Based on the excavation and research of historical data, the author presents the Fu family, an important shareholder of Qianlizhen, a well-known tea number in the history of Pu'er tea in Yunnan, and understands the operation of tea in the Republic of China period.
About the Author:
Li Lu is a special academic committee member of the Yunnan Tea Horse Ancient Road Society and a freelance writer.
In 2005, he initiated and organized the integrity self-discipline activity of Yunnan Pu'er tea industry and issued the industry-wide "Kunming Joint Declaration". In 2007, he participated in the Second International Symposium on Pu'er Tea and published the paper "Self-Improvement and Unremitting Virtue Carrier". Since then, he has focused on the history of the tea industry in Yunnan, the Republic of China, and has published dozens of articles in newspapers and periodicals. Five articles written in 2019 were included in monographs published by the Yunnan Provincial Archives.
This article is about 6500 words and has been read for about 12 minutes.
There are youlan in the deep valley, and there is a good tea in the spirit mountain. Talking about the ancient "six tea mountains" in Yunnan, talking about Yibang and Yiwu, and talking about Pu'er old tea, "Qianlizhen" and "Song Ping" are must-mention topics. This is because one of the main partners of the "Qianlizhen" business is Yuan Jiabi of the Yuan Jiagu (the first person in Yunnan Keju), and the "Song Ping" was the most expensive tea in Hong Kong before the War of Resistance. The trademark common to the two trade names, "Qianli Zhen Song Ping", has survived.
However, as a private tea number, it is really rare in the past official records, which is also like countless private business names in history, if it is not because of special people, special things, the official government generally will not leave a record.
Most of the accounts in the book articles about the past of the "Qianlizhen" business are interviews and speculations after the late 1990s. Due to the excessive time and the lack of direct party complaints (there was no qianlizhen and Song Ping's direct parties' reminiscence articles after the founding of New China), these interview records have certain value as reference materials, but as "credible historical materials" still need to be carefully examined, so as not to spread false rumors.
Qianli Zhen uses trademarks
History is still fortunate for those who study the "Qianlizhen" business name, after all, it has left us some official records, some of which are long, some of which are only a few words, but even some remnants still make us see the clues on some important issues of "Qianlizhen". These official records are often omitted by the authors. Based on the credible historical materials found, the author will trace the slush claws of these two famous tea numbers in six articles. This article is about the history of the Fu family, an important partner of Qianli Zhen's firm.
Fu Hongwen - Simao and Yi Wu
At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the Qianlizhen business had been operated by four cooperatives, Nameng Yuan, Fu, Liu and Song. During the Republic of China period, there were some records of the Fu family of the "Qianlizhen" business name in Simao County, Zhenyue County (the county administration was established in Yiwu in 1930) and Yuanjiang County. The persons in charge of these three "Qianlizhen" were Fu Hongwen (Fu Xunxiu) and Fu Hongmo. According to Yuan Jiagu's great-grandson Yuan Tiancong's "Cultivating the Family: A Century-old Family History of the First Man of the Imperial Examination in Yunnan", yuan Jiagu's fourth brother Yuan Jiayan (who died in 1890 at the age of 22) was Fu Shi (died in 1887, not remembered as his death). Both Jiayan and his wife died young, early, and childless. Fu Hongwen and Fu Hongmo were members of the Fu family of Yuan Jiayan's wife.
The Chronicle contains:
In the second year of the Qing Dynasty (1910), the Simao Teaching Field Dam caught fire, and the cotton, tea and other commodities of the "Yu (Yu) Taifeng" and "Qianlizhen" business names were all burned out, and the losses were heavy. ”
At the end of the Qing Dynasty, "Qian Lizhen" had been established in Simao, and the person in charge was Fu Hongwen. At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the People's Republic, Simao's commercial port was on the south gate street outside the south city, not far from the city (not far from the meaning), the larger businesses all lived here, in addition to the provincial city, Liangguang grocery stores. Down to the dam of the camp, there are many dirt shops and vendors, and the vendors build grass huts to protect them from the sun and rain. The square in front of the customs gate in the lower section of the teaching field dam is the place of customs declaration and inspection. Since the year of Gengji (1910), the Tea House outside the South Gate and the Jiaochangba Market were suddenly burned and burned, and the losses were heavy, the main street of the South Gate was rebuilt as the paving of the tile bungalows, and the vegetable market was in front of the paving door.
In 1913 (the second year of the Republic of China), Simao was changed from a department to a county. On May 31, the Simao County Business Branch re-elected the prime minister and its director. This time, Simao re-elected the name of the Chamber of Commerce from the original "Simao County Commerce Bureau" to "Simao County Business Branch", and the director is listed in the list of building tools reported:
Fu Hongwen, now 40 years old, is from Shiping County. Set up a Qianli Zhen brand to specialize in flower tea industry, sent to the provincial city, Sichuan sales.
In 1913, Fu Hongwen served as the director of the Simao Chamber of Commerce
In 1913, Shiping County built the Xiaohedi River Chain Bridge, and the name of "Fuxun Xiu" was listed on the donation list, and it was noted that it was in "Simao".
According to the official records of Fu Mei, the son of Fu Hongwen, Fu Hongwen left Simao in the fourth year of the Republic of China (1915) because of Simao's "itch disease". At this point, the "Qianlizhen" tea number withdrew from the historical stage of Simao. Compared with October of the eleventh year of the Republic of China (1922), Simao Tea Merchants petitioned simao county offices to cancel the list of twelve tea numbers listed in the case of the county council proposing to add tea donations, and the "Qianlizhen" business name has indeed disappeared in Simao.
According to the "Records of Mengla County":
In the sixteenth year of the Republic of China (1927), Zhenyue County was established, and the Simao Post Office was set up in Yiwu, and the business was handled by the customs. In the nineteenth year of the Republic of China (1930), Yiwu Customs was abolished, and the agency was entrusted to the "Qianlizhen" firm, which only handled letters, newspapers, printed materials, parcels, fixed drafts and other businesses.
It can be seen that the "Qianlizhen" business name had considerable influence and credibility in Yiwu at that time, which was difficult for other businesses to match.
In 1935, Fu Hongwen was appointed to the Jinyue County Senator File
In February of the 24th year of the Republic of China (1935), Fu Hongwen's name appeared in the official documents of Zhenyue County (the county government had been moved from Mengla to Yiwu in 1930), more than twenty years after Fu Hongwen left Simao. In 1935, Jinyue County held the election of the county senators. A total of seven people were elected, of which Fu Hongwen and Liu Sizeng (Liu Henian, son of Liu Xiangyang of the "Tongqing" number) received the most votes and were elected as county senators. Except for the two han nationality, none of the other Han people were elected. After the election, Liu and Fu had returned to their original hometowns (both of which were Shiping) to do business abroad, and were not in Yiwu. The county government informed the two members of the notice according to the regulations, and the establishment of the county senate was postponed, and the establishment of the county senate was delayed until 1937. From this document, it can be seen that fu Hongwen left Simao and came to Yiwu and spent a long time here. Fu Hongwen's interpersonal relations and the situation of Qian Lizhen, who runs him, should be good, and his influence is among the best among Yiwu's various businesses, otherwise he would not have been elected to the county senator with the most votes.
The official record of The Oral History of Mr. Fumizen after liberation
On June 14, 1988, due to a matter of implementing the policy, the shiping county government staff interviewed Fu Mei, the son of Fu Hongwen. Mr. Fu Hongwen had three sons, the eldest Fu Jian Zeng, the second Fu Mei Zeng (Ru Hai), and the old third Fu Yao Zeng. At this time, the rich family boss Fu Jian Zeng and the old third Fu Yao Zeng had both died. Mr. Fumizeng, the second elder, provided valuable materials on some of the early situations of the "Qianlizhen" business. Compared with some archives left by the officials of the Republic of China, these materials are generally accurate and credible. This is also the only oral material left by the second generation of the "Qianlizhen" business name Yuan, Fu, Liu, and Song. Moreover, Fumei Zeng himself spent nearly five years in Yiwu before liberation, and he knew more about the situation of Yiwu and Shiping's "Qianlizhen" business at that time.
Photo of Mr. Fu Mei Zeng, courtesy of Fu Yuan
The following is part of the transcript of the official interview with Mr. Fumizeng:
Pay (should be "rich". Comrade Meizhen was born in 1928, graduated from Shiping Junior High School in 1943, and continued to study for two years, then went to Yiwu, taught at Yiwu Central Primary School in 1946, and returned to Shiping County in 1949 to settle down.
Regarding the age of Mr. Fumei Zeng, his son Mr. Fu Yuan told the author: "The actual birth age of his father Fu Mei Zeng was Meng Dong in 1925, which belonged to the cattle. His identity card was in November 1928. Government workers were interviewed with the age on their identity cards. ”
Pay:
...... This "Qianlizhen" business name was established during the Guangxu period. Liu Zihui was in charge of the "Qianlizhen" business in Shiping City. The "Qianlizhen" business was originally managed by my father Fu Xunxiu at the entrance of the Simao camp with six squares plus two ears and a house. In the fourth year of the Republic of China (1915), Simao had "itch disease", and the "Qianlizhen" business name was transferred from Simao to Yiwu Street in Zhenyue County (present-day Mengla County). My father returned to Shiping from Yiwu in 1935 and died of illness in the twenty-sixth year of the Republic of China (1937). His elder brother Fujian had been in charge of Yiwu's "Qianlizhen" from 1935 to the 25th year of the Republic of China (1936), leaving things and accounts under the management of Liu Youqing.
From this record, it can be seen that after Fu Hongwen left Simao in 1915, he came to Yiwu and continued to open the "Qianlizhen" tea number until he left Yiwu in 1935 and returned to Shiping. This can be contrasted with the record of the Zhenyue County Senate election. Fu Hongwen died of illness in 1937. Fu Mei Zeng's older brother Fu Jian continued to manage Yi Wu 'Qian Li Zhen' after his father left Yi Wu until 1936, when it was handed over to Liu Youqing. The two generations of the rich family have been operating and managing the "Qianlizhen" business in Yiwu for more than 20 years.
Another official record also confirms that Fu Jian succeeded his father in running Yiwu's "Qianlizhen" business.
On April 3, 1987, Yiwu Zhang Guanshou told the government investigation team:
The house of the "Qianlizhen" that Liu Zihui and Liu Youqing started in Yiwu... They bought it from the owner of Fu Jianzeng (Fu JianZeng), who opened a business in Yiwu at that time.
Fumei once said:
In 1946, I went to Yiwu with my brother (Fu Jian Zeng) and Liu Zihui, Liu Zhiyan (Liu Zihui's son) and others, and we never counted the accounts. At that time, Liu Youqing was the director of the county treasury in Zhenyue County and the deputy speaker of the Senate. In 1948, everyone went their own way.
Here Fumei's remark about Liu Youqing's tenure in Zhenyue County before liberation is also accurate (see the author's article "The Liu Family of Qianli Zhen Shang").
Pondering the meaning of the phrase "In 1948, each person went his own way", it was roughly the meaning of the accounting division. Has the "Qianlizhen" business, including Shiping, also reached the moment of breaking up and breaking up at this time? That's an interesting clue.
Fumei zeng also provided the specific situation of the operation of "QianLizhen":
...... At that time, Yiwu's main projects were: cotton, tea, big smoke, indigo, tiger, deer glue and so on. Among them, tea split tea (mainly sold in Sichuan), round tea (to Hong Kong and Thailand). From March (dry season) to August (rainy season), from The Puzzle (Gasai) to Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, and then to The Sea to Hong Kong, mainly tea. There is no business in Thailand, just a road, which is often referred to as a transfer station. At No. 2 Goldfish Lane in Hong Kong, there are two people named Yuan Zhaoyun and Yuan Zhaonan who operate on their behalf (the goods are transported here for the two of them to operate), because they are from Yunnan. At that time, Thailand was also called Siam, and there was a company running in Thailand called "Yongji'an". In the past, the people in charge of things did not go out, and they were generally driven by horses.
These precious first-hand accounts about the "Qianlizhen" business name have finally opened a big window for us to truly understand this famous business today!
In Mr. Fu Mei Zeng's materials, it was first clarified that "the 'QianLizhen' business name is Yuan Jiabi's family, Song Ping's three families, Liu Zhao's family (Liu Zihui's father), and Fu Xun's Xiu family (that is, my family)." Four joint ventures. "The shareholder of the Yuan family is Yuan Jiabi, not someone else, and there is no such thing as the rest of the Yuan family passing on to Yuan Jiabi (for details, see the author's article "The Yuan Family of Qianli Zhen's Business Name"). In the official records of Mr. Fu Mei Zeng's materials, there are still some information about the Liu family, but the situation of the Song family has no words except for knowing "Song Pingsan". Regarding the "Song Ren Number", there are still regrets left. But at least it can be affirmed that "Song Pingsan" is one of the shareholders, not that the Song family has no sons, and the married woman is merged into the Yuan family. If there had been such a thing, Mr. Fumizen would not have been unaware. In addition, in the Yuan family tree, none of the two generations of men of the "Jia" and "Pi" generations has ever married a woman with the surname of "Song" (for details, see the author's "Brief History of Qianli Zhen's Song Appointment"). The legend is taken as the right history, after all, the wind catches the shadow.
Yuan Jiabi, Song Pingsan, Liu Zhao, and Fu Xunxiu, as the first generation partners of the "Qianlizhen" business, did not leave a written record of the "Qianlizhen" business. As the second generation of the four families, only Fu Xunxiu's son Fumi once left an oral record, and it is an official record. By the time of the founding of New China, Fumei had been 21 years old (24 years old according to 1925), and there was no major discrepancy between the partnership of "Qian Lizhen" and the situation before the liberation of the rich family, which Fumei had described, and the historical data of the Republic of China that the author had.
When Mr. Fu Hongwen died, his eldest fu jian zeng, the second fu mei zeng (ruhai) and the old third fu yao zeng all inherited the shares of the "Qianli Zhen" business name. There are two types of shares, one is the original share (capital stock) and the other is the bonus stock. In this way, it seems that the model of Yuan, Fu, Liu, and Song jointly operating the "Qianlizhen" business should be generally the same.
Because the issues that the official investigation of Mr. Fu Mei Zeng at that time had a specific direction, it was not a comprehensive understanding of the situation of "Qian Lizhen" and "Song Ren", so many of the situations about "Qian Lizhen" and "Song Ping" were not involved. For example, what is the merger and use of the trademarks "Qian Lizhen" and "Song Ping"? Wait, so Mr. Fumizeng's conversation was not mentioned.
So far, in addition to the documents on Qianlizhen's business name recorded in the archives of the Republic of China, after the liberation, Mr. FuMeizeng's oral records are the only official documents about the four families of Yuan, Song, Liu, and Fu who jointly operated "Qianlizhen". There is no credible historical evidence for the various legends in the anecdote.
The role of the Fu Hongwen family in the operation of the Qianli Zhen business
In the sixth year of the Republic of China (1917), on the tenth day of July, Kunming Qianlizhen Tea submitted a trademark registration to the provincial government, and the submission read: "The tea stealing number was founded in Yunnan for 60 years. In addition, on the tea tube labels of "QianLizhen" and "Song Ping", it is written that "this number (shop) opened in Yiwu Mountain, Yunnan, and the delicate and tender tea leaves (aggravated sharp bud Seiko) were kneaded." Yiwu is the most important base for "Qianlizhen" and "Song Ping" tea making, and it is also the main brand of foreign countries.
Yiwu Chashan was photographed in December 2020
In the fourth year of the Republic of China (1915), Fu Hongwen came to Yiwu from Simao to operate and manage the Yiwu "Qianlizhen" business. In 1917, the Kunming "Qianlizhen" tea number said that its tea was "sold in Yunnan, Guangdong, and various bangke numbers, and shipped to Hong Kong, Nanyang and mainland provinces." The fine selection of materials and the goodness of manufacturing have long been praised by Chinese and foreign people. "The fame has risen, and it is known at home and abroad. During this period, it was Fu Hongwen who operated in Yiwu.
Fu Hongwen operated in Yiwu until 1935, after which his son Fu Jian was in charge until 1936. The two generations of father and son managed the Yiwu "Qianlizhen" tea number for more than 20 years, accounting for two-thirds of the existence time of the Yiwu "Qianlizhen" tea number. This period was also an important moment in the development of the "Qianlizhen" business. The role of the Fu Hongwen family in the operation of "QianLizhen" should not be underestimated.
Fu Hongmo – a bad sample
Among the rich people involved in the "Qianlizhen" business was Fu Hongmo. However, no information has been found on the relationship between Fu Hongmo and Fu Hongwen, and there is no mention of anything in Mr. Fu Jian Zeng's oral records.
In Yuanjiang County, Fu Hongmo was not only responsible for running "Qianlizhen" but also served as the vice president of the county chamber of commerce. But some of the things he did were reproachful.
In January 1924, a hundred firms in Simao, Pu'er, Mojiang, and Yuanjiang counties jointly requested the provincial government to revoke the Yuanjiang regimental defense and waive the regimental fee.
In 1923, Fu Hongmo was appointed vice president of the Yuanjiang County Chamber of Commerce
In the early days of the Republic of China, the local warlord factions in Yunnan were constantly at war, the head changes frequently, and the local rule was weak, especially the lack of control over the troops along the border. Mountain thieves and bandits swarmed, and often haunted the mountain road to rob merchants and pedestrians. Robbing a caravan becomes the best shortcut to getting rich. In order to make up for the lack of troops stationed there, various localities have set up "merchant protection groups." A "business group" can be set up to ask for people, guns, and more importantly money. Where the money comes from, it still has to fall on the businessmen. The local governments collected "tour fees" from businessmen to solve the problem of funding for "guarantee business groups." With the funds, the effect of the guarantee is not obvious. When the merchant brigade was robbed, the merchant group often became an afterthought when it came, and even more so, the bandits colluded to rob the "fat pig". And paying the tour fee has become a good means of extortion and extortion of businesses and horse gangs.
Since the establishment of the Yuanjiang Baoshang Group for six years, the robbery of bandits has remained the same. For example, he robbed Song Ronglu, the president of the Yuanjiang Chamber of Commerce, at the county boundary site, and robbed the Mojiang merchant Shunxing Changyang for more than 1,800 yuan at Xiaomiaohe (that is, where the Baoshang Group was stationed). And in the red deer flood robbed Simao merchants Shen Deyu, Ruifeng, Hengfeng goods. The leader of the robbery bandits was also the soldier Surivan of the Baoshang Regiment. Although he was caught in the case, he shelved it and released it without permission. In March of the lunar calendar in 1923, in the place of Xianghuigou, he went to the Simao merchants Renyixin, Zhonghexiang, Rongmaosheng, Lianfengheng, Rishengchang, Wanyingke and other commercial goods, with thousands of losses. Other large and small cases are emerging in an endless stream. Although it was reported, it was not cracked. The name is Baoshang, but in fact, it is a bad businessman. How many of them are collusion between bandits, or bandits are tuanding, or tuanding is bandits.
The various bad deeds of the Yuanjiang Baoshang Group caused collective protests by the merchants in southern Yunnan. A hundred firms in Simao, Pu'er, Mojiang, and Yuanjiang counties said in their submissions:
"Shang and others have endured the pain for six years, and have long planned to call for the abolition of regimental defense and regimental fees, but because the theft has not stopped, it is inevitable that the deacons of each term will have a pretext. The business name revealed: The tour fee collected by Yuanjiang was used to enrich the private pockets of a county with the blood and sweat of the merchants and people in various counties. After the arrival of Xiao Xuezhi, the former governor of Yuanjiang County, the collection of money and wealth became even more intense, and he even wrapped up this tour fee to Li Chunrong, the mayor of the unloading district, and Fu Hongmo, the owner of the "Qianlizhen" business name, vice president of the Chamber of Commerce. Li Chunrong and Fu Hongmo secretly collected the donation rate plates of the old hanging city gates, arbitrarily levied them, and the goods they encountered were not graded, did not follow the rules, did not give bills, and if they were slightly careless, they were falsely accused of concealing and stealing, indiscriminately punishing them, and sending them to the county for investigation. As soon as this head was opened, successive successions were made, and the collection of the regiment fee became a doorway for Yuan Jiang to make a fortune. Li Chunrong, Fu Hongmo, and the Yuanjiang County Government committed fraud from top to bottom, causing harm to businessmen and harming the people. ”
Nearly six years after the yuanjiang regimental fee was levied, it finally caused anger and fierce resistance.
The firms leave the following words at the end of the submission:
"The origin of the wanton expropriation is actually the Yuanjiang Baoshang Group Fee, and there is no period of exemption, and the world is more reasonable." The business of business is very important, this tour fee is difficult to complete, if you do not cut it, you will not admit it. ”
Generally speaking, the group of businessmen is timid and afraid of things, and how dare they fight with the government until they can't go on. This time, the rhetoric of a hundred businesses already had a sense of rebellion.
Yuanjiang's regimental defense and regimental defense expenses were later revoked by Tang Jiyao's personal order, and it is estimated that Fu Hongmo could not continue to work in the Chamber of Commerce, and naturally the "Qianlizhen" business name in Yuanjiang, which he was responsible for, certainly could not be left alone.
One of the problems to be corrected here is that there is an article that reads, "Fu Hongwen and Fu Hongmo operate 'Qianli Zhen' in Yuanjiang. The article did not provide corresponding evidence. According to the relevant archives of the Republic of China that the author has, it is not found that Fu Hongwen has participated in the operation of "QianLizhen" in Yuanjiang.
Visit mr. Fumizeng's descendants
On February 24, 2021, the author and his party visited Mr. Fuyuan, the son of Mr. Fumei Zeng, in Shiping County through the introduction of Mr. Wang Yi. I met Fuyuan and his mother, wife and children in the old mansion on the East Ring Road in the ancient city (which belongs to the Shiping Historical Building), and the author and Mr. Fuyuan exchanged information with each other. Mr. Fu Yuan took out a treasured portrait of his grandfather Fu Hongwen (Fu Xunxiu) from the old mansion. This is a portrait left by Fu Hongwen in 1935 before returning to Shiping, when he went to Kunming to seek medical treatment due to physical sickness, and went to the famous painting museum in Kunming at that time. Although photographic technology existed at that time, the pursuit of high taste in large households was still "portrait". In this museum, there is a portrait of a tall person, that is, the "one-eyed painter". The surname of the "one-eyed painter" is no longer known, but the "eye poison hand god" is well-known in the provincial city. The "eye poison" here is a positive word in the context of Kunming people, describing looking at people accurately and looking deeply.
Portrait of Fu Hongwen, taken in Fu Yuanjia in 2021
Although more than 80 years have passed, Fu Hongwen's portrait is still very well preserved, and the characters on the portrait are vivid, the eyes are sharp, they see through life, their temperament is wise, the characters are dressed, and the interior decorations reflect the traditional and modern characteristics of that era. Whenever I look at the portrait of Mr. Fu Hongwen, time seems to pass through. The west wind is fierce, the frost is morning moon, the horseshoe is broken, and the bells are swallowed. The stone screen to the edge of The Pulse, to the six tea mountains of the wild smoke miasma appeared in front of the eyes again.
The end of Fu Hongwen's portrait is the "Shengsheng Art Museum", which was the door point of the famous "Shengsheng Art Company" in Kunming, Yunnan Province. In 1943, Mr. Zheng Hechun, the manager of Yunnan China Tea Trading Co., Ltd., also commissioned the "Shengsheng Art Company" to design the "standard" shield-type trademark logo. The design fee is 100 yuan in legal tender, and the specific designer is Mr. Fang Yue. Since then, the "standard" shield-type trademark logo has been used by all China Tea joint ventures in Yunnan.
Shield-type trademark logo
Every time I go to Shiping County, I will be warmly welcomed by Mr. Fuyuan in the old mansion of the rich family, tasting many Shiping-style foods, drinking small wine, and chatting about the anecdotes of the older generation.
The precious records left by Mr. Fumizeng have become important historical traces of the "Qianlizhen" business name.
Note: In the collection of materials in this article, we have received great help from the Yunnan Provincial Archives, Shiping County Archives and Mr. Fuyuan, and I would like to express my deep gratitude!
Li
First article on July 6, 2021
January 5, 2022 (Kokan) 4th draft
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