The Collaborative International Dictionary
Hong merchant
Hong \Hong\, n. [Chinese hang, Canton dialect hong, a mercantile house, factory.] A mercantile establishment or factory for foreign trade in China, as formerly at Canton; a succession of offices connected by a common passage and used for business or storage.
Hong merchant, one of the few Chinese merchants who, previous to the treaty of 1842, formed a guild which had the exclusive privilege of trading with foreigners.