At No. 59 Maoming South Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai, there is a well-known five-star garden-style hotel, which has received nearly 500 heads of state and government from more than 100 countries since its opening. The hostess who single-handedly created the Jin Jiang Hotel has gradually become forgotten with the passage of time.
The hostess of this hotel is Dong Zhujun, a businesswoman with a legendary life, and a very dramatic story has also happened to Dong Zhujun.
In 1929, Dong Zhujun had sponsored a young man in distress, and when the two were reunited 20 years later, Dong Zhujun unexpectedly found that the young man he had funded had become the commander of the Platon Corps.
To understand this dramatic story, we must start with Dong Zhujun.
Dong Zhujun
The "Cleaner" who escaped from the fire pit
In 1900, China was in the midst of many disasters and difficulties, and the Sino-Japanese War 6 years ago made the great powers see the vulnerability of the Qing Dynasty and began to frantically divide their spheres of influence in China, and the Boxer Rebellion in the north also rose up, stirring up the people of the country.
In February of that year, a baby girl was born in a slum next to the sewage-strewn pidgin (originally a ditch in Shanghai, which was later filled in as a road, now East Yan'an Road) between the Shanghai Public Concession and the French Concession.
Pidgin
The baby girl's father, Dong Tongqing, is a rickshaw driver with little culture, so he only gave his daughter a nickname of "Ah Yuan".
In order to avoid Ah Yuan being as uneducated as himself, Dong Tongqing and his wife Li Shi, even though the family conditions were very difficult, still gritted their teeth and sent Ah Yuan to a private school when she was 6 years old.
On New Year's Day 1912, Sun Yat-sen announced in Nanjing that the Provisional Government of the Republic of China was officially established, and a month later Yuan Shikai forced the Qing Emperor Puyi to abdicate, ending the Qing government that had lasted for more than 200 years.
However, all this can not change the plight of Ah Yuan's family, just in this year, Dong Tongqing unfortunately contracted typhoid fever, the most serious illness almost lost his life, Ah Yuan's mother borrowed money from house to house to barely scrape together enough money to save Dong Tongqing's life, but although his life was saved, Dong Tongqing was completely incapacitated.
Sun Yat-sen was inaugurated as the interim president
In 1913, in order to pay off their debts, Dong Tongqing and his wife decided to sell their 13-year-old daughter to the "Changsantangzi" (the old Shanghai top qinglou) to learn to sing Peking opera.
When Ah Yuan learned of this, she refused to die, and Li Shi cried and said, "Are you willing to see your family so bitter?" Mom and Dad really have no way, only this way, and just let you go to learn Beijing opera, sell singing and not sell yourself, stay in it for three years and then go home. ”
In this way, Ah Yuan, who had just turned 13, was picked up by the palanquin sent by the "Changsan Tangzi" and became a "Qingqi person" who sang in the Qinglou.
Because Ah Yuan is beautiful and has read books for several years, she is much more brilliant than other Qinglou women, so every day someone calls her to appear, sometimes she even appears fifty or sixty times a day.
When Ah Yuan was fourteen years old, the old bustard of the "Long Third Cousin" began to intentionally or unintentionally suggest that she was ready to "pick up customers", and Ah Yuan did not want to follow in the footsteps of the Qinglou sisters and was powerless to resist, so she often washed her face with tears.
Summer time
At a time when Ah Yuan was overwhelmed, a person named Xia Shi extended a helping hand to her, expressing his willingness to help her redeem herself and get rid of the sea of suffering.
Xia Shi was a revolutionary who had participated in the alliance led by Sun Yat-sen, and when he returned to Wuchang Uprising, he was elected deputy governor of Sichuan Province, and after Yuan Shikai stole the fruits of the revolution, Xia Shi and his party fled from Sichuan and infiltrated Shanghai.
Although he has a wife and a son in his family, he still "sees the same thing" at first sight with the 14-year-old Ah Yuan, and expresses his willingness to pay for Ah Yuan's life, but Ah Yuan, who has a backbone, is not willing to be a little wife to others, so he has not agreed to Xia Shi's kindness.
Later, Xia Shi's original wife died of lung disease, yuan shikai began to hunt down revolutionaries in China, and even offered a high price of 30,000 oceans to reward Xia Shi's head, Xia Shi decided to flee to Japan, and informed Ah Yuan of this matter before leaving.
Yuan Shikai
After careful consideration, Ah Yuan decided to believe in love, and on the evening when she was about to leave Shanghai in the summer, she left her satin cheongsam and some jewelry in the room as a redemption fee, and then took advantage of the fact that the "Turtle Gong" in the "Changsan Tangzi" was not prepared, fled to the gate and called a rickshaw, went straight to the Japanese concession, and went to Japan together after reuniting with Xia Shi.
Only then did he escape from the wolf's den and enter the tiger's den
After Ah Yuan and Natsuki arrived in Japan together, they quickly formed a new family.
In Japan, one of Ah Yuan's teachers helped her get a new name: Dong Huang ( 東篁 , literally Zhu Jun.
Dong Zhujun originally thought that he had found someone who could be entrusted with his life, but it turned out that this was not the case.
In December 1915, Yuan Shikai brazenly "claimed the title of emperor" despite the opposition of the people in the world, and Xia Shi was ecstatic when he learned of this, and quickly contacted his "revolutionary colleagues" in Japan to prepare to return to China to continue the revolution.
However, xia shi, who was strong in feudal thoughts, did not trust his young wife, even if she had already given birth to a daughter for herself, xia shi still felt uneasy, he handed a pistol to Dong Zhujun, said: "You put the pistol on the pillow, if you do something sorry for me, use it to commit suicide." ”
Not only that, xia shi also urgently sent a telegram before leaving, recruiting his brother to Japan, asking him to accompany Dong Zhujun to "study", and ordered his brother to "report in detail" to himself every move of Dong Zhujun.
Soon after Xia Shi returned to China, he was appointed "Commander-in-Chief of the Sichuan Jingguo Recruitment Army", and after everything was settled, he sent a telegram in 1917 to call Dong Zhujun and his daughter back to China.
Dong Zhujun and Xia Shi
After Dong Zhujun returned to China, he found that xia shi's feudal thinking had become more intense, and he was also infected with the bad habit of gambling, and once Dong Zhujun accidentally cut xia shi when he cut his toenails for xia shi, and xia shi kicked Dong Zhujun to the ground without saying a word.
Later, when Xia Shi was dismissed from his military post by Xiong Kewu, the commander-in-chief of the Sichuan Army, he often used Dong Zhujun as his own punching bag, and scolded him when he did not go well.
After the May Fourth Movement, Dong Zhujun gradually developed the idea of economic independence, so she opened a women's socks factory and a rickshaw company in 1924 and 1926.
Because Dong Zhujun has a unique vision and honesty when doing business, her company soon achieved profitability, and the front pages of the two newspapers of Chongqing Daily and the National Gazette reported dong Zhujun's deeds, which was in stark contrast to the summer time when everything was not going well, so the summer time often angered Dong Zhujun, and the gap between the husband and wife was getting bigger and bigger.
After the "April 12" counter-revolutionary coup in 1927, Xia Shi was determined to go to Shanghai to "try his luck" and left Sichuan alone.
In 1929, Dong Zhujun keenly felt that with the years of war, the situation in Sichuan was no longer suitable for business, so he sold the company and took his children to Shanghai to find Xia Shi.
There was a young man in the restaurant
Xia Shi was very dissatisfied with Dong Zhujun's behavior, thinking that she should not sell the company, must Dong Zhujun return to Sichuan with her four daughters, Dong Zhujun left Sichuan in the two years during the summer time, came into contact with progressive ideas, had a certain understanding of communism and communists, and became more and more dissatisfied with her husband, who was a strong feudal ideology, and the most serious quarrel broke out between the two of them.
Xia Shi decided to take his son back to Sichuan, leaving Dong Zhujun and his five daughters to fend for themselves in Shanghai.
Dong Zhujun soon attracted the attention of the whole society, and Sichuan newspapers also published an article titled "In the Summer Period, the Family Is Difficult to Supervise, and the General Street Walks Out of the Female Nala (the heroine of "Doll's House", seen as a symbol of women's quest for independence and liberation)", praising Dong Zhujun's behavior.
Xia Zhi and Dong Zhujun's family took a group photo
But after all, the popularity can not be eaten as a meal, Xia Shi before returning to Sichuan, had promised to pay 4 daughters 1600 yuan a year living expenses, but after he returned to Sichuan, he refused to pay the daughters' living expenses on the grounds that Dong Zhujun was "redwashed".
In order to survive, Dong Zhujun sold a batch of gold and silver jewelry and opened a small restaurant, because her father was a rickshaw driver before, Dong Zhujun set a rule for himself, all the poor people who came to drink water, the villagers in northern Jiangsu, and the rickshaw drivers did not charge money, and they had to give people a stool to rest.
The rickshaw drivers are very grateful for Dong Zhujun's behavior, and when they have the opportunity, they will promote her small restaurant to the passengers in the car, and in this way, with the vigorous publicity of the rickshaw drivers, Dong Zhujun's business has become more and more prosperous.
Rickshaw driver during the Republic of China period
During this time, Dong Zhujun met a Communist Party member named Zheng Deyin, who originally wanted to ask Zheng Deyin to arrange for him to join the party, but because the Shanghai party branch was attacked, Zheng Deyin only had time to tell Dong Zhujun to "contact Comrade Li" and left.
In the late summer and early autumn of 1929, when Dong Zhujun was having a headache about who "Comrade Li" was, a young man wearing a gray Chinese-style robe came to the restaurant opened by Dong Zhujun, and when the young man arrived at the restaurant, he said to the waiter: "I am a friend of Li Tangcao's brother, and I am looking for Boss Dong to discuss important matters." ”
Li Tangcao was an old acquaintance of Dong Zhujun in Sichuan, and when Dong Zhujun was in Sichuan, he introduced her to communist ideas.
Dong Zhujun immediately thought that Li Tangcao or his brother might be "Comrade Li", and quickly instructed the waiter to take the young man to Room 21 on the 3rd floor, and when Dong Zhujun sent the waiter away, the young man saw that there was no one else, took out a letter from his arms, and asked her to take a look.
After Dong Zhujun opened the letter, he recognized at a glance that it was the handwriting of the old acquaintance Li Tangcao, and finally confirmed the true identity of the young man in front of him.
Li Tangcao asked her to provide help to the young people within her ability in the letter, and after the young people saw Dong Zhujun read the letter, they were embarrassed to mention that they had something to go to Hunan, but the wallet was lost, and Li Tangcao wanted to ask Dong Zhujun for help himself.
After Dong Zhujun listened to the young man's speech, he invited the young man to sit in the room for a while, and hurriedly ran back to the office to take out a cash payment and gave it to the young man.
After the young man took the money and looked at Dong Zhujun for a long time, Dong Zhujun asked him: "Is there anything else?" ”
The young man shook his head and said, "No." ”
Dong Zhujun saw the situation and said, "Then I wish you success!" ”
The young man nodded, turned and left.
Dong Zhujun avoided an accident, so instead of going out of the room to send him, he stood at the window and looked out until he saw the young man disappear on the street.
The famous "Jin Jiang" female boss in Shanghai
Although the restaurant business is doing well, Dong Zhujun has always had a dream in his heart to "return to the old business".
In 1930, Dong Zhujun used the money earned from the restaurant to open the Qunyi Yarn Pipe Factory, recruiting more than 100 workers in one go, far exceeding the "Fuxiang Socks Factory" she opened in Sichuan.
Unfortunately, while the Qunyi Yarn Pipe Factory was thriving, the September 18, 1931 September 18 Incident, which shocked China and foreign countries, made the relationship between China and Japan more and more tense.
In 1932, Japan brazenly launched the "128" incident and launched a fierce attack on Shanghai, and the Qunyi Yarn Pipe Factory suffered a devastating blow in the artillery fire of the Japanese invaders.
The "One-Two-Eight" Incident
Dong Zhujun spent a lot of money to rebuild the factory, and originally wanted to continue to work hard to restore the glory, but because she often participated in progressive activities, she attracted the attention of the Kuomintang reactionaries and was arrested and put in a prison cell.
When she was released on bail by friends, the Qunyi spinning pipe factory was forced to close due to shortages of funds and deteriorating operating conditions, and more unfortunately, her mother died shortly after.
When Dong Zhujun was desperate, on March 15, 1935, a friend named Li Songgao generously donated money and lent her two thousand yuan, Dong Zhujun reflected on his experience during this time, and finally decided to engage in the catering industry, and chartered a small building on Hualu Fu Road (now Ninghai West Road) near Shanghai Great World, named "Jinjiang Snack".
Because she had the experience of opening a restaurant, so her restaurant was soon very popular, sought after by the local people, when Dong Zhujun's legendary experience spread, it attracted the leading figures on the beach, such as Jin Rong, Du Yuesheng and other patrons, "Jinjiang Small Meal" is also getting bigger and bigger, and renamed "Jinjiang Chuan Restaurant", Dong Zhujun has become a famous female boss in Shanghai.
Old Society newspaper reports on the "Jinjiang Snack"
After the fall of Shanghai on November 12, 1937, Dong Zhujun's restaurant was not destroyed by the Japanese because it was in the concession, but the Japanese wanted to win dong Zhujun into serving her because she was a celebrity in Shanghai, but dong Zhujun flatly refused.
In desperation, Dong Shujun had to take refuge in the Philippines with her daughters, and did not return to Shanghai until 1945, when she contacted the organization.
After returning to Shanghai, Dong Zhujun re-took over the Jinjiang Chuan Restaurant and threw himself into the underground revolutionary work, successively investing in the establishment of Yongye Printing Factory, Meiwen Printing Factory and other organizations, secretly printing progressive publications to publicize the revolution.
The young man was already a commander
After the liberation of Shanghai on May 27, 1949, Yang Fan, former liaison director of the New Fourth Army, was appointed as the director of the Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau.
During the War of Resistance Against Japan, Dong Zhujun had assisted the New Fourth Army with a large amount of anti-war materials through secret channels, and Yang Fan was the person responsible for contacting Dong Zhujun, so the two could be said to be old friends for many years.
Soon after Yang Fan arrived in Shanghai, he immediately sent someone to contact Dong Zhujun and said that he wanted to meet her.
Dong Zhujun's mother and daughter
At Yang Fan's invitation, Dong Zhujun rushed to a newly rented apartment rented by Yang Fan on Hualong Road in Shanghai to attend a banquet, and when she arrived at the apartment, she unexpectedly found that in addition to Yang Fan, there were also Pan Hannian, vice mayor of Shanghai, and Song Shilun, commander of the 9th Corps of the Third Field Army and commander of the Songhu Garrison District.
Song Shilun was very enthusiastic after seeing Dong Zhujun's arrival, and when he saw her come in, he held her hand tightly, like an old friend who had been separated for many years.
However, among the people present, Dong Zhujun only knew Yang Fan and Pan Hannian, but Song Shilun had never met in her impression, and everyone greeted each other for a while before officially eating.
During the banquet, Song Shilun took up the wine glass and walked over to Dong Zhujun and said to her: "Mr. Dong (an honorific title for a learned or respected person, male or female) Do you remember?" 20 years ago in Shanghai, you helped me a lot. ”
Song Wheel of Time
It turned out that the young man who went to Dong Zhujun's small restaurant in 1929 to ask for help was the famous commander Song Shilun at this time.
Born in Hunan in 1907, Song Shilun joined the Communist Party of China in January 1927, and three months after joining the Party, the Kuomintang reactionaries in Guangzhou created the "April 15th" massacre that shocked China and foreign countries, during which time the Kuomintang authorities arrested and imprisoned Song Shilun on the grounds that he was "suspected of being a communist party."
Shortly after Song Shilun was released from prison in 1929, he decided to go to Shanghai to find a party organization and received orders to go to Hunan to form a guerrilla group.
As a result, when he was planning to leave Shanghai, his wallet was stolen, and when he was desperate, he met his "fellow prisoner" Li Tangcao in prison, because Li Tangcao did not have much money and had an urgent matter to leave Shanghai, so he wrote a letter of introduction to Song Shilun in the name of his brother and asked him to go to Dong Zhujun for help.
After receiving funding from Dong Zhujun, Song Shilun left Shanghai to form guerrilla groups in Liuyang, Liling and other areas in Hunan Province, and began his own legendary life.
After the outbreak of the Battle of Shanghai in May 1949, Song Shilun, commander of the 9th Corps of the Third Field Army, took the lead in attacking the city and was appointed commander of the Husong Garrison District.
After returning to Shanghai after a 20-year absence, Song Shilun couldn't help but have mixed feelings, thinking that 20 years ago, if it were not for Dong Zhujun's financial support, he might not have his own today.
Song Shilun had the heart to invite Dong Zhujun to dinner and repay the kindness of that year, but he was worried that after 20 years, Dong Zhujun might have forgotten who he was.
Therefore, when Song Shilun learned that Yang Fan, the director of the Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau, was An old acquaintance of Dong Zhujun, he asked him to arrange the party.
Dong Zhujun did not expect that even after 20 years, Song Shilun still remembered this "small matter", and the young man he had funded in the past had now become a corps commander, and he couldn't help but be very surprised.
Shortly after this meeting, Song Shilun personally went to the Jinjiang Chuan Restaurant to visit Dong Zhujun and gave him a special gift: a Japanese officer's command knife as a thank you gift for more than 20 years late.
Dong Zhujun in his later years
Jinjiang "Female Haojie"
In March 1951, Pan Hannian and Yang Fan entrusted the clerks to find Dong Zhujun and said that the Shanghai Municipal Government wanted to set up a place in Shanghai to entertain senior cadres and foreign guests, considering that Dong Zhujun and her "Jinjiang" reputation was well-known at home and abroad, so the Shanghai Municipal Government hoped that "Jinjiang" would take over this task.
Dong Zhujun immediately expressed his willingness to make more contributions to the party and the government, and in this way, after consultation with the Shanghai Municipal Government and Dong Zhujun, it was decided that the government would invest 300 million yuan (30,000 yuan) to relocate all the equipment and personnel under the "Jinjiang" under the "Jinjiang" and all the equipment and personnel under the "Jinjiang" were moved to the Chinachem Apartment at No. 189 Changle Road, and renamed it Jin jiang hotel, and Dong Zhujun became the chairman of jin jiang hotel.
At that time, Dong Zhujun's "Jinjiang" was valued at 150,000 US dollars, and Dong Zhujun's move to deliver it to the state was undoubtedly an extremely profound act, so she was also known as "female Haojie".
The Jin Jiang Hotel also became the first state guesthouse after the founding of the People's Republic of China, and has received nearly 500 foreign heads of state and foreign dignitaries.
Jin Jiang Hotel
In Dong Zhujun's later life, he has always maintained a connection with Song Shilun, even after Song Shilun was transferred back to Beijing.
Whenever Dong Zhujun went to Beijing to run an errand, Song Shilun would always invite her to her home for dinner.
After the death of Song Shilun in 1991, Dong Zhujun also wrote a eulogy poem for him to commemorate the revolutionary friendship between the two men:
Sixty years ago, Shanghai knew Jing, and gave a modest gift to ben for the future.
Rong Ma has made great achievements in his life and will be brave and exemplary.
The first half of the 20th century was a time of great suffering for China, but it was also an era of new trends of thought.
After the May Fourth Movement, the women who dared to break free from the feudal shackles and break with the family of the old society were often called Nala.
And Dong Zhujun is the representative of these Nalas, from the "Qing People" who lost their footing in the Qinglou to the famous "Female Haojie" of Jinjiang at home and abroad, Dong Zhujun's life can be said to be a legend throughout the 20th century.
And the interaction experience between her and Song Shilun often makes people sigh, and she is a veritable "strange woman".