On July 1st, 1853 (May 25th, the third year of Qing Xianfeng), Chang Chien was born in Changle Town, Haimen City, Jiangsu Province. There are five brothers, Zhang Jian, who ranks fourth and is later called "Mr. Four".

in the sixth year of Xianfeng in Qing dynasty (1856), when Zhang Jian was 4 years old, his father began to teach Qian Zi Wen. When I was five years old, because I recited the Thousand-Character Text correctly, my father ordered my uncle, uncle and uncle to go to the neighboring school and study from Mr. Qiu Dazhang in Haimen. However, no one in the last three generations of Zhang Jiazu has won fame, which is the so-called "cold record". At that time, the imperial examination stipulated that "cold students are not allowed to enter the exam." At the age of 12, my father set up his own school and invited Mr. Song Xiaoqi from Xiting, his hometown, to teach his third son. At the age of 14, due to the death of Mr. Xiaoqi, his father ordered him to go to Xiting to study in Mr. Lin Song, the son of Mr. Xiaoqi, and to board his family. In order to qualify for the exam, Zhang Jian was arranged by one of his teachers, Song Chen, when he was 15 years old, and met the Zhang family in Rugao County. The Zhang family agreed that Zhang Jian should pretend to be his own son and sign up for school.

In the seventh year of Tongzhi (1868), at the age of 16, due to the fact that his ancestors had no fame for three generations, in order to embark on the right path of the imperial examination, Song Chen arranged for him to register as a student in Rugao County under the false name of Zhang Yucai, the son of Zhang Quan, a native of Rugao County, and won three trials in the county, state and academy. From 16-year-old scholar to 27-year-old, Zhang Jian went to Jiangning once every two years to take the township entrance examination, and failed five times. However, from then on, the Zhang family in Rugao county began to blackmail Zhang Jian with impersonation, demanding money and goods continuously, and finally simply took Zhang Jian to court. This lawsuit lasted for several years, which made Zhang Jian very embarrassed and made his family difficult.

in p>1869, Zhang Jian was a scholar in the imperial examination. In the 13th year of Tongzhi (1874), Zhang Jian went to Nanjing to defect to Sun Yunjin. In the summer of the second year of Guangxu (1876), at the invitation of Wu Changqing, the head of the Huai Army's "Qingzi Camp", he went to Pukou to serve as a document for the celebration of the military. Later, Yuan Shikai also defected, and the two of them formed Wu Changqing's civil and military staff and participated in the important decisions and military actions of the celebration of military aircraft. In the spring of the sixth year of Guangxu (188), Wu Changqing was promoted to the prefect of Zhejiang, and was ordered to visit Beijing, accompanied by Zhang Jian. In the winter of the same year, Wu Changqing was ordered to help Shandong defense, and Zhang Jian moved to Dengzhou Huangxian with Qingjun.

In p>1882 (the eighth year of Guangxu), there was a "mutiny at noon" in North Korea. Japan took the opportunity to send warships to Incheon, and Wu Changqing was ordered to supervise the division to help North Korea put down the rebellion in order to prevent the expansion of Japanese forces. Zhang Jian went to Seoul with the Qing army from the sea, drafted "A Brief Account of North Korea" for Wu Changqing, and wrote political articles such as "A Brief Account of Renwu" and "Six Strategies for Dealing with the Aftermath", advocating a tough policy, which was appreciated by Pan Zuyin and Weng Tonghe, leaders of the "Qingliu" South School. Weng Tonghe was at odds with Cixi politically, and supported Guangxu to take power. He needed someone to enrich his camp, and he spared no effort to support Zhang Jian from then on. Li Hongzhang, the minister of Beiyang, and Zhang Zhidong, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, both rushed to invite them to the curtain, but Zhang Jian declined, saying, "The south will not worship Zhang Bei or vote for Li" and returned to Tongzhou's hometown to continue studying for the exam. I plan to gain fame on my own, and step into the official career in a justified way.

in p>1884 (the 1th year of Guangxu), he was transferred back to China with Wu Changqing and stationed in Jinzhou. Yuan Shikai stayed in Korea to take over the "Qingzi Camp". Wu Changqing died soon, leaving Qingjun to study in his hometown, preparing for the exam. In 1885, Zhang Jian finally won the second place in the provincial entrance examination.

in the 13th year of Guangxu (1887), Zhang Jian went to Kaifeng prefecture with Sun Yunjin to assist in river regulation and disaster relief, and drew up the Outline of Dredging Traffic. After the 14th year of Guangxu (1888), he was hired to preside over Ganyu Xuanqing Academy, Chongming Yingzhou Academy, Jiangning Wenzheng Academy and Anqing Jinggu Academy.

since Zhang Jian was admitted as a student at the age of 16, he went to jiangning house to take the rural examination in Yingjiangnan (commonly known as Nanyong) five times before and after he was 18, 21, 23, 24 and 27, but he didn't get the pilot test. Until the 11th year of Guangxu (1885), when he was 33 years old, Sun Yunjin became the prefect of Jiangning, and his children avoided it as usual, so he went to Shuntianfu township for an examination (commonly known as Bei Wei), and only then did he win the second place as a juren, commonly known as "Nan Yuan" (the first person in the list of southern people in the North), and his reputation gradually became the focus of "Qingliu", but since then Zhang Wei has been recruited. Since 1868, Zhang Jian has been on the road to becoming an official for 26 years, going in and out of the examination hall for more than 2 times, and spending 12 days directly in the examination room. There was no excitement in his diary on the day when he won the top prize. Soon after the good news reached his hometown, his father died. According to the rules of the Qing Dynasty, he had to stay at home for three years.

In p>1894, that is, the year of Sino-Japanese War, because of Cixi's 6th birthday, the Enke Examination was specially set up. Because of his father's disobedience, Zhang Jian went to Beijing for the exam for the fifth time and won the first-class eleventh place. Weng Tonghe changed him to the tenth place. When palace examination was in April, Weng Tonghe's caring heart couldn't wait. He mistook other people's papers for Zhang Jian and took Zhongyuan several times. (Zhang Jian, 34 years old, should fail the exam; At the age of 37, he went to the meeting and mistook Sun Shuhe's test paper in Wuxi, but Sun Zhong failed. At the age of 38, he should take the exam, but in the field, he mistakenly took Tao Shifeng's volume as Zhang Jian's volume, and Tao Zhong was "Huiyuan" and Zhang Luodi; At the age of 4, he went to the meeting and mistook Wujin Liu Keyi's test paper, and Liu Zhonghui Yuan and Zhang came last). He ordered the rolling officer to sit and wait for Zhang Jian to hand in the paper, and then sent it directly to himself. After hastily reviewing it, he persuaded other marking ministers to make Zhang Jian's paper the first, and specially introduced it to Emperor Guangxu: "Zhang Jian is a famous man in the south of the Yangtze River and a dutiful son." So at the age of 41, Zhang Jian finally won the first place in No.1, and was awarded an official position in the Hanlin Academy with six grades.

in p>1898, Zhang Jian returned to Beijing to terminate his leave, which coincided with the "Hundred Days Reform". Teacher Weng Tonghe was dismissed from office by Cixi and "returned to his hometown". Upon hearing the news, Zhang Jian presented Weng Tonghe with a poem entitled "Send the old man of Songchan to Yushan" and went to the railway station to see him off in tears. Teacher Weng's experience made him witness the sinister officialdom. Half a month later, Zhang Jian also took an excuse to leave for the south to continue his "saving the country through industry". In 1894, the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War of 1894 broke out, and the national crisis intensified the contradictions between the two parties after the emperor. The "Clean Stream" headed by Weng Tonghe supported Emperor Guangxu, and made a lot of arguments about the main battle. Its main target was Li Hongzhang, who was afraid of Japan like a tiger. In fact, it was to attack the post-party of the Lord and try to win some real power for the emperor who had the name of "pro-government". Zhang Jian, the top scholar of the new subject who was famous for a while, soon became the leader of the "clean stream" and the decision-making figure among the disciples of "Wengmen" because of his similar historical origins and political views. However, at the time of the main battle and the fierce struggle between the Lord and the two factions, Zhang Jian returned to the system because of his father's funeral. At the beginning of the 21st year of Guangxu (1895), Zhang Zhidong, the acting governor of the two rivers, sent Zhang Jian to hold a sea-going Yong Ying to prevent the Japanese navy from invading the lower reaches of the Yangtze River at any time. Because the Qing government lost in the Sino-Japanese War and signed the treaty of shimonoseki, the sea-going Yong Ying fell by the wayside. At the end of the same year, he joined the Shanghai Strong Society organized by Kang Youwei.

At the beginning of the 22nd year of Guangxu (1896), Zhang Zhidong sent Zhang Jian, Lu Runxiang and Ding Liying to set up commerce bureaus in Tongzhou, Suzhou and Zhenjiang respectively, and Zhang Jian and Lu Runxiang set up Dasheng and Sulun yarn mills in Nantong and Suzhou respectively. Dasheng Cotton Mill was initially determined to be a commercial office. Zhang Jian tried to raise funds through the official investment promotion office and the joint venture between the government and the business, but the results were very small and the funds raised were very limited. Zhang Jian sought assistance from the government.

Because of the difficulty in raising funds, Zhang Jian was forced to lower his goals again and again, but on the other hand, he hit a wall everywhere. Gui Songqing, the envoy of Jiangning, promised to contribute 672, yuan; Sheng Xuanhuai and Zhang Jian also promised Zhang Jian to raise funds when they got the official machine, and they had a contract. However, when Dasheng Cotton Mill started construction, the funds were in a hurry, and the money promised by Gui Songqing was repeatedly urged. Sheng Xuanhuai also kept silent and dodged in every way. Zhang Jian didn't get anything when he went to Shanghai to offer shares, and he didn't even have the travel expenses to return to Tongzhou. I had to advertise in the newspaper and sell words on Sima Road for three days to earn travel expenses. The top scholar is in business, but he is so embarrassed that he can't refute the slanderous words and can't be insulted. At this time, Zhang Jian was no longer a celebrity who denounced Yuan Shikai and impeached Li Hongzhang's academician.

in November p>1896, Zhang Jian, through Liu Kunyi, a former governor of the two rivers and Minister of Commerce of Nanyang, bought 4,8 spindles of corroded official machinery from the United States when Zhang Zhidong was engaged in "Westernization" in the 19th year of Guangxu (1893), and set aside in Shanghai for Hubei Weaving Bureau at a price of 52, yuan as official shares. At this time, he monopolized the Westernization in the form of official supervision, commercial office and joint venture between officials and businessmen. Official shares do not count profits and losses, but only take official profits on an annual basis, thus becoming a "gentry-led business" nature.

in the 24th year of Guangxu (1898), Dasheng Yarn Factory officially broke ground in Taozhuba, Tangjiazha, west of Tongzhou, and was completed and put into operation the following year. By the time of trial production in 1899, the operating capital was only tens of thousands of taels, and there was no money to buy cotton as raw material. In desperation, Zhang Jian borrowed money from the bank at a high interest rate of 1.2 points per month. Urgent to shareholders, no one responded; And the intention to rent the factory was maliciously bargained. Finally, Shen Jingfu, Zhang Jian's close friend and loyal assistant for many years, proposed to burn the bridge and put it into production in an all-round way, using the income of cotton yarn to buy cotton and maintain its operation. Fortunately, in the following months, the cotton yarn market was optimistic, and the funds of the cotton mill continued to expand, which enabled the factory to produce normally with a slight balance. Dasheng Cotton Mill finally survived.

since p>191, with the support of Liu Kunyi, the governor of the two rivers, the coastal wasteland was reclaimed at the junction of Lusi and Haimen, and the raw cotton base of the cotton mill-Tonghai Reclamation and Animal Husbandry Company with more than 1, mu of cultivated land was built. With the continuous accumulation of capital, Zhang Jian founded Guangsheng Oil Factory, Fuxing Flour Factory and Zisheng Metallurgical Factory in Tangzha, gradually forming Tangzha Town Industrial Zone. At the same time, in order to facilitate the transportation of equipment, machinery and goods, he built a port along the river in the west of Tangzha-Tiansheng Port, and built a power plant in Tiansheng Port. Roads 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 areas of land in Tonghai, Yanfu and other areas, Zhang Jian and his brother Zhang Jian (No.Tui An) * * jointly set up Dalai (located in Jiaoxie in 6 years of the Republic of China), Dafeng (located in Xituan in 7 years of the Republic of China), Tongshui (located in Shenzao in 8 years of the Republic of China) and Zhongfu (also known as Tongfu) in Dongtai County. These companies have invested more than one million yuan, ranging from hundreds of thousands of yuan to hundreds of thousands of acres of land reclamation. Abandoning stoves to reclaim land, developing cotton planting, and solving the raw materials needed for running a cotton mill. The appearance of modern warp-spinning industry at the end of 19th century changed Nantong's urban function from exchange-oriented to production-oriented, and Nantong became one of the early national capitalist industrial bases in China. It is also known as the three major industrialists in northern Jiangsu with Shen Yunpei in Lianyungang, Jiangsu and Xu Dinglin in Ganyu.

The development of national industries needs science and technology, which in turn urges Zhang Jian to set up schools and devote himself to normal education first. In February of the 28th year of Guangxu (192), Zhang Jian was invited by Liu Kunyi, Governor of Liangjiang River, to go to Jiangning to discuss the promotion of learning. Liu Kunyi agreed, but Francisco Wu, Xundao Xu and Yandaohu blocked it. Zhang Jian sighed unceasingly, so he planned to set up a normal school in Tongzhou with Luo Shu-yun, Tang Shouqian and other colleagues. In 1898, Zhang Jian was entitled to unpaid public expenses with interest of 2, yuan since he took office as Tongzhou Textile Factory for five years, and he was encouraged to set up a subsidy. On July 9th of the same year, Tongzhou Normal School chose the Qianfo Temple in the southeast of Nantong City as the school site to start construction, and it officially opened the next year. This is the first normal school in China, and its construction marks the beginning of a special organ for normal education in China.

After several years of dismal operation, Dasheng Yarn Factory grew gradually. By the 3th year of Guangxu (194), the factory had increased its capital by 632, and more than 2, spindles. In the thirty-third year of Guangxu (197), Dasheng No.2 Factory was established in Jiulong Town, Chongming (now Qidong City), with a capital of 1 million taels and 26, spindles. By the third year of Xuantong (1911), Dasheng No.1 and No.2 factories had made a net profit of about 3.7 million yuan.

in the 3th year of Guangxu (194), Zhang Jian founded Nantong Dada Lunbu (step by step), which first opened up the outer river route, and later formed Dada Shipping Company to open up the route in the inland river of northern Jiangsu. Kaitai-East-Salt Class is opened once a day, and the salt river is transported from Taizhou to Dongtai, and then from Dongtai to Yancheng. Later, a branch company was set up in Dongtai, and ship stations were set up in the towns along the line to handle freight and passenger transport, which developed the water transportation between Dongtai and neighboring counties.

in p>194, the Qing government awarded him three titles. In 199, he was promoted as the speaker of Jiangsu Consultative Bureau. In 191, a congressional petition was launched. In 1911, he served as President of Central Education, President of Jiangsu Provisional Parliament, and Prime Minister of Jiangsu Huaiyan. In 1912, he drafted the abdication edict. After the establishment of the Nanjing government, he served as the chief industrial officer. In 1912, he served as the chief agricultural and commercial officer of the Beiyang government and the chief national water conservancy officer. In 1914, he served as the president of the National Water Conservancy Bureau. Later, after witnessing the invasion of foreign powers, he resolutely abandoned his official position and embarked on the road of saving the country through industrial education. He was once the main force of the constitutionalists.

In the 3rd year of the Republic of China (1914), Zhang Jian also set up a Thai workshop for the poor in Henan at the south gate of Taicheng, with more than 8 houses covering an area of 3 mu, and hired workers to produce towels, rattan and sewing. In the 8th year of the Republic of China, Zhang Jian also bought Dongtai Rong Tai Electric Company, which was built by Shanghainese, and renamed it Dongming Electric Company, and increased its share capital and purchased parts. In the autumn of that year, it began to generate electricity, which solved the difficulty of lighting the streets and some users. Zhang Jian was also the leader of the constitutional movement in the late Qing Dynasty, who presided over and launched three congressional petition movements. When he was minister of industry and commerce in the Republic of China, he pointed out that the past measures were "without the heart to guide the people to start a business" and were wasteful and ineffective. In the future, the Ministry-run enterprises will stop and listen to the people.

during his lifetime, he advocated "saving the country through industry" and "saving the country through education", and organized many factories, enterprises and educational and cultural undertakings. Although his "saving the country through industry" could not save old China from peril, it was beneficial to the social, economic and cultural development at that time. Zhang Jian used "Kuixing" trademark for early cotton yarn products of Dasheng Cotton Mill, and set up different product lines such as "Red Kui", "Blue Kui", "Green Kui", "Golden Kui" and "Color Kui". The main part of the trademark is the image of the champion. In the second year after production, Dasheng Cotton Mill made a net profit of 52, yuan; In the third year, the net profit was 12, yuan; By 198, the accumulated net profit reached more than 1.9 million yuan.

After the operation of Dasheng Cotton Mill improved, it seems that the problem of raising funds for offering shares no longer exists. In 191, Zhang Jian and others decided to recruit another 22, new shares, and successfully collected 27,5 in one year. In 194, Zhang Jian decided to expand and build a Dasheng branch. Gui Songqing, who refused to contribute originally, also "voluntarily invested in 2, shares" at this time. Zhu Youhong, a Zhejiang alternate who wrote a letter accusing Zhang Jian, also invested 12, yuan at this time. Compared with the difficulties in the preparation of Dasheng No.1 Factory, Dasheng No.2 Factory has only 29 months from the preparation to the start of construction, and it has easily collected 82, shares. Dasheng Textile Co., Ltd. was officially registered in the Ministry of Commerce, and obtained the patent right of "No other textile factory is allowed to be set up for 2 years within a hundred miles". Zhang Jian's social prestige is also increasing day by day, and he has become a figure vying for the attention of various factions.

"To run a county, one should have a provincial perspective; To save trouble, we must have a country's vision; To run a country, we must have the vision of the world. " Zhang Jian's idea decided the scale of his career. At that time, western countries were busy with World War I, leaving a place for China's textile market.