In 1905, for the first time in China's modern history, a large-scale anti-American movement broke out, the main body of the struggle was the working masses, and the leader was Zeng Zhu, president of the Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce and patriotic national capitalist.
As early as the middle of the nineteenth century, the American bourgeoisie, in order to develop the western Pacific region, successively lured a large number of Chinese workers from China. These Chinese workers undertook the heaviest labor, such as mining and reclamation, building railroads, and promoted the prosperity of the American West. After the 1970s, the United States continued to experience cyclical economic crises, and the labor movement flourished. In order to divert the attention of the people at home and incite anti-Chinese, the US government forced the Qing government to sign a treaty of "restricting Chinese workers in the United States" in 1894, which was limited to ten years. This treaty legitimized the exclusion of Chinese in the United States and subjected overseas Chinese to all kinds of restrictions and inhuman insults. In 1904, the treaty expired, and overseas Chinese and people at home demanded that this harsh treaty be abolished. Under the pressure of public opinion, the Qing government negotiated with the US government to revise the treaty, but US imperialism was unreasonable and refused to amend the treaty, thus arousing great anger among the Chinese people. Honolulu's "New China News" first proposed not to use American goods as a method of boycott; the Shanghai "Times" issued a "matter of honor and disgrace to the whole country, and everyone has the pain of the skin." Pooling together to conspire to resist" is a "public revelation."
On May 10, 1905, on the same day that the Times published the "Public Revelation", the Shanghai merchants held a meeting at the Target Road Chamber of Commerce, which was presided over by Zeng Zhu, president of the Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce. Zeng Zhu "made a speech on the altar, passionate and generous, moving language, and proposed a two-month period, as scheduled, the United States still forcibly renewed the contract, then the whole country "vowed not to sell American goods as a boycott." This proposal was endorsed by the participants at the meeting, and the public telegram petitioned the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to resolutely refuse to sign the renewal of the contract, and sent a telegram to the provincial chambers of commerce to convey the various businessmen and cooperate in holding a boycott. When studying who would receive the transmission, Zeng Zhu stepped forward and said, "There is no risk in this public welfare matter, that is, it is risky but it will offend the beauty, and the beautiful gun will be shot in the ear." Die for the common good of the world, die where you want, and I will lead the way. ”
In this way, Zeng Zhu led the transmission to twenty-one cities across the country, and the magnificent boycott of American goods was quickly launched nationwide. Zeng Zhu, Zi Shaoqing, Fujian Tong'an people, ancient books in Shanghai, when he was a teenager, he read a lot of books, He Xi painted, and then engaged in business, in 1906 in Shanghai trafficked in Nanyang rice imports, obtained generous profits, and opened the "Jianfa" number to deal in seafood, sugar and foreign goods business, became a famous national capitalist, was elected as the second premier of the Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce, and served as the director of the General Engineering Bureau for a long time. After the issue of the prohibition occurred, he put forward the slogan of "safeguarding commercial interests by exercising national power" and bravely led this anti-American movement.
On May 14, Dong Dong, a Merchant of Fujian in Shanghai, held a meeting at the Quanzhang Guild Hall, where he gave a speech and put forward five methods of boycott: First, all goods from the United States should not be used, and the machine should be annexed to the first; second, the Chinese should not be loaded on US ships, and all ports should be the same; third, the schools set up by the Beauties should not be studied in the church; fourth, the Chinese should not be hired as comprador interpreters on the trips opened by the Beauties; fifth, the hired workers of the Meiren Residences should be persuaded to stop, including the Yu Yu and others.
On May 20, the new US minister in China, Rou Keyi, went to Shanghai, and the US Consul General, Mr. Lawrence, came forward to issue an invitation card to invite Shanghai gentlemen to talk. At the meeting, Rou Keyi deceived that the United States "renewed the harsh treaty" and "had nothing to do" and threatened that "once the US goods are not used, it will be a diplomatic or related obstacle to the friendship between the two countries." Zeng Zhu took out on the spot a record of the prohibition of Chinese workers published in the United States detailing "the previous covenants and various harsh treatment situations" and refuted it, leaving Rou Keyi speechless.
May 21. Zeng Zhu also met with the US consul general. The request of the Consul General of the United States is limited to six months. After June, if the United States does not change the contract, it will listen to China's boycott, and Zeng Zhu refused on the spot, saying that it can only be limited to two months. On July 21, two months later, the Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce held a meeting to discuss the boycott of U.S. goods, and Zeng Zhu gave a speech on the purpose of the meeting and the negotiations with the United States, and encouraged everyone to cooperate in the boycott. At the meeting, eleven representative capitalists from seven industries signed to admit that the goods were uncertain.
On the same day, Zeng Zhu also published an advertisement for the use of American goods, publicizing that "not using American goods is everyone's own right, has nothing to do with the international community, and does not need to worry much", calling on all localities to actively take action and do as one. Under the leadership of the Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce, represented by Zeng Zhu, people from all walks of life in Shanghai, Guangdong, Fujian, and all over the country quickly set off an anti-American patriotic movement with the boycott of American goods as the main content. Overseas Chinese from abroad, such as Japan, TrangLia (Thailand), Dutch Indonesia, and British Malaya, also actively participated in this struggle. As the Indonesian overseas Chinese said in a letter to Zeng Zhu, "Beautiful people treat the Chinese harshly, and all my compatriots do not go to the bone marrow, they do not use American goods when they create their own ideas, and they do not respond to each other, even if they live overseas, they all treat each other with one heart."
Chinese people's anti-American patriotic movement," the voice of righteousness was broadcast, shaking the world. Us imperialism was terrified and tried its best to collude with the Qing government to sabotage the anti-American movement; some comprador merchants who sold American goods signed in favor of boycotting American goods on the surface, but secretly secretly ordered American goods, and with ulterior motives, proposed to separate "no AMERICAN goods" from "indefinite US goods" in an attempt to open up the gap in which purchased US goods could be sold, sabotage and even completely negate the boycott of US goods. In order to take the opportunity to hoard more U.S. goods, some even publicly threatened in the "Declaration" that the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce had a four-month extension and then carried out a boycott at the end of the six-month period, saying that "it has been agreed to have been agreed." In this regard, Zeng Zhu immediately wrote an article to refute it: "Reading the "Declaration" contains the strange news that the ministry has allowed the extension period not to use Us goods,...... I was amazed... Although the United States has not been able to wait for February, it must be postponed for June, but the contemptible people have not allowed it," and listed specific facts to expose the despicable tactics of the rumor-mongers.
He had cast a solemn position in the movement. And the spirit of struggle of "working together to become a personality with four hundred trillion compatriots" aroused great hatred between imperialism, the Qing government and the comprador bourgeoisie. Together, they pointed the spearhead at Zeng Zhu. He did not hesitate to spread rumors and slander, and increased all kinds of pressure until he tried to confuse him. On August 9, two people who "never knew each other" visited Zeng Zhu, "detailed the situation of a certain private discussion and harm", "force to temporarily avoid, if you do not go to avoid, it is inevitable that disasters will be avoided." Under these circumstances, Zeng Zhu was forced to publish the "Farewell to compatriots in the world" on August 11.
In the "Book of Farewell to compatriots in the world", Zeng Zhu still made an impassioned appeal: "May zeng Shaoqing rise up one after another after the death of Zeng Shaoqing, save the country's strength, and strive to become a personality." Outsiders dare not despise me, thief me, slave me, cattle and horses, and have a day to stand side by side with the great powers on the earth", which still shows his great patriotic spirit and lofty national integrity.
Zeng Zhu was forced to stop his activities, but the effects remained. People sympathized with Zeng Zhu's forced withdrawal from the movement, and regarded Ge Pengyun, who led the movement after him, as Zeng Zhu's agent. Ge Pengyun "when the Chamber of Commerce first assembled, that is, Zuo Zengjun's speech", the Gongzhong Speech with him as the president, continued to guide and help the anti-American patriotic movement in many industries in Shanghai, which lasted until the first quarter of 1906.
Although the anti-American patriotism of 1905 was eventually silenced by the sabotage and suppression of Chinese and foreign reactionary forces, the power of the mass movement forced US imperialism and the Qing Dynasty government not to dare to sign a renewal of the contract restricting Chinese workers; moreover, US President Roosevelt had to order the relevant authorities: "All Chinese businessmen and scholars who come to the port must be treated with the best courtesy, and if they violate the law for any reason, they must be strictly withdrawn and investigated," thus enabling the movement to win a certain victory. What is even more important is the strategy of boycotting the imports of goods from imperialist countries adopted for the first time in this movement until after May Fourth, which became an important form of struggle often used by the Chinese people in their anti-imperialist struggles.
Zeng Zhu, the initiator of the anti-American patriotic movement in 1905, later withdrew from the movement despite succumbing to pressure, but his contribution was still enormous. After this movement, Zeng Zhu initiated and led the movement to reclaim the Shanghai-Hangzhou-Ningbo Railway in 1907, and was enthusiastic about local autonomy, participating in the late Qing Constitutional Movement, and finally died of illness on May 24, 1908. After the news came out, people from all walks of life in various places sent telegrams to write letters praising him as a "first-class figure in The Chinese Country" who "won glory for history.", one of which reads:
Spelling this head, the ruler book broke the beauty's guts. Who has no flesh, sings to wake up the Chinese soul.
This is an excellent evaluation of Zeng Zhu and the anti-American patriotic movement of the Chinese people in 1905!
Key References:
"Zeng Shaoqing".
"Mountain Bell Collection".
Hezuo: "The Anti-American Patriotic Movement of 1905", Modern History Materials, No. 1, 1956.