Shi Hai Guanfu
"In 1983, on the eve of graduating from the Department of Economics of Wuhan University, Chen Dongsheng (1957-) carved the character 'Beginning' on a stone on the top of Luojia Mountain. Since 1993, he has successively founded three major enterprises, Guardian Auction, Taikang Life and Home Delivery, leading the industry."
Not long ago, Yu Minhong had a conversation with Chen Dongsheng, and Chen Dongsheng took Yu to see a stone, and the above paragraph was engraved on the front of the stone, and there was a single golden "beginning" character on the side facing the sky, and this "beginning" character was exactly the same as the one he carved in Wudameiyuan forty years ago.
As a leading figure in the "92 School" entrepreneurs, Chen Dongsheng is better known as "Jinggangshan's son-in-law" - his wife is Kong Dongmei, daughter of Li Min, and his mother-in-law Li Min is the daughter of Chairman Mao and He Zizhen.
Because of this identity, there will always be people arguing about what Chen Dongsheng relies on to achieve today?
"If I don't go to sea, at least I will be a famous economist."
Chen Dongsheng said that his history teacher once told him a story that inspired his life:
"Graduated from the English Department of Tsinghua, there are two talented students, one Cao Yu, and the other named Zhang Junxiang, two outstanding students were selected to stay in the United States, that selection was gone, Cao Yu did not, this is a major blow to Cao Yu's life. He closed his doors for a year without seeing anyone and wrote "Thunderstorm".
In 1977, the first time the country resumed the college entrance examination, Chen Dongsheng, a 20-year-old young man from Tianmen, Hubei Province, was admitted to the university, and he scored 209 points on the admission line of 160 points.
But he didn't make it, he was always the excellent top student who didn't get 99 points and only scored 100 points, but in his first college entrance examination, all the classmates who were worse than him were gone, and he was the only one.
He felt like Fan Jinzhongju in a semi-crazy state, looking through it every day, until he finally went to check the score, and got a comment like a thunderbolt on a sunny day to the 20-year-old youth: the position is not firm.
In 1978, Chen Dongsheng took the college entrance examination again, but was not admitted because he was too carried away and missed by 19 points; By 1979, Chen Dongsheng, who had a heart in hand, finally entered the economics department of Wuhan University.
Wuhan University not only taught Chen Dongsheng the knowledge of economics, but also made him start to think differently about life, Wuhan University has elective courses, Chen Dongsheng and his classmates went to listen to the history of Western philosophy course, he said that when he heard the phrase "all men are created equal", he woke up all of a sudden.
When it was time to graduate and assign work, the school wanted Chen Dongsheng to work for Xinhua News Agency, although there were only two Xinhua places in the class, although the secretary said to him: "Dongsheng, how many people dream of becoming a reporter in Xinhua News Agency, why don't you go?" ”
But Chen Dongsheng still chose the International Trade Research Institute of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Trade. At that time, he wanted to go to graduate school, but he still wanted to do learning, use learning to realize his revolutionary ideals, and become a person like Hua Luogeng and Qian Xuesen who did learning to realize the desire to strengthen the country.
So after graduating from Wuhan University, Chen Dongsheng worked in the research room of developed countries of the Institute of International Trade, immersed himself in research, thinking that one day, he would also marry the mantle of his teacher Dong Furen and become a famous economist.
Until 1988, he served as the deputy editor-in-chief of the magazine "Management World" of the Development Research Center of the State Council, the youngest deputy editor-in-chief of the magazine, enjoying the treatment of deputy director.
In Management World, Chen Dongsheng wanted to make this magazine as influential as Fortune magazine, so he created a precedent for 500 large enterprises in China, causing a sensation at home and abroad.
The People's Daily front-page headlines and news broadcasts reported on it, which made him and the magazine a hit.
While people thought that Chen Dongsheng would continue to become the editor-in-chief of Management World, Chen Dongsheng found new opportunities from his speech on the southern tour, so his life turned.
"I feel that I am a typical 'book born into the sea', doing business is like writing articles, that is, composing pictures, not being influenced by others."
Many people say that Chen Dongsheng is a natural entrepreneur, and it is already rare for ordinary entrepreneurs to have the ability to bury their heads in hard work, but Chen Dongsheng is a far-sighted person, and he himself said:
"It is necessary to stand at an altitude of 10,000 meters to see the world, and observe the world out of control for a hundred years, so that we can have foresight and persistence, so that there will be no deviation, and we can see earlier and farther."
In fact, compared with entrepreneurs such as Wang Shi, who went to sea early in the eighties, Chen Dongsheng was more conservative, he only made up his mind to resign in the nineties, and when the entrepreneurs of the same generation led their enterprises to go public and ring the bell, Chen Dongsheng's enterprises were never listed.
Therefore, some people commented on Chen Dongsheng and said: "Among his contemporaries, Chen Dongsheng is a person who knows how to advance and retreat."
Although he started later than others, Chen Dongsheng has the most unique vision and the strongest connections, which other entrepreneurs do not have.
When Chen Dongsheng started to do something, he had already finished everything in his mind, and he only started when he had done the composition, so even if he was slow, he could still be among the most successful.
At that time, cultural relics were still a state monopoly, and there was no precedent for private enterprises to operate, so Chen Dongsheng used the contacts of Wuhan University students and the Ministry of Economic and Trade to form a "dream team".
Wang Yannan, Gan Xuejun, deputy director of the Cultural Heritage Bureau's office, and Kou Qin, an alumnus of Wuhan University who works at an agency under the Ministry of Culture, are all partners in Chen Dongsheng's founding of Guardian Auction, and of course, his wife Lu Ang.
Originally, they were all ready to sit on the cold bench for three or five years, after all, the development of the auction industry in China is still unknown.
But the first auction held by Guardian exploded, Qi Baishi's "Pine Eagle Diagram" was sold for 1.76 million yuan, Zhang Daqian's "Stone Liang Flying Waterfall Map" was sold for 2.09 million yuan, the total turnover was 14.23 million yuan, and everything was sold out.
After that, Chen Dongsheng went to Japan, and inadvertently saw a lot of insurance advertisements in Japan, and with a keen sense of economy, he felt that China would also usher in an era of economic take-off like Japan.
And the hottest life insurance in Japan has not yet been done in China, he is going to eat this "crab"; And that's not all, he also founded a courier company called "Home Delivery", which is also inspired by Japan's "Home Delivery".
When he was still at the Institute of International Trade, Chen Dongsheng had an in-depth study of the economic development of developed countries, and later went to "Managing the World".
Chen Dongsheng has a deeper understanding of the economic development of developed countries such as the United States and Japan, so he took this research ability to the sea, even if he has no business experience, he can still tap the most favorable business opportunities.
In addition, Chen Dongsheng knows how much advantage human favor occupies in the battle in the business sea, and his experience makes him have strong connections, at that time, everyone had a "dream of going to the sea" in their hearts, as long as he was willing to convene, no matter how big the figure could be included in the camp.
So when he founded Taikang Life, just as Guardian needed Wang Yannan, Chen Dongsheng invited Kong Dongmei for Taikang Life.
"I am Jinggangshan's son-in-law."
In Chen Dongsheng's own business career, there should be two women's names, even if Chen Dongsheng is not willing to talk about these two names, even if someone says, don't exaggerate how these two women helped him.
It should be said that first there is a woman's name, and then there is another woman's name, one is not so famous, and one is very famous - one is called Lu Ang, and the other is Kong Dongmei.
Lu Ang and Chen Dongsheng are college classmates from the same family, Lu Ang, like Chen Dongsheng, is also a doctor of economics, and their common teacher is the famous economist Dong Fureng.
When Chen Dongsheng worked at the Institute of International Trade, Lu Ang worked at the head office of the People's Bank of China, and the two met in Wuhan and then became a family in Beijing, where their son Chen Yilun was born in 1988.
In 1988, this was the year that Chen Dongsheng proudly entered "Management World". Lu Ang once wrote in an article in memory of his teacher Dong Fureng:
"Although I am Teacher Dong's first female disciple, perhaps my classmates are too prominent, perhaps because my husband's aura is too brilliant, or perhaps because my personality is too passive, I always seem to be habitually in a position of subordination and neglect."
In 1993, Chen Dongsheng resigned and went to the sea to establish Guardian Auction, in fact, in Chen Dongsheng's own words, he is "a theoretical youth, not a literary and artistic youth", after all, he has lived a hard life since he was a child, to help people move bricks, feed pigs, where is the artistic atmosphere?
But unlike him, Lu Ang, who has a wealthy family, has a great interest and appreciation for art, and the name "Guardian" was chosen at Lu Ang's suggestion.
Chen Dongsheng found a "dream team" for Guardian with his excellent personal ability, and only then did he have the first auction company with an international concept in New China.
But in the list of members of this "dream team", the name Lu Ang should not be erased, even if Lu Ang has always appeared as Chen Dongsheng's secretary, which sounds insignificant.
When his son Chen Yilun was two years old, Chen Dongsheng had the idea of doing insurance when he went to Japan to see a building, and after returning, he began to apply for life insurance.
It took five years, and in 1996, Chen Yilun was already in elementary school, in which Chen Dongsheng founded Taikang Life, while Lu Ang continued to stay at Guardian Auction.
Just like when establishing Guardian to do the first private cultural relics auction, he wanted to find Wang Yannan and Gan Xuejun, Chen Dongsheng, who "dared to be the first in the world", will do this time, and the life insurance industry with a very high threshold and no one has ever set foot in.
So in this year, Kong Dongmei, who had just graduated from Beihang University, entered the founding Taikang Life Insurance as a partner, and was invited by Chen Dongsheng. Kong Dongmei's most dazzling identity is Chairman Mao's granddaughter and Li Min's daughter, although her grandfather only saw Kong Dongmei's photos when he was alive, and never met.
But because of this identity, it is always more convenient to do things, otherwise, with Chen Dongsheng's personality, he would not find a female college student who has just graduated to be a partner in his own business. Kong Dongmei spent three years at Taikang Life, where she said, by her own account, by serving tea, pouring water and smashing it.
During the period when Taikang Life grew into a large enterprise with hundreds of thousands of employees, Kong Dongmei's own life also experienced many complexities different from her previous simple environment, so in 1999, Kong Dongmei left Taikang Life to study for a master's degree at the University of Pennsylvania.
A year after Kong Dongmei left Taikang Life, in 2000, Lu Ang left Guardian Auction and established Guardian Online Auction Co., Ltd., which intensified the rumors of Chen Dongsheng and Lu Ang's marriage.
In 2001, Kong Dongmei returned to China. It is rumored that after Kong Dongmei entered Taikang Life, Kong Dongmei and Chen Dongsheng began to live together and gave birth to three children.
And the marriage status of Chen Dongsheng and Lu Ang has always been confusing, sometimes Lu Ang still appears as Chen Dongsheng's wife, and sometimes it is not Lu Ang who appears next to Chen Dongsheng, but Kong Dongmei.
Many people thought that the "childhood sweetheart" couple had parted ways early, but it was not until 2011 that Lu Ang and Chen Dongsheng officially divorced.
At the end of the year, Chen Dongsheng and Kong Dongmei set up a wine banquet at the State Guesthouse, after which Chen Dongsheng accompanied his wife Kong Dongmei to start a red honeymoon trip, in Jinggangshan, he publicly said: "I am Jinggangshan's son-in-law", it is said that Kong Dongmei waited for this sentence for fifteen years.
Chen Dongsheng took Yu Minhong to see an oil painting, his most proud collection, Shen Yaoyi's "Revolutionary Ideals Above Heaven", which depicts Chairman Mao sitting by a fire and talking with Red Army soldiers on the way through the grass.
Chen Dongsheng also said: "'Revolutionary Ideals Are Higher than Heaven' is a portrayal of my life, revolutionary heroism, romanticism, realism, must be real, unrealistic will not have these..."
"If a person like this is not successful, the sky will not tolerate", this is a comment Chen Dongsheng gave to himself after telling Yu Minhong the story of his "beginning" carved in the plum garden of Wuda.
He said that his life is two mottos, one is "How Steel is Made" Paul Kochagin said:
"The most precious thing about people is life, and life is only once for everyone. Man's life should be spent in this way: looking back, he will not regret having spent his life in vain, nor will he be ashamed of doing nothing; On his deathbed, he was able to say: 'My whole life and all my energies have been devoted to the most magnificent cause in the world - the struggle for the liberation of all mankind'".
One is Marx's phrase "There is no smooth road to follow on the road of science, only those who climb along the rugged and steep mountain road without fear of hardship and danger can hope to reach the glorious peak."
Chen Dongsheng said that what is an entrepreneur is to face difficulties, so in his life, he has been using all the resources he can to solve all the difficulties that come or create himself.
"So have you ever had doubts about the meaning of life?" Yu Minhong asked Chen Dongsheng.
"Never, never." He replied.
Text/Shi Hai Guanfu