Original sentence: A tai-pan (Chinese: 大班) was an influential foreign businessman doing business in China or Hong Kong in the 19th century.The Chinese term is now used in a more general sense for business executives of any origin.The Chinese term literally means big class which is equivalent to the English term big shot.The name was commonly used to refer to high-powered business executives and entrepreneurs in Hong Kong when it was under British control, referring to those in charge of major companies such as Jardine Matheson
Edited sentence: A taipan (Chinese: 大班) was a foreign businessman in China or Hong Kong in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.Historical variant spellings include taepan (first appearance), typan, and tai-pan.It is a naturalised word which is not usually italicised or hyphenated.Its first recorded use in English is in the Canton Register of 28 October 1834.Its literal meaning is top class, which is comparable to the English slang term big shot.The Cantonese colloquialism is now used in a more general sense for business executives of any origin.The name was commonly used to refer to senior business executives and entrepreneurs in Hong Kong when it was under British rule, particularly those in charge of historic trading companies such as Jardine Matheson.The term gained wide currency outside China after the publication of Somerset Maugham's 1922 short story "The Taipan" and James Clavell's 1966 novel Tai-Pan