also: まいべん
noun
comprador; Chinese intermediary for foreign trade
Historical term for a Chinese agent who acted as an intermediary between foreign merchants and the Chinese market, especially in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
19世紀の上海では、買弁が外国商社と中国商人の間を取り持った。
In 19th-century Shanghai, compradors acted as intermediaries between foreign trading firms and Chinese merchants.
noun
person working for a foreign company to the detriment of their own country
Derogatory extension of the comprador concept; used to criticize someone seen as betraying national interests for personal gain while working for a foreign entity.
彼は外資系企業に勤めながら自国の産業を売り渡すような買弁だと非難された。
He was criticized as a comprador who, while working for a foreign company, was selling out his own country's industries.
Contains outdated kanji; still encountered in historical texts.
Alternate reading based on Chinese pronunciation; rarely used in Japanese.
From Chinese 買辦／买办 (mǎibàn), originally referring to a purchasing agent or broker. The Japanese reading ばいべん is the on'yomi of the kanji; the reading マイべん reflects the Chinese pronunciation. The term became common in Japan in the context of 19th-century East Asian trade.