Corresponding author:Jie He

Abstract

During the pre-globalization era, the Canton System served as the Qing government's institutional framework for regulating Sino-Western trade and managing international relations. This study focuses on the Hong merchant guilds operating within the Guangzhou System during the Qing Dynasty. By leveraging AI's capabilities in distant reading, visual reading, and perception capabilities, it examines their dual identity as both “godfathers of foreign merchants” and “prisoners of the system.” While monopolistic privileges enabled them to dominate trade and convey official policies, they were simultaneously constrained by the collective guarantee system and bureaucratic impositions. Through the analysis of transnational correspondence networks, this study reveals how these merchants, acting as institutional intermediaries, not only sustained trade operations but also developed adaptive strategies to address the structural challenges presented by China's integration into the global trade system.

This study selected 106 original letters from 1792 to 1810 between Chinese and Western institutions, sourced from the British East India Company archives. By employing text mining, network analysis, and knowledge graph technologies to interpret historical actors, this study reveals the operational mechanisms of transnational negotiation networks within the Canton System and the dual roles of the Hong merchants. It is achieved through three dimensions: presenting transnational negotiation interaction networks, analyzing the functions of diverse actors, and reconstructing the image of the Hong merchant groups. The analysis first maps the networks of letter exchange, then identifies the roles of various actors, and finally focuses on the internal networks and individual profiles within the merchant group, revealing the structural dilemmas and personal strategies underlying their dual identities.

Study reveals that transnational negotiation networks formed a three-tiered network officials, merchants, and foreign traders with the Hong merchants as the pivotal link. Serving as the hub connecting various actors, these merchants occupied a core intermediary position in trade, judicial affairs, and maritime defense matters. Within this framework, Qing court officials leveraged the Hong merchants to enforce control, issuing administrative decrees and judicial rulings; British challenged established norms through legal cases and trade pressure, advancing claims for rights and requests for cooperation. The Hong merchants demonstrated high connectivity in domains like piracy suppression and trade mediation, demonstrating their “godfather” characteristics of proactively balancing conflicts. Conversely, in matters of national sovereignty, such as Macao affairs or legal disputes, their centrality significantly diminished or they were absent, revealing their “prisoner” characteristics with limited influence.

The transnational negotiation network revealed in this study reflects the conflict between the Canton System and colonial expansion in the Qing dynasty. As the executors of this network, the Hong merchants were granted monopolistic intermediary rights while simultaneously struggling to survive within a complex framework of Sino-foreign power dynamics. This system both sustained the Qing dynasty's trade order and, due to colonial pressures, served as a precursor to the old system's collapse. This study centers on historical correspondence as primary material, integrating digital humanities methodologies with AI technology deeply. It examines letter exchanges, strategic choices, and emotional interactions to reveal the power structures and operational mechanisms of transnational negotiation networks from a micro-level perspective. It focuses on the contradictory position of the Hong merchants caught between the tensions of being both “godfathers to foreign merchants” and “prisoners of the system.”

Keywords

Canton System, Hong Merchants, Transnational Negotiation Networks, Original Correspondence from the British East India Company, Digital Humanities