Chenghai Camphor Forest has a rich mansion built in the late Qing Dynasty, and its owner is Zheng Crab, an overseas Chinese in Thailand, who is related to the Thai king by marriage and is known as Crab Ye. Although the architectural style of the mansion is not tall, in addition to the exquisite stone reliefs of flowers, birds, insects, fish, character plays, etc., there are also stone carvings of poetry and aphorisms to persuade the world to be virtuous. These seals, letters, letters, lishu and other books are exhortations, and even the strokes and seals of the grass are yang carvings, and their unique design and exquisite work are extremely rare.
The house of Zheng Crab, an overseas Chinese in Thailand, is simple and elegant, the door forehead is engraved with the words "Tongde Liufeng", the appearance design is similar to other houses, the wall is intact, the pattern is small, and the black and gray roof is dotted with cyan glazed windows and tiles, which looks antique. In particular, I was deeply impressed by the exquisite stone carvings on the doorstep. In addition to the stone paintings such as flowers, birds, insects and fish, scholars, farmers, industrialists and merchants, and fishermen and tree cultivators, or the large characters on the front of the door that have been seen before, the exhortations such as poetry and aphorisms are basically yin stone carvings or gray wall inscriptions. And this exhortation is all Yang pattern stone carving, and is a variety of seal, li, kai, xingcao a variety of calligraphy, even the falling grass and plutonium are carved by yang pattern. In that era of pure craftsmanship, its exquisite craftsmanship was truly breathtaking.
"Crab Ye" surname Zheng, (名 Crab Tai) (李注: or Yunqi official name Zheng Ruixun), a native of Chenghai, Guangdong, was born in Chenghai Zhanglin Xishe, Chenghai around 1839 AD. After getting married in his hometown, he had 3 children, the eldest son was named Dazhong, the second daughter was named Lan Xiang, and the third daughter was named Mei Xiang. He came to Siam between 1864 and 1865 when he was about 25 or 26 years old. After nearly a month of drifting at sea, I finally came to Siam. At first, he worked as a "general" (employee) on Songyue Road, but after two or three years he worked in another grocery store, which sold Tangshan goods. This was probably still the time of King Rama IV. Zheng Crab worked honestly and hard, and the boss was very satisfied, and later married his daughter to him. This experience is a good exercise for Zheng Crab in business. Zheng Crab and this lady have nothing to do. After the death of his wife, Zheng Crab took care of the business in the shop alone for a period of time. By the time of King Rama V, he was engaged in small business at the Three Self-Reliant Portals. Here he met a Thai woman named Lieb, who gave birth to 13 children after marriage, 10 died prematurely, and the remaining 3, the eldest daughter named Jin Lai, the second son named Minister, and the third son named Daxiao. He also adopted his nephew Yizi,named Zheng Daping,who was older than his 2 sons.
Zheng Crab hosted the casino earlier than Erge Feng. Due to the good management, after a little savings, Zheng Crab participated in the casino and the flower club bidding. During the reign of King Rama V, he was knighted as a casino tax collector ,Khun Bok', and his casinos were distributed around Sam Phueng and Dalat Puk. Zheng Crab will earn a huge profit to invest in the Banking and Information Bureau, pawnshops and financial industry, all businesses are progressing well, and its economic status has also been greatly improved, known as "mountain crab" and "crab master".
▲ The second brother Feng, real name Zheng Zhiyong (1851 to 1937), born in Thailand, originally from Qiyuan Township, Fengtang Town, Chao'an County, the name of the milk is Feng, the family name Is Liyu, the name "Zhiyong" was given by Sun Yat-sen in 1908, and he called himself Haitao in his old age. The second brother Feng is the second brother (leader) of his line or the Hongmen Society, and the Teochew saying: "Born with the second brother Feng, dead with the Duke of Dafeng" is born to get the help of the second brother Feng, and after death, he is taken care of by the senior monk Dafeng, and Yu has to rely on for life and death. Zheng Zhiyong is a man of good charity and is enthusiastic about public welfare, although he lives in Siam, he spares no effort in shipping, studying, and building embankments in his hometown of Chaoshan Province, and has done many good deeds.
In 1909, his son Zheng Da wei and others jointly established the Hua Siam Steamship Company, which had a registered capital of 3 million baht, divided into 300,000 shares, 10 baht per share, and Zheng Da wei held 120,000 shares. The company charters ships and opens up routes between Bangkok, Hong Kong, and Shantou Haikou, carrying passengers and cargo, with the intention of competing with Westerners. However, due to the lack of experience in the shipping business, it was impossible to compete with the Westerners, and after a few years, the Hua-Siam Steamship Company had to end its business.
Crab Ye's Silver Letter Bureau was set up in Sanpin, with the name cheng shunli and a semicolon in Shantou. According to the records, in 1911, Cheng successfully received an appropriation of up to 300,000 yuan. Cheng Shunli was originally hired in San, and later moved to Cheng Hua Bang Phong. Its financial institution is Shun Fu Cheng Bank. The bank was initially based on Songyue Road, but later moved to Sanpin, with branches in Hong Kong, Shantou and Singapore, responsible for merchant trade guarantees and collection of payment between Bangkok, Hong Kong, Shantou and Singapore.
After the success of the crab in his career, he did not forget to help the villagers. The townspeople have difficulties, they ask him, and they can get help from him. He knew that many overseas Chinese compatriots in Thailand were homesick and wanted to go back to visit their relatives, but they were suffering from no money to buy ferry tickets. Zheng Crab then specially chartered a boat for poor overseas Chinese to return to China by boat for free. This move has become a good story in the local overseas Chinese community.
The Zheng family was quite close to Prince Somdej Kromphya Devawongse Varoparker, who was then a prominent and powerful prince. This nobleman was the younger brother of King Rama V, who served as An assistant to Rama V for many years, and was called Prince Sha of Liyun in Chinese literature. (According to Zheng Guanyingde, a native of Zhongshan County, Guangdong Province, at the end of the Qing Dynasty, this prince was "the current official QinMamen Military Aircraft Zhongshu, and also in charge of the Du Branch's inspection of the treasury affairs", that is, the king's royal secretary and presided over the State Financial Inspection Office.) He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs for 38 years, died on June 28, 1923, at the age of 66, and was the progenitor of the Tevahon surname, whose descendants still serve in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (His descendants are the current presidents of the National Bank.) ）
Through the introduction of Prince Sha of Liyun, the eldest daughter of Crab Ye in Thailand, Zheng Jinlai, married the prince's cousin who served in the judicial department. Later, Zheng Jinlai's two daughters successively entered the palace as the sixth princess.
The eldest daughter, Sucharit Suda, the eldest daughter of Zheng Jinlai, married King Rama VI of Thailand and was given the title of "Pat Suzar Suri Suda" VI Wang Guifei. The fifth daughter, Indrasakdi Sachi, was given the title of Princess Guifei of "Patin Tharani" and was later promoted to Queen Rama VI.
▲The picture is derived from "The Story of The Crab Master"
In 1907, the elderly Crab Master entrusted his subordinate business to his son Minister Zheng. Because he was old and sick and wanted to go back to his hometown to seek medical treatment, he took his wife Andi and his young son Zheng Daxiao back to Chenghai Zhanglin, but after the illness was ineffective, he died in 1915 at the age of 76.
It is said that the years are like songs, singing endless characters through the ages, and the exquisite stone carving poems of the Crab Lord's House are intriguing, as if the wonderful story of the characters behind the road cannot be completed.
Source: Canada's Baby - Suparat's article, Evening News Homely Shantou - Chan Yiu-yin