Chen Jiageng
Wen | Feng Ma Niu (WeChat public number: Feng Lun Feng Ma Niu)
On April 6, Xiamen University celebrated its centennial anniversary. 100 years ago, Chen Jiageng, who was praised by Mao Zedong as "the banner of overseas Chinese and the glory of the nation", embraced the ambition of "education to save the country" and invested in the establishment of Xiamen University, which was born the first university founded by overseas Chinese in modern Chinese history.
So, who is Chen Jiageng? He is a patriotic overseas Chinese leader, entrepreneur, educator, philanthropist, and social activist. Chen Jiageng's life is full of legends, he created a huge enterprise in Southeast Asia with his bare hands in his early years, and then donated all his wealth for national education, the War of Resistance Against Japan, and the construction of new China... Made an immortal contribution. Some state leaders once commented: Mr. Chen Jiageng is a Chinese with backbone. He did many good things for the motherland and the people in his life. The people of the whole country should remember him and learn from him.
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Chen Jiageng was born in 1874 in Tong'an, Fujian Province. At the age of 9, he entered a private school in the countryside, and at the age of 16, he came to Singapore to help with his father's rice shop.
In 1900, Chen Jiageng returned to the country to bury his mother. When he returned to Singapore, he found that his father's rice shop had closed down and was in high debt. At that time, Singapore's law stipulated that "the father's debt was exempted from repayment", but The credibility-oriented Chan Kah Kee, despite financial constraints, declared that he would "repay the debt for the father". After four years of hard work, he paid off all the debts owed by his father with profits, which became a great story in the history of Chinese business in Singapore.
In 1904, the 30-year-old Chen Jiageng began to develop his own business, starting from the initial establishment of the New Lichuan and Nissin Pineapple (Pineapple) Canning Factory, Chen Jiageng successively founded more than 30 large factories such as biscuit factories, leather factories, soap factories, brick factories, rubber cooked products manufacturing plants, etc., opened more than 100 shops, reclaimed rubber plantations, pineapple gardens each more than 10,000 acres, employing tens of thousands of staff workers. By 1925, Chen's career had entered a golden age, and he had become one of the richest people in Southeast Asia, known as the "Rubber King".
Regarding the secret of operating and managing enterprises, Chen Jiageng summed it up as four words: "sincerity", "faith", "fruit" and "perseverance", which are still worth learning from enterprise managers.
"Sincerity" - the values of the management enterprise.
Chen Jiageng runs a business, first of all to promote a "sincerity" word, according to his own interpretation, the core content of "sincerity" is loyalty to the motherland, sincere service to the society. Chen Jiageng regards "sincerity" as the value concept that governs his own business, saying that he only runs a business in order to fulfill the "obligation" of "loving the hometown and loving the country," which in his mind is heavier than the profit of the enterprise, and he is "light on money and heavy on obligation." Moreover, this value concept is "out of nature" and was formed before the establishment of a business.
"Faith" – the ethics of a managed business.
In regulating and handling various relationships between inside and outside the enterprise, Chen Jiageng highlighted the word "faith". This is the code of ethics he established for running a business. What he calls "faith" includes credit, credibility, and trust. From the very beginning of the establishment of the enterprise, Chen Jiageng has taken "faith" as the basic principle of unswerving perseverance. Attaching importance to credit is a traditional virtue of the Chinese nation.
"Fruit" - the competitive concept of the managing enterprise.
Chen Jiageng ran an industry, particularly emphasizing the spirit of competition, believing that running a business was actually waging a war. In this competition, "when there is a competitive spirit, there is the effect of progress... Do not always have the idea of winning and enterprising." Competition must not only dare to take risks, but also make timely decisions, act quickly, and grasp full initiative. "If you move slowly, you will lose everything, and you will be defeated in a business war." The word "fruit" that Chen Jiageng has always advocated strongly reflects his spirit of striving to compete and win.
"Yi" - the belief concept of the management enterprise.
Chen Jiageng's operation of the enterprise is not smooth, but what is valuable is that in the face of one setback after another, he is not discouraged, does not waver, is resolute and unyielding, perseveres, and persists to the end. He said, "A man who can withstand setbacks, who can withstand blows, who can bear hardships, is a good man." He was "most opposed to the man without perseverance", believing that "there is nothing difficult in the world, only perseverance and responsibility". As long as we are unswerving and unswerving in taking our own path, there will be no difficulties and obstacles that cannot be overcome. "To be a man of moral perseverance is to be the world's first rare wizard." If you use one word to summarize your business style, Chen Jiageng believes that "Yi" is the most appropriate.
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Throughout his life, Chen Jiageng preached the salvation of the country through industry, not only advocating actively running industries to enhance national strength, but also constantly supporting the motherland's educational undertakings and the salvation movement with the wealth accumulated by running industries. He once said, "I have made up my mind all my life, the financial gains I have made, the education I have made, and the service to society, although I have suffered many difficulties, I have not forgotten them for a day."
Chen Jiageng believes that "the wealth and strength of the country all care about the people. The development of the people is all about education." Therefore, he took "education as the foundation of the founding of the country, and the development of learning is the natural duty of the people" as his creed. Since the establishment of a primary school in his hometown of Jimei in 1913, Chen Jiageng has funded or founded 118 schools in his lifetime, including Xiamen University. People affectionately callEdam Kah Kee "The Master".
Xiamen University
In order to establish a school, Chen Jiageng has been pouring money, heart and effort for decades, and after several twists and turns, he has never returned. Yang Zhenning once said: Chen Jiageng is a remarkable figure. He contributed all his wealth to the education of the Chinese nation and established a series of schools from primary schools to universities. I think that in the history of China, such efforts to promote education should have begun with Mr. Chen Jiageng. I admire Mr. Chen Jiageng for setting up education at a very difficult time, which is a very discerning and fighting spirit.
While making major contributions to the education of the motherland, Chen Jiageng's life also made immortal contributions to the Xinhai Revolution, the War of Resistance Against Japan, the War of Liberation, and the construction of New China. He often said, "If we only know how to get rich all the time, we don't know how to save the country, even if we get rich, but what is the use of being a slave to the country?"
Chen Jiageng was convinced early on that the Chinese Communist Party was the hope of a new China. As the leader of the overseas Chinese in Nanyang, he led patriotic overseas Chinese compatriots to raise huge sums of money to support the revolution and the War of Resistance, and righteously rebuked Wang Jingwei. During this period, he did not hesitate to borrow money to donate to the war of resistance, and was in danger several times, forced into exile, and his life was greatly threatened. But Chen Jiageng calmly said to the people around him, "Who has not died since ancient times?" I am so old, death is not a long life, in case I am unfortunately arrested, the enemy will force me to be a puppet, I will never follow! At that time, I thanked the motherland with one death, what is the big deal? Don't worry about me." During that time, Chen Jiageng always carried a small bag of highly toxic potassium cyanide with him, preparing for death in case of unfortunate arrest.
For this reason, Mao Zedong highly praised Chen Jiageng - "the banner of overseas Chinese, the glory of the nation". Zhou Enlai and Wang Ruofei praised Chen Jiageng, "Doing our utmost for national liberation, suffering infinite hardships for uniting in the War of Resistance, slandering cannot be hurt, and mighty cannot be bent." Guo Moruo commented, "Why is Mr. Chen Jiageng so great, because what he does is for the people, not for himself."
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With regard to money, Chen Jiageng believed in three principles in his life: First, wealth is obtained by my hard work, and it should be generously donated by me. Second, money is like fertilizer, and it is useful to spread it. Third, there is no cost, and nothing should be regretted; the right consumption is generous.
Although he was very wealthy, Chen Jiageng donated all his money and lived a frugal life of eating potato porridge, wearing patched clothes, and using old furniture. Huang Yanpei once commented: In that era, the only person who made a fortune was Mr. Chen who was willing to take it out.
According to Chen Jiageng's son, he spent most of his life on career and social welfare, lived a very regular life, was eager to learn, and used reading as a pastime after work. Liao Chengzhi once said: Mr. Jiageng has noble qualities and lofty national integrity. He is righteous, discerns right from wrong, is a vendetta against evil, and is constantly making progress.
In his later years, Chen Jiageng was bedridden with illness, still thinking of national reunification, and he asked someone to burn the "Whole Map of Taiwan Province" in Aoyuan Garden, and left a last word, "The most important thing is the future of the country, and Taiwan must return to China."
Chen Jiageng died in Beijing in 1961 at the age of 87. He was buried in Jimei Ao Garden, Fujian Province. Later generations used the words "loyalty, sincerity, diligence and thrift, and innovation" to summarize the spiritual wealth left by Chen Jiageng, and named it "Jiageng Spirit".
Although Chen Jiageng has been gone for many years, he will always be engraved in our hearts and has always been praised by people. In a reply letter to the Xiamen Jimei Alumni Association, the national leader once wrote: Mr. Chen Jiageng is "the banner of overseas Chinese and the glory of the nation.". He loved the country and studied, threw himself into the struggle for salvation, promoted the unity of overseas Chinese, and fought for national liberation, and was a generation of leaders and models in the overseas Chinese circles. His spirit of arduous pioneering and unremitting self-improvement, his character of putting the country first and the nation first, and his sincerity in caring for the construction of the motherland and devoting himself to the cause of education are always worth learning.
Sources
1. Memoirs of Nanqiao, Shanghai Sanlian Publishing House, Chen Jiageng
2. Sincerity, Faith, Fruit, Perseverance - Chen Jiageng's Philosophy of Integrity Management, Shanghai Enterprise, Fei Zhuoshao
3. Chen Jiageng Backbone Chinese, The Chinese market
4. Chen Jiageng: Heart to the motherland, love to stay in Huaxia, Party History Wenhui, Jiao Yongping
5. Chen Jiageng's Patriotism, China Discipline Inspection and Supervision Daily, Cai Yilin
6. Yu Guo's generosity to the family "cut" - remembering my father Chen Jiageng, Literature and History Expo, Chen Guoqing
7. Chen Jiageng's Life Values, Journal of Xiamen University (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition), Guo Liang
8. "Overseas Chinese Banner, National Glory" - Chen Jiageng, Chinese and foreign entrepreneurs, Lu Binling
9. Mao Zedong and overseas Chinese leader Chen Jiageng, Party History Wenhui, Gao Shizhen
Image from the web
The author of this article | Wang Tao, chief editor of the army|
Editor| Chen Runjiang Consultant | Wang Shuqi