What exactly is the "White Tiger"? Hu Xueyan, the richest man in the Qing Dynasty, warned his descendants before his death: Do not approach the white tiger
Hu Xueyan, a successful businessman, had actively cooperated with the imperial court officials. In fact, he came from a poor background, started from scratch, and achieved such achievements and glory because of his wisdom and hard work. Before his death, he warned his descendants not to approach the white tiger. What does this sentence mean?
Hu was not an ordinary wealthy businessman, he had an important and close relationship with Zuo Zongtang, and the two cooperated in politics and business, each taking what he needed. On the one hand, Zuo was in urgent need of funds to recover Xinjiang, and the imperial treasury had long been unable to count on it, so it borrowed thousands of taels of silver from Hu as military expenses, which led to the initial funds, and the arms and materials were also purchased by Hu. On the other hand, Hu needed political protection, and the status of merchants during the Qing Dynasty was generally low, so Hu was inseparable from the care of officials in business. Hu and Zuo can be said to be symbiotic.
Hu founded Qianzhuang and Pharmacy with his connections. In 1882, Hu set up a silk factory, costing 20 million taels of silver, but at that time, the Western powers monopolized the silk business, and Hu wanted to rely on his official power to win this big cake. However, just as the cake was about to arrive, the imperial court intervened, and the Western market was victorious. Hu saw that his fortunes had gone, and he could only sell his inventory at a low price, losing 10 million taels. Hu, who was in a hurry for funds, could only borrow money from the bank, but was intervened, at this time Zuo had died, and Hu, who could not borrow a loan, could only sell his property. As soon as this news came out, everyone hurriedly took out the money they had in Hu's money bank, and even extorted money together. As a result, Hu quickly fell, became destitute, and finally ended up depressed.
The white tiger in the last words ostensibly refers to silver, warning future generations not to covet money in a vague way, but some people understand it as a deep meaning, alluding to the white way, and businessmen should concentrate on business and stay away from the officialdom.