In the middle of the Yuan Dynasty, Shen Wansan's father moved to Ai from Shenjiayang, Nanxun Town, Wucheng County, Huzhou Road (now Huzhou, Zhejiang Province), and then moved to Yinzibang. Shen Wansan made Suzhou an important place to do business after he became rich. He once supported Zhou regime in Pingjiang (Suzhou) Zhang Shicheng, and Zhang Shicheng once erected a monument for Shen Wansan. In the early Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang made Nanjing his capital, Shen Wansan helped to build a third of the capital, and Zhu Yuanzhang sealed the officials of his two sons. In Nanjing, there are also "1,654 corridors and four restaurants ..." They have comfortable houses. But soon, Shen Wansan was exiled by Zhu Yuanzhang and spent the rest of his life in Yunnan.
Shen Wansan has left footprints in Zhouzhuang, Suzhou, Nanjing and Yunnan. Shen Wansan always regards Zhouzhuang as his career; "Three thousand households live in the northwest half of Kunming, that is, Dongzhuang land, Yinzibang, warehouses, pavilions and houses are connected" (Volume II of Town Records), "Three thousand households live in Zhouzhuang, and dangerous houses still exist" (Su Tan by Yang Xunji in Ming Dynasty). Although Zhang Shicheng and Zhu Yuanzhang raised him, he didn't want to leave this treasure land. Yuan, Wang Hangzi Zhizhong, a native of Wuxian, Shen Wansan extended to Xibin. Every time he succeeded, he was rewarded with Shen Wansan's benefit (six miscellaneous notes in Zhouzhuang Town Records). It can be seen that he even wants to stay in this rich land and spend a lot of money on farming so that Shenyang can prosper for a long time.
Shen Wansan's real name is Shen Fu, and the word Zhong Rong. His father is Shen You, who moved from Nanxun Town, Wucheng County, Huzhou Road to Caidong Village, Changzhou County, Pingjiang Road. Shen Wansan's younger brother's name is Shen Gui, whose real name is Zhonghua, also known as Shen. Shen Gui's second son: Chang Shen Dechang; Shen was born in Yanyou for seven years and died in Hongwu for four years. Later, he moved to Zhouzhuang, Pingjiang Road, north of Changzhou County, where his second son often lived. Shen Jun's third son: Chang Shenhai; Shen Guang; Shen Jinghua again. There is such a description in Liu Sanwu's epitaph of Tan Zhai Ji: the descendant of Shen Gui's second son: "[Shen] Before, Wu Xingren was from Nanxun. His eldest father, Yu, moved to Changzhou Village, Suzhou for family reasons. The second son: long taboo rich, the word Zhongrong, that is, ten thousand three thousand. The second taboo is expensive, the Chinese word, four thousand male. Chinese second son: Dechang is the best, followed by Han Jie. It is appropriate for Han Jie to rehabilitate Xiangtu. He moved to Zhouzhuang in the northwest. Shen Wansan was born in the late Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty. Commonly known as wansan. Three thousand is the third show among ten thousand households, so it is also called three shows, as a nickname for the very rich. Three thousand is a social address for him. The real name is fu, and the word is Rong. He was the richest man in Jiangnan in the late Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty, and also the richest man in China. If you have been to the ancient town of Zhouzhuang, you may not think that Zhouzhuang has become a famous ancient town in the south of the Yangtze River because of Shen Wansan. Not only Zhouzhuang benefited from him, but Shen Wansan also contributed half to the construction of Nanjing City. Because he was a rich country, he was forced to invest in the construction of Nanjing City with the Ming Dynasty because he was jealous of Zhu Yuanzhang. In the process of doing business and making a fortune, he left footprints in Zhouzhuang, Suzhou, Nanjing and Yunnan, but Shen Wansan always regarded Zhouzhuang as his own career. " Three thousand houses are located in the northwest half of Kunming, namely Dongzhuangdi, Yinzibang, warehouse, garden pavilion and houses (Chronicle of the Town, Volume 2).
In the article "The Rise and Decline of Shen Wansan, the Rich Man in the Early Ming Dynasty" published at the Symposium on Economic History of the Ming Dynasty, Chen of Kunshan Cultural Management Association said that Shen Wansan's rise and fall began with his hard work. "Its predecessor started from the bow crop ... the great father is rich and the inheritance is for;" Taste the handsome physique of children, which shows that Shen Wansan got rich by reclaiming wasteland, and he has the foundation of his career. Later, Shen Wansan got huge sums of money from the Lushi family, which made his wealth accumulation reach a higher level. "Shen Wansan show wealth, because the wu lujia, lu jiang left ... all show". ("Zhouzhuang Town Records" Volume 6. Miscellaneous notes). After primitive accumulation, he got huge funds from Lu. On the one hand, he continued to reclaim farmland to build houses; On the other hand, he put
Zhouzhuang, Shen Wansan, as the base of commodity trade circulation, takes advantage of the convenience of Baiyanjiang River (Dongjiang River) connecting the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal in the west and Liuhe River in the east; Transport the silk, ceramics, grain and handicrafts from Jiangsu and Zhejiang overseas, and at the same time carry out "international trade", that is, "Fan Tong", to earn huge wealth. According to "Wujiang County Records", "Shen Wansan lives in Zhouzhuang, the 29th capital of Wujiang, and is rich in the world. According to legend, it was obtained from the same story. " Wu Han, a famous historian, also said: "Suzhou Shen Wansan No.1 made a fortune because of overseas trade." He accumulated original wealth through reclamation, and then made good use of other people's money, boldly "fighting for money for service" and carried out foreign trade activities. Shen Wansan made some money from trade, bought land, and used the rest as business capital. As a result, he quickly became the richest man in Jiangnan, "with huge assets and land all over the world." Zhouzhuang's "changing villages into towns" is also a credit to Shen Wansan. As for the rich man in Shen Wansan, he even said that he had a cornucopia and so on, which reflected that his wealth was countless and his skills in making and accumulating wealth were superb. Up to now, there are still many stories and legends about Shen Wansan's wealth, luxury, manor, business and family life in Suzhou, Nanjing, Zhenjiang, northern Zhejiang and Anhui.
There are also several references to Shen Wansan in the History of Ming Dynasty, one of which is clearly written in the Biography of Bigfoot Ma Huanghou: Shen Xiu, a rich man in Xing Wu, that is, Shen Wansan, helped Zhu Yuanzhang to build a third of Nanjing City and asked him to contribute money to reward the army. Zhu Yuanzhang was angry and said, "Most people dare to reward the Emperor's army, which is definitely a mob. They should be killed. " Ma Huanghou remonstrated and said, "Your wife, I heard that laws are used to punish lawless people, not unlucky people. The people are extremely rich, and they are unlucky in themselves. Heaven is bound to bring disaster on him. Why should your majesty kill him again? " Zhu Yuanzhang listened to some Japanese words, spared Shen Wansan and exiled him to Yunnan.
The official history says so, naturally many people believe it. People are kind, and they don't want a wealth legend to die of old age, so they make up the story of his immortality in Yunnan. During the reign of Kangxi, there were legends everywhere, saying that they met the immortal Shen Wansan in Yunnan.
But unfortunately, the legend is not true, and what the official said is not necessarily correct. The history of the Ming Dynasty was compiled for the Qing Dynasty, and the words smearing the Ming Dynasty for political purposes can be seen everywhere. However, historical facts tell us that Shen Wansan was actually a Yuan Dynasty native, born and died in the Yuan Dynasty.
According to the Records of Wujiang County compiled during the Qianlong period, "Zhang Shicheng died in Wu Shi, and his second son Mao transported rice from the sea to Yanjing". The source of the editor's historical materials is Wujiang Zhi written by Mo Dan in Ming Dynasty. Mo family and Shen family are children in-laws. What Mo Dan said, the compilers of Wujiang county annals naturally dare not neglect, but the official history of King James has been published, so they dare not overturn it, so they have to add a note at the back: Mo Dan said that when Zhang Shicheng occupied Wu Hui, Shen Wansan was already dead, but in the Ming Dynasty, he also said that Shen Wansan helped Emperor Gao (Zhu Yuanzhang) build Nanjing City and demanded a reward.
Zhang Shicheng's army occupied Wuhui in the 16th year from Yuan Dynasty to Zheng Zheng (1356), and Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty in 1368. This is tantamount to saying: According to Mo Dan, when Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor, Shen Wansan had been dead for at least 12 years, and the dead would neither climb out of the grave to repair the wall for him, nor worry about being exiled by his property.
The question is: Is Mo Dan's statement accurate?
The answer is: accurate.
Let's look at a simple set of numbers first.
Shen Wansan has at least three sons. In addition to the "two sons Mao and Wang" mentioned in Wujiang County Records, there is also a son named Shen Rong, and Shen Rong has another son named Shen Sen.
At the end of Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of Ming Dynasty, Wang wrote an epitaph for Shen Rong and his son, which explicitly mentioned that Shen Rong died in the autumn and August of the ninth year of Hongwu in Ming Dynasty (1376) at the age of 71; Shen Sen and his father died in the same year at the age of 48.
Through calculation, we can know that 1368 When Zhu Yuanzhang founded the Ming Dynasty, Shen Wansan's son Shen Rong was 62 years old and his grandson Shen Sen was 39 years old. Therefore, there is no problem for Shen Wansan to be around 80 years old.
Of course, it is too arbitrary to conclude that Shen Wansan will not live to be 80 years old and will not see the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, but from this set of data, at least we can overturn the official statement that Shen Wansan offended Zhu Yuanzhang and was demoted to Yunnan.
It was not until the fourteenth year of Hongwu (138 1) that the Ming army officially went to war against Yunnan, and the following year, Yunnan was formally incorporated into Zhu Yuanzhang's territory. Even at this time, Shen Wansan was still alive, and was demoted to Yunnan in the same year as the Ming army pacified Yunnan, and his age was at least 100 years old. Is this possible? Exiling centenarians is equivalent to talking about whimsy in the history of China. We should know that this is a society based on filial piety and aimed at loyalty, and respecting the elderly is its most basic ideology.
Shen Rong's epitaph also mentioned: "At the beginning, Shen Wansan, the former gentleman of Rong's father (Shen Rong), swam at the gate of Yuan Dynasty ..." Shen Rong died in Hongwu nine years ago, and the epitaph used the title of "former gentleman" when referring to Shen Wansan, which is enough to prove that Shen Wansan died in Hongwu nine years ago.
It is also mentioned in the epitaph that when Shen Rong was in charge of family affairs, the Jishantang was built to "inherit the ambition of the husband", that is, to inherit the legacy of the ancestors as a souvenir. "The first ambition" undoubtedly means that Shen Wansan is dead. Shen Jia Ji Shan Tang was built at the end of Yuan Dynasty, which means that Shen Wansan died before Shen Rong built Ji Shan Tang, that is, at the end of Yuan Dynasty.
So the conclusion naturally comes out: since one of Shen Wansan's sons, Shen Rong, was born in 1306, it can be inferred that Shen Wansan was born around 1286; According to Mo Dan's records and Shen Rong's epitaph, it can be inferred that Shen Wansan died before the demise of the Yuan Dynasty. On the whole, Shen Wansan lived for about 60 or 70 years.
In other words, life is a Yuan Dynasty person, and death is a Yuan Dynasty ghost. According to legend, Shen Wansan, who was exiled to Yunnan by Zhu Yuanzhang, has never been a subject of Zhu Yuanzhang for a day; I haven't even seen Zhu Yuanzhang, and I don't know which side Zhu Yuanzhang is sacred. It is also very possible.
Anecdotal allusions
The legend of "cornucopia"
Yangzhuang Town has a long history and splendid culture, and there are many magical legends, among which Shenjing Village's "cornucopia" is spread all over the country.
According to legend, during the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, there was a wealthy businessman, Shen Man Wanshan, in Shenjia Village. His family owned nine hectares of land and employed more than one person 10. One year, there was a serious drought, and plants and trees would die because of it. At this time, Shen Wanshan's mowing servants cut off a bundle of oily green and tender grass every day. After a long time, Shen Wanshan felt very strange and asked the mowers, "How did you get so much good grass in such a drought?" At that time, he didn't tell his master where he cut the grass. For several days, Shen Wanshan watched behind the lawn mower. He sleeps at the bottom of Shenjia Bridge in the north of Shenjia Village every day, and doesn't go to Niudan Mountain in the north of the village until noon when no one is around. One day, Shen Wanshan forced the mowers to take him to the mowing place. When he saw a green circular lawn, he asked the mowers to mow it. After cutting, he came out again, cutting fast and growing fast. Shen Wanshan felt very strange and thought about it. This mountain is in the south of Shanxi, and the phoenix falls in a land without treasure. The next day, he took two people there to dig an iron basin. Later, Shen Wanshan bought a pig and fed it to the pigs. Pigs grow fast. After killing pigs, she washed her face with this basin. On one occasion, Shen Wanshan's daughter-in-law accidentally threw a ring into the washbasin while washing her face. When Shen Wanshan knew this, he thought this basin was a good thing. At that time, it was said that there was a treasure-watching cave on the mountain, where Mao people lived. Since Shen Wanshan got the treasure, the Catman left a gap of three rooms in the cave. After Shen Wanshan got the treasure, he relied on Baopen's financial resources. 72 wells were drilled for the villagers, paving the way for the villagers. A few years later, the Yangtze River burst, and some people speculated that there must be a baby somewhere (it is said that babies will burst when they appear). The emperor issued a notice, "whoever can block the breach of the Yangtze River will be given a high official and generous salary." When Shen Wanshan learned this, he unveiled the notice and came to Nanjing with the treasure to make a good deal with the emperor. The emperor casually promised to "borrow the fourth watch and return the fifth watch." Shen Wanshan came to the crack, took out the "cornucopia" and put a handful of soil into it. After putting it in the gap, he immediately blocked the gap. Then, Shen Wanshan went to the inner court to beg for high officials and generous salaries, and went to Wu Geng to get a "cornucopia". Who knows that it was not until dawn that the four-watch drum was played. It is said that in order to defraud the treasure, the emperor changed the five to the four watch, and the south four and the north five started from this. Shen Wanshan was detained as soon as he arrived in Korea and asked him about his treasure. He also said that if he was not given the treasure, he would be punished, his predecessors would be beheaded, and then nine families would be destroyed. Shen Wanshan's grave was dug into a pit (now the big puddle in Shenjing Village is the original forest land in Shenyang), and people in Shenjing Village heard that there was a treasure in Shen Wanshan, but they didn't give it to them, committing the crime of murder. Some escaped, some changed their names. Since then, the well in Shenjiacun has been filled up.
Later, in order not to forget the kindness, people who moved here changed the name of the village to Shenjing Village, but Shenjing Village has not sunk so far. Shen Wanshan lived in the southeast corner of Shenjing Village at that time. During the Great Leap Forward, Mou Wei of Shenjing Village drilled a mysterious well while leveling the land. Well depth 12m, diameter 1.5m, water level 2.1m. Stone structure is complete, and the surface layer is weathered and yellowed. This ancient well is the one used by Shen Wanshan in those days.
After the breach of the Yangtze River was blocked, the "cornucopia" became a large plain of soil, which was later built on it. It is said that the "cornucopia" has fallen under the Zhonghua Gate in Nanjing. During the Republic of China, the Kuomintang authorities heard that Shen Wanshan's "cornucopia" was under the door of China, and ordered to dig a hole for treasure. As a result, they dug a big hole to live in, but they didn't find the cornucopia. It is said that the cornucopia returned to Shenjing Village and was later used as a bomb shelter (65433
Today, there is still a small pit on Niudan Mountain in the north of Shenjing Village, and no grass has grown in the pit until now.
Settle in Zhouzhuang
At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, there was a rich family named Shen in Shenjiayang, Nanxun Town (now Huzhou, Zhejiang Province). Unexpectedly, Shen Wansan was suddenly flooded and his wife died of the plague. Shen You picked up his four sons with a fishing boat and fled to Zhouzhuang Town, one hundred miles away from Nanxun overnight. The eldest brother and the second child died unfortunately, leaving only Shen Fu and Shen Gui. On one occasion, Shen Fu, the third son, unexpectedly left without saying goodbye, and there was no news for several days. When no one could find him, he came back excitedly. It is said that I went to Suzhou to play. People who do business there can make money and play around. It's so interesting.
start from scratch
At first, the Shen family cultivated a low-lying land in Zhouzhuang, producing only reeds and thatch. But they are diligent in farming, making it a high-yield cultivated land.
Zhouzhuang has fertile land, mild climate and convenient irrigation. It has always been a good place to grow grain, rape, mulberry and sericulture. Shen Wansan came here with his father, mainly relying on the development of agricultural production, "starting from ploughing", and then "expanding the fields and houses and enriching treasures", resulting in "huge capital and land all over the world". Snow in Dongzhuang is one of the eight scenic spots in Zhouzhuang, which depicts the scenery of Shen Shi Manor. There are many huge granaries in Dongzhuang, and there are countless grains stored every year.
Lu's money gift
In the Yuan Dynasty, Suzhou Dafu Lu admired Shen Wansan's intelligence and business credit, and felt that he was old and saw through the world of mortals. If you don't pass on the huge property in your hands to others, once the situation is turbulent, it will become a disaster. So, all these things were given to Shen Wansan, who went to Kaiyunge by the lake of Hu Cheng and became a Taoist until his death.
Shen Wansan got this huge sum of money from Liu Deyuan, which is even worse.
Zhuhai fantong
On the one hand, Shen Wansan continued to open up farmland houses, on the other hand, Zhouzhuang, which is well-developed in waterway transportation, was used as a base for commodity trade and circulation, and silk, porcelain, grain and handicrafts from the mainland were shipped overseas, and overseas jewelry, ivory, rhinoceros horn, spices and medicinal materials were shipped to China, and foreign trade activities of "striving for wealth as a service" began, which soon made itself the first in the south of the Yangtze River.
The treasure in the divine basin
According to folklore, Shen Wansan has a cornucopia. If you put in a golden hairpin, you can take out a handful of golden hairpin. Put in a silver ingot, you can take out a pot of silver ingot, which is inexhaustible, so it can be rich in the world. Shen Wansan is in Nanjing. He built walls and related facilities for Zhu Yuanzhang, and also built 1654 corridors and four restaurants, which cost countless dollars. Xuanwu Lake Park in Nanjing today is the former site of his back garden. The luxurious banquet and rich costumes are beyond people's imagination. His agate hip flask is bright and crystal-like. There is a grape in the middle, called the grape under the moon. It is said that it can be exchanged for "Jiaxing County Salt Banknotes".
Nvle feast
After Shen Wansan made his fortune, he was also very elegant. He often entertains dignitaries in his luxurious home. Besides food, wine and beauty, he also has three classes of female music. After drinking a cup of tea, the female musicians performed music and dance to entertain the guests. They are both geisha and musicians, and most of them play Kunqu Opera, which Shen Wansan and his friends love to hear. The people watching gathered together. There are as many as 60 watchmen, who only serve as guards and patrols for Huawu, and also serve snacks, wine and dishes every night. I ate ten jars of wine and thirty plates of stewed hooves in one night.
Establish a library and respect teachers.
Shen Wansan specially invited Wang to act as a school teacher and came to Zhouzhuang to set up a museum in Yinzibang. Wang Hang teaches well and writes well. Shen Wansan gave him a golden reward (at that time, it was twenty-two taels or twenty-four taels), which was considerable. Shen Wansan is well aware of the role of knowledge. He hopes that his children will have high knowledge and be able to deal with foreign businessmen, so as to inherit the family business they started and make Shenyang invincible forever.
guanqian jie
Shen Wansan earned enough money overseas and once lived in Suzhou. He found that around the mysterious temple in the city center, pilgrims and tourists poured in every day, and jugglers and vendors gathered everywhere. However, due to narrow roads, pedestrians and horses are often blocked. In his view, it is a good thing to build a market and widen the road before the view, which is not only convenient for pedestrians and horses, but also can rent the completed shops to merchants and attract transactions. The music square next to the temple can also provide entertainment for guests from all directions. So he paved Guanqian Street with Maoshan stone, which is very in line with the style of small bridges and flowing water in the ancient city and brings out the best in each other. After its completion, it won the praise of the people.
Nanjing Zhucheng
Zhu Yuanzhang prepared to build the capital in Nanjing and decided to expand Yingtian City, making it very grand. However, due to frequent wars and huge expenses, there is no money to repair the city wall. Shen Wansan, Fu Hao promised to be responsible for the construction of the section from Jubaomen to Shuiximen, and related projects, such as profile houses, streets, bridges, sluices and office buildings. He not only hired first-class construction workers, but also urged the progress on the construction site all day to check the quality of Shen Wansan. Although some "school signs" often go to the construction site to make trouble and make money, Shen Wansan completed the fence built by the royal family three days in advance. Can do this, just a big refutation of the emperor's face.
Later, he actually proposed to Zhu Yuanzhang that he intended to use his own two million gold instead of the emperor to reward the three armed forces. This finally made Ming Taizu face great anger. So he was sent to the border of Yunnan, because he had no property.
Exile in Yunnan
When Shen Wansan was demoted, it was said that he had five sons, gold, silver, copper, iron and tin. From a distance, people always feel that their side is shining along the way. So someone reported to the emperor that when Shen Wansan went to Yunnan, he also took away the wealth of Jiangnan. The emperor hurried down the imperial edict, forbidding them to move on, and put Shen Wansan's five sons to death on the spot. The youngest son, a native of Xi, happened to be in an old place. After receiving the imperial edict, he committed suicide by jumping off a cliff on a high mountain and soon became a tin mine. The blood of the other four brothers flowed into the land of Yunnan and became a copper mine.
Give up your life to complain.
After Shen Wansan exiled the army, Zhu Yuanzhang spared Zhouzhuang people and wanted to kill the whole town. A scholar named Xu stepped forward and bravely came to Nanjing to sue the imperial edict and ask the emperor to pardon the people. Seeing that Xu risked his life and forgot his own life, he dared to speak out. Zhu Yuanzhang never said that he would kill him again. He wrote five big words "You are good people" and politely sent him back to Zhouzhuang.
The pardoned people beat gongs and drums and held Xu high in the street happily.
Tea-horse road
After Shen Wansan's accident, many friends came to visit him from Jiangzhe all the way to Dali, Yunnan. They found that taking the ancient tea-horse road to transport silk, ceramics and handicrafts from Jiangsu and Zhejiang to northwest Yunnan and even Tibet was a new way to seek wealth. Although the weather there is cold, the roads are bumpy and full of hardships, there is a lot of room for development. Experienced Shen Wansan used the ancient tea-horse road to transport silk and other specialties from Jiangnan to Yunnan, even Tibet, Myanmar and India. ...
Shen Wansan had no choice but to return to his old job and continue to do business on the ancient tea-horse road. No one thought that this brought him back to life.
Buried in my hometown
Shen Wansan spent the last few years of his life in Yunnan Border Region and died in a foreign land. Relatives around him transported his bones back to Zhouzhuang, the ancient town where he started, and buried them under Yinzibang. According to folklore, there is a flood at the end of Yinzibang, which leads to the spring and will not dry up in a dry year. There is an ancient tomb under the water, which is very strong and contains Shen Wansan's coffin. It makes people think and enlighten a lot today. Before Shen Wansan was born, his father had owned thousands of acres of fertile land and operated workshops such as rice shops and wineries. At that time, it was also a rich family in the local area. After Shen Wansan was born, he was nicknamed Shen Zhongrong and Shen Fu. When giving him full moon wine, his father ordered Four Treasures of the Study and gold and silver jewelry for him to rob, and Shen Wansan robbed a jade carving. Shen Shi housekeeper concluded that the son's future economic achievements far exceed his parents. However, Shen Fu was not happy. As a foreigner, Shen Fu's personal experience in communication with people made him hope that his son would study poetry books diligently in the future and worship his ancestors with fame.
Shen Wansan was naughty at school and didn't want to learn, and her husband was often teased by him. Xiao Wansan is very close to his nanny and housekeeper. The housekeeper especially likes to tease him and teach him arithmetic knowledge while playing. The housekeeper took an empty jar (made of ceramics) from the winery, asked Xiao Wansan to put change in it, and set up a ledger. Xiao Wansan attached great importance to this matter, thus forming Shen Wansan's financial management consciousness. The housekeeper smiled and named the jar cornucopia. Since then, Shenyang has called it a cornucopia. No one can imagine that the word "cornucopia" influenced Shen Wansan's life. No matter whether Shen Wansan made his fortune and moved to Suzhou or Zhu Yuanzhang moved to Nanjing, this cornucopia followed Shen Wansan all the time. Although not as magical as folklore, it is said that Shen Wansan has an inexhaustible business philosophy or inspiration for the cornucopia. Later, Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to occupy a cornucopia and build Nanjing City. Shen Wansan had to dedicate this cornucopia to the emperor on the grounds that he needed to choose an auspicious day and fast for 7749 days. Then he secretly summoned skilled craftsmen to build a cornucopia with gold and diamonds, and all kinds of auspicious patterns were used on it. Finally, he passed this level. Shen Wansan made a speech afterwards, saying that there is no cornucopia in the world, which is really Xiao He's failure!
The bones of Shen Wansan, the god of wealth, are buried at the top of Gupeng Village Committee in Yongfeng Town, Deqing County, Guangdong Province. Before burying Shen Wansan, Feng Shui master Lai Buyi named this treasure land "Seven Stars Accompanying the Moon". After Shen Wansan was buried, Feng Shui master Zeng Fuyang named the treasure land "Baizuzhu". The villagers at the foot of the mountain spread it, calling it "a hundred feet with pearls." Shen Wansan's descendants called the ancestral graves "a hundred feet spit pearls". Shen Wansan's descendants lived in Wulong Town, Deqing County. Most of them changed their surnames to Pan, but those who changed their surnames were unknown. Note: cornucopia cornucopia cornucopia.
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Reasons for getting rich
On the reasons why Shen Wansan became rich. Generally speaking, there are three theories, namely, plowing, sharing wealth and learning from others.
Reclamation theory
It is recorded in many historical materials, but it is the article "The Wealth and Decline of Shen Wansan, the Rich Man in the Early Ming Dynasty" published by Chen of Kunshan Cultural Management Committee at the "Seminar on Economic History of the Ming Dynasty" that really put forward this statement perfectly. The article emphasizes that Shen Wansan started from "bow crops", and then "widely planted thin fields, widely built houses, and happy ever after", and even "had huge wealth and spread all over the world". Shen Wansan became rich by reclamation, and even became very rich, claiming to be the first in the south of the Yangtze River.
Wealth distribution theory
Some people think that "Shen Wansan's wealth for show is due to the wealth of the Wu family, the Lu family and the Lu Jiang left ...". ("Zhouzhuang Town Records" Volume 6. Miscellaneous notes), another person said, "Lu Daoyuan, the rich man of the Yuan Dynasty, was the best in the world. In his old age, two people who manage their wealth will pay with assets ","One is Shen Wansan who studied ",(Su Tan by Yang Xunji). In a word, Shen Wansan got the wealth of Lu in Wujiang and became a rich man in Jiangnan.
Fan Tong said
According to "Wujiang County Records", "Shen Wansan lives in Zhouzhuang, the 29th capital of Wujiang, and is rich in the world. According to legend, it was obtained from the same story. " Wu Han, a famous historian, also said: "Suzhou Shen Wansan No.1 made a fortune because of overseas trade." This shows that Shen Wansan has become a very rich country by shipping goods to overseas trade.
In fact, the above three factors are indispensable, which are closely related to the reason why Shen Wansan became the richest man in the south of the Yangtze River. If Shen Wansan "started from Gonghe in his last life ... his father was rich and he inherited the inheritance; Handsome taste and the strength of his children "shows that he has a career foundation. Shen Wansan got a huge sum of money from Lu, and his superb "economic management" talent was reflected in his "financial management"? Only have the capital and key to get rich. With such a huge sum of money, on the one hand, he continued to open up farmland houses; On the other hand, he took advantage of the convenience of Baiyanjiang River (Dongjiang River) connecting the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal in the west and Liuhe River in the east, and made Zhouzhuang a base for commodity trade and circulation. He shipped the silk, ceramics, grain and handicrafts from Jiangsu and Zhejiang overseas, and started his foreign trade activities of "striving for wealth as a service", which quickly made him the richest man in the south of the Yangtze River with "huge assets and land all over the world". Shen Wansan earns money from trade, part of which is used to buy land, and the other part is used as business capital. Therefore, Shen Wansan boldly took reclamation as the basis and wealth distribution as the operating capital; Become a rich man. Zhouzhuang "turned the village into a town, which is really the credit of Shen Wansan and his son."
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The decline of Shenyang
Shen Wansan is so rich that even Zhu Yuanzhang is jealous; However, after suffering three heavy blows from the Zhu Ming dynasty, it declined rapidly. The first attack was in the sixth year of Hongwu in Ming Dynasty (AD 1373). According to Zhouzhuang Town Records and Shi Ming Ma Hou Biography, during the Hongwu period, Shen Xiuzhe, who enriched the people, helped build a third of the capital and invited him to enlist. The emperor forbearingly said: Everyone should enlist in the army of the world, confusing people's hearts and punishing them appropriately. After remonstrating, he said: the ominous person is punished by heaven. Why should your majesty punish him? It's Shi Xiu. He's in Yunnan. "
Besides Shen Wansan being exiled to Yunnan, his second son-in-law Yu Shishe was also exiled to Chaozhou. Prior to this, Shen Wansan built the wall from Hongwumen to Shuiximen. He also contributed 2,000 ingots of platinum, 200 Jin of gold and 0/0 person of Jiatu/KLOC. Ten chariots and horses, building Nanjing corridor, restaurants and so on. This blow not only made Shenyang lose Shen Wansan's head; Moreover, the wealth has also been reduced by more than half, which can be described as both human and financial. Moreover, when Shen Wansan was arrested at that time, there were many collective punishments in Zhouzhuang Town, and it was said that all the residents of Zhouzhuang were punished. Fortunately, Xu Min, a townsman, didn't escape the axe, so he went to the capital: only in this way did he save the whole Zhouzhuang town. The second blow was in the 19th year of Ming Hongwu (A.D. 1386), and in the spring of the 19th year of Hongwu, "My brother went to Qiu Guan as a domestic servant, and when he died, Bosch also gave him the imperial capital, so that he was suitable to be in prison with his brother" (Volume III of Zhouzhuang Town Records). This time, two sons of Shen Wansan's son and Shen Zhuang (Bo) were jailed for land tax. That year, Bo Xi died in prison and was later buried in Zhouzhuang Xing Village. In this way, the inheritance of Shenyang has been fundamentally shaken.
The third attack was in the thirty-first year of Hongwu (AD 1398). "Play Wen Xue and Aquamarine conspiring to capture Yan Xun, implicating his wife and daughter and their seventy-two enemies." "In February of the thirty-first year of Hongwu, Hulan took the blame. Even 3,000 great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great- ("Zhouzhuang Town Records" Volume 6 Miscellaneous Notes), this time Shen Wansan's son-in-law Gu and Shen were six, and nearly 80 people were all killed. Shen Wansan's huge family business, which was painstakingly managed, declined sharply. "Shen Wansan's family is in Zhouzhuang, and the dilapidated house is still there. It's not very stylish." The Shenyang family suffered such a heavy blow three times and could only be ruined.
In this way, Shen Wansan, known as the richest man in the south of the Yangtze River, declined from prosperity to decline, but after all, he is a figure worthy of study and reference, and his remains in Zhouzhuang are also deeply interested by Chinese and foreign tourists, experts and scholars.