There is such a woman from a poor background, at the age of 16, she went out to make a living, met a wealthy businessman in a foreign country, and gave birth to 1 daughter and 3 sons for him without a name, and the rich businessman returned to China many years later and was never heard from.
Orphans and widows live alone, and their three sons have become powerful figures, and the Macau gambling king is also his descendants, and the family has been prosperous for a hundred years. Who was this woman a hundred years ago? What kind of family legend has been created?
The married life of the "Tan family girl".
As early as the Kangxi period, there was a group of people living in the eastern part of Guangdong, they lived on the sea, took the boat as their home, and made a living by fishing and pearling.
The government also did not make a register for the Tan family, believing that it was lowly and unworthy of being compiled with mainland residents, and even did not allow them to be buried on land after death until the seventh year of Yongzheng, when the emperor specially issued a decree to correct its name.
In essence, the Tanka people are ordinary and kind people, but they have a different way of life from mainland residents, and cannot be treated differently. It is not mandatory for the Tanka family to live ashore, respect their way of life, and settle down on the land if they wish.
The decree and the lifting of the sea ban have brought the inhabitants of the mainland and the sea closer together, and their perception of them has also changed. However, this group that eats the sea is still synonymous with mystery and boldness.
The British government and the Qing government signed the Treaty of Nanjing, one of which was the cession of Hong Kong to the British. Since then, Hong Kong has been officially opened in 1842.
In the early days of Hong Kong's opening of the port, the government would not collect taxes to do business here, and the promulgation of this policy, coupled with the attraction of the mysterious wealth of the East, attracted a large number of Chinese and foreigners to trade.
At this time, in a small shanty built by the sea in a coastal fishing village, a teenage girl told her mother that she wanted to venture into Hong Kong.
Mother is also very reluctant, but the life will only get more and more bitter if she stays, so it is better to go out and break through. This girl came to the bustling Hong Kong alone, and she is our protagonist, Shi Di.
Shi Di begged for a living at the bottom every day, and lived a very difficult life, and by chance, a poor girl from this small fishing village met He Shiwen, a glamorous and wealthy man from the Netherlands.
Born in 1839, at the age of 20, he was fascinated by the mysterious oriental culture and wanted to follow the first people to set foot on Chinese soil for a gold rush adventure.
Of course, it was not only this opportunity to make a lot of money that attracted He Shiwen, but also the gentle and subtle beautiful Oriental woman who also walked into He Shiwen's heart. A 20-year-old boy helps a 16-year-old girl, and the story of youth begins.
However, because the thinking of the Chinese people at that time was still conservative, in the face of foreigners who were very different from their own appearance, it was difficult to overcome the shackles of etiquette and religion, and they were easily together. Except for one type of female.
That is the dust woman or the fisherman's woman, they will choose to be together without registering their marriage, and have children for these foreigners, such a marriage is extremely risky, because many foreigners do not want to be responsible.
He Shiwen and Shi Di are this kind of marriage without legal protection, they have been together for 14 years, and Shi Di has given birth to 1 daughter and 3 sons to He Shiwen.
With his smart mind, He Shiwen quickly earned the first pot of gold, and then his business flourished, and the life of the young couple was quite happy.
It's just that this happiness is short-lived after all, and the sword of Damocles hanging above his head finally falls. When the eldest daughter He Baiyan was 14 years old, He Shiwen's career was hit. He Shiwen immediately decided to return to China.
He Shiwen confessed his thoughts to Shi Di, he wanted to return to China and would not take her with him. Because his family would not accept such a foreign low-level poor person with no background. He Shiwen left like this, leaving four children to be raised by Shi Di alone.
The rise of the Ho family
After He Shiwen returned to China, she became a family and lived a happy life, Shi Di pulled her five children alone, and the burden of life made her have little time to be painful and sad. This strong woman worked even harder.
In order to let the children's lives settle down and no longer follow her around, she decided to take the children to remarry. So she married businessman Guo Xingxian and became her fourth concubine.
In order to gain a firm foothold in the Guo family, she gave birth to two boys and two girls for Guo Xingxian. Next, the resilient mother officially began to pave the way for her children's future.
Although Shi Di is a poor Tan family girl, she shows unusual insight and insight. She insisted on sending her son to study, and her second son, He Dong, third son, He Fu, and their half-brother He Gantang all studied at the Central School of the Bilingual School. This school has produced many leaders in various industries, such as Sun Yat-sen.
In order to expand her connections, Shi Di reluctantly married her eldest daughter He Yanbai to Cai Xingnan, the Chinese chief comprador. Cai Xingnan is over 50 years old and has extremely rich business resources and a complex network of contacts.
took the line of Cai Nanxing, which opened the door to He Dong's development. Because of Ho Dong's excellent English skills, he worked as a full-time translator for Jardine Matheson & Co. in Hong Kong, during which he accumulated a lot of contacts and was promoted rapidly.
At the same time, he also arranged his younger brother He Fu to come in and deliberately cultivated. At the age of 20, He Dong was promoted to manager, and in 1894 he was promoted to general manager of a foreign bank. Three years later, Ho Dong is already a millionaire. In 1899, Ho Tung was awarded the title of Justice of the Peace.
In 1906, Ho Tung became the first Chinese to live on the top of Taiping Mountain, breaking the ban that "Chinese are not allowed to enter", which is relieving.
Another correct decision Shi Di made for her child was to help her son He Dong marry Xian Neizhu. He Dong's first wife was the daughter of his mother Shi Di's best friend, Mak Xiuying, and her father was a senior executive of Jardine Matheson.
After the two got married, because they were also mixed-race, their similar childhood situation and the love of their childhood sweethearts made their relationship very good.
It's just that Mai Xiuying has not been able to give birth to an heir to the He family, but Mai Xiuying took the initiative to give her husband a concubine, and she took a fancy to her cousin Zhang Lianjue. Zhang Lianjue is a woman in the new era who has received cultural education, so naturally she does not agree to be a concubine for others.
Under Mai Xiuying's repeated persuasion, and assured that she and her would be equal in the future, there would be no jealousy, and she would intersect with her own sisters, which persuaded Zhang Lianjue to marry into the He family.
After Zhang Lianjue entered the He family, He Dong gave birth to 3 sons and 7 daughters, Mai Xiuying did not fight or grab at all as she said at the beginning, and treated Zhang Lianjue with courtesy, the two had a close relationship, and worked together to keep the family in order, so that He Dong could concentrate on his career outside and have no worries.
And He Dong did not snub Mai Xiuying because she had nothing to do, and still cared for her as much as she did at the beginning. The life of the family can be described as happy.
He Dong also has strong patriotic feelings. His father was British, but he always remembered that he was Chinese, resolutely refused to enter foreign countries, and usually wore a robe and coat on a daily basis or when he went out, and he had helped revolutionary righteous soldiers escape from the enemy.
His wife and son were brutalized by the Japanese, and his younger brother He Fu's son He Shirong was also retaliated against for opposing the Japanese. He Dong's son-in-law was a defense soldier and died in a foreign country.
Dedication to charity is at the heart of the Ho family
Ho Tung has devoted his life to philanthropy, donating money to build schools and hospitals all over Hong Kong and Macau. His granddaughter even donated all the 5 billion yuan sold by He Dong Garden. The benevolence and benevolence of the He family have been passed down.
Just like Stanley Ho's generation, he still insists on doing charity. The most well-known is that the cultural relics of the Old Summer Palace, horse heads and pig heads, were donated to the state, including major national scientific research projects or natural and man-made disasters, etc., and he has funded them.
His third brother He Fu himself is also very business-minded, under the influence of his elder brother He Dong, he worked in a foreign bank for several years, successfully took over the position of general manager, and later with his own efforts, he also became one of the most influential rich people in Hong Kong.
In addition to dominating the business community, he also got involved in politics and served as a member of parliament. Among his descendants, there is a great name that you and I are familiar with. He is the gambling king Stanley Ho. He Fu's third son, He Shiguang, is Stanley Ho's father.
After graduating from the Central School, he first engaged in the financial industry in a foreign bank, and often set up commercial banks in Southeast Asia, and has been up and down in the business world for more than ten years.
He is also committed to philanthropy, is a well-known social activist, and has also been awarded the OBE by the United Kingdom. He Gantang has an adopted daughter named He Aiyu, who is the mother of martial arts superstar Bruce Lee.
These three branches of the He family are like a big tree spreading out huge branches and leaves, the people are prosperous, and the family is prosperous for a long time, which is the portrayal of the spiritual inheritance of the He family. Everyone has not forgotten who they are and who they are, and there are boundaries between what can and can't be.
Shi Di, a wise woman with brains and means, never flinched in front of the problems of fate, but actively faced them. When she was abandoned by her first husband, she fought tenaciously for her children, and when she was a concubine for others, she swallowed her anger and still paved the way for her children's future. After being swept away by her second husband's wife, she was still able to see the right moment to build momentum for her children's marriage.
epilogue
It can be said that the He family has been able to reproduce for a hundred years and is still so prosperous, which is inseparable from the original operation of this legendary woman. Her wisdom and tenacity have long been embedded in the family spirit and engraved into the bones of the He family.
They also have a patriotic heart and a benevolent heart, which have set an example for the world and given the power of social development, which is worthy of heartfelt admiration. Shi Di, a legendary woman, has been fully respected, with ups and downs in her life, what has changed is chance, but what has not changed is her heart, a tenacious heart.
No matter how strong the wind and waves are, you have nothing to fear, just ride the wind and waves. The rise and fall of a family is not over, and I believe it will have a more colorful future.
Resources:
"The Centennial Legend of the He Dong Family" Liu Zhonghua
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