Tai Ping Carpets: A Humble Beginning in Hong Kong 篳路藍縷：太平地氈

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Tai Ping Carpets was founded by the Kadoorie brothers along with a group of their friends in 1956, at a time when employment opportunities were much needed for the surging population. The company had flourished since the late 1950s, leading the way in Hong Kong’s industrialisation and rapidly establishing itself as the supplier of choice for many including royalty and heads of state. Tai Ping's story tells not only the history of the company,  it also mirrors the extraordinary changes in the socio-economic landscape of Hong Kong and the Asia-Pacific region post-Second World War.

太平地氈由嘉道理兄弟伙同友人於1956年創立，當時正值香港人口急增，就業是社會難題。太平於1950年代末開始蓬勃發展，領先香港工業化的步伐，並很快在皇公貴冑間打響名堂。太平地氈的故事不單是企業史，其發展歷程更反映了香港以至亞太地區二戰後的蛻變。

Tai Ping Carpets catalogue 1960s
太平地氈產品目錄，1960年代

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Lawrence Kadoorie recalled that “it (Tai Ping) all began in a complete state of ignorance”: George Lin and his friend from North China who claimed to be an expert in the making of Tianjin carpets went to Lawrence to seek help to set up a carpet factory in Tai Po. Lawrence, who was preoccupied with other family businesses, was not very interested. On their way out, they met Kadoories’ friend, American businessman Al Rabin who saw enormous opportunities for selling carpets in the United States. So in early 1956, six friends including the Kadoorie brothers, Al Rabin, Shanghainese industrialists Y.C. Wang and H.S. Yung, and garment businessman Linden Johnson formed a carpet manufacturing company, which would also provide much-needed employment for Hong Kong's burgeoning refugee population.

羅蘭士嘉道理曾經憶述，開創太平時對地氈可謂一無所知：當時商人George Lin及他來自華北、熟悉天津手織地氈的朋友找他幫忙在大埔開設地氈廠，當時羅蘭士忙於其他家族業務，所以沒有太大興趣。他們離開時遇上嘉道理的朋友Al Rabin，這位美國商人認為地氈在美國大有市場，加上當時香港因大批內地難民湧入，人口急增，新的企業可提供社會亟需的就業機會。六位友儕包括嘉道理兄弟、Al Rabin、上海工業家王雲程、榮鴻慶，以及成衣商人Linden Johnson就這樣在1956年初共同開辦了太平地氈。

Al Rabin (left)
Al Rabin (左)

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Production commenced on a very small scale in Cheung Yuen, a two-storey villa at "22  Mile" Castle Peak Road, Tuen Mun (today’s Miu Fat Buddhist Monastery site), making use of wooden knotting looms. Due to its residential nature the villa was not suitable for large-scale commercial activities. So the hunt for a site on which to construct a permanent, purpose-built factory was earnestly pursued.

太平的小作坊誕生於屯門青山公路「廿二咪」兩層高的民房張園 (今妙法寺所在地) ，最早期是在木製織梭上手織地氈。由於住宅長遠不適合用作具規模的生產活動，所以公司開始積極覓地興建專用廠房。

Cheung Yuen in Tuen Mun, 1956
屯門張園，1956年

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Despite Tai Ping's fair treatment and generous welfare for employees, staff turnover was high and productivity low in the early days. It was soon realised that the Tianjin hand knotting technique used to manufacture carpets at Tai Ping was very slow and called for great patience. This inefficient production method was not fit for Hong Kong’s workforce who was more sophisticated and could easily find better opportunities elsewhere.

即使太平的員工待遇和福利不錯，初期人手流失的問題非常嚴重，令生產停滯不前。公司很快發現，天津式純手結的方法瑣細費時，這種效率低的製作模式不適合硬套在靈活的香港工人身上。當他們有其他更好的工作機會，便會毫不猶豫離職。

Early carpet making in Tai Ping
早期地氈製作

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Tai Ping was determined to tackle their technical problem. General manager Anthony Yeh flaunted his engineering innovation to develop a new cut-pile needle modelled on a U.S. single-needle tufting machine and a domestic hand tufting kit. This tool helped boost productivity during the first few years of the company’s activities. In 1973 a lightweight motorised tufting gun was invented, capable of further improving efficiency and handling the most intricate designs.

太平決心改良織造技術。工程師出身的太平總經理葉元章參考了美國用單針衣車造地氈的方法和家用簇絨工具，再加點創新的工程思維，開發了新的割絨織針，大大提高工場生產效率。太平在這基礎上進一步改良，1973年為簇絨槍裝上摩打，並且減輕重量。織槍不但令織造效率再為提升，而且能應付複雜精細的圖案設計。

 Operating a tufting gun
工匠運用織槍造地氈

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One of Tai Ping’s first commissions was for the Hong Kong Airport. When Governor Alexander Grantham met Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia at Kai Tak’s new VIP lounge in late 1956, a carpet had to be borrowed from Government House for the occasion. The Kadoorie brothers, sensing an opportunity, decided to gift a Tai Ping carpet to the airport as a gesture of goodwill and as a “splendid advertisement for the company’s products”. No doubt it was – the carpet, adorned with the Hong Kong crest, greeted passengers as they disembarked their flights and was a much remarked-upon sight.

太平開業不久，便為香港啟德機場製作地氈。1956年底，啟德新落成的貴賓室仍未有體面的地氈。為預備港督葛量洪迎接到訪的埃塞俄比亞國王海爾塞拉西，政府要向港督府借用地氈。嘉道理兄弟得知後，善意地送上為啟德特製的地氈，同時認為這是宣傳太平的大好機會。這張地氈以當時香港徽號為圖案，多年來迎迓各國貴賓，且常常成為訪客到埗後的話題。

Carpet for Kai Tak Airport
為啟德機場製作的地氈

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In 1957 a site on the edge on Plover Cove in Tolo Harbour was secured for development. In October 1958 a new factory with better space, capacity and technological nous to tackle more and complex order was opened, heralding a decade of fast expansion for Tai Ping. It would become the "go-to" brand that supplied wall-to-wall carpets for Hong Kong's new hotels and towering skyscrapers, and handmade rugs and carpets for business travellers who routinely passed through the city.

太平於1957年成功得到大埔船灣畔面向吐露港的地皮以建廠房。1958年新廠房落成，除了空間更大，先進的技術配套讓太平可以應付更多的訂單和更複雜的設計，開展了公司快速擴展的年代。隨著香港經濟起飛，無論是新型商廈或酒店落成需要滿鋪地氈，抑或是日漸增加的商務旅客希望購買小幅的手織精品，太平都是他們的不二之選。

Tai Ping's first factory in Tai Po in 1959
太平於大埔的首座廠房，1959年

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The 1960s was a golden decade for Tai Ping, and its carpets impressed the world with their design and artisanal qualities. The colonial administration took note of Tai Ping’s beautiful carpets and commissioned the company to produce wedding gifts on behalf of Hong Kong for Princess Alexandra, Princess Anne, and the Prince of Wales. Tai Ping also catered to Buckingham Palace and Princess Margaret, and carpeted the floors of numerous world famous hotels and theatres including the Sydney Opera House, Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, and The Ritz London.

Tai Ping embraced industrialisation in Asia in the 1960s and 1970s, opening factories in the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia.

踏入1960年代，太平地氈已聞名中外，更是港英政府的「貢品」：英國雅麗珊郡主、安妮公主以及查理斯王子結婚，港府均以地氈作為賀禮。白金漢宮和瑪嘉烈公主都是太平顧客。除了皇家居室，太平產品亦「覆蓋」世界其他地方，包括悉尼歌劇院、荷里活星光大道中國劇院 、倫敦麗思酒店等等。

太平於1960至1970年代期間，亦投入亞洲工業發展的風潮，在菲律賓、泰國、新加坡、印尼及馬來西亞開設廠房。

Wedding gift from Hong Kong Government to Princess Alexandra
香港政府贈送雅麗珊郡主的結婚賀禮

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Women formed the core of the Tai Ping labour force. Many came from nearby boat or farming based families. The stable work environment at Tai Ping offered women an alternative source of income and a new way of life, distinct from traditional agriculture and fishing.

The company also adopted a flexible management approach for these communities - flexi-hours and leave during the busy fishing season were permitted for workers to help out their families. The construction of Plover Cove Reservoir in the 1960s, however, made fishing more difficult for the boatpeople. More of them relied on Tai Ping for full time employment and a stable income. 

女工是生產太平地氈的骨幹主力。她們多數來自附近的漁家和農村。漁農工作常常要望天打卦，工廠收入則相對穩定，可為漁農家女子提供另外的入息和生活選擇。

公司亦因應工人需要採取具彈性的管理方法，在較繁忙的捕漁季節容許員工彈性時間上班和休假，讓他們回家協助家庭生計。1960年代船灣淡水湖開始興建後，漁民的漁獲減少，愈來愈多兼職員工轉為全職為太平僱員。

Tai Ping artisans working on a suspended platform, carving and tufting, 1970s
太平工匠在工作平台上製作地氈，1970年代

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After the war, as far-flung destinations became more accessible with the rise of air travel and higher disposable incomes, Hong Kong attracted a new breed of travellers as a "window to China". From 1960 onwards the Hong Kong Tourist Association included Tai Ping in the itinerary of its official New Territories tour, offering tourists a glimpse of oriental artistry. The air-conditioned factory also served as a resting place, as visits to the New Territories in those days could be very tiring. The tours proved immensely popular and helped raised Tai Ping’s profile both locally and overseas.

戰後民航的發展和大眾收入增加令長途旅行更加方便可行，香港作為「中國窗口」吸引了大批新一代的觀光客。香港旅遊協會於1960年將太平納入新界旅行團的景點之一，除了推介優質的東方手藝，太平的冷氣廠房亦為遊覽新界鄉郊的遊客提供一個歇腳之地。昔日遊覽新界，路途遙遠，這樣的安排令新界遊深受旅客歡迎，亦成功讓太平在香港及海外更廣為人識。

Lawrence Kadoorie and guest at the Tai Ping factory, 1970s
羅蘭士‧嘉道理帶客人參觀太平廠房，1970年代

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In the 1960s and 1970s, worker girls kitted out in traditional Chinese dress represented Tai Ping at international tradeshows. They demonstrated their adept carpet making skills and always drew a large crowd.

When they were off duty, the girls proved as big a lure as the carpets themselves. Tai Ping girls would dine in Chinese restaurants where waiters were often boys from the New Territories. Following these encounters, many of the girls quickly got engaged and told the company they would not be coming back to Hong Kong. A company director recalled the embarrassing moment when he was called in by the Consulate-General who asked: “what are you supposed to be exporting – carpets or girls?”

上世紀六、七十年代太平女工經常身穿傳統中國服裝，在國際展銷會示範地氈製作過程，吸引不少目光。

工作以外，這些女工同樣有吸引力。她們到中國餐館用膳時，常邂逅也是來自新界、在當地餐館打工的男生，並火速訂婚，不再回港。有公司高層憶述，有一次外國領事館召見他質問：「你們出口地氈，抑或女孩?」，令他尷尬非常。

Overseas tradeshows 1960s
海外展銷會，1960年代

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To reach the rank of master artisan, workers had typically to spend 10 years as junior and senior apprentice honing the craft. Only the most skilled masters who had at least 15 years of experience could join a small team of Tai Ping's tapestry makers.

Work aside, many Tai Ping girls fondly remember the spectacular sight of hundreds of factory workers on bicycles flooding Ting Kok Road and the excitement from seeing Elizabeth Taylor in person. However, for these girls, the biggest takeaway from their Tai Ping experience was perhaps the lasting friendship they made with fellow workers.

昔日的工匠由「養成工」開始，逐步提升技藝及累積經驗後可升為「師姐」。要成為太平的「師傅」，大約要十年時間。只有十五年經驗以上、工藝最頂尖的「師傅」才可以加入負責織造掛氈的小組。

工作以外，她們對從前上下班時汀角路的單車潮和看見伊莉莎伯泰萊到訪時的興奮依然記憶猶新。對這些女工來說，太平帶給她們最可貴的，就是同事間深厚的情誼。

Tai Ping artisans proudly showcase their work, 1980s
太平工匠在自己織造的作品前留影，1980年代

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In the 1990s, the company embraced the opening-up of China. Like other Hong Kong industries, Tai Ping moved its manufacturing base to Guangdong Province. By July 1992 all carpet production was transferred to Nanhai. The Tai Po chapter, which started in 1958, had come to an end.

隨著中國改革開放，太平於1990年代逐漸將生產線北移廣東。1992年7月，所有地氈生產遷往南海，太平的大埔篇章亦劃上句號。

Further information is available at Tai Ping Carpet's website: www.taipingcarpets.com.

欲知更多有關太平地氈的資訊，請瀏覽公司網站：www.taipingcarpets.com 。