Jump to content

Kongsi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Ronyaguilar (talk | contribs) at 18:03, 7 December 2017 (→See also). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

This page is about a historical term for Chinese social organizations. For lists of modern Chinese companies, see PRC companies, Hong Kong companies, or Taiwanese companies.
The headquarters of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association in San Francisco, California

Kongsi (Chinese: 公司; pinyin: gōngsī; Wade–Giles: kung-ssu; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kong-si) is broadly defined as a type of Chinese social organization or partnership, but the term has acquired other meanings under different historical contexts.[1][2] According to historian Tai Peng Wang, "almost every Chinese institution during the 19th century was called a kongsi."[1] Among overseas Chinese, the word kongsi was applied to both clan organizations whose members shared a common descent or social clubs for Chinese immigrants originating from the same province.[1][2] After the 19th century, these organizations came to be known as as hui guan (會館, literally meaning "meeting hall").[3]

Southeast Asia

In Southeast Asia, the kongsi republics were made up of Hakka Chinese mining communities that united into political entities that functioned as self-governing states.[4] By the mid-nineteenth century, the kongsi republics controlled most of western Borneo. The three largest kongsi republics were the Lanfang Republic, the Heshun Republic (Fosjoen), and the Santiaogou Federation (Samtiaokioe).[5]

The Chinese word Kongsi is used in modern Chinese to mean a commercial "company".

Functions of the Kongsi system

The system of kongsi was utilized by Cantonese throughout the diaspora to overcome economic difficulty, social ostracism, and oppression.[citation needed] In today's Cantonese communities throughout the world, this approach has been adapted to the modern environment, including political and legal factors.[citation needed] The kongsi is similar to modern business partnerships, but also draws on a deeper spirit of cooperation and consideration of mutual welfare. It is believed by some that the development and thriving of Cantonese communities worldwide are the direct result of the kongsi concept.[citation needed] A vast number of Cantonese-run firms and businesses that were born as kongsi ended up as multinational conglomerates.

See also

Citations

  1. ^ a b c Wang 1979, p. 102.
  2. ^ a b Yuan 2000, p. 3.
  3. ^ Wang 1979.
  4. ^ Heidhues 1996, p. 176.
  5. ^ Heidhues 2003, p. 55.

References

  • Heidhues, Mary Somers (1996). "Chinese Settlements in Rural Southeast Asia: Unwritten Histories". Sojourners and Settlers: Histories of Southeast China and the Chinese. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 164–182. ISBN 978-0-8248-2446-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
  • Heidhues, Mary Somers (2003). Golddiggers, Farmers, and Traders in the "Chinese Districts" of West Kalimantan, Indonesia. Cornell Southeast Asia Program Publications. ISBN 978-0-87727-733-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
  • Wang, Tai Peng (1979). "The Word "Kongsi": A Note". Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. 52 (235): 102–105. JSTOR 41492844.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
  • Yuan, Bingling (2000). Chinese Democracies: A Study of the Kongsis of West Borneo (1776-1884). Research School of Asian, African, and Amerindian Studies, Leiden University. ISBN 978-9-05789-031-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Overseas Chinese benevolent associations.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Kongsi&oldid=814249578"