The Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao S.A.R. Government will organize an Academic Research Lecture in the Cultural Affairs Bureau Auditorium (Edifício do Instituto Cultural, Tap Seac Square, Macao) at 6:30pm on Friday 18 June. Zhang Ting Mao, a professor at the History Department of Jinan University, will give a lecture on “The Changing Role of Macao’s Port in the Late Qing Dynasty”. The lecture will present the changing role of Macao’s port during the late Qing Dynasty based on a study of the sea trade through Macao’s port. Through extensive reference to statistical information on Macao’s port in the “Macao Government Gazette” and other Portuguese materials, the study finds Macao’s sea trade kept growing despite increased competition. In the more than 70 years before the Qing Dynasty ended, China opened ports in different parts of the country to foreign trade. There was an unprecedented expansion in trade volume and distribution of trading ports in China. Nevertheless, according to data of Macao’s cargo-handling capacity reflected by the number and tonnage of incoming and outgoing vessels over the seven decades, Macao’s trade volume experienced temporary ups and downs, but the long-term trend was still upwards. The increase of ports only led to a change in the role of Macao’s port: Macao, aside from being a port for receiving goods for local use, had also gradually developed into an entrepôt for the region. Zhang Ting Mao is a professor at the History Department and Ph.D. supervisor at Jinan University. His major research area is the history of Sino-Portuguese relation and the history of Macao. He has published 40 articles on these research areas in different academic journals both inside and outside China. He is the author of [History of Macao Sea Trade in the Ming and Qing Dynasties] and the co-author of another four books. In this lecture, he will share some of the findings in his research grant award project “Study of Macao Sea Trade in the Late Qing Dynasty”. The lecture will be given in Mandarin with Cantonese, Portuguese and English simultaneous interpretation. Entrance is free. For further details, please contact Ms Chu of the Macao Historical Archives of the Cultural Affairs Bureau at 85986537.
