Zhang Jian [jiǎn] (1853–1926), zi ji zhi, number Shi An. Born in Changmen, Jiangsu Province , changshu Tuzhushan , born in Changle Town , Haimen Zhili Department , Jiangsu Province ( now Changle Town , Haimen District , Nantong City , Jiangsu Province ) , he was a modern Chinese industrialist, politician, and educator.
In the twentieth year of Guangxu (1894), After many years of continuous "meeting examinations", Zhang Jian finally won the first place in the first place in the temple examination in April of this year, and Zhang Xiao at this time had passed the age of confusion.
In July of that year, the "Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War" broke out, and Zhang Jian, due to his historical origins, had the same political views as the "imperial master" Weng Tonggong, both of whom were the main war faction, and were the decision-making figures among the disciples of "Weng Men", who was known for his main battle, and had written separately to impeach Li Hongzhang, the representative of the main war faction. At a time when the main battle, the main and the two factions were fiercely fighting, Zhang Xiao returned to his hometown because of the death of his father.
Zhang Jian
After the defeat of the Sino-Japanese War, Zhang Xiao abandoned politics and business as a champion, and he clearly put forward the idea of "industry to save the country", starting from the preparation of nantong Dasheng Spinning Factory, dozens of enterprises were successively established, which can be called the first industrialist in modern China.
While developing his industry, Zhang Jian also actively developed education and founded a new style of school. "Everything must be done first, and the wisdom of the people must be educated", Zhang Jian believes that opening schools, introducing Western studies, and cultivating and using all kinds of professional talents are the foundation of a strong country. To this end, he founded hundreds of large, middle and primary schools in his lifetime, and practiced the idea of "education to save the country".
I believe that most readers are familiar with the deeds of Mr. Zhang Xiao, and the author will not recount them one by one.
It is said that Zhang Jian, as a great industrialist and educator in modern China, after his death, when people built a coffin for him, they should have thought it was very successful, but Mr. Hu Shi, a generation of Junjie at that time, thought that Zhang Jian was a "hero of failure".
Hu shi
Hu Shi commented on Zhang Jian: "Mr. Zhang Jizhi is a great hero of failure in the history of modern China... He single-handedly opened up countless new roads, pioneered for 30 years, fed millions of people, benefited one party, and influenced the whole country. Finally, because he had opened up too many paths and undertaken too great a cause, he could not but die with many unfinished wishes. ”
What is even more strange is that Zhang Xiaoruo(1898-1935), the only son of Zhang Xiaoruo, also has the same feeling for Hu Shi:
"You say that my father is a hero of failure, and this is indeed a very well-deserved statement, and even my father himself admits it. Because his life's ambitions have not been realized, let alone 80 or 90 percent, only many specific plans for field investigations have been left behind. For decades, he wanted to run a local education and militia system, but he did not succeed; he wanted to run a large electric power plant and a large textile printing and dyeing factory in the Tonghai area, but he did not succeed; he wanted to reclaim millions of acres of barren land along the coast, but he did not succeed; he wanted to dredge up the waterways of Huai, Yun, Jiang, Hu, Song, and Liao, but he did not succeed; he wanted to realize the cotton iron policy, reform the salt law, and unify weights and measures, but he did not succeed... If there is no success, is it not a failure? ”
Yes, these many undertakings have not succeeded, is that not a failure? In his later years, Mr. Zhang Xiao also issued such an exclamation: "Unfortunately born in China, unfortunate and born in the present era", "Life has been sad to death, and death is endless. ”
But fortunately, Zhang Xiao's cause of advocating "industry to save the country" as a champion touched the people of china, and he is recognized by the world as "the first person in the history of modern Chinese industry". In the 1937 Zhonghua Book Company's "Biography of 100 Celebrities in China", the first celebrity was the Yellow Emperor, and the last celebrity was Zhang Xiao.
Almost single-handedly, Zhang Xiao created Nantong from a remote county into a modern city, and Nantong was known as "the first city in modern China" for its modern architectural planning. In almost every corner of the city of Nantong, you can see the legacy of Zhang Xiao's era, from a factory and a school in Nantong to a bridge and a road in Nantong, Zhang Xiao's mark is forever branded with Nantong.
"While setting up an industry, Zhang Jian actively set up education and social welfare undertakings to benefit the villagers and help the masses, and has a far-reaching influence, and is a pioneer and model of China's private entrepreneurs."
This article refers to: "Chinese Men - The Fate and Struggle of Chinese in a Century of Transformation"