Building industry

Zhang Jian

In 1894, the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War broke out, and the national crisis intensified the conflict between the emperor and the empress. The "Qingliu" headed by Weng Tonghe supported Emperor Guangxu and were fond of talking about the main war. Their main target was Li Hongzhang, who was afraid of the sun. In fact, they used it to attack the back parties of Zhuhe and tried to claim the name of "pro-government". The emperor strives for some real power. Zhang Jian, the new top scholar in a new subject, became famous for a while. Due to his historical origins and similar political views, he quickly became a leader in the "Qingliu" and a decision-making figure among the disciples of the "Wengmen". However, when the struggle between the main war faction and the main peace faction was fierce, Zhang Jian returned to his hometown to observe the system as usual due to the death of his father. [20]

At the beginning of the 21st year of Guangxu (1895), Zhang Zhidong, the acting governor of Liangjiang, sent Zhang Jian to conduct sea-sea regiment drills to defend against the possible invasion of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River by the Japanese navy at any time. Since the Qing government was After the Sino-Japanese war was defeated and the Treaty of Shimonoseki was signed, the Tonghai regiment training was abandoned halfway. At the end of the same year, he joined the Shanghai Qiang Society organized by Kang Youwei. [14]

At the beginning of the 22nd year of Guangxu (1896), Zhang Zhidong sent Zhang Jian, Lu Runxiang, and Ding Liying to establish commerce bureaus in Tongzhou, Suzhou, and Zhenjiang respectively. Zhang Jian and Lu Runxiang established commerce bureaus in Nantong and Suzhou respectively. Founded Dasheng Cotton Mill and Su Lun Cotton Mill. The Dasheng Spinnery Factory was initially determined to be a commercial operation. Zhang Jian tried to raise funds through the official investment office and the joint venture between the government and businessmen, but with little success and the funds raised were very limited. Zhang Jian sought assistance from the government. [20]

The former site of Dayou Reclamation Company's cotton store (46 photos)

Due to difficulties in raising funds, Zhang Jian was forced to repeatedly lower his goals on the one hand, and encountered obstacles everywhere. Gui Songqing, the chief envoy to Jiangning, had promised to contribute 60,000 to 70,000 taels; Sheng Xuanhuai and Zhang Jian also promised Zhang Jian to raise funds when they were divided into official positions, and there was a contract. However, after the construction of the Dasheng Cotton Mill started, funds were in short supply. Gui Songqing's repeated requests for the promised money failed, and Sheng Xuanhuai remained silent and evaded in every possible way. Zhang Jian went to Shanghai to raise funds but gained nothing, and he did not even have the travel expenses to return to Tongzhou. He had no choice but to place an advertisement in the newspaper and sell letters on Sima Road for three days to earn travel expenses. The number one scholar is engaged in business, but he is in such a state of embarrassment that he does not dare to defend himself when he hears slanderous words, and he cannot show composure when he is insulted. At this time, Zhang Jian was no longer the scholar who denounced Yuan Shikai and impeached Li Hongzhang. [21-22]

In November 1896, Zhang Jian, through Liu Kunyi, who had served as governor of Liangjiang and Minister of Commerce of Nanyang, appointed officials to Zhang Zhidong when he was engaged in "Westernization" in the 19th year of Guangxu (1893). The money was purchased from the United States for a batch of 40,800 rusted official machine spindles put aside by the Hubei Weaving Bureau in Shanghai at a price of 500,000 taels and used as official shares. At this time, the Westernization Enterprises were monopolized in the form of government-supervised commercial offices and government-business joint ventures. Sheng Xuanhuai was also about to buy machines, so he divided the batch of machines with Zhang Jian, each receiving 20,400 ingots, priced at 250,000 taels of government shares, and another 250,000 taels of business shares. Official shares do not count profits and losses, but only receive official profits on an annual basis, thus becoming a "gentleman-led business enterprise". [23-24]

In the 24th year of Guangxu (1898), the Dasheng Spinnery Factory officially broke ground in Tao Zhuba, Tangjiazha, west of Tongzhou City. The Dasheng Spinnery Factory was completed and put into operation the following year. By the time trial production started in 1899, the operating capital was only tens of thousands taels, and there was no money to buy cotton as raw material. In desperation, Zhang Jian borrowed money from a bank at a high interest rate of 1.2 cents per month. I appealed to shareholders, but no one responded; and when I planned to rent out the factory, I was met with malicious price bargaining. Finally, Shen Jingfu, who had been Zhang Jian's close friend and loyal assistant for many years, proposed to put everything into full production and use the income from cotton yarn to purchase cotton to maintain operations. Fortunately, in the following months, the cotton yarn market was promising, and the cotton mill's funds continued to expand, allowing the factory to produce normally with a slight surplus. Dasheng Cotton Mill finally survived. [25]

Since 1901, with the support of Liu Kunyi, the governor of Liangjiang, the coastal wasteland was reclaimed at the junction of Lusi and Haimen, and a raw cotton base for the spinning mill was built - a cotton base with more than 100,000 acres of cultivated land. Tonghai Reclamation and Animal Husbandry Company. With the continuous accumulation of capital, Zhang Jian founded Guangsheng Oil Factory, Fuxin Flour Factory, Zisheng Smelting Factory, etc. in Tangzha, gradually forming the Tangzha Town Industrial Zone. At the same time, in order to facilitate the transportation of equipment, machines and goods, A port, Tiansheng Port, was built along the river west of Tangzha, and a power plant was built in Tiansheng Port. Highways were opened between towns and towns, making Tiansheng Port gradually become the main Yangtze River port in Nantong at that time.

In addition to reclaiming large tracts of land and setting up salt reclamation companies in Tonghai, Yanfu and other areas, Zhang Jian and his elder brother Zhang Jian (named tui'an) jointly established Dalai (established in Jiaoxie in the 6th year of the Republic of China) in Dongtai County. ), Dafeng (established in Xituan in the 7th year of the Republic of China), Tongsui (established in Shenzao in the 8th year of the Republic of China), Zhongfu (also known as Tongji, established in Panjia in the 8th year of the Republic of China). These companies have invested more than one million yuan, or hundreds of thousands of yuan, and cultivated hundreds of thousands of acres of land. The abandoned stoves were rehabilitated and cotton planting was developed to provide the raw materials needed to run yarn mills. The emergence of the modern textile industry at the end of the 19th century changed Nantong's urban function from exchange-based to production-based, and Nantong became one of China's early national capitalist industrial bases. Together with Shen Yunpei of Lianyungang, Jiangsu, and Xu Dinglin of Ganyu, they are also known as the three major industrialists in northern Jiangsu. [26]

The development of national industry requires science and technology, which in turn prompted Zhang Jian to work hard to establish schools and devote himself first to normal education. In February of the twenty-eighth year of Guangxu (1902), Zhang Jian was invited by Liu Kun, the governor of Liangjiang, to Jiangning to discuss the establishment of a school. Liu Kun agreed, but Wu, Xu Dao and Hu Yandao blocked the move. Zhang Jian sighed endlessly, so he, Luo Shuyun, Tang Shouqian and others planned to establish an independent normal school in Tongzhou. In 1898, they planned to use the unspent public funds of 20,000 yuan including principal and interest in the five years since Zhang Jian took office to run the Tongzhou Cotton Mill, plus an additional fund-raising fund. It can be done. On July 9 of the same year, Tongzhou Normal University chose Thousand Buddha Temple in the southeast of Nantong City as the site to start construction. It officially opened in the following year. This was the first normal school in my country. Its construction marked the beginning of a special institution for normal education in China. [27]

Zhang Jian (3 photos)

After several years of bleak operations, Dasheng Cotton Factory gradually grew. By the 30th year of Guangxu (1904), the factory had increased its capital by 63 Ten thousand taels and more than 20,000 spindles. In the 33rd year of Guangxu (1907), Dasheng No. 2 Factory was founded in Jiulong Town, Chongming (now part of Qidong City), with a capital of 1 million taels and 26,000 spindles. By the third year of Xuantong (1911), Dasheng No. 1 and No. 2 factories had made a net profit of more than 3.7 million taels. [26]

In the 30th year of Guangxu (1904), Zhang Jian founded Nantong Dada Lunbu (Buji Bureau), first opened up the outer river route, and later formed Dada Steamship Company. The northern inland river opens up a route. The Kaitai-Dong-Yan class runs once a day, following the Yan River from Taizhou to Dongtai, and then from Dongtai to Yancheng along the Chuanchang River. Later, a branch was set up in Dongtai, and steamship stations were set up in market towns along the line to handle freight and passenger transportation, and developed water transportation between Dongtai and neighboring counties. [28]

In 1904, the Qing government awarded him a third-grade official title. In 1909, he was elected as the chairman of the Jiangsu Advisory Bureau. In 1910, a congressional petition was launched. In 1911, he served as Chairman of the Central Education Bureau, Provisional Chairman of the Jiangsu Parliament, and Prime Minister of Jiangsu Lianghuai Salt. In 1912, he drafted an edict of abdication. After the establishment of the Nanjing government, he served as the director-general of industry. In 1912, he was appointed the director-general of agriculture and commerce of the Beiyang government and the director-general of the National Water Conservancy. In 1914, he concurrently served as the president of the National Water Conservancy Bureau. Later, as he witnessed the invasion of foreign powers and the deterioration of national affairs, he resolutely abandoned his official position and embarked on the road of industrial education to save the country. He was once a major force in the constitutionalists.

In the third year of the Republic of China (1914), Zhang Jian used his salary as the salt envoy to the Huaihe River to establish a Thai poor factory in Henan, at the south gate of Taicheng, building more than 80 houses and occupying an area of ??100,000 square meters. 30 acres, employing workers to produce towels, rattanware, sewing and other crafts. In the 8th year of the Republic of China, Zhang Jian also purchased Dongtai Rongtai Electric Company, which was established by Shanghainese through IPO, and renamed it Dongming Electric Company. He also increased the share capital and purchased machinery. In the autumn of that year, he started generating electricity, which solved the lighting problems of streets and some users. .

The former site of Dongtai Dongming Electric Co., Ltd.

Golden Era

Zhang Jian was also the leader of the constitutional movement in the late Qing Dynasty and presided over three congressional petition campaigns. When he was the Minister of Industry and Commerce in the Republic of China, he pointed out that past measures had "no intention of guiding the people to develop business" and were wasteful and ineffective. From now on, all enterprises run by the Ministry will be stopped and all businesses will be run by the private sector.

During his lifetime, he advocated "saving the country through industry" and "saving the country through education" and established many factories, enterprises and educational and cultural undertakings. Although his "industry to save the country" could not save the old China from danger, it was beneficial to the social, economic and cultural development of that time. Zhang Jian used the "Kuixing" trademark for the early cotton yarn products of Dasheng Cotton Mill, and had different product lines such as "Hongkui", "Lankui", "Lukui", "Jinkui" and "Caikui". The main part of the trademark is Kuixing Diandou, the dominant image.

In the second year after it was put into operation, Dasheng Cotton Mill made a net profit of 50,000 taels; in the third year, it made a net profit of 100,000 taels; by 1908, the cumulative net profit reached more than 1.9 million taels. [

After Dasheng Cotton Mill’s business improved, the problem of raising funds and issuing shares seemed to no longer exist. In 1901, Zhang Jian and others decided to recruit another 200,000 taels of new shares, and successfully raised 207,500 taels within one year. In 1904, Zhang Jian decided to expand and prepare to build a Dasheng branch. Gui Songqing, who was originally unwilling to invest, now also "voluntarily invested 20,000 shares." Zhu Youhong, the Zhejiang alternate Taoist who originally wrote the letter accusing Zhang Jian, also invested 10,000 taels in shares at this time. Compared with the difficulties in the preparation of Dasheng No. 1 Factory, Dasheng No. 2 Factory only collected 800,000 taels of share capital in just 29 months from preparation to start of construction. "Dasheng Textile Co., Ltd." was officially registered with the Ministry of Commerce, and obtained the patent right that "no other company is allowed to establish a textile factory within a hundred miles for twenty years." Zhang Jian's social prestige is also increasing day by day, and he has become a figure that various factions are vying to recruit. .

“To handle affairs of a county, one must have a provincial vision; to handle provincial affairs, one must have a national vision; to handle national affairs, one must have a global vision.” Zhang Jian’s philosophy determines the scale of his business. , at that time, Western countries were busy with the First World War, leaving a huge space for the Chinese textile market. After 1913, like textile companies in other places, Dasheng No. 1 and No. 2 factories made profits year after year and prospered. In 1919 alone, the profits of the two factories reached more than 3.8 million taels, setting a record. In total, in the eight years from 1914 to 1921, the profits of the two factories in Dasheng were more than 10 million taels. From 1920 to 1921, Shanghai newspapers published Dasheng's stock quotes every day, and it was one of the most popular stocks in the market at that time.

At this time, Dasheng already owned more than 137,000 yarn spindles, and Zhang Jian entered his golden age.

Political *** Dance

Statue of Zhang Jian

Before the Revolution of 1911, Zhang Jian had been a member of the imperial party and advocated a constitutional monarchy. But after the Revolution of 1911, he quickly turned to Japan and Japan, cut off his braids, changed his diary to the solar calendar, and was invited by Sun Yat-sen to serve as the chief industrial officer.

As a former number one scholar of the Qing Dynasty and a member of the imperial party, Zhang Jian approached the then governor of Jiangsu when the Wuchang Uprising had just begun, hoping to suppress the revolution. At this time, he did not advocate revolution because the cost of revolution was too high. And he represents the position of entrepreneurs, especially the cotton textile industry - what they need most is market and social stability. The market is their lifeblood. At this time, Zhang Jian's concern for the country has shifted from being loyal to the king to maintaining market stability. But soon the balance of social power changed, and revolution became a fashion. Zhang Jian is a person with a clear mind. Once he sees that the trend is irreversible, his pragmatic side comes out.

His pragmatic attitude is to comply with the peace of Japan, but does not fully accept the revolution. He just hopes to end the turmoil as soon as possible in a peaceful way and maintain market stability. His pragmatic political choices were: first, to meet Sun Yat-sen and accept Sun's invitation to serve as the Director-General of Industry in the Cabinet of the Republic of China; second, to choose to support Yuan Shikai, a powerful figure with military power.

When he and Sun Yat-sen met for the first time after the Revolution of 1911, Zhang Jian’s evaluation of Sun Yat-sen was in four words: I don’t know the cliffside. "Ya" means "margin". The implication of this is that he felt that Sun Yat-sen thought about things too simply and romantically. He did not know that construction was more difficult than revolution, and thought that with a revolution, all problems would be solved. "The actual situation is that at that time, government orders could not leave Nanjing, and military pay could not be issued." Zhang Jian was a pragmatic person. He did not hide his thoughts and frankly believed that Sun Yat-sen would find it difficult to deal with the situation. Although the government was established, It is difficult to maintain for a long time. "In this case, he was more willing to cooperate with Yuan Shikai, a powerful real-life figure.

So Zhang Jian left Nanjing and went north to join Yuan Shikai's camp. Yuan Shikai issued the "" The "Edict on the Abdication of the Qing Emperor" was drafted by Zhang Jian. Sun Yat-sen fulfilled his promise and gave up the position of interim president to Yuan Shikai. Domestic politics seemed to be peaceful, and Zhang Jian thought that the unity and order he pursued was just around the corner, so he returned. Nantong ran businesses and practiced local autonomy.

In 1913, Yuan Shikai became the official president and appointed Zhang Jian as the director of agriculture and commerce. However, Yuan Shikai soon ordered the dissolution of Congress, and Zhang Jian had begun to dissuade Yuan Shikai. Actions such as dissolving the National Assembly and wearing gonzo hats to worship heaven will trigger new unrest.

By 1915, when Yuan Shikai accepted the first to fourth demands of Japan's "Twenty-One Plans" (Yuan Shikai did not fully agree to the "Twenty-One Plans"), Zhang Jian resigned angrily and completely broke up with Yuan Shikai before he could be restored and proclaimed emperor. Lost contact.

The crisis is coming

Bronze Statue of Zhang Jian

At this time, Zhang Jian as a social class did not receive enough social rights, nor did he have a good financing environment and channels. The country's economic policies have still not stepped out of the framework of the small-farmer era, and business activities are being constrained everywhere.

The predecessor of Dasheng’s Shanghai office was Dasheng’s Shanghai accounting office, which has almost become the nerve center and financial adjustment center of the entire Dasheng system. When Dasheng was in its heyday, banks and banks in Shanghai and other places rushed to provide loans to Dasheng Shanghai Office. Dasheng's cash holdings are at most 20 to 30 million, and his overdraft amount is between 5 and 6 million. Due to the convenience of borrowing, Dasheng entered a period of rapid expansion.

By 1921, Dasheng’s external debt had reached 4 million taels, and the crisis began to emerge. Zhang Jian originally wanted to hold a report meeting on the 25th year of local autonomy in the coming year to fully demonstrate the achievements of local autonomy in Nantong. However, a sudden storm destroyed many water conservancy projects in Nantong. In 1922, in a poll of successful figures held by newspapers in Beijing and Shanghai, Zhang Jian received the highest number of votes as the "most admired figure". He reached the pinnacle of his life. This year happened to be his 70th birthday. It was also this year that the market that had continued to be popular suddenly went dark. Cotton was expensive and yarn was cheap. The first factory of Dasheng, which had always been profitable, lost more than 390,000 taels, and the second factory lost more than 310,000 taels. The year 1922 became a turning point for Dasheng from prosperity to decline. The golden age came to an abrupt end and will never return.

The cotton textile industry crisis in 1922 led to the total collapse of his career. In the process, the government provided him with no valuable help. Coincidentally, Japan also experienced an economic panic in the early 1920s, and the Japanese government took large-scale emergency relief measures to provide economic loan assistance to various industries. Japan's large enterprises, commercial banks, and stock exchanges quickly got out of the predicament, and quickly brought down Dasheng in the subsequent competition between Chinese and Japanese yarn mills. In desperation, Zhang Jian sought foreign financial support, but by 1924, Japanese funds never came, and Zhang Jian failed to borrow money from American capitalists. At this time, Dasheng was already heavily in debt and was irreversibly in decline.

Zhang Jian often uses his entrepreneurial power to carry out social affairs, which seriously drags down Dasheng. On August 24, 1926, Zhang Jian died of illness in Nantong. On the day of the funeral, the streets in Nantong were packed with people. Almost the entire city came to see Zhang Jian off.