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.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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