Full bibliography

Leanqua and Anqua were prominent merchants in China who were unknowingly two of the founding fathers of what later became known as the Canton System 'yikou tongshang' (一口通商). The Qing government opened China to foreign trade in 1684, but it took several decades of experimenting with different policies before a common set of regulations emerged. The two partners operated in the period from 1685 to 1720, so they experienced at first hand all of the difficulties during these early years of the development. They were involved in both the Chinese junk trade to Southeast Asia and the foreign trade at Canton. They had very extensive connections with suppliers in China's interior and they regularly dealt with prominent merchants throughout Southeast Asia, including Java, Malaysia, and Siam. They also developed close relations with officers of the Dutch, English, and French East India companies.