• The term “财副” originated from the Hokkien term zai hu.
• It originally referred to clerks on trading ships that sailed between Fujian province in China and Southeast Asia who were in charge of bookkeeping, financial management, and the inventory of goods.
• ƒAs more of these Fujian traders stayed on in Southeast Asia, they carried over the term from ship to land, and referred to all clerks in charge of accounts and finance as “财副”.
• The occupation was sought after by many Chinese, who saw it as a dignified, high-status job.
• There were two kinds of “财副” during the colonial era: the “唐人财副” were Mandarin-speaking clerks who worked in Chinese companies, while the “红毛财副” were English-speaking civil servants in the British colonial administration.

In those days, people without a university degree could only be appointed to rather lowly positions at work. I started out as a junior zai hu (or “administrative clerk” in Hokkien) at the Housing & Development Board, and today I am a senior clerk. (Lianhe Zaobao, 20/12/201

• The “红毛财副” was a civil servant groomed by the British. If they had good results in school, they could be promoted to senior clerk.