The 31st President of the United States was Herbert Clark Hoover, and his term of office was from March 4, 1929 to March 4, 1933.
During his presidency as President of the United States, Hoover sometimes chatted with his wife in Chinese to prevent others from eavesdropping on his conversations. Both Hoover and his wife spoke fluent Chinese with a Tangshan accent. This is because the couple lived in China for about 3 years when they were young. During this time, Hoover also worked in a coal mine in Tangshan, China, and gave himself a Chinese name "Hu Hua".
Hoover was born on August 10, 1874, in West Branch, Iowa, United States. At the age of 9, Hoover became an orphan and was raised by his uncle. Hoover was very diligent in his studies, and was admitted to the prestigious Stanford University, where he was always a top student.
In 1895, Hoover graduated with honors from Stanford University and became a mining engineer. Four years later, Hoover married his girlfriend, whom he had fallen in love with while attending Stanford University. Previously, Hoover worked for a mining company in California, working more than 10 hours a day for a meagre salary of only a pitiful $2 a day. Later, the British Merlin Mining Company recruited Hoover and sent him to China. Hoover couldn't ask for it and happily accepted the task.
So, in February 1899, the day after Hoover and his girlfriend got married, the couple set off from the United States and both crossed the ocean to China on the other side of the Pacific Ocean.
In March of that year, Hoover and his wife arrived in Tianjin, China, and settled down. They gave themselves a Chinese name, Hoover "Hu Hua" and his wife "Hu Lu". They also gave birth to two sons in Tianjin, Little Herbert and Alain.
At that time, Tangshan built China's first modern industrial and mining enterprise, the Kaiping Coal Mine. In 1894, the annual mining capacity of Kaiping Coal Mine had reached more than 250,000 tons, and the coal produced was not only supplied to the Beiyang Marine Division, but also to meet the fuel needs of modern enterprises such as Tianjin Machinery Bureau and Steamship Merchants Bureau. However, after 1892, with the death of Tang Tingshu, the founder of Kaiping Coal Mine, the management of Kaiping Coal Mine fell into chaos and a crisis occurred. In 1897, the British Merlin Mining Company provided a loan of 200,000 pounds to the Kaiping Coal Mine, and in 1800 arranged Hoover to work as an engineer in the Kaiping Coal Mine to participate in the management of the coal mine.
As a result, Hoover began a career working for the Kaiping Coal Mine.
Later, Hoover also recorded in his memoirs that he managed the China Engineering and Mining Company: "We made a simple rule, we issued a numbered bronze medal to each employee, and when entering the factory wall, the bronze medal must be handed over to the factory for preservation." The system of using a numbered bronze medal as a work permit has brought us embarrassment that only in China. Since the workers' wages were not enough to support my family, I raised my wages by 40 percent higher than in the neighboring townships. Bronze medals became a sought-after commodity for a while, and people looking for a job only needed to buy a bronze medal and get a job. The price of the brand has soared all the way, and it is worth a month's wage. ”
In 1900, the Boxer Rebellion broke out. In July of that year, the Eight-Power Coalition attacked Tianjin. Hoover took advantage of his familiarity with the terrain of Tianjin to play a disgraceful role as a guide for the Eight-Power Alliance.
Not only that, during the eight-nation alliance invasion of China, Zhang Yi, the head of the Kaiping Mine and Coal Mine, hid in the British Concession in Tianjin and was arrested by the British on the grounds that he often sent letters to the Boxers by sending carrier pigeons. Zhang Yi was so frightened that under the coercion and inducement of the British, he "sold" the Kaiping Mining Bureau to the British Merlin Company for 500,000 silver. The enterprises created by Chinese investment have become the assets of the British.
In this process, Hoover and the German De Cuilin jointly concocted the "Contract for selling the Kaiping Mining Bureau", and then used intimidation and deception to coerce Zhang Yi to sign the contract. In February 1901, Hoover was appointed by the British Merlin Company as the general manager of the British Kaiping Mining Co., Ltd. because of his "great achievements".
Hoover's position as general manager of Kaiping Mining Co. Ltd. did not last long, and he had to resign as general manager as the Belgian businessman became the majority shareholder of Kaiping Mining Co., Ltd. In 1902, Hoover left China with his wife, returned to the United States, entered politics, and became the 31st president of the United States in 1929.
[References: Former US President Hoover "Working" in the Kailuan Coal Mine", etc.]