Text | Hua Shang Tao Li Wu Su
Originally, "a thousand sores and holes", after repairing, it sold for tens of millions of dollars!
This is the ancestral residence of I.M. Pei in Suzhou, which was built in the Ming Dynasty, with a price of 9.8 million yuan, and after 23 rounds of bidding, 10.9 million yuan was sold.
However, don't think that this is the I.M. Pei family in the "sale", the media said that the owner of the house is an entrepreneur in Hangzhou, bought for nearly 10 years, never moved in, purely for investment purposes.
In addition to the real estate auction, what has attracted more attention from the media and netizens is the Bei family itself.
You know, this is a famous family that has been rich for 17 generations, from the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the Bei family moved to Suzhou to practice medicine and sell medicine for a living, to the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, the Bei family shined in the field of medicine, becoming one of the four richest people in Suzhou, even the world cultural heritage Lion Forest was once their family property, "liberation" donated to the country.
Passed to Pei's grandfather's generation, there was a "paint king" Pei Runsheng, and the family began to enter the financial industry, Pei's grandfather Pei Zaian participated in the establishment of the Bank of Shanghai, and assisted in the establishment of China's first new travel agency, and Pei's father Pei Zuyizi inherited his father's business, and also became a "shoulder handle" in the financial field, serving as deputy general manager of the Bank of China and president of the "central bank" during the Republic of China.
Everyone knows Pei's great achievements in the field of architecture, and what few people know is that Pei Zuyi also has no shortage of innovations in the financial field. Among them, breaking the monopoly of Western banks, striving for international exchange business, and earning foreign exchange can be called a highlight moment.
To put it simply, for a long time, the international exchange business in the banking field was monopolized by foreign banks. For example, the international exchange business of the Bank of China has been entrusted to the First Bank of Tokyo in Japan in the past, but China's own capital transactions are controlled by the West, and how to look at it is a "major hidden danger".
Pei Zuyi is one of the main forces to lift this "hidden danger". He not only went to Hong Kong to establish a branch of the Bank of China in Hong Kong, but also rapidly expanded the foreign exchange business on this basis.
At that time, in the United States, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Canada, Mexico and Southeast Asia had a large amount of overseas Chinese income that needed to be repatriated to China. In order to strive for this part of the business, Pei Zuyi's team adjusted the method, for example, in view of the low cultural level of many overseas Chinese, agreed that all those who could not sign could draw the "ten" character as evidence.
The service is to meet the actual needs to the greatest extent, and the Team of Pei Zuyi has won the affirmation of overseas Chinese and absorbed a large amount of foreign exchange funds, but also attracted the attention of A.G. Stephen, manager of HSBC Hong Kong Branch, because of the competition for the foreign market.
At a cocktail party, Stephen publicly reprimanded Bei Zuyi, unexpectedly, Bei Zuyi was not provoked, but responded with a smile: "How dare I compete with you, I just want to make a little money for the bank." ”
Stephen responded, "Well, I like to hear it, but don't stretch your neck too long." ”
After all, at that time, british HSBC was strong and "dominated the foreign exchange transactions in the entire Far East", but behind the scenes, it stepped up the establishment of branches and vigorously absorbed foreign exchange, which became the most important way for Bei Zuyi to play, not only to promote the development of banking business, but also to help the country move forward.
Pei Zuyi once hoped that his son Pei would do finance or practice medicine, but as the 15th generation of Pei, Pei chose another path, studied architecture and went to the United States to study, but as a Chinese architect, to achieve something, he also needed to "confront" foreigners.
If nothing else, the design and construction of the Louvre Glass Pyramid, I.M. Pei has suffered unimaginable pressure.
Pei's son recalled: "At that time, the French were really stunned, even ashamed and angry, shouting how to call a Chinese to repair our most important building, I.M. Pei would destroy Paris." ”
Convinced that he was right, Pei launched a counterattack, first publicly lobbying that "Paris should be a vibrant, evolving organism" and then creating a year-on-year physical model that was conquered by about 60,000 Parisians.
Eventually, the Louvre Glass Pyramid was inaugurated, which gradually became the new pride of the French, and Pei was awarded France's highest medal of honor.
Interestingly, the chinese identity that was once questioned has become an advantage that cannot be ignored. Someone concluded: "As a Chinese, he knew about ancient civilizations. ”
Pei's series of architectural works have amazed the world, and his designs have also impressed Jobs. In fact, the mansion that Jobs bought in Manhattan was designed by I.M. Pei, and the Apple store also "stole" Pei's inspiration from time to time, using glass as a material, focusing on light, space and geometry.
If Pei Zuyi let the West once again "see" the ability of the Chinese, then I.M. Pei convinced the West.
The reason why we can have such a "record" is that the influence of Chinese culture is its "background", as Pei himself said: "I take China as the root and grow the branches and leaves of the West." ”
Behind Pei, the Pei family is still moving along this route. Pei's three sons, Pei Dingzhong, Pei Jianzhong and Pei Lizhong, all graduated from Harvard University and are engaged in architectural design, and the daughter Pei Lian graduated from columbia university law and is also a bully.
By the 17th generation, Pei Jianzhong's daughter Olivia Pei graduated from Harvard University majoring in sociology and was invited to participate in the Paris Celebrity Ball in 2007; Anna Pei, daughter of Bei Jianzhong, graduated from Columbia University majoring in art history and created the Art History For Children Program, which aims to inspire the younger generation to share their love of art.
Anna said bluntly: "From childhood to adulthood, my family's requirements and expectations for me were very high, and the teachings my family taught me made me really eager to be with my family, especially with my grandfather." ”
Perhaps, careful education for the next generation, while constantly opening up outwards, is the "secret" of the Bei family spanning China and the West and not fading for a hundred years.
Resources:
1. "Pei Zuyi: A Leading Figure in Foreign Exchange Business in the Republic of China Period", Fuxing No. 1
2. "The 102 Years of Master I.M. Pei", Chinese businessman Tao Strategy
3. "Ai Cheng talks to Anna Pei: A Chinese heart, how many years has accompanied my grandfather I.M. Pei?" Ai asked the character
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