Ye Kefei
I have visited the former residence of Liang Shiyi twice in Gangtou Village, Baixiao Town, Sanshui District, Foshan.
The first time I went was when I was in college, sitting in a slow and leisurely minibus, swinging all the way. Liang Shiyi is talented, and he has also called the wind and rain. He was a rare financial expert in the late Qing Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty, who made great achievements in the railway field and founded the Bank of Communications, but he was also wanted because of his status as the "scourge of the imperial system", which can be described as a mixed reputation. Before the visit, I had concerns, because according to the records, although the former residence of Liang Shiyi, named "Haitian Bookstore", was a municipal protection unit, it was in disrepair all year round, and the gate was locked, so I was ready to eat the closed door. Who knows that some of them are still used as village committees and can be open for visits.
Twenty years later, I came to Gangtou Village again. The village has changed a lot, and new houses have been built along the pond, which shows the wealth of the villagers. The old village opposite is like the old times. The history of Gangtou Village can be traced back to the Zhenzong period of the Northern Song Dynasty, and the Southern Song Dynasty officially opened the village, so the local saying that "there is a gangtou first and then there are three waters", and the green brick and stone foot houses of the Ming and Qing dynasties and the Republic of China are still preserved, and there are more than a dozen ancestral halls. Unfortunately, the door of Liang Shiyi's former residence was closed, and I finally made up for the closed door of twenty years ago.
In the corner of the former residence photographed on the outer wall of Liang Shiyi's former residence, the gate is now closed and cannot be entered Unless noted, the pictures in this article are taken by Ye Kefei
The past and present of Liang Shiyi's former residence
In 1869, Liang Shiyi was born in Gangtou Village. In 1894, he won the fifteenth place in the second division in the temple examination, and was awarded the title of Shu Jishi of Hanlin Temple. In the old days, this was undoubtedly a broad road that could honor the ancestors. However, in 1903, he participated in the newly established Economic Special Branch, but encountered an accident.
After the change of law, Cixi hated Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao, and also hated the Cantonese. Liang Shiyi is not only a Cantonese, but also has the same surname as Liang Qichao, "Liang", and the word "诒" in his name is the same as Kang Youwei, whose original name was "Zu Yi". As a result, this original first-class first-class first-class winner became a "Liangtou Kangwei" in Cixi's eyes and was not admitted.
Fortunately, he was appreciated by Yuan Shikai and soared. In 1907, he served as the superintendent of the five railways such as Beijing-Hankou and Shanghai-Nanjing, and the operation was good, which made the profit of the railway increase sharply and won the reputation of "five-way god of wealth".
Old photo of Liang Shiyi Wikipedia
At that time, the construction of railways was regarded as the way to strengthen the country, but to build roads, it had to borrow foreign debt, which in turn caused the right of way to fall, allowing foreign capital to control the lifeblood of China's economy. In view of this, Liang Shiyi asked for the establishment of the Bank of Communications in order to "be able to collect the rights of various countries on the outside and thick enough to be a central bank on the inside." In 1908, under his presidency, the Bank of Communications was officially opened, which once became synonymous with the revitalization of the national economy.
In 1911, Liang Shiyi was appointed Minister of Posts and Communications in Yuan Shikai's cabinet. In 1912, he was appointed Secretary General of Yuan Shikai's Presidential Office and Premier of the Bank of Communications, and was awarded the title of "Second Rank of The Order". It was during this period that his name of "second president" did not go away, and the scenery was unique for a while.
With the title of "Second Rank of Xun", Liang Shiyi returned to Sanshui with his family in March 1913 to celebrate his father's birthday. That year was the seventieth birthday of Liang Shiyi's father, Liang Zhijian, and the birthday feast was extremely extravagant.
At that time, the Lord's House had just been inaugurated. According to the records, the mansion "set garden, ancestral hall and study house in one, the center is the traditional Lingnan two-entry courtyard, the front and back halls are made of hard hill top wind and fire walls, between the cornices and the gable wall there are two sets of gold beam wood carvings, all of which are high-relief costume character stories, tile ridges carved flowers, birds, landscapes or animals." There is a pair of stone lions in front of the front hall, which is mighty and powerful. The west of the ancestral hall is a garden-style courtyard, in front of the courtyard there is a small bridge flowing water and the patio, the patio pool has a stone mountain, very elegant and chic. ”
The crack monument in the corner of Liang Shiyi's former residence
Twenty years ago, when I first visited, the courtyard door was wide open, because the courtyard occupied a huge area, the village committee occupied only a small courtyard, and the hall in the middle became a small auditorium.
I remember that the two stone lions were still there, but unfortunately, the pool where the rockery was placed was no longer the legendary living pool, and the water surface was covered with moss.
Interestingly, I have found in the data that there is also a Araucaria tree in the courtyard, which is said to have been planted by Liang Shiyi himself. During the Cultural Revolution, Liang Shiyi was criticized, and the tree began to wither. By the 1980s, Liang Shiyi's historical status was affirmed, and the tree died out in the spring.
When I visited, the tree was still there, quite tall, but nearly half broken, and it is said that it was first invaded by termites, and then struck by lightning, and I think that those legends were eventually worn by later generations. The merits and deeds of historical figures have their own way of presenting and circulating.
Two major crimes, one true and one mysterious
Liang Shiyi once became a negative figure in history textbooks because of the two major crimes of "helping Yuan Shikai restore the imperial system" and "pro-Japanese traitors". However, according to the mainstream of historians today, the former is true, and the latter is framed.
After Liang's father's seventieth birthday, Liang Shiyi, the "second president" who returned to Beijing, was involved in Yuan Shikai's claim to the throne. In fact, for this old boss who had proposed himself to plan to become emperor, Liang Shiyi did not approve of it at first. However, Yuan Shikai he also said that the "Five-Way Massacre" launched by his manipulation of the National Assembly was to warn Liang Shiyi, who was the head of the Transportation Department, by attacking members of the Transportation Department. Liang Shiyi has been in the official field for many years, paying the most attention to the way of advance and retreat, in order to protect himself, he had to participate in it.
After Yuan Shikai's death, he was wanted as the head of Hong Xian. But without this god of wealth, the financial situation of the Beiyang government has always been poor, and the call for him to re-emerge from the mountain is quite high. At the end of 1921, President Xu Shichang appointed him as Prime Minister. It was the culmination of his career, but it also led to the emergence of the second-worst crime in his life.
Faced with the complicated situation of the Beiyang government, Liang Shiyi had already foreseen the difficulties. After taking office, he once wrote to Liang Qichao, who was also a good friend of his family, saying that he "jumped from the fire pit this time, and everyone who knew it thought it was painful. ”
But the complexity of the situation was even beyond his imagination. As soon as he took office, Wu Peifu made a big fuss about the Jiaoji Railway, saying that he had made concessions on the Jiaoji Railway issue and negotiated with Japan to borrow money to redeem the road, which was a traitorous move. Wu Peifu sent a series of telegrams for this purpose, and with his "Wu Xiucai" skills, the telegrams were personally written. "The nation will perish, and there will be demons." Liang Shiyi blamed Hong Xian, luckily escaped from the show, formed a party for personal gain, thieves swept the mat, snakes as the heart, Swallow Falcon nest curtain, servility is not lost, charming bones and heavenly cheng" and other sentences, scolded the tangtang state premier to the point of blood.
Liang Shiyi, who was born in Hanlin, was very well cultivated. In the face of various insults against him, he did not get angry, and also called Wu Peifu "one of the strange men in our country". However, Wu Dashuai still did not let him go, and also ridiculed him: "Laughter and scolding are laughed and scolded by others, and good officials and I do it myself."
Paradoxically, whether Liang Shiyi directly negotiated with Japanese envoys and borrowed money is still a historical mystery. The closest statement to the facts is that Liang Shiyi proposed at that time that he was "borrowing money to redeem the road by himself", but the political enemy added a word, which became "borrowing Japanese money to redeem the road by himself", and then took the opportunity of the anti-Japanese trend to incite people's emotions.
Regardless of whether he was wronged or not, Liang Shiyi stepped down from power because of this incident and went south with illness. His destination is not his hometown, but Hong Kong, where he has lived for many years.
In this house in Gangtou Village, he actually rarely lived there. However, when the old man in the village mentioned the "Great Official Liang Shiyi", he would still nod his head and praise. Therefore, although it was requisitioned as a stable by the Japanese army during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and experienced the "Cultural Revolution", this former residence is still largely preserved. Unfortunately, the furniture inside was either lost overseas and private, or lost, and the Baixiao town government also took away dozens of pieces of protection.
The only thing that can be seen in the old days of luxury is the wood carvings on the left and right bars of the hall porch. In addition, the second floor corridors and halls of the main building are tiled with patterns, which must be imported in the old days. The blue glass used in the windows was also imported, and it was definitely a new thing that opened the eyes of the villagers in that year.
Feed back to the hometown and insist on running schools
Liang Shiyi brought to the villagers not only these novelties, nor was it only the show of wealth that returned to his hometown. As early as 1894 and 1901, he returned to his hometown twice to give lectures. He advocated that students "return to practical learning" and study courses such as geography and politics in addition to economic history. Scholarships are also awarded out of pocket to students with outstanding grades.
In 1910, he returned to his hometown to donate to the establishment of the Gangtou Vocational School. Today, the old school site still exists, side by side with many residential houses. Green bricks and gray tiles, red gates, introduction signs hanging on both sides, and two large abacuses, indicating that the knowledge imparted here is mainly practical, which is different from the old private school.
The cobblestone road next to the vocational school is Jinshi Lane. Gangtou Village has always had a strong learning style, and in the Ming and Qing dynasties alone, there were 3 Hanlin people, 9 jinshi, and more than 10 people. Lin Zhong and Lin Chengfang's family of three generations and two jinshi were one move, and the Liang family had six people and three jinshi, two Hanlin, and six people, including Liang Zhijian and Liang Shiyi's "father and son Dengke".
In the old days, when readers embarked on their careers, they would give back to their hometowns. But in those days, there were not many practical visionaries. Most people still donate money to run schools, continue to let children read subsets of scripture history, and later participate in the imperial examination. Liang Shiyi, who became Hanlin on the right path, not only relied on the Four Books and Five Classics to stand on his own, but also hoped to save the country through industry.
A house in Jinshi Lane
Liang Shiyi left behind more than this school, in the narrow road of Gangtou Village, seven twists and turns, walk to the open place outside the village, you can see the Gangtou Village People's Hall. This century-old green brick building has a symmetrical pattern and the words "Gangtou People's Hall" are engraved on the top.
Gangtou People's Hall, formerly known as the Persuasion Institute founded by Liang Shiyi
The synagogue was formerly known as the Liang Clan Ancestral Hall, which was built during the Zhengde period of the Ming Dynasty. In 1908, Liang Shiyi and his father Liang Zhijian transformed it into a persuasion school, which was a public welfare school, and the children in the village could enroll in it for free. In 1964, it was converted into the People's Hall, which is usually used as a gangtou primary school building and a place for villagers to discuss and carry out activities. Opposite the school are monuments that bear witness to the old glory of the village.
Whether it is a vocational school or an persuasion school, it is full of the spirit of hard work advocated by Liang Shiyi. The "History of Sanshui Literature" also records that this god of wealth is not particular about eating and wearing. He believes that "the husband is home from all over the world, the state affairs are yin, and there is no fixed place to make a living", so he does not buy a house, and everywhere he goes, he rents or borrows, and the only property is the mansion in his hometown, or his father runs it.
What is even more precious is that Liang Shiyi has had ups and downs in his life, repeatedly held financial power or various "fat shortages", and there are many people who pick him up, but no one can find out what substantive economic problems he has.
He was extremely strict with his children, and the eldest son, Liang Dingji, returned from overseas study and joined the Bank of Communications founded by his father. At that time, the top management of the bank was promised a monthly salary of 100 yuan, and liang's father and son both refused, and only accepted the position of intern with a monthly salary of 20 yuan.
It is said that before his death, Liang Shiyi said to his family: "The reputation of the rest of his life is invincible, and he will not argue." Confidence there will be people in the world who know me well. Wu Zuyi also once said that he was "well-known all over the world, and the slander followed", and this evaluation is true. This rare economic talent has made several ups and downs in the political turmoil, made big mistakes, and suffered big losses, but his achievements in the fields of railways and banks cannot be erased by anyone.
Editor-in-Charge: Qian Chengxi
Proofreader: Luan Meng