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MEversbergII asked me the meaning of the name of my new teashop “Tea Hong”, and quoting that I have used that phrase in the plural in certain writings in the Tea Guardian before. I guess the phrase is not as a common understanding even amongst Chinese speaking readers so I’ll start a new topic here to very briefly explain it.
The word “hong” was a direct transcription of the Chinese word “行” used popularly in southern China for companies involved in the buying and selling of certain commodities. Note that it is not according to the phonetic of mandarin Chinese, but rather Cantonese, the official dialect of the city of Guangzhou (Canton), the place that used to control most trading during 18~19th century. Note also that the same Chinese word can mean other things.The usage of the word for the extended meaning of trading company is kept alive in Chinese today. For example, for the English equivalent of “trade” or “industry”, there is “行業”, for the English equivalent of “bank”, there is “銀行”, etcTea hongs, i.e tea trading companies, were a special kind of traders since tea was the single largest export commodity in China which trading was restricted in the city of Canton. Much official influence (from both the exporting and the importing countries), special trading practices and bartering were in place. People working with and for these tea hongs were given special treatments and had special social statuses.13 of these once lined up neatly opposite of Shamian, the district in Guangzhou reserved for foreign officials and importer companies. These hongs once influenced greatly the GDP of the whole China.If you look up that word in any major English dictionaries or thesaurus, you’ll get some of these explanation too.However.I have decided to use that phrase for the name of my own online teashop not for becoming a big head tea trader.For a start, from the requirement of marketing effectiveness, the sound is right. The look is oriental and easily comprehensible (for as long as tea goes) for the global audience. It reflects my root as Chinese. Most importantly, it’s easy to remember.These are, nevertheless, bonuses. The reason I decided for it is it’s association with my root: Hong Kong. Not only that it has the same word, but also that it is a transcription basing on Cantonese, my mother tongue. The reference of a historical role and my own root all in one word — how can I refuse it?The Chinese name of the company also reflects that, it is not simply “茶行” as in the generic term back in those days, but rather “茶香行” with the first character of the Chinese name of Hong Kong in the middle. The meaning of the name of Hong Kong? Fragrant Harbour. Tea Fragrance Trader. 😉 -
This is beautiful. Really like the idea of the multiple meaning of the use of Hong in your tea shop. Love it.
The Xiamian (Shamian?) area is still lined with old colonial buildings, a distinct look from the rest of Guangzhou and used to be quite a romantic spot. Though now it is too much flooded with commercialization and walker-bys. -
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This is so smart. The term tea hong is still used popularly by tea traders in Hong Kong and Guangzhou. They give some name in front of the term such as Fujian Tea Hong etc.You use just the term in English and give it a twist in Chinese to have turned it totally yours. This is brilliant. I think you are not just a tea specialist, but also a marketing expert.
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All I want to say is that I am back home now and have tasted all the teas I got from Fujian Tea Hong. They are medium low quality tea taste. I should buy tea from Mr Leo instead. If I buy from teahong.com, will there be problem sending tea from Hong Kong to Japan at the customs? Do I need to pay import tax?
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Hokusai, that small teahouse you bought from has been there for many years. They often over fire their tea all the time and mix new batches with the old all the time disregard of quality. It is good that you have experienced so called ‘traditional’ style teashop and their quality. This is part of the education. I paid my share too
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