Cohong

Wade - Giles romanization �kung-hung�, also called �hong�, or �cong-hong� the guild of Chinese merchants authorized by the central government to trade with Western merchants at Canton prior to the first Opium War (1839 - 42). Such firms often were called �foreign-trade firms� (yang-hang) and the merchants who directed them �hong merchants� (hang-shang). In existence by the mid-17th century, these merchants theoretically numbered 13 but frequently totalled