(Excerpted from Hong Kong Council of Social Service-> May 6, 2004
When people think of Tian Jiabing, they may immediately think of Tian Jiabing Middle School, Tian Jiabing Kindergarten and even the Tian Jiabing Building of the Chinese University. Mr. Tian Jiabing started his career as a chemical factory in 1950s. He is called "the king of artificial leather" and has rich wealth. 1982, he set aside the property rental income with a market value of more than one billion to set up the Tian Jiabing Foundation. Over the years, he has been enthusiastic about public welfare, especially education. There are more than 100 "Tian Jiabing" primary and secondary schools in China. Although he is a billionaire, he is quite low-key and often emphasizes that he is just an "ordinary Hong Kong citizen". He is very frugal, and all the money he saves is used to donate to educational projects. Tian Jiabing took Zhu Bailu's motto of running a family taught by his father as his policy of being a man, and his style was very consistent with the motto of "Don't be seen by others".
The loan to sell the house is to educate Tian Jiabing. Last year, in order to get more "matching grants" from City University and PolyU, they borrowed money from banks and donated money to two universities in the predicament of declining foundation income. In 2000, he sold the apartment he had lived in for 37 years and donated all the 56 million yuan he got to the school. I believe that no philanthropist "fights for his life" like him. Tian Jiabing is interested in education because he thinks that education can improve people's quality and make the country rich and strong. "I'm not too worried about China's backward technology and economy. On the contrary, I'm afraid there are too many people in China. People's knowledge is too low, and it is useless to be advanced. Therefore, he has been focusing on the development of normal universities in Chinese mainland for many years and has trained a large number of educational talents, which is also closely related to his childhood. " /kloc-When I was 0/5 years old, because of my father's death, I left school to go to sea and deeply realized the importance of education. Since its establishment, the foundation has never raised funds from the outside world, relying entirely on the property income of Tian. Unfortunately, due to the recent decline in rents, Tian Jiabing decided to suspend its donation to new projects at the beginning of the year until the economy improved and it became rich. "At present, our donation principle is to support the construction of hardware, and it must achieve long-term impact and sustainable development. Let other concerned people contribute to other donation activities! In recent years, we have focused on developing education in Chinese mainland, because there are many charities in Hong Kong, and spending the same amount of money in the Mainland is more profitable than in Hong Kong. The Foundation donated schools in various provinces, and educational institutions presented countless souvenirs to Tian Jiabing. He treasures them in his office, just like a small museum, inspiring visitors.
Fear of being known is a great sin. Tian Jiabing's charitable character comes from his father, who has the greatest influence on him. He was born in 19 19, and he was forced to drop out of school when the primary school in his hometown was closed. His father had to be a part-time teacher and taught him the truth of saving money and helping others since childhood. "When I was seven or eight years old, my father taught me to read Family Instructions by Zhu Bailu, a scholar in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, which benefited me all my life. Now I can recite the whole article. When he said this, he asked the reporter to take a sentence casually and let him continue reading, which was accurate. The motto of managing a family has a wide range of contents, and Tian Jiabing's deepest feeling is that "if you are afraid of being known, it is a great evil", which he said was his motto in business for many years. Many people think that shopping malls are cunning and treacherous, but I always do things at the expense of others. When dealing with the affairs of the foundation, I am not completely focused on money. Whether I am sincere or not is the most important thing. His assistant, Mr. Xiao, said that paying attention to practicality, he would personally review the school plan to ensure that all resources can be used to the maximum extent. For years, he has been begging the school to send expensive gifts. "I can dress better and eat better at most if I have money, but these are not real values. The real value is to donate money to people, especially to education. Society is made up of countless individuals, and everything we need in our daily life is provided by others. What contribution can I make to society? Tian Jiabing is very frugal. He brings his own drinking water when he goes out for a meeting, soap when he lives in a hotel, and usually takes the bus and subway. " I have lived in several apartments in thousands of feet for many years. It is too wasteful for my wife and I to live alone, so I sold it and rented a small apartment of more than 1,000 feet, which cost more than 20,000 yuan a month and only lived for more than 3 million yuan in ten years. Tian Jiabing hopes that his donation will attract more people to join in charity and attach importance to education together.
Tian Jiabing set an example to educate his children. He described his father as an honest man who often gave money to the poor. He understood that besides frugality and generosity, he also understood the importance of example. He lamented that parents now love their children so much that children don't know that material things are actually hard-won, and they feel very sad when they encounter small difficulties. "Compared with mainland children, the material life of Hong Kong children is abundant. Children in the mainland develop the virtue of diligence because of poverty and cherish everything they get. Tian Jiabing has five sons and four daughters. Since 1984, Tian's business has been taken care of by his children. " The children didn't lament that Dad spent so much money on charity, "Tian Jiabing said with a smile. He said that his wife was fully responsible for educating his children, and he set an example himself. Although his children are rich, they shouldn't be spoiled. "My wife is very capable, and I don't think there is much problem in the process of children's growth. I don't yell at servants, I don't have a partial eclipse, and I'm not late for a date with my children, because I want my children to know to respect others. When they see you doing this, they will naturally follow suit. Tian Jiabing is convinced that setting an example can influence the next generation. Regarding the complicated political environment in Hong Kong in recent years, he frankly regretted the protest culture in Hong Kong. "In recent years, Hong Kong people have been struggling with social problems. If they are slightly dissatisfied, they will take to the streets to protest. This will have a very bad influence on children and make them think that confrontation can solve the problem. I also respect human rights and advocate democracy, but all sectors of society should be considerate of each other, sit down and talk calmly, and rationally put forward practical suggestions so that the central authorities can understand our feelings of patriotism and love for Hong Kong. This is the right way. He said that this is the same as parents often physically punish their children, and children will treat others and the next generation in the same way when they grow up, because they will mistakenly think that this is the only way to solve the problem.
Postscript: During the visit, Tian Jiabing, a truly "low-key" philanthropist, kept explaining to reporters the origin of each souvenir. After the visit, he turned against the master and asked his assistant to take pictures for the reporter, which made people feel his hospitality and enthusiasm. The reporter checked the information given by his assistant and found that there was no mention of the total donation of the foundation over the years. Mr. Xiao, the salesperson, explained: "This is what Mr. Tian meant. He just wants to really help people, emphasizing that "small pockets can only do small things", so he is unwilling to disclose the amount of donations. Compared with Mr. Tian Jiabing, those philanthropists who pursue fame and reputation are immediately dwarfed.
Tian Jiabing's resume Tian Jiabing, 19 19, is from Tai Po, Guangdong. 17 years old, went to Vietnam to promote porcelain clay, and then transferred to Indonesia to engage in rubber industry. /kloc-founded Tian's chemical plant in Hong Kong in October, 1958, and was known as "the king of artificial leather". From 65438 to 0982, he established Tian Jiabing Foundation and donated more than 1000 projects, including the construction of schools, hospitals and youth centers. Tian Jiabing is keen on public welfare undertakings. He was awarded the Queen's Medal of Honor and MBE in 1982 and 1996. 1996-2003 was awarded honorary academician and honorary doctorate by University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Baptist University, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Open University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Institute of Education. In addition, an asteroid was named in 1994.
Running a Family by Zhu Bailu and Running a Family presented by different calligraphers are hung in the office of Tian Jiabing, Tian Jiabing. He recalled that when he was a child, his father taught him this article and recited two sentences every day, which still deeply influenced him. The Motto of Managing the Family is a masterpiece of family education written by Zhu Bailu, a scholar in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties. It only has more than 500 words, which brilliantly expounds the ways of self-cultivation and family management, and has become a must-read model for modern family education. When it comes to "running a family", Tian Jiabing is very excited. In addition to asking reporters to test his reciting ability, he also had a deep understanding of the sentences in the article. For example, "don't talk too much in life, if you talk too much, you will lose." Tian Jiabing believes that people from different backgrounds should think from each other's perspective before speaking, so as to avoid unnecessary arguments. " It is not easy to think about a porridge and a meal. It is difficult to keep thinking about material resources. "Tian Jiabing said that children are used to enjoying material wealth now. They quickly change toys and clothes, and feel pain about less money. In fact, the most difficult children in Hong Kong are many times stronger than the richest people of his time.
"If you can understand the mystery of this article, you will certainly benefit for life, and it will bring you spiritual happiness and satisfaction." An old man earnestly encouraged everyone.