Talk about the top ten wealthy businessmen in the history of China.
There is a saying: no official is not greedy, no business is not treacherous. It seems that businessmen are inherently treacherous, which is deeply rooted in China's cultural values nurtured by the traditional agricultural economy. Theoretically, the pursuit of profit and wealth maximization is the instinct and professional mission of businessmen, which should be understandable, but reality is more cruel than theory, and the origin of the word "businessman" is the best example:
After the King of Wu destroyed the Shang Dynasty, the adherents of the Shang Dynasty lost their former glory, and were stipulated by the new rulers that they could only engage in what was considered to be the lowest-level business at that time. Because most of them are adherents of Shang Dynasty, they are called businessmen.
Therefore, some businessmen say that they have original sin, because they get something for nothing, are treacherous and greedy, regard money as their life, and have no heart for money ... It seems that it is not an exaggeration to apply all the ugly words in the language to them. Is that really the case? Let's take a look at the top ten business tycoons in the history of China and see what the truth is.
First of all, "Shang Sheng" Tao Zhugong was a politician, strategist and industrialist in the late Spring and Autumn Period. That is to say, he helped Gou Jian, the king of Yue, to destroy Wu. He can be called the originator of abandoning politics and going into business in history and a model of creating personal wealth records. "Historical Records" contains "nineteen years, three gold medals, and great wealth." He once became a business tycoon three times and dispersed his wealth three times. The world praised him for "loyalty to the country; Wisdom protects the body; Business is booming and reputation is abroad. " Known as "the top ten richest people in China".
Van Curie helped Gou Jian, the king of Yue, destroy Wu Yougong, but he didn't like stack. With his profound understanding of human nature, he realized that Gou Jian was different from wealth, so he hung the crown and successfully avoided being killed. After doing business in the sea, "three rich and three scattered" founded the sales theory of "what is expensive is cheap", which shows its superb political and commercial skills. After the Taoxian generation started their business and became rich, they were able to help the local poor generously, which showed their noble morality. His other personal achievement is that people talk about "embracing the stone and swimming in Taihu Lake". As a poor man, he should be extremely lucky to have a quarter of the tip of the beauty pyramid in China. It is said that he is still a handsome man.
There are not many "saints" in China's history, and later generations can call them "business saints", which shows that its impressive achievements and lofty prestige are well-deserved in virtue and ability. Many businessmen in later generations worshipped his statue and called it the God of Wealth. I'm afraid the latter is second to none, because it combines God and holiness.
Second, Zi Gong, the ancestor of Confucian merchants in China, was a great disciple of Confucius, a politician and diplomat, and the richest among 3,000 disciples. "Biography of Goods and Values" says that it "wastes people and money between Cao and Lu". He once traveled around the world at his own expense, saying that Qi, Lu, Yue, Wu, Lu and Wei were officials. Confucianism was later carried forward and spread through the ages, with boundless merits. According to legend, Confucius did not come back when he died. Zi Gong felt sorry for the teacher. Others have been guarding the tomb for three years and left. He put it next to the tomb for another three years.
He successfully used his commercial wealth to support his political and educational ideals, and even made many people only remember his Confucian identity. Zigong was the first businessman who respected teachers and valued education. He is not only rich in wealth, but also knowledgeable and virtuous, reaching another peak in morality and ability. His achievements in Confucianism, Taoism and business ethics make people today arty. Donating to build a teaching building requires wealthy businessmen with titles to stop at the mountains. He is a real "Confucian businessman".
Third, Bai Gui, the "Shang Zu", was born in the early Warring States period and was the earliest master of business theory. As a minister under Wei Huiwang, he is good at building dams and water conservancy projects. He also believes that business should be done according to the opportunity, just like Sun Tzu's Wu Qi used soldiers and Shang Yang did. Li Kui once asked him the secret of getting rich. "People abandon me and take me, and people take me and make peace" is his first famous business saying. "Historical Records" promoted it as "the words of the world rule the ancestors."
He is probably the earliest economist in China, and he can put his theory into practice. As the Minister of Finance and Commerce, he laid a solid economic foundation for Wei's hegemony in the early Warring States period, and also provided important ideological and practical preparations for political reform in later countries. I haven't seen any modern people who can reap both the benefits of business practice and business theory.
Fourth: Lv Buwei, a big businessman in Yangzhai during the Warring States Period, was later the prime minister, politician and thinker of Qin State. The history book says that "selling cheaply is expensive, and the family is tired." Later, because of the investment called the maximum return rate by later generations (knowing and funding Qin's exiled son to win an alien, and funding him to return to China to reign), the idiom "strange goods can live in" came from this. ) and served as the prime minister of Qin for thirteen years, thus successfully realizing the historic transformation of personal business and politics and making great contributions to the cause of annexing the six countries. Unfortunately, Qin Shihuang Ying Zheng (suspected son) forced him to commit suicide by drinking zhenniao. Lu Chunqiu, compiled by him, combines the theories of pre-Qin philosophers and "Confucianism and Mohism, the method of combining names", so it is called "miscellaneous family" in history. If you hang it abroad after writing and claim to be able to change a word, you will be rewarded with 1000 yuan. This is the origin of "a word is worth a thousand dollars".
In today's highly developed investment forms such as stocks and futures, there are many experts in investment, but who can "invest for the country"? It should be worthy of the name that Lv Buwei is the best investor in history. Moreover, can his political achievements, ruling ideas and philosophical thoughts be as good as Buffett and Soros?
Fifth, Shen Wansan, who was "as rich as an enemy", was the richest man in Jiangnan in the late Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty. The source of wealth is the income from maritime trade. He helped Zhu Yuanzhang repair Nanjing City and personally contracted one third of the project cost. His grandson was involved in the aquamarine case and was exiled to Yunnan, and his property was confiscated.
He can be regarded as the earliest importer and exporter in the history of China, and the largest and most successful real estate agent. His greatest achievement, perhaps the biggest real estate project so far-"Building Nanjing City" will make many of our current developers salivate and feel ashamed. However, building a city is more or less a public welfare and a contribution. If tourists travel to Nanjing, they can also find the remains left by him. If they go to Zhouzhuang again, they can also visit his "mansion".
Sixth: Wu Bingjian, the leader of the 13th Jardine Matheson Brigade in Guangdong in Qing Dynasty. With the trade with the British East India Company, it quickly became a rich man. 1834, which has always claimed to have assets of 26 million yuan, is called "the largest commercial asset in the world and the richest man in the world" by western scholars. As for the foreign debt of 3 million yuan stipulated in the treaty of nanking, he alone assumed1000000 yuan.
He can be said to be the first person in China's international trade, and his firm status is not inferior to that of the current "General Electric". If there was a Forbes rich list at that time, he must be the richest man in the world. What is commendable is that he stepped forward when the country was in crisis and went to the country alone. This is also a patriotic businessman.
Seventh, Hu Xueyan, a "Red Top Merchant", is an outstanding representative of "Huizhou Merchants" in modern times. Because of the friendship with Zuo, he co-organized Fujian Shipping Bureau and Lanzhou Manufacturing Bureau, and made a fortune by arranging the munitions business of Xiang Army, with a capital of more than 20 million at most. From officials to "ministers", they were regarded as red-top businessmen, and were later squeezed out of bankruptcy by foreign businessmen. Hu Qingyutang founded a well-known enterprise for this purpose.
He is the idol of contemporary businessmen in China. The so-called "learning from Zeng Guofan in politics and Hu Xueyan in business" is because of his personality charm. Later, he fully assisted Zuo to recover Xinjiang and made outstanding contributions to the country and the nation. Assuming that China needed to build an aircraft carrier at that time, I believe he would also contribute.
Eighth: Wang Chi, the "money king", was the only red-crowned businessman in China feudal society and one of the famous tycoons in the late Qing Dynasty. He founded Tongfengfeng and reorganized Tianshunxiang, which made him extremely rich. The Times once counted the richest man in the world in the past century, and he ranked fourth. He was the only China person on the list.
People only know Hu Xueyan, but they don't know that he is a real red top businessman. In addition to business, his contribution to the Sino-French war and charity is even more impressive.
Ninth: Sheng Xuanhuai, the "father of China industry": a representative of the Westernization School of government and business in the late Qing Dynasty, a famous politician, entrepreneur and philanthropist, known as the "father of China industry". General office of the national telegraph business, to undertake Hanyang Iron Works, Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau and other industries. He created 1 1 "China first": the first private joint-stock enterprise, China Merchants Ship; The first telegraph office; The first small inland river shipping company; First bank; The first railway trunk line, Jing-Han Railway; Hanyeping Company, the first steel joint venture; First University, Beiyang University Hall (Tianjin University); Nanyang College of the First Normal University (Jiaotong University); First mining company; The first public library; China Red Cross Society was founded. He is enthusiastic about public welfare and actively provides disaster relief.
If all the above businessmen are still local tyrants, Sheng Xuanhuai is a modern rich businessman in the true sense, and when it comes to the far-reaching Westernization Movement, we can't help but mention this man. I studied in Tianjin University (Beiyang University), and I showed my diploma of China No.1 University, signed by Sheng Xuanhuai. As the father of modern commerce in China, he is a milestone in the process of modernization in China.
Tenth place: "No.1 scholar businessman", Zhang Jian. The champion in the late Qing Dynasty was an industrialist, politician and educator in modern China. The early pioneers in the field of cotton textile in China were the establishment of Sheng Da Cotton Mill and Kenmu Company to get rich, education and constitutionalism. Vigorously developing the modern textile industry has made important contributions to the development of China's national textile industry.
As we all know, the leading industry of British industrial revolution is textile industry. Then Zhang Jian's career is the protagonist of China's modern industrialization. Moreover, his education can be regarded as a feedback to society.
List the top ten richest people in the history of China. We can take an inventory. According to the following timetable, we may find some regular things worth learning.
Rank? Name? Title? Official position? Industry? Achievement contribution
1 Fan Li? Shang sheng? Lawyer? Trade? Revive the country and charity.
2 Zigong? Gong Li? The phase of Lu and Wei? education
3 Bai Gui? Shangzu? Minister? Business theory? Finance and water conservancy
4 Lv Buwei Guo Xiang? Vote for Lu Chunqiu and Qin Guoba.
5 Shen Wansan trade, real estate to build Nanjing City
6 Wu Bingjian? The richest man in the world? International trade? repay external debts
7 Hu Xueyan? Red top businessman? Second-class envoy? Manufacturing and military industries recovered Xinjiang.
8 Wang Chi? Qian Wang yipin trade charity, military expenditure
9 ? Sheng Xuanhuai? Father of Chinese businessmen? Second assistant minister? Industry, Westernization and Charity
10 ? Zhang Wei? Champion? Businessman? Champions textile education
Official and business background.
These ten people have different levels of official background, eight of them have official titles, and five of them are senior officials themselves. Judging from the big historical environment, this is understandable. After all, in the traditional agricultural society, if the businessmen with low status do not rely on the power of the government, their lives will be very difficult and they will not be able to achieve great success. Therefore, the idea of being an official while doing business is deeply rooted in the traditional Confucian culture in China.
The exception is that Fan Li, Sheng Xuanhuai, Zhang Jian and others are different, and they belong to the first official and then the Shang Dynasty, which is determined by his special historical background. Both the Spring and Autumn Period and the end of Qing Dynasty belong to the unstable era under the great social change, and businessmen can develop freely without system. In the whole historical evolution, from the perspective of official position, there was a process of de-bureaucratization: the official position and authority of businessmen gradually weakened, and it was not until the Westernization Movement, a state-led economic revolution, that Sheng Xuanhuai appeared.
Fault.
In the chronological list above, the most powerful Han, Tang and Song dynasties in China are missing. These three dynasties were ruled by powerful governments dominated by developed agricultural economy, so it is not surprising that there were no big businessmen in the narrow living space of businessmen. Therefore, no one can live in a vacuum, and businessmen, too, need certain historical, political, legal and institutional conditions as environmental conditions. As a leader of an enterprise, how to find room for survival and development in a specific environment requires some skills.
After the Ming Dynasty, especially during the Westernization Movement, it was inevitable that the commodity economy developed to a certain stage, which was also the direct result of the government's vigorous promotion of the Westernization Movement at that stage. Who can have an insight into the direction of historical development, assess the situation, conform to the trend, who can become the business hero of that era, which may give some enlightenment to our current entrepreneurs.
Industry.
From the industry column in the table, we find that the business of businessmen can be roughly divided into two stages: simple "profiteering" and operating manufacturing enterprises. In the agricultural society where transportation and information are underdeveloped, merchants allocate limited resources more reasonably in geography and time through the sale of commodities, which meets people's different material needs and promotes the development of commodity economy.
With the development of society and the progress of the times, businessmen follow the trend and turn to run manufacturing enterprises, which is a gorgeous turn to the real economy and a powerful counterattack to the argument of "getting something for nothing". It should not be denied that their early enterprises laid a certain economic foundation for China's later modernization.
Achievement.
Businessmen are thinkers outside their profession and contribute to the treasure house of Chinese civilization; Some are philanthropists who are committed to social welfare and education; Others have made due contributions to the country's resistance to foreign aggression and the maintenance of territorial integrity. These are their outstanding achievements outside the commercial field, and they also deny the assertion that money is heartless and regards money as life.
Therefore, we can draw a conclusion: the original sin of businessmen is a false proposition, which has been undoubtedly proved by predecessors. An industry itself is neutral, depending on the good and evil of its behavior and the quality of its performance, rather than the current trend of hating the rich, which will "kill a group of people with one stick." We have reason to call these ten sages great businessmen.
Look through the dictionary to see the meaning of greatness: greatness: lofty Excellence; Huge and burly; Sublime; Majestic; Admirable; Shanda; Unusual.
Giving them such a "great" title should be well deserved. By extension, the commercial industry represented by these ten people is a great industry. Call them the top ten wealthy businessmen in the history of China. The word "big" here should be "great" rather than "powerful" in general understanding. Maybe we should call them: the top ten wealthy businessmen in the history of China, which is more accurate.