Zhang Jian (May 25, 1853 - July 17, 1926), whose courtesy name was Jizhi and whose nickname was Se'an
was a native of Haimen, Jiangsu, and his ancestral home was Changshu. Born in Changle Town, Haimen (now Changle Town).
In 1869, he pretended to be a member of the Rugao tribe and changed his name to Zhang Yucai. He passed the examination as a scholar, but was blackmailed. In 1885, he passed the Shuntianfu Township Examination and passed the examination. In 1894 (the 20th year of Guangxu), the Enke Examination was held on the 60th birthday of Empress Dowager Cixi. He won the top prize and was awarded the Imperial Academy for compilation. In 1904, the Qing government awarded him the third-grade official title. In 1911, he served as Chairman of the Central Education Bureau, Provisional Chairman of the Jiangsu Parliament, and Prime Minister of Jiangsu Lianghuai Salt. In 1912, when the Nanjing government was established, he served as the director-general of industry. In 1912, he served as the director-general of agriculture and commerce of the Beiyang government and the director-general of national water conservancy. Later, as he witnessed the invasion of foreign powers and the deterioration of national affairs, he resolutely abandoned his official position and embarked on the road of industrial education to save the country.
A famous industrialist and educator in modern China, he advocated "industry to save the country." He founded more than 20 enterprises and more than 370 schools in his life. He made valuable contributions to the rise of my country's modern national industry and the development of education. He is known as the "Number One Industrialist". Comrade Mao Zedong once said when talking about China's national industry: "Light industry cannot forget Zhang Jian in Haimen."
Zhang Jian was the fourth among the five brothers, so people in Haimen called him "Mr. Four". The Zhang family has been farming for generations. By the time of Zhang Jian's father, they had owned more than 20 acres of farmland and also ran a sugar mill. In the sixth year of Xianfeng in the Qing Dynasty (1856), when Zhang Jian was 4 years old, his father began to teach him the Thousand-Character Classic. When he was 5 years old, because he had recited "The Thousand Character Essay" correctly, his father ordered his three brothers, Bo, Zhong and Shu, to join a neighboring school and study from Mr. Qiu Dazhang of Haimen. When he was 12 years old, Jian's father set up his own private school and invited Mr. Song Xiaoqi from Xiting to teach his third son. When he was 14 years old, Mr. Xiao Qi died of illness, and his father ordered Jian to go to Xiting to study with Mr. Song Lin, Mr. Xiao Qi's son, and stay at his home. Since the age of 15, he has also followed the example of Qi Zi and Mr. Song Chen, the examiner of Jiangnan Township Examination. In the seventh year of Tongzhi (1868), when he was 16 years old, because his ancestor was a cold-blooded member of the third generation with no fame, in order to take the right path in the imperial examination, Song Chen arranged for him to register in the name of Zhang Yucai, the son of Zhang Quan, a native of Rugao County. Those who win the county, state and college examinations will be named Rugao County School Students. In the eighth year of Tongzhi (1869), Zhang Jian passed the examination as a scholar. Later, the Zhang family in Rugao was greedy and demanded endless rewards. Later, he sued the Rugao government with the intention of extorting money from his official position, so the "case of impersonation of nationality" was launched. Since then, Zhang Jian has been involved in lawsuits for many years, which has made Zhang Jian suffer a lot and his family has also become difficult. Fortunately, thanks to Sun Yunjin and Jiangsu academician Peng Jiuyu, who cared about talents and talents, and helped Qu to protect them, they were able to get rid of the Rugao prosecution case after repeated setbacks.
In the thirteenth year of Tongzhi (1874), Zhang Jian went to Nanjing to join Sun Yunjin. In the summer of the second year of Guangxu (1876), at the invitation of Wu Changqing, the commander of the Huai Army's "Qingzi Camp", he went to Pukou to serve as a clerk in the Qing Army. Later Yuan Shikai also defected to Wu Changqing. The two formed Wu Changqing's two major civil and military staffs and participated in Qing military secrets, important decisions and military operations. In the spring of the sixth year of Guangxu (1880), Wu Changqing was promoted to the governor of Zhejiang and was ordered to go to Beijing to see his Majesty. Zhang Jian went with him. In the winter of the same year, Wu Changqing was ordered to assist in the defense of Shandong, and Zhang Jian moved with the Qing army to Huang County, Dengzhou.
In the eighth year of Guangxu (1882), the "Renwu Mutiny" occurred in North Korea. Japan took the opportunity to send warships to Incheon. Wu Changqing was ordered to supervise the division to support North Korea in suppressing the rebellion, so as to prevent Japan from taking the opportunity to launch a war of aggression. Zhang Jian rushed to Seoul from the sea with the Qing army, drafted the "Explanation of Korean Affairs" for Wu Changqing, and wrote political articles such as "The Story of Renwu" and "Six Strategies for the Aftermath". He advocated resistance to aggression and adopted a tough foreign policy, which earned him great influence from the South. He sent "Qingliu" leaders Pan Zuyin, Weng Tonghe and others to appreciate him. In the tenth year of Guangxu (1884), Wu Changqing was transferred back to China and stationed in Jinzhou, while Yuan Shikai stayed in Korea to take over the "Qingziying". Soon after Wu Changqing died of illness, Zhang Jian left Qingjun and returned to his hometown to continue studying for the examination.
From the time Zhang Jian was admitted as a student at the age of 16, he went to Jiangning Mansion five times to take the Jiangnan Rural Examination (commonly known as Nanwei) at the age of 18, 21, 23, 24, and 27, but failed to pass the exam. . It was not until the 11th year of Guangxu (1885), at the age of 33, that Sun Yunjin was promoted to Jiangning Prefecture Yin, and his children avoided it as usual and went to the Shuntian Prefecture Township Examination (commonly known as Beiwei), and he won the second place in the Juren examination, commonly known as "Nanyuan" ( The southerner ranked first in the northern list) gradually became famous and became the target of "Qingliu". However, Zhang Jian failed in the four examinations since then.
Starting from 1885, Weng Tonghe, Pan Zuyin and others had the intention to support Zhang Jian, especially "expected even" and "recommended but failed", and several times mistakenly identified other people's papers as Zhang Jian and took them. Zhonghui Yuan further illustrates the urgency of support, which is why Weng Tonghe was determined to win during the Jiawu Enke Examination. (When Zhang Jian was 34 years old, he failed in the Rites Examination; when he was 37 years old, he went to the examination, and the examination paper was written by Sun Shuhe of Wuxi, and Sun Zhong was admitted; when he was 38 years old, when he took the examination, he mistakenly took Tao Shifeng's paper as Zhang Jian's paper, and Tao Zhong was "Huiyuan" and Zhang failed; when he was 40 years old, he went to the examination, and the test paper was taken by Wu Jin and Liu Keyi. Liu Zhonghuiyuan and Zhang failed again)
In the 13th year of Guangxu (1887), Zhang Jian followed Sun Yunjin. He was appointed to Kaifeng Prefecture, assisted in river management and disaster relief, and drafted the "Outline of Barrier Relief". After the fourteenth year of Guangxu (1888), he was invited to preside over Ganyu Xuanqing Academy, Chongming Yingzhou Academy, Jiangning Wenzheng Academy, Anqing Jinggu Academy, etc.
In the 20th year of Guangxu (1894), the Enke Examination was held on the 60th birthday of Empress Dowager Cixi. Zhang Jian was ordered by his father to go to Beijing again to participate in the Enke Examination of the Ministry of Rites. In February, the 60th tribute scholar was selected in the examination of the Ministry of Rites; in March, the 10th place in the first class was selected in the re-examination of the Ministry of Rites. Weng Tonghe ordered the examiner to sit and wait for Zhang Jian to hand in the papers, and then sent them directly to him. After hurriedly reviewing them, he tried his best to promote them. Weng Tonghe not only did the work of other grading ministers and rated Zhang Jian's paper as the first, but also specially introduced it when Emperor Guangxu introduced it: "Zhang Jian is a famous scholar in the south of the Yangtze River and a filial son." Zhang Jian won the first prize and the top prize. , according to the rules, he was taught compilation by the Sixth Rank Hanlin Academy.
Soon after, the Sino-Japanese War broke out, and the national crisis intensified the conflicts between the emperor and the empress. The "Qingliu" headed by Weng Tonghe supported Emperor Guangxu and were fond of talking about the main war. Their main target of attack was Li Hongzhang, who was afraid of the sun. In fact, they used it to attack the rear party of Zhuhe and tried to claim the name of "pro-government". The emperor strives for some real power. Zhang Jian, the new top scholar in a new subject, became famous for a while. Due to his historical origins and similar political views, he quickly became a leader in the "Qingliu" and a decision-making figure among the disciples of the "Wengmen". However, when the struggle between the main war faction and the main peace faction was fierce, Zhang Jian returned to his hometown to observe the system as usual due to the death of his father.
At the beginning of the 21st year of Guangxu (1895), Zhang Zhidong, the acting governor of Liangjiang, sent Zhang Jian to conduct sea-sea regiment drills to defend against the possible invasion of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River by the Japanese navy at any time. They were defeated and the "Treaty of Shimonoseki" was signed, and the Tonghai regiment training was abandoned halfway. At the end of the same year, he joined the Shanghai Qiang Society organized by Kang Youwei.
At the beginning of the 22nd year of Guangxu (1896), Zhang Zhidong sent Zhang Jian, Lu Runxiang, and Ding Liying to establish commerce bureaus in Tongzhou, Suzhou, and Zhenjiang respectively. Zhang Jian and Lu Runxiang founded Dasheng in Nantong and Suzhou respectively. Cotton Mill and Sulon Cotton Mill.
Dasheng Cotton Mill was initially determined to be a commercial operation. Zhang Jian tried to raise funds through the official investment promotion office and government-business joint ventures, but the results were minimal and the funds raised were very limited. Zhang Jian had no choice but to seek assistance from the government. In November 1896, Zhang Jian, through Liu Kunyi, the former governor of Liangjiang and Minister of Commerce of Nanyang, used official funds to buy goods from the United States when Zhang Zhidong was engaged in "Westernization" in the 19th year of Guangxu (1893). He came to handle a batch of 40,800 rusty official machines put aside by the Hubei Weaving Bureau in Shanghai, priced at 500,000 taels, and bought them as official shares. At this time, Sheng Xuanhuai, who monopolized Westernization enterprises in the form of government-supervised commercial offices and government-business joint ventures, also When he was about to buy machines, he divided the batch of machines with Zhang Jian, and each got 20,400 ingots. The price was 250,000 taels of government shares, and another 250,000 taels of business shares were collected. Official shares do not count profits and losses, but only receive official profits on an annual basis, thus becoming a "gentleman-led business enterprise".
In the 24th year of Guangxu (1898), the Dasheng Spinnery Factory officially broke ground in Tao Zhuba, Tangjiazha, west of Tongzhou City. The Dasheng Spinnery Factory was completed and put into operation the following year. After several years of bleak operations, Dasheng Spin Factory gradually grew. By the 30th year of Guangxu (1904), the factory had increased its capital by 630,000 taels and more than 20,000 spindles. In the 33rd year of Guangxu (1907), Dasheng No. 2 Factory was founded in Jiulong Town, Chongming (now part of Qidong City), with a capital of 1 million taels and 26,000 spindles. By the third year of Xuantong (1911), Dasheng No. 1 and No. 2 factories had made a net profit of more than 3.7 million taels. Starting in 1901, with the support of Liu Kunyi, the governor of Liangjiang, the coastal wasteland was reclaimed at the junction of Lusi and Haimen, and a raw cotton base for the spinning mill was built - the Tonghai Reclamation and Animal Husbandry Company with more than 100,000 acres of arable land.
With the continuous accumulation of capital, Zhang Jian founded Guangsheng Oil Factory, Fuxin Flour Factory, Zisheng Smelting Factory, etc. in Tangzha, gradually forming the Tangzha Town Industrial Zone. At the same time, in order to facilitate the transportation of equipment, machines and goods, A port, Tiansheng Port, was built along the river west of Tangzha. Later, a power plant was built in Tiansheng Port. Highways were opened between towns and towns, making Tiansheng Port gradually become the main Yangtze River port in Nantong at that time. The emergence of the modern textile industry at the end of the 19th century changed Nantong's urban function from exchange-based to production-based, and Nantong became one of my country's early national capitalist industrial bases.
The development of national industry requires science and technology, which in turn prompted Zhang Jian to work hard to establish schools and devote himself first to normal education. In February of the twenty-eighth year of Guangxu (1902), Zhang Jian was invited by Liu Kun, the governor of Liangjiang, to Jiangning to discuss the establishment of a school. Liu Kun agreed, but Wu, Xu Dao, and Yandao Hu blocked the way. Zhang Jian sighed endlessly, so he, Luo Shuyun, Tang Shouqian and others planned to establish an independent normal school in Tongzhou. They planned to use the unspent public funds of 20,000 yuan with interest that Zhang Jian had earned in the five years since he took office and ran the Tongzhou Cotton Mill. In addition, he could raise funds to raise funds. . On July 9 of the same year, Tongzhou Normal University chose Thousand Buddha Temple in the southeast of Nantong City as the site to start construction. It officially opened in the following year. This was the first normal school in my country. Its construction marked the beginning of a special institution for normal education in China.
In 1905, Zhang Jian and Ma Xiangbo founded Fudan Public School in Wusong, which was the predecessor of Fudan University. In 1907, an agricultural school and a women's normal school were founded. In 1909, the Tonghai Five Public Middle School (today's Nantong Middle School) was initiated. In 1912, the Medical College, the Textile College, and the Hohai Engineering College (the predecessor of Hohai University) were founded, and a number of primary schools and middle schools were successively established. In 1909, Zhang Jian founded the Shipping Department of the Shanghai Higher Industrial School of the Postal and Communications Department. Because it was located in Wusong, it was once called the "Wusong Merchant Marine College". After liberation, the school was reorganized into Shanghai Navigation College. In 1953, Shanghai Navigation College, Northeast Navigation College, and Fujian Navigation College merged to form Dalian Maritime College, which is today's Dalian Maritime University. In 1912, Zhang Jian founded Jiangsu Provincial Fisheries School in Laoximen. In 1913, the whole school moved to Wusong, so it was called "Wusong Fisheries College", the predecessor of today's Shanghai Ocean University. In 1917, with the support of Zhang Jian, Tongji Medical Engineering School (Tongji The predecessor of the university was reestablished in Wusong. In 1921, Shanghai University of Commerce was established in Shanghai. Shanghai University of Commerce was formerly known as Nanjing Normal University, and later Nanjing Normal University expanded into National Southeast University. Zhang Jian was one of the main founders of National Southeast University. In order to provide technical strength to various enterprises, Zhang Jian attached great importance to vocational education. The surveying, mapping, sericulture and other subjects of the normal school developed into more than a dozen vocational schools. Among them, the textile, agriculture, and medicine schools achieved outstanding results, and each was later expanded into a junior college. , merged into Nantong University in 1924.
In the 31st year of Guangxu (1905), he established the first domestic museum in Tongzhou, and in 1915 he established the Junshan Meteorological Observatory. He also successively founded libraries, schools for the blind and mute, etc. In 1911, he served as the Chairman of the Central Education Committee, the Provisional Chairman of the Jiangsu Parliament, and the Prime Minister of Jiangsu Lianghuai Salt Company in 1912. In 1912, he served as the Director of Industry and Commerce of the Beiyang Government. He was also the director of national water conservancy. After witnessing the invasion of foreign powers and the deterioration of the national situation, he resolutely abandoned his official position and devoted himself to the road of industrial education to save the country. On October 23, 1918, he organized the "Peace Period Association" with Xiong Xiling, Cai Yuanpei and others. /p>
Zhang Jian was born in Kejia, and passed the first place in the imperial examination. He has a good foundation in calligraphy. He is good at regular script, official script, running script and cursive script. He is calm and elegant. Most of them are written in regular script and are rarely seen in official script. However, this is a copy of it. For Li, the other is Longmen. The writing style is thin and hard, flying vertically and horizontally. It captures the essence of "The Stele of Ritual Vessels" and "Ode to the Stone Gate". It occasionally references the style of seal script. It is quaint and fresh, and it is the best among the best.