On May 5, 2002, the sky was clear and the scenery was harmonious, and people chose the "May Day" holiday to travel.
Hu Xueyan's former residence, on Yuanbao Street in Hangzhou, has just been renovated and opened for more than a year, and it is also the first choice for visitors.
On this "May Day International Labor Day," Zhu Rongji, former premier of the State Council, together with his wife and beloved daughter, went to Visit Hu Xueyan's Former Residence.
On this day, Zhu Rongji went to Hangzhou for a vacation as an "ordinary laborer." Here, he visited with interest every inch of the square soil of Hu Xueyan's former residence.
After visiting the former residence, he almost did not have an inscription, and he also broke the ring inscription for Hu Xueyan's former residence.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="8" >, a generation of "red top merchants" Hu Xueyan</h1>
Hu Xueyan was born in Anhui, business and fame in Zhejiang, known as "for the official must read "Zeng Guofan", for the shang must read "Hu Xueyan"" ."
Hu Xueyan's family was poor at an early age, Daoguang was fifteen years old, Hu Xueyan was thirteen years old, and his family sent him to a qianzhuang called "Kaitai" as an apprentice in order to survive.
In Kaitai Qianzhuang, Hu Xueyan was intelligent by nature and could speak well; he was usually hard-working and enthusiastic, so he was extremely popular, and the people in Qianzhuang loved him.
Hu Xueyan
At first, Hu Xueyan, like other "guys", stood at the counter in front of the store. Later, the general manager in charge of the store's affairs and the owner of the money house both liked Hu Xueyan as a "guy", so they sent him out to collect the bills.
Hu Xueyan was promoted to "run the street" and became Qianzhuang's right-hand man. Hu Xueyan did not disappoint everyone, he did things in an orderly and very serious manner.
One summer, Hu Xueyan was drinking tea at a tea house called "Plum Blossom Monument" and met Wang Youling, the ambassador of salt replenishment.
While talking, Hu Xueyan learned that Wang Youling was preparing to leave home and go north to seek an official job, but there was not enough silver. Hu Xueyan then generously donated 500 silver taels. After Wang Youling obtained official duties, he became close friends with Hu Xueyan.
After Wang Youling became an official, the road to promotion was also relatively smooth, and he soon became the inspector of Zhejiang.
However, he soon suffered misfortune. In 1861, when the Taiping Army revolted and attacked the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions, Wang Youling asked Hu Xueyan to rush to Shanghai to buy military food. However, after returning from the grain purchase, the Taiping Army had already captured the city of Hangzhou, and Wang Youling was cornered, hanged himself, and returned to Hangzhou.
Hu Xueyan then gave all the grain to Zuo Zongtang. Zuo Zongtang praised him as "a generation of haojie". Since then, Zuo Zongtang and Hu have become close friends and began a friendship of more than 20 years.
Due to frequent wars, hangzhou refugees are in the fourth class. Zuo Zongtang set up a long-term care bureau to take in and comfort the refugees. Hu Xueyan became Zuo Zongtang's right-hand man, who was responsible for dealing with the aftermath of the victims, and opened a porridge factory, a refugee house, a burial bureau, a pharmacy, etc., to take in war refugees along the road. Later, it also helped to repair the damaged Taoist temple and other buildings.
In the same year, Hu Xueyan also created the "Yidu Wharf", which was praised by posterity. Hu Xueyan personally invited the master to design the drawings, and personally surveyed the school site, and finally the pier was completed at the Three Corridors Temple on the qiantang River.
The pier will be shuttled back and forth every day to catch people who need to cross the river. When the people cross the river, there is generally no fee, and only when the people who do gravity work and hard work cross the river, they will let them spend a lot of time to work on their behalf.
The people felt that Hu Xueyan was willing to be charitable and charitable, so they were also willing to help when crossing the river and do the work for the boatman.
At the same time, there are also boats dedicated to rescue at Yidu Wharf, with bright red flags on them. If you see someone calling for help or the boat is in danger of falling into the wind and waves, the boatman will quickly drive against the waves and go to the rescue.
Hu Xueyan became famous with the Yidu Wharf.
Because the Qiantang River often has high tides, the ferry port is often forced to stop crossing. At the end of the 20s of the last century, the then Zhejiang Provincial Construction Department built the Yidu Wharf into a permanent wharf and called it the "First Wharf in Zhejiang".
Later, zuo Zongtang and others, under the background of the foreign affairs movement, engaged in foreign affairs and opened a "ship administration", so they asked for the establishment of the Fuzhou Shipping Bureau. Hu Xueyan was also Zuo Zongtang's right-hand man in running a shipyard.
Tso
Hu Xueyan helped Zuo Zongtang hire foreign craftsmen and Chinese workers, and to purchase raw materials for shipbuilding. Hu Xueyan is reliable, conscientious and meticulous, and familiar with public works. In the interaction with foreigners, he also won the trust of foreigners.
Zuo Zongtang once wrote to the imperial court to comment on Hu Xueyan, "It is an indispensable person for the Ship Bureau, and it is believed by foreigners." ”
Zuo Zongtang wanted to open a shipyard to build ships, and the main problem was funding. At that time, the budget and fundraising plan for opening the shipyard were all formulated and completed with the help of Hu Xueyan. Hu Xueyan also suggested that Zuo Zongtang let the customs on the southeast coast bear part of the costs, and suggested that loans be taken from foreigners.
Hu Xueyan assisted Zuo Zongtang with merit. In 1878, Zuo Zongtang and Tan Zhonglin, the governor of Shaanxi, jointly played the song, imploring the emperor to give Hu Xueyan a seal and allow it to be played.
Hu Xueyan was finally given a poinsettia top of Jiangxi Alternate Road and was given a yellow robe and horse coat. At this point, Hu Xueyan embarked on the peak moment of the most glorious ancestor in his life.
Because of the dual identity of "official" and "businessman", he is called "red top businessman".
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="54" > Second, Hu Xueyan's former residence was renovated</h1>
In the first year of Guangxu (1875), Hu Xueyan's former residence was completed.
The mansion was located in the city of Hangzhou, which lasted for three years, and was built at the expense of more than 2.5 million silver.
Hu Xueyan's former residence is located in the south of Yuanbao Street, covering an area of 10.8 acres, and is boxy like an ancient castle. The former residence is connected to Niuyangsi Lane to the east, Yuanbao Street to the south, Yuanjing Lane to the west, and Wangjiang Road to the north.
However, a corner is missing from the northwest direction of the former residence. The neighbors of Hu Xueyan's former residence have this story:
This missing "horn" was originally a small shaved head shop. In order to keep the former residence neat and square, Hu Xueyan once wanted to buy this "missing corner" land with heavy money. I didn't think that the owner of the shaving shop was a stubborn little old man, and he was not willing to sell the land to Hu Xueyan no matter what.
As a result, the mansion "broke the feng shui", and this manor where Hu Xueyan had only enjoyed eight years of happiness began to decline.
In the eighth year of Guangxu, Hu Xueyan opened a new silk factory in Shanghai, costing 220 million yuan in silver. Hu Xueyan sat in a high-profile position and launched a shopping mall war with foreigners. Unfortunately, in the Sino-French war, a financial crisis was inevitable.
Hu Xueyan lost 10 million taels, the family's property was suddenly reduced by more than half, and there were problems in the operation of funds.
At this time, after hearing about it, the bureaucrats in various localities took out all the deposits stored in Hu Xueyan's various money houses, fearing that Hu Xueyan would be insolvent. Finally, they also extorted together, causing Hu Xueyan's businesses in various places to close down.
In the end, in order to return the Deposit of the Manchu Qing magnate Wen Yu in Fukang Yin, Hu Xueyan mortgaged the national name he had operated with his own hands to Wen Yu.
In 1885, Hu Xueyan died without any money. Hu Xueyan is said to have died in a rented hut at the age of sixty-two. After checking one by one, except for rough furniture such as tables, chairs, benches, etc., there is no other soft and valuable thing.
Hu Xueyan, who was once prominent, finally died in nothingness, and the coffin could only be hastily buried in a pile of rocks buried in the western suburbs of Hangzhou.
Four years after Hu Xueyan's death, in order to pay off Wen Yu's savings, the Hu family had to mortgage the mansion in Yuanbao Street in Hangzhou for 100,000 silver taels, and the mansion was transferred to the Wen family.
In the Republic of China era, Hu Xueyan's former residence was sold to the Jiang family, which was once in power.
The Jiang family demolished the precious wood in the Nanmu Hall and the Mahogany Hall in the former residence and made them into counters in the Industrial Bank of Shanghai and Hangzhou.
Going around, the former residence of Hu Xueyan, which has experienced more than a century of wind and rain, has long ceased to be prosperous and rich, and in the end only the ruins and broken walls remain. Dilapidated and withered scenes can be seen everywhere.
On New Year's Day 1999, Hu Xueyan's former residence received the attention of Liu Wei, director of the Hangzhou Municipal Bureau of Gardens and Cultural Relics, and other comrades, and everyone discussed how to restore Hu Xueyan's former residence.
However, everyone still has some doubts in their hearts - spending 50 or 60 million yuan to repair an ancient building in Hangzhou is unprecedented, can it be repaired? The result? Hearing that Hu Xueyan's former residence was to be restored, the nearby factories and residents talked about it when relocating: Spending so much money to build a mansion is a waste of money!
Later, the Hangzhou Garden Relics Working Group decided that the restoration of ancient buildings has always been more controversial, and this matter is only done and not said, and handled in a low-key manner to avoid some unnecessary controversies.
In the end, we determined the restoration principle according to the original appearance, the original structure, the original construction process, the original materials used, and the same as before. It is very difficult to repair in this way, not only to buy extremely rare and expensive raw materials, but also to pay attention to the protection of cultural relics to avoid damage again.
Fortunately, Comrade Gao Nianhua at that time led many comrades of the Cultural Relics Conservation Institute to devote themselves wholeheartedly and made indelible contributions to the restoration of the former residence.
Hu Xueyan's former residence was finally opened in the early 21st century. Soon after its opening, it was unanimously praised by leaders at all levels, experts and tourists.
Tourists who visit the former residence have stopped to marvel, although the former residence is small, "all the organs are complete", the houses are layered, many but not chaotic, mahogany hall, Nanmu hall, hundred lions building, four-sided hall, old seven rooms, new seven rooms... It's like a labyrinth of unfathomable depths.
The eastern part of the former residence is the living area, with buildings, halls, buildings and other buildings, the western part is a leisure area, there are famous "Zhiyuan" and other garden buildings, the internal rockery, pond, flowers, trees, insects and birds, etc., are readily available.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="91" >3. Zhu Rongji visited and inspected his former residence</h1>
On May 5, 2002, coinciding with the "May Day International Labor Day," Gao Nianhua personally served as a docent to give an explanation for Premier Zhu Rongji's visit to Hu Xueyan's former residence.
Zhang Dejiang, then secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial CPC Committee, and Chai Songyue, governor of Zhejiang Province, accompanied the visit. Secretary Zhang Dejiang put forward the call to "create a famous cultural city and build an economically strong city" at that time, and under such a background, Hu Xueyan's former residence was restored.
When he began to visit his former residence, Premier Zhu Rongji stopped at the north side of the Mandarin Duck Hall, next to a multimedia program playing Hu Xueyan's life.
After the multimedia broadcast was completed, Premier Zhu Rongji paused for a long time and did not immediately express his opinion. "Hu Xueyan was the earliest bureaucratic capitalist in our country," Premier Zhu Rongji said slowly. Zhang Dejiang, secretary of Zhejiang Province, and governor Chai Songyue, next to him, agreed.
Premier Zhu Rongji always spoke to the point, was quite bold, and had a considerable study of China's economy. Since 1979, Zhu Rongji has served as the director of the office of the Institute of Industrial Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and has studied industrial economy for more than ten years.
Moreover, in 1984, Zhu Rongji, then deputy director of the State Economic Commission, accepted the invitation of his alma mater to serve as the dean of the School of Economics and Management of Tsinghua University for seventeen years.
During his visit to the New Seven Rooms, Premier Zhu Rongji viewed the well-preserved partition doors and windows and two of them were imported glass with hexagonal frosted. Hu Xueyan's children generally live upstairs, and the downstairs is used to receive guests.
In the old seventh room, Gao Nianhua introduced that the lattice of the doors and windows is made of precious rosewood, and the window frame is made of expensive rosewood, which is still very exquisite after a century.
After hearing this, Premier Zhu Rongji said to Governor Chai Songyue, "The quality of this window is very good, it has been badly abused for more than a hundred years, and it is still so well preserved. ”
When visiting the Nanmu Hall, Premier Zhu Rongji learned about the fact that the Jiang family demolished the Nanmu Hall in the 1930s, and said with a smile, "The Jiang family is really a loser."
The Nanmu Hall now displayed in the former residence is no longer the original Nanmu Hall. And now the quality of nan wood is far less than before.
At this time, Governor Chai Songyue said, "It cost more than 50 million yuan to repair Hu Xueyan's former residence in Hangzhou." ”
Premier Zhu Rongji then said, "... This place is now worth five hundred million! "Heritage is precious and artifacts are priceless.
Under the leadership of Gao Nianhua, Zhu Rongji continued to walk forward, but he had already found that there were no tourists in front of him, so he asked Gao Nianhua with great concern whether this visit would have an impact on the former residence.
Gao Nianhua said, "Premier, you came to Hu Xueyan's former residence today to investigate, and our tickets are still on sale. ...... Prime Minister, you are here, and how much we look forward to your coming! ”
Soon, Premier Zhu Rongji found that there were guards at the entrance of the Zhiyuan Garden who stopped a group of tourists who came to visit and temporarily did not allow them to enter.
When Premier Zhu Rongji saw them, he immediately walked forward, taking three steps and making two steps to the tourists and saying, "Comrades, I have wronged you, I have wronged you..."
When the tourists saw that it was Premier Zhu Rongji, they were so excited that while clapping their hands and clapping, they said loudly, "Premier, it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter..."
After visiting the former residence, before returning to Beijing, Premier Zhu Rongji waved a big pen and broke the ring to write an inscription for Hu Xueyan's former residence:
Hu Xueyan's former residence, see carved beam brick carvings, heavy buildings stacked on top of each other,
The wonder of the garden in the south of the pole river, the ingenuity of Wuyue culture.
Rich and rich, half of the wall.
Gu Yun: Rich for three generations.
With the old scheming of the red-top merchants, it has only been ten years.
Extravagant and lascivious, obsolete, so much so that it can not be refrained?
--Zhu Rongji
In May 2002, he and his beloved daughter were at the former residence of Hu Xueyan
Zhu Rongji rarely wrote inscriptions, so why would he break the ring and leave a message for Hu Xueyan's former residence?
Read the content of the words carefully, and you will find that this is a poem full of philosophy, which has the meaning of warning future generations to guard against arrogance and extravagance.
Premier Zhu Rongji highly praised Hu Xueyan's former residence, which was extremely skilled in craftsmanship and meticulous craftsmanship. And Hu Xueyan himself is indeed a very outstanding businessman, and he is indeed a talented "master" in the direction of business and financial management.
However, Hu Xueyan's prosperity and decline have great practical significance for today.
The former residence of Hu Xueyan is itself a living history, and the former residence can vividly show the ups and downs of the life of this once-flourishing "red-top businessman" to contemporary people.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="148" > summary</h1>
Premier Zhu Rongji's inscription was later copied and enlarged by the relevant responsible person and displayed in the Rongdong Courtyard of Hu Xueyan's former residence. The original inscription has been preserved in the Hangzhou History Museum.
Whenever tourists see Premier Zhu Rongji's inscription, they stop and think.
Through these philosophical inscriptions, Premier Zhu Rongji intended to wake up those who are officials and to wake up future generations -- to learn from history.
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="152" > references</h1>
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