The Taipans

When the first trading houses were established in Canton and Macau in the 18th century, businessmen from Britain, the USA and India built immense fortunes from shipping opium. These drug merchants, known as "Taipans", dominated trade in the area until World War I, some founding powerful trading houses, others bankrupting themselves in the cause of diversification. This study examines how fortunes were made and lost, the social and political influence of the taipans, their lifestyles, and the role they played in the development of a Chinese middle class.