Red hat merchant
| Origin | Qing dynasty |
|---|---|
| Representative figures | Hu Xueyan |
Red hat merchant[1] (Chinese: 紅頂商人; hong-ding shangren), alternatively translated as red-hat businessman,[2] entrepreneur with red hat,[3] refers to a government official who also appears as a businessman, combining the roles of civil servant and businessman, that is, "government businessman".[4]
The term originated from the Qing dynasty and was initially used to describe state officials who were also engaged in commercial activities.[5] At that time, wealthy officials often wore caps with rubies.[6] The typical representative of the "red hat merchant" is Hu Xueyan, a prominent businessman in the late Qing dynasty.[7]
Nowadays, the term "red hat merchant" is widely used to refer to a businessperson who benefits from good relationships with important high-level government officials.[8] The term is also used to refer to businesspeople who hold top positions in local companies and local government financing vehicles.[9]: 53 Through the strategy referred to by the slogan "wearing a red hat," some private entrepreneurs obtained permission from townships and villages to register their private enterprises as township and village enterprises in order to avoid restrictions on the number of employees a small private business could have.[10]: 97–98
References
[edit]- ^ Michael Dillon (1 December 2016). Encyclopedia of Chinese History. Taylor & Francis. pp. 303–. ISBN 978-1-317-81716-1.
- ^ Elie Virgile Chrysostome; Rick Molz (16 April 2014). Building Businesses in Emerging and Developing Countries: Challenges and Opportunities. Routledge. pp. 116–. ISBN 978-1-136-16885-7.
- ^ Cheng Li (7 July 2006). "Reshuffling Four Tiers of Local Leaders:Goals and Implications" (PDF). Hoover Institution.
- ^ "Contemporary "Hu Xueyan" persons". Deutsche Welle. 18 September 2010.
- ^ G. E. Anderson (19 June 2012). Designated Drivers: How China Plans to Dominate the Global Auto Industry. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 3–. ISBN 978-1-118-32885-9.
- ^ "8,000 Chinese officials quit business posts". People's Daily Online. 29 December 2004.
- ^ "Folly of blindly chasing profits". The Standard. 30 July 2020.
- ^ Crime, Law and Social Change (27 April 2021). "The changing forms of corruption in China". Springer.com. Vol. 75, no. 3. pp. 247–265. doi:10.1007/s10611-021-09952-3.
- ^ Chen, Muyang (2024). The Latecomer's Rise: Policy Banks and the Globalization of China's Development Finance. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press. ISBN 9781501775857. JSTOR 10.7591/jj.6230186.
- ^ Ang, Yuen Yuen (2016). How China Escaped the Poverty Trap. Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-1-5017-0020-0. JSTOR 10.7591/j.ctt1zgwm1j.
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