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Southeast Asian Personalities of Chinese Descent: A Biographical Dictionary 1040 Taï Maõ Vieãn (Tjia MaYeng, , Xie Mayan, 1862–1940) Business tycoon,Vietnam T aï Maõ Vieãn, also known as Tjia Ma Yeng, was a rich capitalist of Hokkien origin who lived in the later part of the nineteenth century and the first forty years of the twentieth century. According to the latest information, his ancestor was an overseas Chinese from Batavia (now Jakarta), Dutch East Indies (present day Indonesia).Taï Maõ Vieãn himself was born in Batavia and his mother died when he was young. His father then took him to Xiamen (Amoy), Fujian, to study and learn English. His surname, “Tjia”, is the Indonesian-Dutch spelling for Xie ( ) in the Hokkien dialect.Vieãn later migrated to Vietnam from China. However, according to another source,Vieãn came to Cochinchina in 1885 when he was twenty-four years of age.He started as a clerk in a Chinese business firm and rose to become a famous rice trader and miller. In 1905 he obtained French citizenship. Vieãn was also known as Má Chín Daœnh. During the French Occupation period, the nickname, Má Chín, was used for people who were middlemen or who were agents of big French companies, banks, and Chinese trading companies. To the owners of those companies, má chín were trustworthy people, often tasked to market goods and services, as well as source for goods. To them, má chín were the only buyers and sellers they knew. Má chín made it easy for the Chinese companies to do business. They were also known as compradors (maïi baœn ). In present times, má chín are the marketers and purchasers. Vieãn was originally a má chín, and was a rich businessman. However, originally he was not rich. According to what is known, Vieãn was the eldest son of a rich trader who went bankrupt. In the nineteenth century, his father moved the entire family to Saigon — Chôï Lôùn to restart a career. When Vieãn was turning into an adult, his father advised him that in the business world, great deeds were predicated on a dynamic mind, and that this was more valuable than wealth. His father believed that Vieãn would be able to make it in business. True to this assessment, five years after Vieãn stepped into the business world, he managed to restore his family’s wealth by becoming a skilful má chín. The following account is believed to be howVieãn became rich and prominent.Around 1908 in Saigon, there was a notorious person nicknamed “Four-Eyes Big Brother” who was the head of the mafia that protected gambling halls. He was pesky and terrifying Chinese businesses that wanted peace to conduct their business, so they needed someone else to protect them from “Four-Eyes Big Brother”. Vieãn fitted the bill. Even though “Four-Eyes” was a gangster, Vieãn was able to negotiate quietly with him, by promising to pay him a big sum of money. The strategy worked, and the Chinese businesses were left in peace.The money was of course contributed by Chinese businesses toVieãn.His reputation rocketed after T Southeast Asian Personalities of Chinese Descent: A Biographical Dictionary 1041 this affair, and he naturally became a strategist and adviser in many important matters that concerned the Chinese community. Entering the 1920s,with the rise of prices of commodities in the world economy,Vieãn became a major trader for eastern medicinal products. In the mid-1920s, his main activity was exporting rice through his company,Hock Guan Hong, of Chôï Lôùn. He also owned two steamships and many estates in Saigon and Chôï Lôùn, as well as played the role of strategist and coordinator for the trading activities of the Chinese in Saigon-Chôï Lôùn. For instance, when business leader Quách Ðàm wanted to export rice to Singapore and Hong Kong, he could not help but sought the advice of Vieããn so that his venture could be successful. With his diplomatic skills and social network, Vieãn had close liaisons with the business world in Asian countries. He researched the markets of the world and the region,forecast the trends, and was able to design wise trading strategies for his Chinese friends in Chôï Lôùn.One could say that his every move moved the...
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