“I really admire my grandfather for rising from picking up scrap metal in the streets to his status. I am only third generation. He was the one who rose up.”

- Grandson Robert H. N. Ho

 

1862

Born in Hong Kong on 22 December, the winter solstice, to businessman Charles Bosman (Dutch, 1839-1892) and Madam Sze (Chinese, 1843-1896, birthplace unconfirmed). Robert Ho Tung is Madam Sze’s eldest son.

 

c. 1870

Family abandoned by Bosman, who appears to go bankrupt and departs Hong Kong, leaving Madam Sze to cope with several children. Robert Ho Tung has to undertake many chores and endure hardship.

 

1873

Starts to attend Government Central School, Hong Kong’s first public secondary school. Some sources suggest Madam Sze paid the education expenses. Family lore believes legendary Scottish principal Dr. Frederick Stewart may have provided support.

The school’s policy is cross-cultural with four hours’ learning in English and four hours’ in Chinese per day. Boys of all nationalities are educated there. Brothers Ho Fook (1863-1926) and Ho Kai Gaai (Walter Bosman, 1867-1946) and half-brother Ho Kam Tong (1866-1950) all go to the same school and do well.

Exercises frugality early. Given three cash for lunch by his mother and saves one. A cash was worth one-tenth of a Hong Kong cent.

“Frederick Stewart* was my grandfather’s Santa Claus. The story goes that when my grandfather and his brother, Ho Fook, were boys, they were so poor they used to go out on to the streets to pick up metal – from nails to scrap. They would take what they found to a dealer and sell it to get money for food.

“One day – I don’t know the circumstances – they met Stewart and he said they could come to his school. So the two boys went to the Government Central School and became very fluent in English.

“If there were expenses for the boys’ schooling, I suspect Stewart paid them. Why do I think this? When Stewart died alone in Hong Kong, my grandfather, then a wealthy man, helped bury him and wrote the message on his headstone. He really appreciated Stewart. And now every Christmas and Easter, members of the Ho family go to bow in front of Stewart’s grave in the Protestant Cemetery in Happy Valley. Sir Robert Ho Tung starts with Frederick Stewart.”

- Reminiscence of Robert H. N. Ho

 

1878

Following graduation, wins a highly competitive place at the Chinese Imperial Maritime Customs, despite being the youngest candidate Receives HK$30 a month for his work as a clerk in Guangzhou.

 

1880

Resigns in search of more exciting opportunities. Goes to work as a junior assistant compradore for Jardine, Matheson & Co, a major Hong Kong hong, where his future father-in-law Hector Maclean and brother-in-law Choi Sing Nam already work.

 

1881

Marries 16-year-old Margaret Sau Ying Mak, daughter of Maclean and Madam Ng on 2 December.

 

1883

Takes up agency for two Jardine-related companies Hong Kong Fire Company and Canton Insurance Company. Succeeds despite advice not to take the role.

 

1884

Brokers major deal for Jardine’s over purchase of a sugar company, saving the hong a huge amount of money. Earns a HK$20,000 commission and shares most of it with colleagues and brother-in-law.

Prospers further through trading on his own account, shipping, and property.

“He always told me: ‘When doing business, you have to look at a guy and feel whether you trust him.’ You had to learn to read the person because it was very difficult to dig up his true worth in those days. Apparently, my grandfather was very successful at this.

“How did he learn to read people so well? I think he was just born with the talent. He was very sharp. He always asked the right question about a person.”

“Another of his traits was he was always smiling and complimentary. He would say “good morning”, even to a beggar in the street. He had a very good reputation.”

- Reminiscence of Robert H. N. Ho

 

1885

Younger brother wins a prestigious scholarship to study engineering in the UK, adopts the name Walter Bosman, and develops his career overseas.

 

c.1889

Adopts Ho Fook’s eldest son Ho Sai Wing as he and Margaret have not been able to have children.

Creates inscription for Dr Stewart’s headstone after the former headmaster dies suddenly while serving as Colonial Secretary.

 

1890

Becomes Jardine’s head compradore.

 

1891

Takes Chow Yee Man as a concubine to try to have children.

Appointed a Justice of the Peace.

 

1892

Travels to London and perhaps meets his original father. Bosman Snr passes away at the end of the year due to a brain tumour.

“Regarding my grandfather’s own father, Bosman, it is sketchy. I was told he did meet him in England on one of his trips there with Margaret. But I can’t substantiate that. And he never, ever, talked to me about his father. Never. Nobody dared ask that.”

- Reminiscence of Robert H. N. Ho

 

1893

Becomes a member of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce. Remains a member for life.

Suffers severe bout of pneumonia and almost dies.

 

1895

Marries Margaret’s first cousin Clara Lin Kok Cheung as he still has no children through wife or concubine. Margaret arranges for Clara to be treated as a co-wife.

Travels to Japan and the United States for nine months with Clara. Often uses the name Bosman when travelling for convenience.

Deepens community engagement by gathering petition against discriminatory Light and Pass Regulations imposed on Chinese people going out at night and by generous philanthropy.

“One thing my grandfather drilled into me in English and Chinese has become a family motto: ‘You must learn how to give before you receive.’ He would dwell on that and always reminisce about how he made his money.”

- Reminiscence of Robert H. N. Ho

 

1896

His mother Madam Sze passes away. After this, he keeps her portrait with him even when travelling, according to daughter Irene Cheng.

 

1897

Nominated to be the first president of the Chinese Club, set up by Chinese community leaders as the Chinese and Eurasian answer to the Hong Kong Club, founded in 1846 and open solely to British men.

Administers Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee Fund.

Clara gives birth to first child, named Victoria Jubilee.

Granted land for the Chiu Yuen Cemetery for Eurasians at Mount Davis. Mother’s grave moved there.

 

1898

Shelters Chinese reform leader Kang Youwei at Idlewild after his movement fails and Kang needs to escape the wrath of the Empress Dowager.

Becomes chairman of Tung Wah Hospital, signalling his arrival as a Chinese community leader. Stays on the hospital’s permanent board for decades.

Clara gives birth to their first son Henry, who subsequently dies in infancy.

 

1899

Closes deal as agent for lots in Central bounded by Li Yuen Street East and West, Des Voeux Road and Queen’s Road for HK$435,000, then the largest transaction in Hong Kong.

Sells numerous properties of his own in Wellington Street and Stanley Street by auction.

“My grandfather used every bit of the money he made - after supporting the family - to buy property."

“He wouldn’t squander his money. That was a lesson he taught me too. Always live within your means. Don’t be expensive. Be low key, as we say these days.”

- Reminiscence of Robert H. N. Ho

 

1900

Resigns from Jardine’s post due to ill health and to focus on his own company. His head compradore role passes to younger brother Ho Fook.

Major shareholder and/or director of many of the most prominent companies in Hong Kong.

“He retired from Jardine Matheson while he was still young because he had built up such connections as a compradore that he said he would go out on his own. Actually, he never retired, just slowed down! His health was never good but he lasted until he was 93. We did think he was hoping to live to be 100!”

- Reminiscence of Robert H. N. Ho

 

1902

The government builds King George V School (initially Kowloon British School aka Central British School) using a donation from Robert Ho Tung. He is disappointed as the money was originally given for a school in Kowloon similar to the multinational Government Central School he had attended. King George V School is exclusively for European children.

Becomes a major shareholder along with other members of a “China Syndicate” in the Hong Kong Telegraph, an English-language newspaper.

 

1906

In 1906, Robert Ho Tung and his family become the only non-Europeans granted exemption to live on the Peak, after acquiring three houses through a European friend. The move was said to have been at the urging of Clara, who felt it would be better for their children’s health. Robert Ho Tung still lives at Idlewild most of the time.

 

1908

Visits the US as H. T. Bosman and is threatened with deportation for arriving with two wives. Clara departs home. Robert Ho Tung is allowed to stay on in San Francisco for medical reasons, with Margaret.

Featured with Ho Fook and Ho Kom Tong in Twentieth Century Impressions of Hong Kong, Shanghai and Other Treaty Ports of China, published by Lloyds.

 

1910-13

Suffers severe health problems and becomes bedridden. Weight drops to around 60 pounds.

 

1914

Becomes a co-founder of the Tai Yau Bank.

Donates HK$50,000 for two UK military planes and ambulances as the First World War starts.

Receives Third Class Order of the Excellent Crop, first of several honours from the Chinese Nationalist government.

 

1915

Made a Knight Bachelor by King George V, becoming one of the first Hong Kong-born people to gain a knighthood.

Donates money to the University of Hong Kong medical faculty.

 

1916

Honoured as one of the first five recipients of an honorary degree at the University of Hong Kong’s first congregation.

 

1918

Son George by his nurse Katie Archee is born. George later uses his HK$50,000 inheritance to establish Commercial Radio.

 

1920

Founds Old Boys’ Association for Queen’s College, previously known as the Government Central School.

 

1922

Plays a leading role in settling seamen’s strike for higher wages, an effective protest that is badly affecting the economy of Hong Kong.

 

1923

Meets Dr Sun Yat-sen in Hong Kong. Separately, son Edward, President of the University of Hong Kong Students’ Union, gives the welcome address ahead of Dr Sun Yat-sen’s famous speech at the University.

Seeks to organise a “round table” conference to bring together Chinese warlords to discuss peace. But fails in this attempt, partly due to ill health. Motivations ascribed by later historians range from patriotism to protection of business interests, as he has substantial investments in the Mainland by this time.

“In the warlords’ era, my grandfather thought he could talk to the more powerful ones to unite China. With being in Hong Kong and an individual not involved in the conflict, he thought he could be the peacemaker.

“He was also wealthy enough to be recognised by these warlords because they needed money to buy ammunition and supplies. He thought he was in a strong enough position to stop the fighting and unite China. But who was going to be the leader?

“None of them could agree on that. So he failed, mainly because of different interests."

- Reminiscence of Robert H. N. Ho

 

1924

Attends British Empire exhibition in London with Margaret and her silkworkers. Serves in the capacity of honorary commissioner. Meets Queen Mary.

 

1925

General strike causes economic upheavals and political problems with the involvement of Guangzhou. Robert Ho Tung pilloried by strikers but is absent from Hong Kong for much of the year.

Travels to North America and on to London to settle his son Robert Shai Lai into military school in the UK in the autumn.

Featured as one of 200 elite male personalities in the bilingual Biographies of Prominent Chinese, produced by American publishers in Shanghai for international distribution.

 

1926

Brother Ho Fook dies in August.

General strike finally ends in the autumn.

 

1928

In legacies of the strike, buys Kung Sheung Daily News, a Chinese newspaper founded by the government and Chinese business elites during the boycott; and helps to rescue Kowloon Tong development project that gets into financial trouble. Members of the family subsequently live there.

 

1929

Tries to organise another “round table” peace meeting to bring an end to hostilities between different Chinese groups.

 

1931

Visits Shanghai and later goes to Beijing to discuss business with the Young Marshal Zhang Xueliang. Son Robert Shai Lai acts as interpreter as his father does not speak Mandarin well. They are all attending a charity fund-raising opera when the Mukden Incident occurs.

Holds major celebration for the Golden Anniversary of marriage to Margaret in December. Gives HK$100,000 to both his wives as a celebratory gift.

 

1932

Visits London with Lady Margaret as part of a “Golden Honeymoon” in Europe. Rides in a Zeppelin on a sight-seeing tour over the capital with daughter Irene.

Grandson Robert Hung Ngai born to son Robert Shai Lai and wife Hesta Hung.

“Of all the grandchildren, I would say my sister and I were the closest to him. This was mainly because we were there all the time at Idlewild as my mother and father were away so much, whereas my Uncle Eddie’s children lived in Shanghai. He took care of the properties there so the family didn’t come down to Hong Kong that often.

“While I was really scared of my grandmother, Margaret, my grandfather was the opposite. He had his own apartment at Idlewild so I didn’t see him when I went for dinner with my grandmother as they didn’t normally eat together. At Christmas and Chinese New Year, they would celebrate as a family but ordinarily they didn’t dine with each other as my grandfather had strange eating habits. Due to his poor health, he only drank sour milk and ate soft bread and soft rice, with some meat and fish, all in very small quantities. Then he had to lie down afterwards and all that rigmarole. So he ate alone.

“When my sister and I did see my grandfather, he always gave us something to take away. My sister loved sweets so she would get these. I would get preserved prunes. He had a nice collection of things on his desk, such as paperweights, and I still have some that he gave me. No, I wasn’t scared of my grandfather.”

- Reminiscence of Robert H. N. Ho

 

1933

Travels to London for the World Economic Conference, meeting son Robert Shai Lai in New York ahead of his US military training.

Nationalist government refuses to give Robert Ho Tung a place on China’s conference delegation, led by T.V. Soong. Cited in later press articles as an honorary advisor.

Receives surgery for digestive system problems while in London and recuperates in Europe.

 

1936

Makes overtures to the Nationalist government by holding a celebration in recognition of Chiang Kai-shek’s 50th birthday at Idlewild. Donates money for a plane for the Nationalist government and receives large photograph of Chiang. Also meets Sun Fo, son of Sun Yat-sen in Hong Kong.

 

1937

Invited to visit Nanking in May for an industrial exhibition and to discuss investment. Accompanied by son Edward and daughter Irene, meets Chiang Kai-shek. Donates money to various Nationalist causes. Clara subsequently becomes a senior figure in women’s war relief organisations in Hong Kong.

 

1938

Younger brother Walter Bosman arrives back in Hong Kong after 53 years at the start of January.

Wife Clara dies on 5 January.

Granddaughter Min Kwan Ho born, sister of Robert Hung Ngai.

 

1941

Provides his reflections of life in Hong Kong for the Centenary Talks radio broadcasts in January, commemorating the city’s 100 years under British administration.

Gathers family from different parts of the world to celebrate his and Margaret’s diamond wedding anniversary on 2 December. KMT army son Robert Shai Lai is a notable absentee. Family members are presented with a brooch featuring two golden peaches to symbolise longevity. Large-scale anniversary celebrations are held, with money raised going to war-related charities and other causes. The event is reported to be the biggest event yet held at the Hong Kong Hotel. It is attended by dignitaries of all kinds and extends to 1,000 guests. The toast is proposed by the Governor Sir Mark Young. The Governor of Macau is also present.

Goes to neutral Macau on 4 December to recover from the anniversary celebrations, just before the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong on 8 December. Refuses to return despite entreaties by the Japanese.

“My grandfather had summoned – I think that is the word – all relatives to come back to celebrate the anniversary. Thus, all of them did… except my father. My grandparents were extremely upset that one of their sons would not show up for such an event. Later, it turned out my father knew exactly when the Japanese attack was coming because he was working in cooperation with British intelligence at that time. All the Chinese government and higher-ups knew. But he could not tell us. He just did not show up. My grandparents were so mad! My grandfather did not know the real story until after the war.”

“After the celebration, just before the war began, my grandfather said he was tired and he wanted to go to Macau to rest. That’s the story. Now, we all wonder. Why would he have to go to Macau to rest? Could he have known? And the only person who could have told him was my father. But, if that was the case, why were my grandparents so mad about my father not returning for the anniversary? So maybe it wasn’t my father but coincidence."

"Nobody knows why my grandfather went to Macau. But as he happened to be there, he stayed during the occupation of Hong Kong. The Japanese actually went to Macau to ask him to come back. But my grandfather simply said he was sick. They tried, but he wouldn’t go.”

- Reminiscence of Robert H. N. Ho

 

1942

Spends the Occupation in seclusion at his Macau residence (No. 3 Largo Sto Agostinho).

“When my grandfather went to Macau, he had little money. Thus he borrowed from an old friend, who ran the casino business in those days, a man called Kou Ho Neng. Kou was a big man in Macau at that time# and he and my grandfather were already friends. Of course, my grandfather later repaid everything.”

- Reminiscence of Robert H. N. Ho

 

1944

Margaret dies in Hong Kong, having recently been baptised.

 

1945

Invited to return to Hong Kong in December on the launch of British military government commander Admiral Cecil Harcourt, accompanied by young grandson Robert Hung Ngai.

“Admiral Harcourt wanted my grandfather to come back to Hong Kong – he was Mr Hong Kong then – to make other people feel it was safe to live in again.

“So Harcourt called my grandfather in Macau and said: ‘I’m coming to get you.” He himself was coming! There would be a boat back to Hong Kong – Queen’s Pier – and a ceremony ‘to let Hong Kong people know you are back’. So my grandfather said: ‘OK, I’ll do it.’

“I had got to Macau from the Mainland by that time. When I heard the story, I said to my grandfather: ‘May I come with you?’
‘No, you come another time’ he said.
‘Oh, come on, let me come on the boat,’ I said, as it was really fast speed boat that belonged to the Admiralty.
“I begged him all day and finally he called up Harcourt and said, ‘May I take my grandson?’, and Harcourt agreed.
“That’s how I landed at Queen’s Pier with my grandfather!”

- Reminiscence of Robert H. N. Ho

 

Immediately visits Margaret’s grave in the Protestant Cemetery in Happy Valley.

 

1946

Composes the address of welcome for returning British governor Sir Mark Young at Government House, reciprocating the proceedings of the Ho Tung 1941 wedding anniversary celebrations.

Requests UK government to give Margaret a posthumous title of Honorary Dame of Grace.

Sets about seeking compensation for war damage and reorganising his businesses.

 

1948

Donates HK$1 million for Lady Ho Tung Hall women’s hostel at the University of Hong Kong in memory of Margaret.

 

1949

Addresses students at Queen’s College. Goes on a world tour, aged 86. Meets French president and George Bernard Shaw.

Loses Shanghai property portfolio after the Chinese Communist Party wins control of the country.

“Not too many people know that his property portfolio in Shanghai was even bigger than in Hong Kong. And he lost every bit of it after the Communist Party took over. He just wiped it out. All he was left with was Hong Kong.”

- Reminiscence of Robert H. N. Ho

 

1952

Celebrates 90th birthday.

“He was always a very busy man. He had a phone besides his bed and a phone besides his chair. He was always on business – oh, yes – even when he was 90. He was very alert: ‘Should I buy that? Should I sell this?’”

- Reminiscence of Robert H. N. Ho

 

1953

Ho Tung Technical School for Girls founded following a donation of HK$200,000 for the building of a girls’ school.

 

1955

Granted second knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II. Becomes a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE), flying to the UK and attending the ceremony at Buckingham Palace in a wheelchair.

 

1956

Passes away at the age of 93 at Idlewild on 26 April. Buried next to Margaret in the Protestant Cemetery in Happy Valley.

Leaves instruction in his will for the permanent upkeep of his and Margaret’s graves, as well as those of headmaster Stewart and father-in-law Maclean, buried in the same cemetery.

Bequeaths HK$500,000 to establish the Sir Robert Ho Tung Charitable Fund. By 2016, the fund was providing around HK$9 million annually to almost 200 projects.

“I wasn’t able to go back for my grandfather’s funeral as I was studying for my finals at Colgate. My father came over from the US but I couldn’t. My grandfather was buried next to Margaret in the Protestant Cemetery, and every time I return now, I always go there.”

- Reminiscence of Robert H. N. Ho

 

* Frederick Stewart was the founding principal, who established the boys-only school in 1862. He was esteemed by many pupils who attended the Government Central School in its early days. He insisted on a bicultural system where the students learnt both in English and in Chinese during the school day and all nationalities were accepted. The school was the first Anglo-Chinese secondary school in Hong Kong. Originally from Scotland, Stewart became fluent in Chinese once in Hong Kong, facilitating his work. Many of the early pupils became eminent members of the Hong Kong community and beyond. It later became known as Queen’s College and remains among Hong Kong’s top schools today. (See The Golden Needle: The Biography of Frederick Stewart (1836-1889) by Gillian Bickley [1997])

# A business mogul with a major presence in the pawn-broking industry

 

---

Sources

 

BOOKS

• A. R Burt, J.B. Powell and Carl Crow (eds), Biographies of Prominent Chinese (1925)

• John M. Carroll, Edge of Empires: Chinese Elites and British Colonials in Hong Kong (2005)

• Irene Cheng, Clara Ho Tung, A Hong Kong Lady: Her Family and Her Times (1976) and Intercultural Reminiscences (1997)

• David Faure, A Documentary History of Hong Kong: Society (1997)

• Jean Gittins, Behind Barbed Wire (1982)

• Alexander Grantham, Via Ports: From Hong Kong to Hong Kong (1965)

• Eric Ho, Tracing My Children’s Lineage (2010)

• May Holdsworth and Christopher Munn (eds), Dictionary of Hong Kong Biography (2013)

• Hong Kong Centenary Commemorative Talks, 1841-1941 (1941)

• Chan Lau Kit Ching, China, Britain and Hong Kong 1895-1945 (1990)

• Vicky Lee, Being Eurasian: Memories Across Racial Divides (2004)

• Frances Tse Liu, Ho Kom Tong: A Man for All Seasons (2003)

• Christopher Munn, Anglo-China: Chinese People and British Rule 1841-1880 (2001)

• Elizabeth Sinn, Power and Charity: A Chinese Merchant Elite in Hong Kong (2003)

• Carl T Smith, “Protected Women in 19th Century Hong Kong” in M Jaschok and S Miers (eds), Women and Chinese Patriarchy: Submission, Servitude, and Escape (1994)

• Arnold Wright (ed), Twentieth Century Impressions of Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Other Treaty Ports in China (1908)

• Victor Zheng and Wong Siu Lun, Ho Tung: The Grand Old Man of Hong Kong, (2007) and Ho Shai Lai (2008)

 

NEWSPAPERS

• New York Times, September 28, 1908; San Francisco Chronicle, 11 November 1908

• South China Morning Post, 3 December 1941, 27 April-2 May, 1956

• The Straits Times, 27 April, 1956

 

ONLINE

• “Architectural Appraisal of Ho Tung Gardens”, by Ho Yin Lee, Lynne D. DiStefano and Curry C.K. Tse, Antiquities and Monuments Office, HKSAR Government, http://www.amo.gov.hk/form/briefing/htgaa_report.pdf, accessed 02/03/16

• Charles Bosman, http://gwulo.com/charles-henri-maurice-bosman, accessed 27/7/15

• Hotung Secondary School, http://www.hotungss.edu.hk/hotungss/information/history.htm, accessed 23/04/16

• Labour and Welfare Department, www.lwb.gov.hk/eng/press/05022016.htm, accessed 23/04/16

• Queen’s College Old Boys’ Association, http://qcoba.hk/en/aboutus/mission/index.html, accessed 26/02/16

• Robert Ho Tung, www.geni.com, accessed 03/03/16

• Robert Hotung, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Hotung, accessed 24/7/15

• Tung Lin Kok Yuen, online history, http://tlky.buddhistdoor.com/, accessed 03/03/16

• University of Hong Kong, www4.hku.hk/hongrads/index.php/about/history/tradition, accessed 26/02/16

 

RADIO

• Paul Harrison, “Sir Robert Ho Tung” and “Ho Kom Tong” in Hong Kong History with Paul Harrison, RTHK Podcasts, (2011, 2010)

 

INTERVIEWS

• Mr Robert H. N. Ho, October 2015