Qua
From Free net encyclopedia
The term 'qua' is a suffix used in China around the 17th and 18th century on names of Chinese "hong" merchants, e.g. Powqua, Chinqua, etc.
It is believed to be a corruption of the word "kuan" - meaning official in Chinese. Since "hong" merchants were technically Mandarins of the lowest (9th) rank, the suffix "qua" was added to their names in honour of their positions in the Qing government.
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