Cheong Fatt Tze (born Chang Chin Hsun; c. 1840–1916), also known as Tjong Tjen Hsoen, Thio Tiauw Siat or Zhang Bishi was a Chinese industrialist, politician and philanthropist. Spending the majority of his life residing in

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

and the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...

, he was a powerful

Nanyang Nanyang is the romanization of two common Chinese place names. It may refer to: Written as * Nanyang (region), a Chinese term denoting the Southeast Asian lands surrounding the South China Sea ;China * Nanyang Fleet, Qing dynasty naval fleet bas ...

business magnate and a first-class

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

of China; he was made Consul-General in Singapore and economic advisor. He was once regarded as the richest man in Malaya, with a reputed net worth of 80 million taels worth of silver (equivalent to approximately $2.4 billion today), which brought him the moniker "the Rockefeller of China". He died in Batavia from pneumonia.

Early life

He was born in 1840 in Dabu,

Guangdong, China ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

to a poor

Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka-speaking Chinese, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas, are a southern Han Chinese subgroup whose principal settlements and ancestral homes are dispersed widely across the provinces of southern China ...

family. Cheong started working at an early age as a cowherd back in his village. At age 16, Cheong had left Guangdong while Cantonese Red Turban rebellion and political purges ravaged much of Guangdong, and in that same year another war had broken out between the Hakkas and the Cantonese locals. The people had experienced starvation hardship and suffering as they fled during the war. As a result, Cheong Fatt Tze migrated to

South-East Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Australian mainland, which is part of Oceania. Southeast Asia i ...

together with other coastal Chinese families to seek their fortune.

Career

He started as a water-carrier and then became a shopkeeper in

Batavia, Dutch East Indies Batavia was the capital of the Dutch East Indies. The area corresponds to present-day Jakarta, Indonesia. Batavia can refer to the city proper or its suburbs and hinterland, the , which included the much larger area of the Residency of Batavia ...

(today

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

). After his marriage, he established a trading company with the help of his father-in-law. Gradually, he began to accumulate his wealth through hard work and perseverance. In 1877, he expanded his business from

Medan Medan ( , ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of North Sumatra. The nearby Strait of Malacca, Port of Belawan, and Kualanamu International Airport make Medan a regional hub and multi ...

. His business was based on

agricultural Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...

products such as

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Types of polyisoprene ...

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

and

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of south-western China and nor ...

but he branched out to the financial sector by acquiring a bank. This move made him a wealthy man. In 1886, he expanded again to

Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. As his business grew, he owned three ships which plied between Penang and Medan. In the course of his work, he occasionally resided in Penang and owned a

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...

in Leith Street, which stands to this day as protected heritage building.

Political career

In 1890, in recognition of his hard work and contribution, he was appointed the Chinese Consul, based in Penang. This office was shifted to

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

when that city became established as a well-known trading port in

. As the Chinese Consul, he worked tirelessly for the interests of overseas Chinese residents through diplomatic channels with the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

authorities. In 1899, he was summoned to China twice to present a national development plan, which was well received by government officials. As a result, he was promoted to be the Minister for agriculture, industries, roads and mines for the provinces of

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

and

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

. Later he was instructed to conduct a study of trade and education in Penang and Singapore. Subsequently, the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce was established. In 1904, he established the first Chinese school in Southeast Asia, the Chung Hwa Confucian School in Penang. In 1912, the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

overthrew the Qing and established a

republican government Representative democracy, also known as indirect democracy or electoral democracy, is a types of democracy, type of democracy where elected delegates Representation (politics), represent a group of people, in contrast to direct democracy. Nearl ...

. Cheong was appointed as a member of the Legislative Assembly so that he could be actively involved with politics. He was also appointed as the Chairman of the Chinese national Chamber of Commerce, which was well received by all parties. In 1915, he was sent to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

to study all aspects of industrialization of that nation. During his journey, when he stopped over in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, he was awarded a Ph.D. in

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

Death

Cheong Fatt Tze died in

in 1916. His body was sent back to China to be buried. On its final journey through Penang, Singapore and Hong Kong, the overseas Chinese were greatly saddened by the loss of this great personality. The Chinese government sent a high-ranking official to his funeral and ordered the National Archives to record his life in historical documents so that his contributions would always be remembered. Both the

and the

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

authorities ordered flags to be flown at half mast to honour the man who was known as ''"the Rockefeller of the East"''. He had eight wives and owned many residences throughout his trading empire (mostly

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

) but made Penang his base, where he raised his six sons.

Legacy

In 1894,

Chung Keng Quee Kapitan China Chung Keng Quee (; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: Chhang Kín-kui, 182713 December1901) was the founder and administrator of modern Taiping in Perak, Malaysia. Appointed "Capitan China" by the British in 1877, he was a millionaire philanthropi ...

hosted in his own gardens, in the name of Vice Consul Chang Pi Shih (Cheong Fatt Tze), a dinner to welcome Admiral Ting (see Battle of Yalu River (1894) and Battle of Weihaiwei) and the Chinese Imperial Fleet of warships that he commanded. Cheong Fatt Tze first introduced grape vineyards in China's Shandong province, and later brought in Austrian wine-producing experts to improve the ChangYu vineyard in Yantai, Shandong. Cheong Fatt Tze also gave shelter to Sun Yat Sen and Sun Yat Sen 's fourth wife in Penang, Cheong Fatt Tze also helped Sun Yat Sen with Money to promote a Chinese Nationalist movement in China after 1911. A street in George Town, Penang, which was formerly named Hong Kong Street, was renamed after him, Jalan Cheong Fatt Tze. His blue mansion,

Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion The Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion is a government gazetted heritage building located on Leith Street in George Town, Penang, Malaysia. The mansion's external decorations and indigo-blue outer walls make it a very distinctive building, and it is somet ...

, is a heritage building, located at Leith Street in George Town. It is open for guided tours, and also offers accommodation and has an on-site restaurant. He left another mansion in his birthplace, Dabu, Guangdong Province, China.

References

External links

Mansion
Cheong Fatt Tze * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cheong, Fatt Tze 1840s births 1916 deaths Chinese philanthropists 19th-century Dutch East Indies people Indonesian philanthropists Malaysian people of Hakka descent People from British Malaya Malaysian philanthropists Malaysian businesspeople Indonesian businesspeople People from Dabu Qing dynasty government officials Republic of China politicians from Guangdong Politicians from Meizhou Businesspeople from Meizhou