China's pencil manufacturing industry was born in the 1930s. Wu Xiangmei, a native of Changzhou, Jiangsu Province (one of the founders of the China Democratic Construction Association), founded China's first all-round pencil manufacturing factory that can manufacture lead cores, pencil boards, pen holders and appearance processing in Xiexu Road, Nanshi, Shanghai, and Wu Qianmei was also respected as the "King of Pencils" by the Chinese people on the Shanghai Beach.
"Aircraft" brand pencil "Aviation to save the country"
Before the official production of China Standard Domestic Pencil Factory on October 8, 1935, it registered the low-grade pencil trademark "Airplane" brand on July 25 of the same year and used the "Aviation To Save the Country" model. The "Aviation Salvation" pencil not only tries to be as good as possible with the German "Shi De Lou" brand pencil in terms of quality, but more importantly, the title is completely consistent with the patriotic psychology of the Chinese people at that time, so it is quite popular with consumers after listing.
Wu Xiangmei conforms to the trend of the people's hearts and minds, and takes the term "airplane" as the name of the first trademark of his own business, and the word "airplane" has a strong patriotic complex, so Wu Xiangmei has poured a lot of effort into the trial production of the "airplane" brand pencil. The first is to join hands with Guo Zichun, a fellow window in Japan, and Zhang Weishi, a fellow villager in Changzhou, to start a business together, Wu Tangmei is responsible for the overall planning, financing and external affairs, Guo Zichun is mainly responsible for production technology, and Zhang Weishi is mainly responsible for finance.
The second is the recruitment of employees. At the end of 1934, Wu Qianmei first returned to her hometown, personally went to the Changzhou Poor Children's Hospital to negotiate with the hospital, and recruited a group of students from poor families through the recruitment examination. Wu Tangmei also invited the manager of the defunct Peking China Pencil Company who was good at pencil sales and a technician who was proficient in making pencil boards, and Wu Tangmei also hired two highly skilled machine installers and trained a group of skilled workers for China Lead through them. Then, 30 or 40 female workers were recruited in the Shanghai area, mainly engaged in simple labor such as lead core transportation, pencil paint, and pencil packaging.
Wu Tangmei
The third is to train employees. After an apprentice enters the factory, he or she must first train for two years. During this time, apprentices work 8 hours during the day and study for two hours at night. The teachers who taught the apprentices were Wu Tangmei, Guo Zichun and two machine installers. Because the apprentices didn't know anything, they started as handymen. Under the tutelage of the teacher, after being able to operate the machine independently, he was promoted to a mechanic. If you can operate two types of machines, you will be promoted to technician. Further up is the assistant engineer. After several years of theoretical study and on-site operation, this group of apprentices who entered the factory made rapid progress, and many of them became the technical backbone of medium lead.
Although Wu Qianmei and Guo Zichun both interned in a pencil factory in Japan, after all, the time was too short, and the total amount was only about 1 year, so it was impossible to have a comprehensive understanding of the pencil manufacturing process, so it was difficult to try it out at the beginning. Through repeated experiments, comparisons of foreign pencils, and consultation of relevant information, china has overcome the technical difficulties in terms of lead core, pencil board, paint, etc., and China Lead has finally produced its own pencil.
The first batch of products was the low-grade "Airplane" brand pencil, which sold for 2.4 silver yuan per Luo (12 dozen 144 sticks). Although the price was higher than that of Japanese pencils of the same grade, under the situation of opposing Japanese goods and advocating domestic products at that time, the "airplane" brand low-grade pencils of medium lead soon won a certain share of the market among primary and secondary school students, breaking the situation of overwhelming foreign pencils. On the eve of the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, China Lead produced a new product of all domestic raw materials - a low-grade "aircraft" brand pencil with complete domestic goods, which cost only 1.2 silver yuan per Luo.
In order to compete with Japanese goods, Wu Tangmei was put on the market at a loss price of six or seven corners per Luo. The low-grade "Airplane" brand series pencils, which are popular with the majority of primary and secondary school students, have replaced most of japan's low-grade pencils in one fell swoop.
The "Ding" brand is self-reliant
Wu Qianmei's path to the king of pencils began when she studied in Japan.
In August 1928, Wu Tangmei crossed to Japan with the lofty ambition of learning from the Japanese people's "specialized pragmatic use", and after completing her studies, serving the motherland, revitalizing industry, and enriching the people. Six months later, Wu graduated from a language school and was admitted to the Yokohama Higher Technical School (now Yokohama University) to study applied chemistry.
During her study abroad, Wu Qianmei began to think about what industry to do after returning to China. According to her own strength, Wu Tangmei did not consider large industries such as machine manufacturing and transportation, but paid more attention to small and medium-sized industries. With the continuous expansion of textbook knowledge and social interaction, Wu Qianmei's life experience and social experience have gradually enriched, and gradually, he has determined the goal of making pencils as a business in China. According to the data, from 1925 to 1931, the amount of pencils imported by Shanghai Jiang Customs was about 6 million silver yuan. In order to break the monopoly of foreign goods, it is necessary to start with Chinese to open their own pencil manufacturing plants.
After a series of comprehensive analysis by Wu Qianmei, it is believed that as long as pencils are made, market sales will not be a problem. And the main raw materials for the manufacture of pencils, wood, graphite, clay, etc. are not lacking in China. As a result, Wu Qianmei began to take the first step of entrepreneurship, and first mastered the pencil manufacturing technology. In order to learn professional knowledge about pencil manufacturing, when Wu graduated, she approached Shigetaka Hashimoto, a professor of chemistry at her alma mater, and asked him to introduce him to a Japanese pencil factory for a period of internship.
During the Republic of China period, the Chinese standard pencil factory made Ding brand standard domestic pencil packaging box
Hashimoto enthusiastically recommended that after obtaining the consent of Saburo Shuhara, president of Japan's Makoto Yamato Pencil Co., Ltd., Wu Yumei came to the company's Kanagawa factory for an internship as he wished. Saburō Masuda, director of the Kanagawa factory, received Kureme warmly, taught him about purchasing raw materials, machines, and product sales, and introduced some related Japanese companies. However, the manufacture of pencil refills, especially the formulation of pencil refills, was kept strictly confidential to Wu Tangmei, and only arranged for him to practice in the workshop where the pencil holder was manufactured and the finished pencil workshop.
Just by understanding the white pole (pencil that has not been painted) and the process of pencil paint, and not mastering the core technology, it is to follow in the footsteps of the original Beiping Pencil Company and the Shanghai Chinese Pencil Factory, and Wu Qianmei must have a hundred unwillingness in her heart. So he tried to understand the core technology through the engineers in charge of the technology in the workshop, but hit the south wall. The engineer will not help him without the permission of the boss.
Wu Qianmei was not dead hearted, and went to ask Shuhara Saburo to relax. However, Suhara Saburo advised Wu Tangmei to give up the idea of opening a factory, and it was best to become a comprador after returning to China to sell products for Japanese manufacturers. Saburo Sugihara arrogantly said, "It is not an easy task to run a pencil manufacturing industry. Even if you go to Wu Ding (Wu Tang Mei Zi Ding) II, you in China will not be able to build a pencil factory and produce pencils. Let's buy our Japanese pencils. This sentence greatly hurt Wu Qianmei's self-esteem, but he did not explain too much in front of Shuyuan Saburo, but replied lightly: "No, I want to run a pencil factory." ”
The unpleasant internship experience greatly stimulated Wu Qianmei, and also stimulated Wu Qianmei's patriotic enthusiasm and determination to return to China to run an industry. After touching the nail twice, Wu Tangmei learned to be smart, and he turned to the operators who touched the lead core formula in the workshop to find what he needed. With the help of the workers, Wu Qianmei managed to go deep into the refill workshop, make friends with the workers who managed the recipe, and finally got the formula of the pencil refill.
In 1937, China Lead registered the trademark of "Ding" brand of high-grade pencils. After China Lead produced completely domestic pencils and high-grade drawing pencils, Wu Qianmei proudly said to his colleagues: "The Japanese asserted that I Wu Ding II could not make Chinese my own pencils, and now I Wu Ding I has produced high-tech Chinese my own high-grade drawing pencils." ”
The light blue barrel and the black-tipped "Ding" brand high-grade drawing pencil are based on the "Venus" brand in the United States and the "Three Fortresses" card in Germany. Although the "Ding" brand has just started, the quality is not as good as foreign goods, but the price is low, each luo is 10 silver yuan, while the "Venus" card is 27 silver yuan, and the "Three Fortresses" card is 54 silver yuan. The "Ding" brand has a price advantage, and coincides with the rising anti-Japanese patriotic sentiment of the people of the whole country and the vigorous "advocating domestic products" movement at that time, so it is well received by consumers.
The "Great Wall" card fights against the Japanese
As Wu Qianmei was preparing for the lead in Shanghai, Zhang Dayu in Beijing also set his sights on the pencil industry. Zhang Dayu, a native of Jiangyin, Jiangsu Province, studied in Germany and received a doctorate degree in industrial chemistry from the University of Dresden. After completing his studies, he returned to China and taught at Tsinghua University. Zhang Dayu, who was keen-eyed, noticed that the vast majority of the pencils consumed in stationery supplies were imported from abroad, and a large amount of silver was spent every year, while there were few factories in the country that made pencils. With the desire to save the country through industry, Zhang Dayu invited Zhao Zhongyao, a professor at the same university, and Shi Ruwei, a researcher at the Academia Sinica at the time, to jointly initiate the establishment of a pencil factory, and invited Guo Zhiming and Zheng Jiechun, who were technicians in the experimental workshop of Tsinghua University at the time, to prepare in Beijing.
In 1936, due to the tense situation of the Japanese army in North China, Guo Zhiming and others moved to Shanghai to continue to build. The pencil factory initially raised 30,000 yuan in French currency, and most of the investors were professors and scholars in the field of science and technology. In April 1937, the Ministry of Economy of the National Government approved the registration of the "Great Wall" brand trademark by the Great Wall Factory. In June, "Shanghai Great Wall Pencil Factory Co., Ltd." (referred to as Long Lead) was officially established and opened.
The product and factory names are named "Great Wall", which is not only because Zhang Dayu and other intellectual elites have a strong patriotic complex, but also because the majestic Great Wall is the most powerful symbol of the Chinese nation's resistance to foreign invasion, and the long lead is to reflect the action of saving the country in an industrial way.
When the long lead was first built, there were only more than 10 workers and apprentices, mainly producing low-cost and suitable for primary school students to use the "Great Wall" brand pencils, the production scale was less than 100,000 per month, most of which were sold to schools near Shanghai. The lead cores and pencil plates used to make pencils are purchased from abroad. After the July 7 Incident, Long Lead was forced to stop work and did not gradually resume work until June 1938. In that year, the source of foreign goods was cut off, and the supply of long lead products exceeded demand, so the factory was built, equipment was added, the staff expanded to more than 50 people (70% of whom were apprentices), and began to make their own pencil refills, trying to produce general grade and intermediate pencils in domestic fir wood, ginkgo biloba and other wood. In 1939, the annual output of "Great Wall" brand pencils reached nearly 7 million pieces; in 1940, it was sold to Nanyang, India and Burma and other places.
In December 1941, the Pacific War broke out, the Japanese army occupied the Shanghai Concession, and the market was suddenly depressed. Long lead is difficult at home and abroad, relying on the production of a small number of intermediate and general grade "Great Wall" brand pencils to support the endgame. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War in August 1945, Long Lead recalled the scattered skilled workers and quickly resumed work.
At that time, foreign pencils were flooded and dumped, especially the American "Venus" yellow pole leather head pencils almost occupied the entire Chinese pencil market. Long lead actively developed and developed a similar style of "Eagle" brand (later changed to "Great Wall" brand due to trademark disputes) yellow pole leather head pencil, in order to compete with the United States "Venus" brand yellow pole leather head pencil and achieved absolute advantage.
Inland relocation factory adheres to the "victory" of the War of Resistance
After two years of painstaking operation, China Lead has begun to take shape. Just as the business in the factory was booming, the "July 7 Incident" broke out. Shanghai's industrial and commercial circles began preparations for demolition. Of course, considering that the relocation involved too many aspects and very complicated, the scope of the initial decision to relocate the factories was very small, mainly heavy industry. Because heavy industry is very important, it is more related to military manufacturing. Light industry, handicraft industry, etc. are relatively weak, so medium lead is not included in the ranks of internal migration. After learning of the plan of the migration committee, Wu Qianmei was extremely anxious, and there were only three ways out: one was to sit still and survive under the iron hooves of Japan; the second was to go out of the factory, get back the investment, and end it; third, to prepare for inward migration, preserve strength, and resist the war to the end.
It is precisely with the concept of "industry to save the country" that Wu Qianmei joined forces with Guo Zichun and Zhang Weishi to open a pencil factory, so he was full of patriotism and professionalism, and did not allow him to take the first two roads. That is to say, Wu Qianmei only chose the third way. However, it is not easy to really move inland. Not to mention the demolition of the original factory, and then to the new area to build a new plant, resume work and production and many other specific matters, the losses suffered during the demolition process and transportation, as well as the risks that may be encountered along the way, can be imagined. Opening a factory to do business is to make money, and moving inwards will definitely have to lose money. However, the rise and fall of the country is the responsibility of the husband, and the anti-Japanese patriotism will never be a slave to the country, even if the family is destroyed to relieve difficulties. At the same time, Wu Qianmei had a premonition that the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression could not end in a short period of time, and that pencil manufacturing was an indispensable industry for cultural and educational undertakings and propaganda work, and that there were no pencil factories in the interior, and that it was precisely the medium lead that could fill this gap. And time does not allow Wu Tangmei to think more. Wu Qianmei quickly made a decision: to move inland. After hardships, China Lead finally moved to Chongqing, the rear area, and it is still one of the factories that moved inland to resume work earlier. Although the operation is very difficult, the currency is depreciated, and the funds returned from the sale of products are insufficient to buy raw materials, in order to maintain normal production and support the War of Resistance, Wu Tangmei has always insisted on small profits and large sales, and resolutely does not sell black market prices. For this reason, Wu Tangmei had to borrow money from the bank again and again, resulting in high debts in the factory.
Due to the huge operational pressure, Zhang Weishi and Guo Zichun parted ways with Wu Tangmei. Even if he supported alone, Wu Qianmei resolutely did not withdraw from Chongqing, tried his best to maintain production, and made as many pencils as possible to support the War of Resistance, even if it was bankrupt. Wu Qianmei persisted in Chongqing until the victory of the War of Resistance. During this period, a total of 37.8593 million pencils were produced. In particular, the "Airplane" brand 1225 Victory model pencil specially made by Medium Lead in August 1943 has a thinner shaft and a softer and smoother refill, which is suitable for clay paper writing and has a low price. Because the model name is very much in line with the desire of the people of the whole Chinese to persist in the war of resistance until the final victory, it is very flattering, so consumers like it.
People who use "airplane" cards and "Ding" pencils travel from Chongqing to Yan'an, from cities to caves, from battlefields to classrooms, from generals and soldiers, to children who are learning Chinese characters one by one, and even Mao Zedong used "Ding" pencils to draw on the battle map during his time in Yan'an. This pencil factory, the only pencil factory in China's rear area, undertook the heavy responsibility of resisting Japan and saving the country and maintaining China's cultural and educational undertakings.
In May 1949, Shanghai was liberated. On July 1, 1950, Wu Qianmei responded to the call of the people's government and formally established the public-private partnership China Standard Pencil Factory Co., Ltd., which still uses the "Aircraft" brand and the "Ding" brand as product trademarks, and the long lead still uses the "Great Wall" brand trademark. With the birth of the "Zhonghua" brand in 1954, The Medium Lead no longer uses the "Aircraft" and "Ding" cards.
On October 1, 1954, China Lead and Long Lead were renamed as the first and third factories of the public-private partnership China Pencil Company, respectively. In January 1956, the three factories were merged into one factory to establish the first factory of Chinese pencils, and the "Great Wall" brand trademark was brought in.
Since 1958, China's first pencil factory began to export a large number of pencils, and the "Great Wall" brand was in the forefront, accounting for 38.8% of the total annual pencil sales. Since then, the "Great Wall" brand pencil has become famous all over the world, and has won many honorary titles such as Shanghai famous brand products, silver medal of international exposition, and gold medal of national light industry expo.
Source: Magazine of All Walks of Life, Issue 7, 2021
Author:Xu Ming