Tong King-sing
Chinese comprador, interpreter, and businessman during the late Qing dynasty
About Tong King-sing
Lived 1832 – 1892 (aged 60). Tong King-sing was a Chinese entrepreneur, merchant, translator and politician.
Tang Jingxing (18321892; ), also known as Tang Tingshu , was a Chinese comprador, interpreter, and businessman during the late Qing dynasty. Born in Xiangshan, Guangdong province, he studied in Robert Morrison's missionary schools as a boy and his classmates included Yung Wing. Because of the knowledge of English he obtained employment in the Hong Kong colonial government between 1851–57 and 1857–61, he served the Chinese Maritime Customs Service as interpreter and chief secretary. In 1861, he joined the Jardine Matheson Company, initially as a travelling salesman, visiting the various Yangtze River ports. In 1863 he was promoted and appointed Jardine Mathesion's Compradore in Shanghai. He was so successful in developing the company's trade he was soon made Chief Compradore responsible for all the company's compradores in other Chinese ports. Tang authored the work The Chinese Instructor, a six-volume series of dialogues, published in 1862.
Tang is mainly known for his participation in a number of officially sponsored commercial projects during the last decades of the Qing dynasty, collectively known as enterprises under "official supervision and merchant management" . Between 1873 and 1884 he served as the general manager of China Merchants' Steam Navigation Company in Shanghai, after which he worked in the coalmines in Kaiping in Zhili until his death in 1892. In Tangshan near Kaiping he was also a promoter of the Kaiping Tramway.
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Important facts
People in Tong King-sing's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Tong King-sing's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Tong King-sing?
Chinese comprador, interpreter, and businessman during the late Qing dynasty (1832-1892)
When was Tong King-sing born?
Tong King-sing was born on 19 May 1832 in Zhongshan.
When did Tong King-sing die?
Tong King-sing died on 7 October 1892.
What was Tong King-sing's occupation?
Tong King-sing was an entrepreneur, merchant, translator and politician.
What nationality was Tong King-sing?
Tong King-sing was Chinese.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Tong King-sing. https://biography.guide/tong-king-sing/
MLA: "Tong King-sing." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/tong-king-sing/.
Chicago: "Tong King-sing." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/tong-king-sing/.
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