Tang was a famous comprador of foreign firms in China's modern history and an active participant in the Westernization Movement in the late Qing Dynasty. He made great contributions to the establishment of modern national industries and the development of national economy.
Tang Shuting, also known as Jingxin, was born in Tangjia Village, Tangjia Town, Zhuhai City, Guangdong Province,1May 1982 1832. Zhuhai, adjacent to Macau and Hongkong, was the place where many comprador in modern China came into being. Tang, his brother Tang Tingzhi (Maoming) and his consanguineous brothers Tang Ruizhi and Tang Guotai (Qiao Qing) were all famous comprador figures at that time. And his nephew Tang and grandnephew Tang Jichang also inherited their career. Only the Yihe family, from the Tang Dynasty through Tang Tingzhi, Tang to Tang Jichang comprador, lasted for more than half a century.
As a teenager, Tang received six years of colonial education in Hong Kong missionary school (1842~ 1848). He learns English very well. 1862, he wrote a book called The Complete Works of English. The title of the sixth volume of the book is "comprador question and answer".
After leaving school, Tang worked as a junior assistant in an auction house in Hong Kong. From 185 1, I worked as a translator in the British colonial government in Hong Kong for 7 years, and then as a senior translator in Shanghai Customs for 3 years. 186 1 left the customs, worked as an agent in Jardine Matheson, and took over as a comprador two years later.
When Tang translated for the colonial government of Hong Kong, he began his own business activities and capital accumulation. 1858 invested in two pawn shops in Hong Kong before. Later, in the climax of Shanghai's cotton export trade, he engaged in cotton speculation. Xiuhua Cotton Company, which he runs alone, has become an agency for foreign companies to buy cotton from China, and has business relations with Jardine Matheson. Since Tang became the comprador of Jardine Matheson, our economic activities have further developed.
During his 10 years as the comprador of Jardine Matheson (1863~ 1872), he not only saved money for Jardine Matheson's manager, bought silk tea, carried out shipping at trading ports outside Shanghai, and expanded the business of Jardine Matheson, but also invested in pawn shops, managed real estate, sold rice and salt, and even set foot in mining in the mainland.
He opened a tea shop in partnership with former comprador Jardine Matheson of Lin Qin. In order to meet the needs of foreign companies to buy tea, he invested in three banks in Shanghai to turn over his business funds. In order to meet the needs of comprador business and self-operated business, he set up his own office in foreign firm.
In order to contact the whole foreign trade, he also set up a similar office. Before 1868, Shanghai silk industry and tea industry, which were closely related to foreign trade, were established one after another. Tang,, and others are the directors of these three organizations, and they are the core forces that preside over these industry organizations.
With the strengthening of its own economic strength, it began to participate in Tang's rights issue to foreign enterprises in China. In the fifth year after he entered Jardine Matheson, he became a shareholder in the Guangzhou insurance office run by a foreign company. He is one of the largest shareholders of Huahai Shipping Company. The first phase of the company's share capital was 1650 shares, and he bought 400 shares himself, accounting for nearly 1/4 of the company's share capital. He not only joined the board of directors of the company, but also served as the assistant manager of the company. His rights issue activities are not limited to Jardine Matheson. United Steamship Company established in 1867, North China Steamship Company established in 1868, Suwonada of Augustine Heard and Company, and the fleets of Morris Lewisand Muller H. and Company are two small foreign companies.
Tang not only allotted shares to the foreign firm, but also absorbed a lot of comprador and businessman's capital for the foreign firm, trying his best to attract the foreign firm's business in China. These activities not only increased his extra income, but also enabled him to exert the influence his boss wanted on the shareholders he represented in China. For Jardine Matheson, a British businessman, "Tang Jingxing has simply become a guarantee that it can get the support of Chinese businessmen". Don, the boss of American Flag Company, said, "They can beat us in getting information and soliciting business from the Chinese ...".
1873, Tang left Jardine Matheson, and took part in the reorganization of China Merchants Bureau with Li Hongzhang, then Minister of Beiyang and Governor of Zhili, as the background, and implemented the official supervision and commercial operation of the Westernization bureaucratic enterprises. This is an important turning point in Tang's life activities. It marks: Tang used to be a competent comprador of foreign firms, and now he has become a right-hand man of westernization bureaucrats. His circle of activities and the aspects involved are very extensive. From 1873 to 1876, Tang's activities were mainly in China Merchants. 1876 was appointed by Li Hongzhang to start organizing Kaiping Coal Mine. After 1885, he completely left China Merchants Bureau and took charge of Kaiping Coal Mine.
Tang and his close partner, Baoshun Comprador, entered China Merchants Bureau at the same time. Before they entered the bureau, under the auspices of Zhu Qi 'ang, who was in charge of grain transportation, China Merchants made little progress in attracting investment. After years of preparation, its capital (including official funds) is less than 202,000. As soon as Tang Heyi took over, he immediately expanded his capital to 1 10,000. Tang not only has his own investment, but also runs ships that were originally entrusted to foreign companies. They have extensive contacts with the business community, so China Merchants' investment activities have aroused widespread repercussions in society. Jing Yuanshan, a famous industrialist in Shanghai, once said: "The fame of Tang and Xu is not because Beiyang gained weight. Tang Zhijian was extremely forbearing, especially those who later appeared to be engaged in westernization. " This can be seen.
With the expansion of the activities of westernization bureaucrats, their status in the minds of westernization bureaucrats is also increasing. During 1876, Tang carried out frequent activities for westernization bureaucrats. On the one hand, he accepted the entrustment of Fujian Governor Ding Richang to organize the westernization of Fujian and Taiwan provinces; On the other hand, he was appointed by Li Hongzhang to actively organize Kaiping Coal Mine. At the same time, he also did a lot of work in China Merchants, such as buying all the property of American flag steamship company and so on.
Kaiping Coal Mine is the longest-running enterprise in Tang's life. He personally presided over the coal mine from site selection, planning, fund-raising to formal mining. /kloc-at the end of 0/9th century, the annual output of this mine once reached 780,000 tons, which was inferior to other government-run and commercial coal mines at that time. In addition, under the initiative and auspices of Tang, the first self-operated railway in China-Kaiping Railway and the first self-operated cement plant in China-Tangshan Refined Cotton and Soil Plant were also established as subsidiary parts of Kaiping Coal Mine. This coal mine provided the westernization bureaucrats with the "coastal defense articles" they longed for, and also provided their investors with a lot of income.
Westernization bureaucratic enterprises not only provided Tang with economic benefits, but also prepared for his political promotion. Before Tang entered China Merchants, he had already won the title of "Tongzhi". Later, his official rank rose with his position in the Westernization bureaucratic enterprises, from Tongzhi to Daotai, and even got the recommendation of "preparing envoys from various countries". His reputation was praised by westernization bureaucrats. Li Hongzhang appointed him to preside over China Merchants, saying that he was "proficient in maritime business" and appointed him to preside over Kaiping Coal Mine, saying that he was "suitable for mining" and "well-thought-out". When Ding Richang transferred him to Fujian to do westernization, he not only praised him as "proficient in foreign languages of various countries", but also praised him as "knowledgeable and sophisticated". On his 60th birthday, the children of 48 squires in Tangshan mining area "presented Wanmin brand umbrellas together".
19 After the 1970s, the Tang Dynasty further expanded its business activities in addition to foreign firms and westernization bureaucratic enterprises. On the eve of joining China Merchants, he raised 654.38 million yuan in Hong Kong, "renting two boats first to travel between Hong Kong and Shanghai". After entering China Merchants, in order to develop the wharf stack and ship insurance business, he and Xu Run and others successively established Changyuantai, Changfa Two Stacks and Renhe, Jihe two insurance companies, which set a precedent for China people to run their own insurance companies. After entering Kaiping Mining Bureau, he still remembered the stacking dock business. 1890, Zheng and others raised funds to build a ship dock in Guangzhou to transport and open flat coal. During his tenure in Kaiping Mining Bureau, he made many explorations in mining and industrial investment, including the Rehecheng Pingyin Mine jointly developed with comprador Li Yu 1883, the Pingquan Copper Mine and Qian 'an Iron Works developed in 1887 and 1888 respectively, and the overseas Chinese He Xian in Hong Kong in 1889. Just one year before his death, Zheng was invited to plan and run a paper mill. In the year of his death, he and Xu Run founded Jianping Gold Mine in Jehol. Before he took part in these capitalist enterprise activities, he had sponsored a newspaper with a tendency to develop capitalism in China-The Report. This newspaper was founded by his childhood classmate, Hong Rong, China's first doctor studying in the United States.
1892 10 On October 7th, Tang died in Tianjin. At that time, Shanghai North China News published an article praising his life as "an era" in the history of China, saying that "his death is a lasting loss for foreigners and China people".