Cheong Fatt Tze

Cheong Fatt Tze or Tjong Tjen Hsoen (simplified Chinese: 张弼士; traditional Chinese: 張弼士; pinyin: Zhāng Bìshì; 1840 – 1916) was a Chinese businessman and politician. He was a powerful Nanyang industrialist and a first-class Mandarin in the Manchu government; he was made Consul-General in Singapore and economic advisor to the Empress Dowager.

He was born in 1840 in Dabu, Guangdong Province in South China. As he came from a poor Hakka family, he started working at an early age as a cowherd back in his village. In 1856, civil war ravaged much of China, and in that same year another war had broken out between the Emperor of China and the English, known as the Second Opium War (1856–1862). The people had experienced hardship and suffering during the war. As a result, Cheong Fatt Tze migrated to South-East Asia together with other coastal Chinese families to seek their fortune.

He started as a water-carrier and then became a shopkeeper in Jakarta, Indonesia. After his marriage, he established a trading company with the help of his father-in-law. Gradually, he began to accumulate his wealth through hard work and perseverance. In 1877, he expanded his business from Jakarta to Medan. His business was based on agricultural products such as rubber, coffee and tea but he branched out to the financial sector by acquiring a bank. This move made him a wealthy man.

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