Studying in the early years

On July 1, 1853 (May 25, the third year of Xianfeng in the Qing Dynasty), Zhang Jian was born in Changle Town, Haimen, Tongzhou, Jiangsu (now Nantong). Zhang Zhang Jian

He ranked fourth among the five Jian brothers, and was later called "Mr. Four". The Zhang family has been farming for generations. It was not until Zhang Jian's father Zhang Pengnian that he ran a sugar workshop in addition to farming. Zhang Jian was enlightened when he was 4 years old and entered a private school at the age of 5. In the sixth year of Xianfeng in the Qing Dynasty (1856), when Zhang Jian was 4 years old, his father began to teach him the Thousand-Character Classic. When he was 5 years old, because he had recited "The Thousand Character Essay" correctly, his father ordered his three brothers, Bo, Zhong and Shu, to join a neighboring school and study from Mr. Qiu Dazhang of Haimen. He is extremely intelligent, but no one in the three generations of the Zhang family has ever achieved fame, which is the so-called "cold status". At that time, the imperial examination regulations stipulated that "those with cold citizenship are not allowed to take the examination." When he was 12 years old, his father set up his own private school and invited Mr. Song Xiaoqi from his hometown of Xiting to teach his third son. When he was 14 years old, Mr. Xiao Qi died of illness, and his father ordered Jian to go to Xiting to study with Mr. Song Lin, Mr. Xiao Qi's son, and stay at his home. In order to obtain the qualifications to take the examination, when Zhang Jian was 15 years old, one of his teachers, Song Chen, arranged for him to get acquainted with the Zhang family in Rugao County. The Zhang family agreed that Zhang Jian could pretend to be one of their own children to register for school. In the seventh year of Tongzhi (1868), when he was 16 years old, because his ancestor was a cold-blooded member of the third generation with no fame, in order to take the right path in the imperial examination, Song Chen arranged for him to register in the name of Zhang Yucai, the son of Zhang Quan, a native of Rugao County. Those who win the county, state and college examinations will be named Rugao County School Students. In the eighth year of Tongzhi (1869), Zhang Jian passed the examination as a scholar. But from then on, the Zhang family in Rugao County began to blackmail Zhang Jian by pretending to be his name, continuously demanding money and materials, and finally sued Zhang Jian in court. This lawsuit lasted for several years, which made Zhang Jian very embarrassed and his family was also in trouble. From the age of 16 when he was a scholar to the age of 27, Zhang Jian went to Jiangning to take the provincial examination every two years, but failed five times. In 1882, the "Renwu Mutiny" occurred in North Korea. Zhang Jian followed Wu Changqing to Seoul. The political opinions and discussions he wrote were quickly spread back to Beijing, advocating a tough foreign policy, which attracted the attention of high-level officials and received the attention of Guangxu's emperor. , the appreciation of Weng Tonghe, then Minister of Household Affairs. Weng Tonghe was at odds with Cixi politically and supported Guangxu's rise to 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, all vied with each other to recruit him and invited him to join the imperial court. However, Zhang Jian declined them all. "If you don't worship Zhang in the south, you won't vote for Li in the north." He returned to his hometown in Tongzhou and continued to study for the examination. This is probably the inner self-esteem of a scholar in the old days - he hopes to gain fame by himself and enter the official career in a legitimate manner. In 1885, Zhang Jian finally passed the second place in the provincial examination. After that, Zhang Jian began to take part in the examination of the Ministry of Rites, heading towards the highest stage of the imperial examination. In 1894, the year of Sino-Japanese War, the Enke Examination was specially held for Cixi's sixtieth birthday. Frustrated, Zhang Jian went to Beijing to take the exam for the fifth time because he could not disobey his father's orders. He got the 11th place in the first class. Weng Tonghe changed him to the 10th place. During the palace examination in April, Weng Tonghe could not wait to support him. He ordered the examiner to sit and wait for Zhang Jian to hand in the paper, and then send it directly to him. After hurriedly reviewing it, he persuaded other examiners to rank Zhang Jian's paper as the first, and specially introduced it to Emperor Guangxu: "Zhang Jian, a famous scholar from Jiangnan , and he is a filial son." So at the age of 41, Zhang Jian finally won the first place in the first class and was awarded the sixth rank of Imperial Academy editorship. Since becoming a scholar in 1868, Zhang Jian has stumbled on the road to becoming an official for 26 years. He has entered and exited the examination room more than 20 times and spent a total of 120 days directly in the examination room. The pain and absurdity in it were only for him. You know best. On the day he won the top prize, he had a very complicated mood, and there was almost no excitement in his diary that day. Not long after the good news reached his hometown, his father passed away. According to the rules of the Qing Dynasty, he had to stay at home for three years, which seemed to indicate that he would never have a chance to have an official career. Zhang Jian once said: "I would like to do something useless, and I don't want to be a shameful official with eight lives and nine lives." In 1898, he went to Beijing to take off his leave. During the "Hundred Days Reform", his mentor Weng Tonghe was dismissed from office, and he knew that the officialdom was dangerous. Zhang Jian, who was unpredictable, was determined to stay away from officialdom and embark on the road of industry. "The fantasy of thirty years of imperial examinations ended here."

As a staff member in the army

Thirteenth year of Tongzhi (1874) ), Zhang Jian went to Nanjing to join Sun Yunjin. In the summer of the second year of Guangxu (1876), at the invitation of Wu Changqing, the commander of the Huai Army's "Qing Zi Camp", he went to Pukou to serve as a clerk in the Qing Army. Later, Yuan Shikai also defected to Wu Changqing. The two formed Wu Changqing's two major civil and military staffs and participated in Qing military secrets, important decisions and military operations.

In the spring of the sixth year of Guangxu (1880), Wu Changqing was promoted to the governor of Zhejiang and was ordered to go to Beijing to see his Majesty. Zhang Jian went with him. In the winter of the same year, Wu Changqing was ordered to assist in the defense of Shandong, and Zhang Jian moved with the Qing army to Huang County, Dengzhou. In the eighth year of Guangxu (1882), the "Renwu Mutiny" occurred in North Korea. Japan took the opportunity to send warships to Incheon. Wu Changqing was ordered to supervise the division to support North Korea in suppressing the rebellion, so as to prevent Japan from taking the opportunity to launch a war of aggression. Zhang Jian rushed to Seoul from the sea with the Qing army, drafted the "Explanation of Korean Affairs" for Wu Changqing, and wrote political articles such as "The Story of Renwu" and "Six Strategies for the Aftermath". He advocated resistance to aggression and adopted a tough foreign policy. As a result, he was favored by the South He sent "Qingliu" leaders Pan Zuyin, Weng Tonghe and others to appreciate him. In the tenth year of Guangxu (1884), Wu Changqing was transferred back to China and stationed in Jinzhou, while Yuan Shikai stayed in Korea to take over the "Qingziying". Soon after Wu Changqing died of illness, Zhang Jian left Qingjun and returned to his hometown to continue studying for the examination.

Win the title of Toad Palace

Zhang Jian started recruiting students at the age of 16, and went to Jiangning Mansion five times at the age of 18, 21, 23, 24 and 27 to study in Jiangnan. None of them passed the provincial examination (commonly known as Nanwei). It was not until the 11th year of Guangxu (1885), at the age of 33, that Sun Yunjin was promoted to Jiangning Prefecture Yin, and his children avoided it as usual and went to the Shuntian Prefecture Township Examination (commonly known as Beiwei), and he won the second place in the Juren examination, commonly known as "Nanyuan" ( The southerner ranked first in the northern list) gradually became famous and became the target of "Qingliu". However, Zhang Jian failed in the four examinations since then. From 1885 onwards, Weng Tonghe, Pan Zuyin and others had the intention of supporting Zhang Jian, especially "expected even" and "recommended but failed". Several times they mistakenly identified other people's papers as Zhang Jian and got the title of Zhonghui Yuan, which further illustrates the The mood of support was so urgent that Weng Tonghe was determined to win during the Sino-Japanese War Enke Examination. (When Zhang Jian was 34 years old, he failed in the examination of the Ministry of Rites; when he was 37 years old, he went to the examination, and the examination paper was written by Sun Shuhe of Wuxi, and Sun Zhong was admitted; when he was 38 years old, when he took the examination, he mistakenly took Tao Shifeng's paper as Zhang Jian's paper, and Tao Zhong was "Huiyuan" and Zhang failed; at the age of 40, he went to the examination, and the test paper was taken by Wu Jin Liu Keyi, Liu Zhonghuiyuan and Zhang failed again) In the 13th year of Guangxu (1887), Zhang Jian followed Sun Yunjin to Kaifeng Prefecture to assist in river control. Disaster relief and drafting the "Outline of Clearance." After the fourteenth year of Guangxu (1888), he was invited to preside over Ganyu Xuanqing Academy, Chongming Yingzhou Academy, Jiangning Wenzheng Academy, Anqing Jinggu Academy, etc. In the 20th year of Guangxu (1894), the Enke Examination was held on the 60th birthday of Empress Dowager Cixi. Zhang Jian was ordered by his father to go to Beijing again to participate in the Enke Examination of the Ministry of Rites. In February, the 60th tribute scholar was selected in the examination of the Ministry of Rites; in March, the 10th place in the first class was selected in the re-examination of the Ministry of Rites. Weng Tonghe ordered the examiner to sit and wait for Zhang Jian to hand in the papers, and then sent them directly to him. After hurriedly reviewing them, he tried his best to promote them. Weng Tonghe not only did the work of other grading ministers and rated Zhang Jian's paper as the first, but also specially introduced it when Emperor Guangxu introduced it: "Zhang Jian is a famous scholar in the south of the Yangtze River and a filial son." Zhang Jian won the first prize and the top prize. , according to the rules, he was taught compilation by the Sixth Rank Hanlin Academy.

Establishing industry

Soon, the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War broke out, and the national crisis intensified the conflicts 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 home as usual due to the death of his father. 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 training 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 defeated in the Sino-Japanese War and signed the " Treaty of Shimonoseki", the Tonghai regiment training was abandoned halfway. At the end of the same year, he joined the Shanghai Qiang 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 commercial bureaus in Tongzhou, Suzhou, and Zhenjiang respectively. Zhang Jian and Lu Runxiang founded Dasheng Spinnery and Sulun Spinnery in Nantong and Suzhou respectively. . The Dasheng Cotton Mill was initially determined to be a commercial operation. Zhang Jian tried to raise funds through the official investment promotion office and the joint venture between the government and businessmen, but the results were minimal and the funds raised were very limited.

Zhang Jian had no choice but to seek assistance from the government. In November 1896, Zhang Jian, through Liu Kunyi, the former governor of Liangjiang and Minister of Commerce of Nanyang, used official funds to buy goods from the United States when Zhang Zhidong was engaged in "Westernization" in the 19th year of Guangxu (1893). Come to handle a batch of 40,800 rusty government machines put aside by the Hubei Weaving Bureau in Shanghai, priced at 500,000 taels, and bought shares as government shares. At this time, Sheng Xuanhuai, who monopolized Westernization enterprises in the form of government-supervised commercial offices and government-business joint ventures, also When he was about to buy machines, he divided the batch of machines with Zhang Jian, and each got 20,400 ingots. The price was 250,000 taels of official shares, and another 250,000 taels of commercial shares were collected. Official shares do not count profits and losses, but only receive official profits on an annual basis, thus becoming a "gentleman-led business enterprise". 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. After several years of bleak operations, Dasheng Spin Factory gradually grew. By the 30th year of Guangxu (1904), the factory had increased its capital by 630,000 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. Zhang Jian (third from right in the front row) took a photo with Jinan students

000,000 taels, and 2.6 spindles. Thousands of pieces. 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. Starting in 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 - the Tonghai Reclamation and Animal Husbandry Company with more than 100,000 acres of arable land. 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. Later, 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. 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 my country's early national capitalist industrial bases. 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, and planned to establish his own normal school in Tongzhou with Luo Shuyun, Tang Shouqian and others. They planned to use the unspent public funds of 20,000 yuan with interest from the five years since Zhang Jian took office as the Tongzhou Cotton Mill. In addition, they could raise funds to raise funds. . 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. Zhang Jian was also the leader of the constitutional movement in the late Qing Dynasty and presided over three parliamentary petition movements. 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 prosper 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. His mother, Jin, was originally from Dongtai. At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, he also organized many enterprises and institutions in Dongtai, his mother's hometown, and made certain contributions to the local economic and cultural development of Dongtai. For example, in the 8th year of the Republic of China (1919), a normal school was established in Dongtai and named "Muli Normal School". The school is located in Wangjiashe, the eastern suburb of Taicheng, and has more than 100 school buildings. The former site of Dongming Electric Co., Ltd. founded by him still remains beside Yudai Bridge in Dongtai City. 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, which provided the raw materials needed for setting up yarn mills. In the third year of the Republic of China (1914), Zhang Jian used his salary as the salt envoy to Huaihe River to establish a Thai poor factory in Henan, at the south gate of Taicheng. He built more than 80 houses and covered an area of ??30 acres. He hired workers to make towels, The production of 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. . In the 30th year of Guangxu's reign (1904), Zhang Jian founded Nantong Dada Lunbu (Buji Bureau), which first opened up the outer river route, and later formed the Dada Steamship Company to open up routes on the inland rivers of northern Jiangsu. 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.

Golden Age

Because Zhang Jian was born as a top scholar, the early cotton yarn products of Dasheng Mill used the trademark "Kuixing", with "Hongkui", "Lankui" and "Green" under it. Different product lines such as "Kui", "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 had previously avoided investing, now also "voluntarily invested 20,000 shares." Even Zhejiang alternate Taoist Zhu Youhong, 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 a county matter, one must have a provincial perspective; to handle a provincial matter, one must have a national perspective; to handle a national affair, one must have a world perspective." Zhang Jian's philosophy determined the scale of his career. At that time, Western countries were busy with the first World War II left a huge space for China's textile market. This was a God-given opportunity. 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. According to the "Nantong County Map", in 1920, Tangzha had a population of nearly 10,000 households, nearly 50,000. There are many factories along the Tongyang Canal and business is booming. Some people have seen the world map issued abroad at that time. Many major cities in China were not marked, but the words "Tangjiazha" were clearly printed in the direction of Nantong. A small town came into the world's sight because of a man named Zhang Jian. At this time, Dasheng already owned more than 137,000 yarn spindles and entered his golden age. However, Zhang Jian, as the helmsman, was not without vigilance even when he was at his peak. He once issued such a notice: "The way to do business is to seek stability first. To be able to be stable will not lead to failure, and even failure will have margins. Entrepreneurs must not I don’t know. All failures must come at a time of great success. Today, our industry is at this opportunity. I only hope that all of you in our industry will be prepared for danger and stay safe. You must also be firm and loyal. This is what I hope for you in the long run. Tao Ye."

And Political Dance

Although Zhang Jian spent most of his time in business, few people simply call Zhang Jian a "businessman. ". This may be because his political and social reputation is so dazzling. He looks like an official but not an official, like a businessman but not a businessman. He has neither great power nor great wealth, but he has a high social status, so he is called a "gentry businessman". From today's perspective, he should be a professional manager and philanthropist with a strong sense of social responsibility and idealism. Such a godfather-level figure in China's early commercial and economic fields will inevitably have to speak politically, whether he wants to or not. 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.

His rapid change in political stance has attracted controversy: Is it suspected of political speculation? 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 forces changed, and revolution became a fashion. Zhang Jian is a clear-minded person. Once he sees that the trend is irreversible, his pragmatic side comes out. His pragmatic attitude is to comply with the revolution, but does not fully accept the revolution. He just hopes to end the turmoil as soon as possible and maintain market stability in a peaceful way. 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. Today's history textbooks tend to summarize Sun Yat-sen's position as "representing the national bourgeoisie", but in the eyes of businessmen at the time, Sun Yat-sen may not be completely the spokesperson for their interests. Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary ideas contained partial public ownership and communist overtones. Many years later, Zhang Jian's grandson Zhang Xuwu, who had served as deputy mayor of Nantong, looked through his grandfather's diary and found that it described his first meeting with Sun Yat-sen after the Revolution of 1911. Zhang Jian's evaluation of Sun Yat-sen was in four words: I don’t know the edge of the cliff. "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." In Zhang Xuwu's words, Sun Yat-sen was indeed a bit utopian to a certain extent. But Zhang Jian was a pragmatic person. He did not hide his thoughts and frankly believed that it would be difficult for Sun Yat-sen to clean up the situation. Although the government was established, it would be difficult to maintain it for a long time. "In this case, he is more willing to cooperate with the powerful real person Yuan Shikai." Zhang Xuwu said. So Zhang Jian left Nanjing and went north to join Yuan Shikai's camp. The "Edict on the Abdication of the Qing Emperor" issued by Yuan Shikai when he forced Emperor Xuantong to abdicate 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 improving, and industry and commerce began to recover. Zhang Jian thought that the unity and order he pursued was just around the corner, so he returned to Nantong to run his business and strive for local autonomy. In 1913, Yuan Shikai became the official president and appointed Zhang Jian as the director-general of agriculture and commerce. But soon Yuan Shikai ordered the dissolution of Congress, and the intention of restoration began to emerge. Zhang Jian once dissuaded Yuan Shikai, saying that actions such as dissolving Congress and wearing a Gun hat to worship heaven would trigger new unrest. By 1915, when Yuan Shikai accepted the "Twenty-One Points" proposed by Japan, Zhang Jian resigned angrily and completely severed ties with Yuan Shikai before he was restored and proclaimed emperor.