brian-m-powers-asian-trading-empire-picks-american.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm |quote=... William Jardine, the first tai-pan, a shrewd Scotsman ...}}</ref> [[Jardine Matheson]] (1843–1845), Hong Kong
*[[James Matheson]], Jardine Matheson (1796–1878), Hong Kong
*[[James Matheson]], Jardine Matheson (1796–1878), Hong Kong
*[[Lawrence Kadoorie]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Lawrence Kadoorie, 94, Is Dead; A Leader in Hong Kong'g ''(sic)'' Growth |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=August 26, 1993 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/26/obituaries/lawrence-kadoorie-94-is-dead-a-leader-in-hong-kong-g-growth.html}}</ref> [[China Light and Power]] (1899–1993), Hong Kong
*[[Lawrence Kadoorie]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Lawrence Kadoorie, 94, Is Dead; A Leader in Hong Kong'g ''(sic)'' Growth |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=August 26, 1993 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/26/obituaries/lawrence-kadoorie-94-is-dead-a-leader-in-hong-kong-g-growth.html}}</ref> [[China Light and Power]] (1899–1993), Hong Kong

Revision as of 05:21, 7 September 2023

A tai-pan (Chinese: ; Sidney Lau: daai6baan1,[1] literally "top class"[2]), sometimes spelt taipan, is a foreign-born senior business executive or entrepreneur operating in mainland China or Hong Kong.

History

In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, tai-pans were foreign-born businessmen who headed large Hong trading houses such as Jardine, Matheson & Co., Swire and Dent & Co., amongst others.[citation needed]

The first recorded use of the term in English is in the Canton Register of 28 October 1834.[3] Historical variant spellings include taepan (first appearance), typan, and taipan.[3]

The term also refers to the Chinese-Filipino business oligarchs who own or have involvement in various businesses in the Philippines and are the powerful billionaire-founders of Chinese-Filipino business empires. Examples of tai-pans are: The López family of Iloilo of Lopez Holdings Corporation (which includes the media conglomerate ABS-CBN Corporation and the television network of the same name); the late Henry Sy of SM Investments; National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) vice-chairmen Henry T. Sy Jr. and Robert Coyiuto Jr.; Ramon Ang of San Miguel Corporation; and Lucio Tan of Philippine Airlines.[4]

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.

The term was used to describe the protagonist's family in Empire of the Sun.

Tai-pans

See also

References

  1. ^ Andrew J. Moody, "Transmission Languages and Source Languages of Chinese Borrowings in English", American Speech, Vol. 71, No. 4 (Winter, 1996), pp. 414–415.
  2. ^ 汉英词典 — A Chinese-English Dictionary 1988 新华书店北京发行所发行 (Beijing Xinhua Bookshop).
  3. ^ a b Oxford English Dictionary (2nd edn, 1989).
  4. ^ "The taipans — Chinese Filipino oligarchs". The Manila Times. 16 September 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
  5. ^ Nicholas D. Kristof (21 June 1987). "Jardine Matheson's Heir-Elect: Brian M. Powers; An Asian Trading Empire Picks an American 'Tai-pan'". The New York Times. ... William Jardine, the first tai-pan, a shrewd Scotsman ...
  6. ^ "Lawrence Kadoorie, 94, Is Dead; A Leader in Hong Kong'g (sic) Growth". The New York Times. 26 August 1993.
  7. ^ "The Taipan and the dragon". The Economist. 8 April 1995. Archived from the original on 11 June 2014.
  8. ^ Rone Tempest and Christine Courtney (12 April 1994). "Hong Kong's New Business Dynasties : The great British trading houses rush to hire more Chinese executives, shed their colonial veneer before Beijing takes over in '97". Los Angeles Times. Simon Murray was one of the last British 'taipans.'