Talent Hu Jun and Sichuan-Han Railway

At the beginning of the twenty-ninth year of Guangxu (1903), Xi Liang was transferred from Rehedu to the governor of Sichuan, and the following year, he hung a sign of the official Sichuan-Han Railway Company in Yuefu Street, Chengdu. Whether it is governance or Xinglu, Xi Liang always has a high counselor around him, who is a generation of celebrities who were the principals of Sichuan Higher School at the time - Hu Jun.

Hu Jun (1869 ~ 1909), also known as Yulan, alias Zhenling, a native of Huayang, Sichuan, Huayang County was founded in the first year of the Tang Dynasty (758), and was abolished and merged into Shuangliu County in 1965, which is now part of Chengdu. Huayang was once the famous "hometown of talents" in Sichuan, and according to historical records, there were 30 liberal arts scholars here in the Qing Dynasty alone, and Hu Jun was one of them.

Hu Jun, 1891 was a 22-year-old Zhongren, in 1895 he was a 26-year-old Zhongjinshi (ranked 2 and 57), and in 1898, at the age of 29, he was awarded the hanlin Academy of editing. During Hu Jun's stay in Beijing, he had close relations with Liu Guangdi, Yang Rui, and other fellow villagers who had reformed the law, but the penghu reform failed, and the blood of the six gentlemen spilled on the market mouth, which had a great impact on Hu Jun. In 1899, his father died of illness, and Hu Jun left Beijing to return to Sichuan for mourning, and since then he has bid farewell to the originally full of hopes.

At the beginning of his return to Sichuan, Hu Jun was mainly busy with education, and he thought: "The chaos of a country depends on the rise and fall of talents, and the rise and fall of talents depends on the education of the country." Under the guidance of Cen Chunxuan, then governor of Sichuan, Hu Jun agreed to be the first president of the Sichuan Higher School (the predecessor of Sichuan University). At the beginning of his term of office, Hu Jun immediately traveled east to Japan to investigate the educational administration, academic rules and discipline charters of Dongying. After returning to Chengdu, Hu Jun personally drafted various rules and regulations of the school based on the facsimile obtained from the inspection. In November 1903, the Sichuan Higher School was officially opened. "Looking up to the vice-country and cultivating generalists", Hu Jun's school-running philosophy has made this school famous, and its graduates are many elites from all walks of life, and Zhu De is one of the outstanding representatives.

As we all know, Zhu De graduated from the Yunnan DaowuTang in his early years, first as a general in the Yunnan and Sichuan armies, and then joined the Communist Party of China, becoming the commander-in-chief of the Red Army, the Eighth Route Army, and the People's Liberation Army. But few people know that Zhu De attended a university in Chengdu for two years before joining the military.

In September 1906, the 20-year-old Zhu De walked 700 miles from his hometown of Yilong County to chengdu, the provincial capital, he originally came to apply for the Sichuan Wubei Academy, because the military school was closed, he applied for the Sichuan Higher School under the name of "Zhu Jiande", and was later admitted as a student of the first class of the physical education department of the school. The establishment of the Physical Education Department in the higher school is due to the school's purpose of "education is based on morality and wisdom, health is sports first, and strengthening the body can save the country". Although he studied in the higher school for only two years, it was very rewarding for Zhu De, who not only learned knowledge and broadened his horizons, but more importantly, he was exposed to progressive reading materials and classmates for the first time, and his idea of devoting himself to the revolution began to germinate here.

When Hu Jun became the principal, it coincided with the beginning of Xi Liang's appointment as governor of Chuan and the founding of Chuanlu, and there was an urgent need for talents, and Hu Jun, who was born in Hanlin, naturally became the best candidate for the governor to seek talents.

Xi Liang greatly admired Hu Jun's knowledge and talents, and whenever there was a big event, Xi Liang would not be ashamed to ask questions and patiently listen to Hu Jun's high opinions. It is recorded in the "Narration of Hu Junyulan": "Governor Xi Gong often inquired about the suffering of the Sichuan people and the gains and losses of the officials, and the Fujun (Hu Jun) calmly quoted it, and all their interests were exhausted. ”

In 1904, after the establishment of the official Sichuan-Han Railway Company, Xi Liang awarded the company the premiership of the company to Hu Jun, who was then the president of the higher school, and entrusted all matters to him. At the beginning of his term of office, Hu Jun did two things, one was to explicitly refuse foreign investment when formulating the charter, and the other was to add a railway school in the higher school, aiming to train railway professionals, and he also served as the principal of the railway school.

To build a railway, the capital is the most important. In view of the obstruction of fundraising on Chuanlu Road, Hu Jun suggested to Xiliang that it should emulate the Hunan model, with leased shares as the mainstay and official shares and commercial stocks as a supplement. When opposition arose, Xi Liang hesitated and was in a dilemma. It was again Hu Jun and Xi Liang who had a long talk, knowing the stakes and telling them that only by renting shares could they kill two birds with one stone, that is, they had built a railway and secured the right of way. Once the right of way falls into the hands of others, there will be endless troubles, and Xi Liang finally adopted Hu Jun's advice.

In order to raise shares, Hu Jun racked his brains and used all means of propaganda, and he instructed his subordinates to post notices and distribute leaflets everywhere. In order to be easy to understand, there are also many catchy propaganda words, such as "railway leasing shares, there is a benefit; not donation, do not doubt", "things are managed, accounts are seen; there is never a gap, no beauty deception... Two stocks, half in size, today's bank, tomorrow's calculation...". "Stock" not only entered the tea house and became the lyrics of the artists, but also became the topic of sichuan people's street discussions.

Building a railway is, after all, a strange thing to Hu Jun, a scholar. In order to learn from the successful experience of foreign countries, Hu Jun proposed to Xi Liang: "This is not a travel and examination, it is not enough merit", so he took people to the United States to investigate the railway.

Hu Jun is a talented man, but also a gentleman. He originally had an old disease of hemoptysis, and then because of the labor of the Sichuan-Han Railway, his condition became worse and worse, and before he went to the United States to investigate, because of the long distance, The Governor of Sichuan, Xi Liang, was worried that he would not be able to eat, and advised him to postpone his departure. Hu Jun shook his head in thanks, and his words were sonorous: "The construction of the railway in Sichuan is a big thing, I sacrificed my life for everyone, what am I afraid of?" On the day of the send-off, Xi Liang looked at the figure of him in the boat and could not help but sigh alone.

When Hu Jun returned to China after the inspection, Hu Jun stayed in the capital for a short time, and when the old rain and the new knowledge were gathered together, when the cups were exchanged, the old friends retained him, a young and promising Hanlin Academy editor, and the various departments of the Qing court also recommended him. There were also RongQing, minister of the Faculty of Education, and Zhang Baixi, Shangshu of the Ministry of Posts and Communications, who took the initiative to invite consolation. In this regard, Hu Jun "resigned himself with all his strength", and then quickly returned to Chengdu and devoted himself to the decision to change the Sichuan Road Company from the official office to the commercial office.

Another result of the inspection trip to the United States is that Hu Jun hired Lu Yaoting and Hu Dongchao, two railway engineers who stayed in the United States, who will be responsible for the survey of the eastern and western sections of the Sichuan-Han Railway.

In the first month of the 33rd year of Guangxu (February 1907), the Sichuan-Han Railway Company was changed from a joint venture between government and business to a commercial office, and its name was Sichuan Chuanhan Railway Co., Ltd., with Qiao Shunan as the premier and Hu Jun as the vice premier. The Qing court was unhappy with the transformation of the Sichuan-Han Railway, preferring the government office because it would be easier to use foreign funds and more likely to firmly control the economic lifeline under centralized power. The Qing court's eating inside and outside caused dissatisfaction among the Sichuan people, especially the students of the Railway Academy.

In June 1907, Zhao Erxun, who succeeded Xi Liang as governor of Sichuan, issued an ultimatum to the students, ordering that "students shall not interfere in road administration." Zhao Erxun's words and deeds, like adding fuel to the fire, aroused the students' righteous indignation, and thus also sowed the seeds of the fire of the 1911 Sichuan Road Preservation Movement that was the fuse of the Xinhai Revolution. In the face of this situation, Hu Junqi not only stood on the side of justice with a clear banner, but also used his identity and influence to protect a large number of patriotic progressive students.

In January 1908, the Qing court reassigned Hu Jun as the premier of the Sichuan-Han Railway stationed in Sichuan, at this time he was in charge of both road affairs and school affairs, and the burden of shouldering and shouldering made the long-sick and weak body even more overwhelmed.

Hu Jun is a frank gentleman who treats others leniently and strictly disciplines himself. In the 5 years before and after serving in the Sichuan-Han Railway Company, he did not receive a day's salary. Even during the inspection period in Japan and the United States, the stipulated 500 two monthly salaries were refused by Hu Jun. It wasn't until the company was changed from an official office to a commercial office that he "paid only one hundred and two per month for the car and horse.". On two trips abroad, Hu Jun was in debt of 3,000 taels, and this money was still unable to repay until his death.

In February 1909, Hu Jun was overworked, exhausted, hemoptysis, and could not be treated, and died in Chengdu at the age of 40. Before dying, he said to his family: "There are books in the room, but they can leave disciples; the family has no accumulated wealth and does not live up to the Sichuan people." ”

The ambitious Hu Jun thus completed his short but brilliant life, and everything he did with his bowing and doing not only lived up to the Sichuan people, but also lived up to the Sichuan-Han Railway that he had worked so hard for.

Commercial sichuan-Han railway stock