Introduction: The Comprador in Chinese Society -- The Western Merchant and His Chinese Comprador -- The Western Mercantile House -- Reliance on the Chinese Comprador -- Further Benefits of the Comprador -- The Rise and Fall of the Comprador -- Origins of the Comprador -- Rise of the Modern Comprador Outside China -- Decline and Fall, 1900-1943 -- Functions of the Comprador in the Foreign Firm -- House Steward -- Business Assistant -- Upcountry Purchaser -- The Chief Comprador Tong King-sing -- The Comprador as a Nouveau Riche -- Accumulating Wealth as a Comprador -- Accumulating Wealth as an Independent Merchant -- Total Income of the Comprador -- The Comprador and Modern China's Economic Development -- Foreign Economic Intrusion -- Modern China's Commercial Development -- The Comprador as Industrial Investor -- The Comprador as Industrial Manager -- The Comprador as Entrepreneur -- The Comprador System as a Socioeconomic Institution -- The Process of Becoming a Comprador -- Mechanism of the Institution -- Characteristics of the Institution -- Beyond a Purchaser: Noneconomic Activities of the Comprador -- Style of Life -- Sociopolitical Activities -- Intellectual Response to the West -- Conclusion: Significance of the Comprador as a Middleman between East and West.