Cantonese merchants

Cantonese merchants (Cantonese Jyutping: Jyut6 soeng1; Traditional Chinese: 粵商) refers to merchants of Cantonese origin, though sometimes it is used to include Hakka and Teochew merchants who originated from the Southern Chinese province of Guangdong, where Cantonese people have been the dominant demographic.

For most of the second millennium AD, some important ports of successive Chinese dynasties have been situated in Guangdong, resulting in the formation of a distinct business culture which many cultural studies and business scholars have sought to examine.

[1][2] Located in the southern fringe of China, far away from center of power, adjacent to Hong Kong and Macau, Cantonese merchants were the first to open up the market to Western European commerce and to accept economic and cultural exchange with Southeast Asia.

As a result, a unique business culture emerged.

According to scholars, the main characteristics of Cantonese merchants include:[3][4][5]