Nanxun, an ancient town in the south of the Yangtze River, is located in the northeast of Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province. It has been one of the richest areas in China since ancient times. 100 years ago, there was a Zhang family here. At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, its influence spread all over the political, business and cultural circles. Today, the Zhang family is also prosperous. In the six generations, there were more than 365,438+00 descendants recorded on the family tree. Unfortunately, because most of the descendants of the Zhang family lived abroad and kept a low profile, the story of the Zhang family was not widely circulated. The Zhang family in Nanxun is often praised as the third generation of the Zhang family, a veteran of the Kuomintang and a famous contemporary bibliophile.
Nanxun Zhang Jia is rich in the world.
About the origin of the Zhang family in Nanxun, it is generally said that their ancestors were from Ningxiu, Anhui. In the late Ming Dynasty, in order to escape the war, their family moved from Anhui to Zhejiang and the other to Jiangxi. During the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, a branch of Zhejiang settled in Nanxun. Of course, the descendants of the Zhang family have different views. 87-year-old Zhang is his grandson. He thinks the Zhang family moved from Fuzhou to Jiangsu and Zhejiang.
But no matter where it came from, the wealth of the Zhang family was famous in the late Qing Dynasty. During the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, people called the rich who made a fortune "elephant", "ox" and "little yellow dog" according to their wealth. With hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, he is as rich as an enemy in other places, but he is just a "little yellow dog" in Nanxun. Nanxun town, at that time, there were "four elephants, eight cows and seventy-two little yellow dogs", and the Zhang family was one of the "four elephants", with assets as high as 10 million taels of silver. What is the concept of100000 beam? 1889 (Guangxu 15), the tax revenue of the Qing empire was only 80 million taels of silver a year.
The Zhang family has been doing business for generations, but it is Zhang Songxian, his grandfather, who really makes the business prosperous. Zhang Songxian was born in 18 17. His great-grandfather and grandfather Zhang Xiusheng were just small-scale craftsmen who made a living by playing cotton. His father Zhang just opened a small cake shop and a small sauce and salt shop. From 65438 to 0843, the opening of Shanghai to trade brought Zhang Songxian a golden opportunity. Zhang Songxian, 26, seized the opportunity to start a silk business. He opened a silk shop in Shanghai, fully engaged in the specialty of Nanxun-Gillis, and created a trade route from Nanxun to Shanghai. Raw silk was shipped out from Nanxun by boat, and silver was brought back from the same channel.
When Zhang Songxian was in his thirties, the Zhang family began to manage salt industry. After the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement broke out, Zhejiang salt officials ran away, and private salt was rampant for a time. Major salt merchants were eager to sell their "salt tickets" (certificates for managing salt quantity). At that time, passers-by regarded the "salt ticket" as waste paper, thinking that the luck of the Qing Dynasty had run out. Zhang Songxian, on the other hand, had a "unique eye" and took the opportunity to eat 654.38 million+salt tickets, thus becoming the "salt name of Zhang Hengyuan". A few years later, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement failed and salt tickets became popular again. The wealth of the Zhang family soared overnight 10 times. At its peak, half of the south of the Yangtze River ate the salt of the Zhang family.
Zhang Songxian has two sons. Zhang Baoqing, the eldest son, was ill for many years, and his father died before him, failing to take over the family business, leaving only one son, Zhang Shiming. The second son, Zhang Baoshan, Zhang Jingjiang's father, helped his father manage the family business. 1892, Zhang Songxian died, and the Zhang family also separated. The branch of Zhang Shiming is called "South Number" and the branch of Zhang Baoshan is called "East Number".
The revolutionary love of the generous second son
The "East Number" of the Zhang family is the representative. Zhang Jingjiang, born in 1877, is the second son of Zhang Baoshan. Most of his fellow villagers call him "Mr. Er". Grandpa Zhang Songxian liked this grandson very much when he was alive and thought that he would become a great man in the future. But seeing that he was short of water, he named him Zengcheng and Jingjiang.
Zhang Jingjiang was born a hero. When he 18 years old, he once went to Shanghai by boat. On the way, the ship hit a stone pier and sank, and many people fell into the water. Because he was the second young master of the Zhang family, he was rescued by the owner first. After Zhang Jingjiang was rescued, the people on the other side shouted, "Whoever can save a person, I will reward him with 100 silver!" Many people knew that the second young master kept his word, so he rushed into the water to save people, and dozens of people were saved. The rescuer immediately got 100 silver. As for saving his shipowner, Zhang Jingjiang sent someone to 200 yuan every year to thank him, until he later went to France.
At the age of 2/kloc-0, Zhang Jingjiang's father Zhang Baoshan donated a second-class alternate road to him with 65438+2 million taels of silver. 1902, Zhang Jingjiang went to France with the Qing dynasty's ambassador to France as an attache. A year later, relying on 300,000 silver dollars funded by his father, he founded Yun Tong Company. At first, he only sold raw silk and tea, but later he developed into antiques, calligraphy and painting, jade articles and bronzes, and his business was booming. Once, he collected a Song Dynasty porcelain bowl with 10 silver in Shanxi, and sold it in France for 1000 dollars.
Zhang Jingjiang's connection with the "revolution" originated from an accidental meeting. 1in the spring of 906, Sun Yat-sen took a boat around Japan and saw Zhang Jingjiang on this seagoing ship. Hu, Sun Yat-sen's right-hand man, recalled: "At that time, he (Zhang Jingjiang) asked to talk to the founding father, who was very wary and avoided him. Unexpectedly, Mr Jingjiang stopped the founding father on the deck and said,' Don't deceive me, I know you are Sun Wen. Don't think I'm against you, but I agree with you the most! "... Finally, Mr. Jingjiang and Dr. Sun Yat-sen agreed that if the revolution needed money in the future, they could send him a telegram and sign the agreement. For example, the word "A" is 1 1,000 yuan; If you shoot the word "B", it is 20,000 yuan; The word "C" is 30,000 yuan, and so on. Dr. Sun Yat-sen wrote down the address in his notebook and didn't care much at that time. "
1907, Sun Yat-sen planned to launch an uprising against the Qing Dynasty in Nanguan, with no funds. Suddenly, I said to Hu Hu, "Last time I met a stranger on the boat, I agreed on three words. The first word is 10000 yuan and the second word is 20000 yuan. I'm afraid this person is a detective of the Qing court. " Hu listened and said, "It's nothing to lose anyway. What's the harm in sending a telegram? " So I sent a telegram with the word "A" according to the address left by Zhang. Soon, it is really 6.5438+0 million yuan. After a while, the second and third roles were finished and the money was received. Not only that, since then, as long as Sun Yat-sen sent a telegram, Zhang Jingjiang never refused. According to incomplete statistics, Zhang Jingjiang contributed165438+100000 silver to the revolution before and after the Revolution of 1911. No wonder Sun Yat-sen called him a "revolutionary saint".
But in fact, Zhang Jingjiang is not always rich. 1908, his colleagues in French express company parted ways with him because they were dissatisfied with his unrestrained revolutionary donation. Zhang Jingjiang's second son-in-law Zhou Junmei once told a story: When Sun Yat-sen launched the second revolution against Yuan Shikai, he was in urgent need of money to buy arms. Zhang Shiming inherited half of the property alone, being the richest, but he donated many times and didn't want to donate. One day, Zhang Jingjiang made another request, but Zhang Shiming refused on the spot, and they had a quarrel. Finally, Zhang Jingjiang got impatient, pulled out a loaded pistol and ordered Zhang Shiming to promise immediately. Zhang Shiming had to agree.
The gratitude and resentment with Chiang Kai-shek
Zhang Jingjiang and Chiang Kai-shek met in the early years of the Republic of China. After the Revolution of 1911, Zhang Jingjiang lived in Nanjing Road Daqing for the first time. During this period, Chiang Kai-shek often borrowed money from him in his own name, ranging from 200 yuan to 300 yuan every time. At the end of the year, Chiang Kai-shek always asked Zhang Jingjiang's office to copy a bill for him, as if he wanted to pay back the money, but he never paid it back.
1in the summer of 922, Zhang Jingjiang recommended Chiang Kai-shek to serve Sun Yat-sen on the Zhongshan Ship in Guangzhou for more than 40 days, which made him gain the trust of Sun Yat-sen in Guangzhou. Later, Chiang Kai-shek wrote "The Suffering of the Great President Sun Yat-sen in Guangzhou", which was inscribed by Sun Yat-sen and prefaced by Zhang Jingjiang, and funded its publication, greatly enhancing Chiang Kai-shek's reputation within the Kuomintang. After the establishment of Whampoa Military Academy, Zhang Jingjiang once again recommended Chiang Kai-shek to Sun Yat-sen. After Chiang Kai-shek became the president of Whampoa Military Academy, he began to cultivate his own power within the Kuomintang and lay a solid foundation for future development.
The marriage between Chiang Kai-shek and his third wife, Chen Jieru, also had a lot to do with Zhang Jingjiang. Zhang Jingjiang's second wife, YiMin Zhu and Chen Jieru, were good classmates. After YiMin Zhu married the Zhang family, Chen Jieru often went to the Zhang family. 19 19 One day in the summer vacation, Chen Jieru was chatting with the Zhang family, and Sun Yat-sen came to see him with Chiang Kai-shek. Unexpectedly, 32-year-old Chiang Kai-shek fell in love with 14-year-old Chen Jieru at first sight and made friends with him many times. Chen Jieru's mother strongly disagreed, so Chiang Kai-shek had to ask his wife YiMin Zhu to be the matchmaker through Zhang Jingjiang. Finally, Zhang Jingjiang personally came to the door and tried every means to persuade him to get married.
Who would have thought that six years later, Chiang Kai-shek fell madly in love with Song Meiling. In addition, this marriage is different from the last marriage, and the "marriage between Jiang and Song" has a profound political background. At this time, Chen Jieru has become a stumbling block to Chiang Kai-shek's love and career. Who will help him move? Or Zhang Jingjiang. Zhang Jingjiang visited Chen Zhai, persuaded Chen Jia's mother and daughter, and sent his two daughters to accompany Chen Jieru to the United States. Later, Chen Jieru was never mentioned by Chiang Kai-shek, but the Zhang family kept in touch with Chen Jieru.
Zhang Jingjiang and Chiang Kai-shek were always brothers before and after the Northern Expedition, but after the Kuomintang established Nanjing as its capital, they turned against Chiang Kai-shek on the issue of national construction. Zhang Jingjiang devoted himself to economic construction according to Sun Yat-sen's will, while Chiang Kai-shek was busy "suppressing * * *". At this time, Chiang Kai-shek has ascended the throne of Kong Xiangxi, Song Ziwen family and Jiangsu and Zhejiang chaebol, with full wings, and Zhang Jingjiang has no place. Soon, the construction committee chaired by Zhang Jingjiang was overhead by Chiang Kai-shek and had no real power.
After the outbreak of War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, Zhang Jingjiang took refuge in Wuhan, then went to Switzerland and the United States via Hongkong, and lived in New York. Before leaving Hong Kong, his younger brother Zhang Lianru asked him, "Is there a telegram for Chiang Kai-shek?" Zhang Jingjiang was half lying on the sofa. Hearing this, he immediately sat up straight from the sofa and said angrily, "Why did you inform him? I don't eat his food! He can't control it! " Zhang Jingjiang once said, "I have been used all my life, and I will never be used again. People like Chiang Kai-shek can only suffer, not be happy. He only knows himself, knows no one, and has no faith! "
Zhang's descendants are versatile people.
Zhang Jingjiang spent the rest of his life fasting and chanting Buddha, and died in new york on September 3rd, 1950. He * * * has 12 children and 10 daughters, and is called "Ten Golden Flowers". Among them, his ex-wife Yao Hui gave birth to five daughters, namely Ruiying, Zhiying, Yunying, Mars and Jingying. Zhang Yunying is good at piano. She once worked as a translator and editor of Radio China International, and trained her son and grandson as piano artists. Zhang is a painter. She is married to Sun Yat-sen's foreign affairs adviser and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the National Government. Zhang Jingying is a fashion designer. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, she married Lin Kesheng, the founder of modern physiology in China and a Singaporean overseas Chinese. They were all born in France, and they are all "Chinese and Western" ladies.
YiMin Zhu's five golden flowers are Naiqi, Naiheng, Naili, Naichen and Naixun, and their two sons are named Zhang Naichang and Zhang Nairong respectively. Later, they all lived in America.
Compared with Zhang Jingjiang, which actively joined the WTO, Zhang Shiming, a "southern tycoon", has been living like a wild crane. He is famous for his wealth and precious books. His precious collection of books, only the catalogue "Ishihara Tibetan Records" reached 16 volumes, including 45 volumes in the Song Dynasty, 57 volumes in the Yuan Dynasty, and hundreds of celebrity manuscripts. Any one of these precious ancient books is enough to make waves in the auction market. /kloc-at the beginning of 0/928, Zhang Shiming died.
Zhang Shiming spent three generations as a collector here. Zhang Qinbo, the eldest son, is also a famous bibliophile, and Zhang Shuxun, the seventh son, is a famous king of ancient money in China. He has collected the most precious ancient coins and ancient jade in China, and is quite famous in the coin collection field.
The third generation collector is Zhang Congyu, the son of Zhang Naihua, the fourth son of Zhang Shiming. When Zhang Naihua was young, he was a famous "four sons" in Shili foreign exchange on the beach. He spends money like water, not only likes collecting but also is good at appreciating. Zhang Congyu inherited his father's artistic cells and family paintings. He studied calligraphy and painting in the deep house compound since he was a child. In his twenties, he was hired as an academic appraisal consultant by the Beijing Palace Museum, and became a world-recognized first-class master of calligraphy and painting appraisal in China.
The Zhang family has a complex pedigree and a large population, and many stories are lost in the long river of time. Deng, a sociology professor at Shanghai University, said: "Unlike many traditional luxury houses, the Zhang family in Nanxun is not staying in one place. They either study, visit, travel, do business, or take refuge, and a large number of people go abroad, which greatly accelerates the' internationalization' process of this family. "