Zyu Ji Sing in Hong Kong

Do you know that the Cantonese term 朱以盛 [zyu1 ji5 sing6] is used to describe fake goods?

It was said that 朱以盛 was originally a merchant who worked in Guangdong Province during the Qing Dynasty. He set up a shop (which named after himself) selling replicas of gold jewelries. No, he was not trying to scam the customers. In Chinese culture, people who attend important ceremonies (like marriages and banquets) should carry some valuables to show their respects, otherwise they would be deemed as an embarrassment. Therefore, he sold cheap replicas so that poor people could afford them in those situations (or just for the vain people to show off…) and the customers knew very well that the jewelries were only replicas.

While the jewelries were fake, the craftsmanship was said to be of a really high quality. The shop got popular and the owner opened many branches. As a result, 朱以盛has become a famous metonymy for referring to fake / knock-off products.

But the story about this legendary shop doesn’t end here.

One of the branches was opened in Hong Kong in 1926, selling not only gold jewelry replicas, but also silverwares and accessories used in marriages. What’s interesting is that, the doing of informing customers that they were selling fake goods actually earned them the title of “honest company” (老實公司). It’s a pity that their sells declined and the nearly century-old shop has to be closed in 2010. But with the help of some non-profit organization, they are able to open an online shop, thus aiding the shop to live on in another form.

You see, kids?

If you were selling fake goods, always tell the customers.

That’s how you do business…as long as the customers are not going to sue you.