Career Moves
China Banking Corporation, Manila, 1920-c.1923
At some point in 1920, Han Liang moved on from Shanghai Commercial Bank and threw in his lot with a fresh banking start-up, located not in China, but in the Philippines. Former classmate Albino Sycip was launching the China Banking Corporation (中興銀行 Zhong Xing Yinhang) in Manila. About four years his senior, Sycip had been a law student at the University of Michigan when Han Liang arrived. He was also an Amoy native and fellow alumnus of the Anglo-Chinese College. Sycip’s co-founder, Dee C. Chuan (李清泉 Li Qingquan), was another Filipino with roots in Amoy.
Had Han Liang calculated that he might find himself at a disadvantage at KP Chen's bank, a presumably enviable aspiration for so many young men in Shanghai? Or longer term, did he foresee more chance to rise with this even newer bank among people who spoke Hokkien, as well as English? Might the events around the May 4th Movement have given him pause for thought about how long the road to stability and respect was going to be for his country? Was a foreign post in fact something of a hedge?
Whatever the case, in choosing to associate himself with the overseas Chinese community, Han Liang was following a long-standing pattern of his fellow provincials that would characterize the rest of his career.
The new bank opened for business on August 16, 1920 in Manila's Chinatown on Calle Rosario. Han Liang was made a sub-manager. It's noted in the 1925 Who’s Who in China that while in the Philippines, he also served as a director of the Manila YMCA.
As Han Liang settled himself in the Philippines, his brother Han Ho was also finding his way. With his degree in mining engineering, it's believed that Han Ho may have worked for a time for Han-y’eh-ping Iron and Coal Company (漢冶萍煤鐵廠礦股份有限公司 Hanyeping Meitie Changkuang Gufen Youxian Gongsi).
The proto-industrial-military complex had been formed in 1908 when Hubei’s forward-looking Governor Zhang Zhidong (张之洞) united the Hanyang Ironworks of Hankou, the iron mines of Daye and the coal mines of Pingxiang in Jiangxi province. It was another example of a Qing dynasty effort at modernization. Within a few years the enterprise fell under the control of its Japanese creditors, but Han-y’eh-ping appears to have remained a significant organization. After all, it was where Han Liang's classmate TV Soong started working upon his return from the US.
It’s believed that Han Liang worked for Sycip and Chuan's China Banking Corporation for about three years.
Had Han Liang calculated that he might find himself at a disadvantage at KP Chen's bank, a presumably enviable aspiration for so many young men in Shanghai? Or longer term, did he foresee more chance to rise with this even newer bank among people who spoke Hokkien, as well as English? Might the events around the May 4th Movement have given him pause for thought about how long the road to stability and respect was going to be for his country? Was a foreign post in fact something of a hedge?
Whatever the case, in choosing to associate himself with the overseas Chinese community, Han Liang was following a long-standing pattern of his fellow provincials that would characterize the rest of his career.
The new bank opened for business on August 16, 1920 in Manila's Chinatown on Calle Rosario. Han Liang was made a sub-manager. It's noted in the 1925 Who’s Who in China that while in the Philippines, he also served as a director of the Manila YMCA.
As Han Liang settled himself in the Philippines, his brother Han Ho was also finding his way. With his degree in mining engineering, it's believed that Han Ho may have worked for a time for Han-y’eh-ping Iron and Coal Company (漢冶萍煤鐵廠礦股份有限公司 Hanyeping Meitie Changkuang Gufen Youxian Gongsi).
The proto-industrial-military complex had been formed in 1908 when Hubei’s forward-looking Governor Zhang Zhidong (张之洞) united the Hanyang Ironworks of Hankou, the iron mines of Daye and the coal mines of Pingxiang in Jiangxi province. It was another example of a Qing dynasty effort at modernization. Within a few years the enterprise fell under the control of its Japanese creditors, but Han-y’eh-ping appears to have remained a significant organization. After all, it was where Han Liang's classmate TV Soong started working upon his return from the US.
It’s believed that Han Liang worked for Sycip and Chuan's China Banking Corporation for about three years.
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MORE ABOUT ALBINO SYCIP
The Sycip brothers are mentioned in:
Find photos of Albino Sycip at:
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SOURCES
Han Ho at Han-y’eh-ping:
TV Soong's stint at Han-y’eh-ping:
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Banner caption: Calle Rosario in Manila's Chinatown (now Quintin Paredes)
