Introduce Hu Xueyan.

Category: culture/art >> Historical topics

Analysis:

Hu Xueyan, a red top businessman in Qing Dynasty, started from scratch and made a brilliant contribution in the commercial history of China with his extraordinary ability. With a patriotic heart, he helped Zuo to set up westernization in order to strengthen the country; With a kind heart, Hu Qingyu Hall was opened in order to help the world and save people. He has been doing business with "benevolence" and "righteousness" all his life, which still has reference significance for today's businessmen. But he lived a dissolute life, knew nothing about politics, and finally became a victim of political struggle. Finally, his money ran out and he died sadly.

First, start from scratch.

Hu Xueyan (A.D. 1823- 1885) experienced four dynasties: Daoguang, Xianfeng, Cecilia Yip and Guangxu. As the saying goes, "Times make heroes", Hu Xueyan grew up in an era when the national treasury was empty and businessmen were in urgent need of help.

Hu Xueyan was born into a poor family when he was young. In order to support his family, as the eldest son, he was recommended by his relatives to be an apprentice in the bank, starting with chores such as sweeping the floor and emptying the urinal. After three years of service, he became a full-time employee of the bank because of his diligence and sureness. It was during this period that Hu Xueyan became a rich man with the help of Wang Youling, a friend in need.

Wang Youling, Yu Xuexuan, from Hougong, Fujian. During the Daoguang period, Wang Youling once donated the Zhejiang Salt Transport Ambassador, but he had no money to go to Beijing. Hu Xueyan took a fancy to pearls, and felt that there was much to be done, so he gave Wang five hundred and twenty pieces of silver and told him to go to Beijing as soon as possible to get an official position. Later, Wang Youling met his good friend and assistant minister He Guiqing in Tianjin, and he recommended him as the general manager of Zhejiang Grain Station. After Wang Youling made his fortune, he did not forget Hu Xueyan's kindness, so he funded Hu Xueyan to open his own bank and named it "Fukang". Since then, under the constant promotion of Wang Youling, Hu Xueyan's business has grown bigger and bigger. Besides banks, many shops have been opened.

Geng Shenzhi became the starting point of Hu Xueyan's great development. During the change, Hu Xueyan was calm, secretly hooked up with the military, and deposited a large amount of recruitment funds in Hu's private bank. Later, Wang Youling was entrusted with the responsibility of "running grain machinery" and "managing grain transportation", and almost mastered the wartime finance and economics of more than half of Zhejiang, laying a good foundation for future development.

Hu Xueyan can get up quickly because besides Wang Youling, another person also plays an important role. This person is Zuo.

1862, Wang Youling hanged himself for losing the city. Elected by Zeng Guofan, Zuo succeeded the Governor of Zhejiang. When Zuo was in Anhui, the progress of the project was nearly five months behind, and many people died of hunger and war. This time, the invasion of Zhejiang, food shortage and other issues still plagued Zuo, which made him extremely distressed. Hu Xueyan, who was eager to find a new backer, seized this opportunity again: he gave a timely help. In the war environment, he completed the almost impossible task of raising 100,000 grain in three days, showed his talents in front of the left, gained the appreciation of the left, and was entrusted with an important task. After gaining Zuo's trust, Hu Xueyan, as an official and businessman, often traveled between Ningbo, Shanghai and other trading ports where foreigners gathered. In addition to handling the transshipment of grain tables and receiving military supplies, he also seized the opportunity to associate with foreigners, colluded with foreign officials, and trained about a thousand left "Chang" people, all of whom were equipped with foreign guns. This army attacked Ningbo, Dai Feng and Shaoxing with the Qing army.

Hu Xueyan is a businessman, and businessmen naturally put interests first. During Zuo's tenure, Hu Xueyan managed the affairs of the Disaster Relief Bureau. He set up porridge factories, good halls and righteous mats, restored famous temples and ancient temples, and collected hundreds of thousands of violent skeletons; The ox cart that was once terminated due to the war was restored, which facilitated the people; "Persuade donations" to senior officials and gentry to solve the post-war financial crisis. Therefore, Hu Xueyan gained great fame and credibility. In this way, financial resources rolled in. Since the Qing army captured Zhejiang, all plundered things, big or small, have been stored in Hu Xueyan's money houses. Hu used this as capital, engaged in trade activities, and opened business houses in various towns, which made a lot of profits. In just a few years, his property has exceeded10 million.

The famous Westernization Movement in the late Qing Dynasty was initiated by Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang. In the war with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the three men realized the importance of advanced western military technology and urgently demanded to learn from the West and resist aggression. However, due to their special status, it is inconvenient to deal with foreigners. In this way, Hu Xueyan, who was closely associated with the Left, found his place in the Westernization Movement. Assist Zuo in establishing Fuzhou Shipping Bureau and Gansu Weaving Bureau. Help Zuo introduce machines and use new western machines to dig canals. It is no exaggeration to say that Left contributed a lot to Hu Xueyan's success in his later years.

Second, success.

Huqingyu Jintang Jing

As a generation of "Red Top Businessmen", Hu Xueyan criticized shopping malls and wrote about the romantic life on earth. What is more praised by later generations is that he is "rich and benevolent", good at giving, doing many righteous acts, and winning many battles? Hu Da's good reputation and yellow jacket, at the same time, gained more wealth. In his righteous act, the establishment of Hu Qingyutang's drug number was especially praised by later generations.

There are two reasons for the establishment of Hu Qingyutang's Xue Ji national medicine number: one is that Hu Xueyan was angry because Mrs. Hu was ill and refused to take medicine, so she opened the medicine number; One theory is that Hu Xueyan got sick because of a small mistake, and one or two drugs were found to be inferior. When he asked for a dressing change, he was robbed of the medicine by the pharmacy staff, and he opened the medicine number in a rage. In fact, any accidental event has its inevitability. The emergence of Hu Qingyutang is closely related to Hu Xueyan's thought of being deeply influenced by Hangzhou's long-standing traditional Chinese medicine culture, being in troubled times and saving the world. In fact, as early as 1875, when the death rate increased sharply and the population decreased, Hu Xueyan made up his mind to save lives. He invited famous doctors in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces to develop medicines such as "Zhuge San" and "Babao Kurenai Rin Dan" and presented them to Zeng Guofan, Zuo and the people in the epidemic areas. Hu Qingyutang, founded by Hu Xueyan in his heyday, extended his salvation activities to all people in the world. Under the auspices of Hu Xueyan, Hu Qingyutang introduced 14 Chinese patent medicines, and presented Piwendan, Tan Yao and other "Taiping drugs" for free, and advertised in Shenbao, which made Hu Qingyutang famous before its opening. This is exactly Hu Xueyan's business strategy of "catching big fish with a long line". In the spring of 1878, the above expenses were exchanged for multiple profits.

1880, the capital of Hu Qingyutang reached 2.82 million taels of silver, which reflected the north and south of Beijing's century-old Tongrentang, and was known as "Tongrentang in the north and Qingyutang in the south". Hu Xueyan, the founder of Hu Qingyutang, as a banker who is unfamiliar with the pharmaceutical industry, has also written a brilliant stroke in the history of China pharmaceutical industry, so that Hu Xueyan's reputation will not be diluted by time. This is one good turn deserves another!

Hu Xueyan not only founded Hu Qingyu Hall to help the world, but also borrowed foreign money to explore the West for Zuo, which made a great contribution to successfully recovering Xinjiang for Zuo and ending Agubo's brutal rule in Xinjiang for more than ten years, and wrote a wonderful stroke in his life.

1866, the left was transferred from the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang to the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, and was ordered to go to the western expedition. As the saying goes, "the soldiers and horses have not moved, and the grain and grass come first": although the funds for the Western Expedition Army are raised by the provinces, the amount is small and often in arrears. In order to solve the problem of funds, Zuo had to invite foreign funds for emergency.

The heavy responsibility of dealing with foreign debts naturally falls on Hu Xueyan's shoulders. Through the arrangement of Gu Yingchun, a friend who is a deputy in Shanghai HSBC, Hu Xueyan intends to

Chinese and western pharmacy Qing

Borrow from Standard Chartered Bank. The first interview between Hu and the bank manager ended in discord because they could not reach an agreement on issues such as interest and loan term. Later, under the careful planning of Hu Xueyan, the general manager of Standard Chartered Bank in China, who claimed to be China Connect, was completely persuaded, and the two sides quickly reached an agreement on details such as interest, term and repayment method. Hu Xueyan raised the first loan for the Western Expedition.

Since then, in order to help the Western Expedition, Hu Xueyan has borrowed money from foreigners for six times, and the accumulated juice amount is18.7 million taels of silver, with interest accounting for at least half, which can be said to be a very amazing usury. But judging from the situation at that time, this kind of gain is

It's worth it.

Of course, profit-seeking is the nature of businessmen, and Hu Xueyan can't be free from vulgarity. He used the difference between the interest paid by the loan and the interest paid by Ai to get a "kickback". But on the whole, when the army of the Western Expedition was short of food at that time, and all parties shirked each other, Hu Xueyan was able to stand up and take the trouble to shoulder the heavy responsibility of raising foreign funds and help Zuo Zongtang keep Xinjiang in the Western Expedition, which still showed his patriotism. Although we often associate the word "rape" with "business", there is even a saying that "no rape, no business", but in fact, all business people have temperament, and Hu Xueyan is one of them. After his success, he never forgot his birthplace-Hangzhou, and did many good deeds for the people of Hangzhou. He opened the Qiantang River Yidu. It has facilitated the connection between the "Upper Eight Houses" and the "Lower Three Houses", and set up boats to provide convenience for passengers waiting to cross the river, thus winning the reputation of "Hu Da Good Man". He is also very enthusiastic about charity, and has donated money and materials to flood and drought areas such as Zhili, Shaanxi, Henan and Shanxi for many times. To 1878, together with the medicinal materials donated by Hu Xueyan to the Western Expedition Army, it is estimated that he has donated 202,000 silver for disaster relief. What is even less well known is that in the case of Yang Naiwu Cabbage, which caused a sensation in one's hand and in one's hand, he used his reputation to organize Beijing officials and sponsor money, which finally made a great contribution to the case and made his reputation more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. In addition, he went to Japan twice to buy back China cultural relics lost in Japan at a high price. From these actions, we can see his kind heart and patriotic heart.

Third, an affair.

Qing dynasty architecture

As the old saying goes, "Eating is also important." Hu Xueyan, a cowardly businessman and a red-crowned businessman, is not only all-powerful in the market, but also prosperous in politics and adept in love, so he can be called love guru.

Hu Xueyan is an experienced flower explorer. He often says to himself, "I don't want to be an official, and I don't want to be famous. I just want to get a wife for profit." I have a romantic life, and this life is enough! " So he usually won't let go of a woman who suits his heart. Of course, as a successful businessman, Hu Xueyan never forgets shopping malls in love. Almost all the women he met during his entrepreneurship served his career: some became "victims" of his use; Some of them were lucky enough to be accepted by him as minor mistakes, but the premise of Nachi's wife is that this woman must be beneficial to his future career development. In a sense, Hu Xueyan can grow into a generation of "red-topped businessmen", and the concubines of these "bangfu" have played a great role.

At the beginning of Hu Xueyan's business, she met a lovely girl who was sold into the official family of "Pear Flower Spring" because of her father's imprisonment, and was attracted by her beauty, but Hu knew that she didn't enjoy the beauty at all in her own identity at that time. When he was very upset, he had a brainwave and gave Ruxiang to his patron, Governor Wang Youling. In doing so, although Hu Xueyan lost Ruxiang, he gained great esteem and got Ruxiang, a loyal eyeliner, and from then on he mastered the whereabouts of Governor Wang, which in a sense can be said to be controlled and used by Hu. The deal was impeccable, and Rue became Hu Chenggong's first chip.

As the saying goes, "I can't bear to let my children catch wolves." In business, for their own long-term interests. Hu Xueyan gave up his love again and again, giving it to others "one by one" like a commodity. In order to get close to this tree, He Guiqing, a scholar from Jiangsu Province, gave He his beloved concubine "Sister Aqiao" as another gift. Although Hu Xueyan has repeatedly stressed that feelings and business should be completely separated and cannot be confused, his combination with Elgin pays more attention to the promotion of feelings and business. After marrying Yang Qi, Yang Qi immediately became Hu's right-hand man, which made Hu even more powerful and effectively promoted the further development of Hu Xueyan's career. Unfortunately, Yang Qi died prematurely. This let Hu Xueyan some regret. But before long, Hu Xueyan met another girl who was very similar to Yang Qi and had a business mind. She is the most important woman around Hu Xueyan, who accompanied Hu Xueyan through her life, that is, the famous "Mrs. Luo Si" at that time. Although Hu Xueyan has become a very popular businessman, it has always been a great regret for Hu Xueyan that his wife has no goods in her stomach and can't get on the table. So Hu Xueyan often lamented that bosom friends were hard to find, and his heart was very lonely. The emergence of Cui Huan made Hu Xueyan shine at the moment. With a keen eye, Hu Xueyan thinks that Cuihuan is his wife and confidante who has been looking for a long time, and has entered the hall and inner room. So Hu Xueyan made up his mind to please Cui Huan, and he had to marry her. After hard work, she married Cui in the form of "two big heads". Cui Lan was really smart and soon became Hu's right-hand man. Her mind is extremely meticulous and she is very good at catering to her husband's wishes. For Hu Xueyan, she even married the concubine of the twelfth house, which made Hu Xueyan grateful. In return, Hu Xueyan rehabilitated him and made him an official of the court, becoming the "Mrs. Zhang Yin" of the Hu family.

Hu Xueyan's twelve concubines are all in the flower season, and they are beautiful, and they are called "Twelve Women of the East Building". Hu Xueyan dotes on these twelve concubines and spends a lot of money on them. He built a resting place for these concubines-the turret, so that they could live in separate rooms. Like the emperor, he draws cards to invite concubines to sleep every night, and his life is extremely luxurious. The charming buildings alone are extremely luxurious and cost tens of thousands. The building is magnificent and the surrounding scenery is beautiful. Is it also an artificial West Lake? The scenic spots such as Penglai Xiange are cleverly decorated, which makes the viewers dazzled and relaxed. Since then, Hu Xueyan has been immersed in the charming small building all day, indulging in the hometown of his gentle daughter. As Wang wrote in "Selected Records of Zhuang Harmony": "Hu Mou, a native of Hangzhou, is a talented person who is rich in wealth and rare in recent decades. And debauchery and luxury, all traces of ordinary things, will be defeated after death. "Hu Xueyan's dissolute lifestyle is closely related to his ultimate failure.

Fourth, tragic death.

There is an old saying: "Blessed people are bound to be in trouble." Hu Xueyan galloped in the shopping mall for many years, relying on the official background, and gradually reached the peak of his career, with infinite scenery, but his final failure was also due to the collapse of the official background and the feud of officialdom. Although Hu Xueyan is a businessman, his prosperity is closely related to the protection of political dignitaries. Hu Xueyan firmly grasped the essence of "enjoying the cool under a big tree". He first started a bank with the help of his friends, and then founded Hu Qingyutang with the support of the left. He borrowed foreign money to explore the west and restored the ox cart that was terminated because of the war, which made certain contributions to the people and the country, thus reaching the peak of his career. As a businessman, he was given a top hat and a yellow jacket, which is rare in the history of China. But it is such a man with fame and fortune and a successful career that he collapsed in a few days and his career came to an end. On the surface, the failure of Hu Xueyan's business was due to his ambition, eagerness to expand, and mistakes in decision-making, which led to the bank being run on because of insufficient liquidity, leading to the closure of its raw silk shop, Gongdang and Huqingyutang. However, the underlying cause of Hu's failure is the attack of political opponents. Although Hu Xueyan was shrewd all his life and kept close contact with officialdom figures, he was a "victim" of the political struggle between Left and Li Hongzhang because he didn't understand bureaucracy, was headstrong and inflexible, and became a victim of Li Hongzhang's strategy of "Left is the top, left is the bottom", which really made people lament. After the bankruptcy of Hu Xueyan, the beautiful concubines who had previously married Hu Gulai for money changed their old ways of scrambling to marry Hu Gulai, lost their warmth and asked to leave with their own private money. Only Mrs. Luo Si stayed with Hu. Accompanied by Mrs. Luo Si and relying on Hu Qingyutang's meager income, Hu Xueyan spent his old age alone and died in the 11th year of Daoguang (A.D. 183 1).

Hu Xueyan's life is very dramatic. In just a few decades, he changed from a banker to a famous red-topped businessman in the Qing Dynasty. He takes "benevolence" and "righteousness" as the core of his business, is good at improvising and never opportunistic, which makes his business flourish; He has money but never forgets his roots, knows the true value of money and does good deeds. While winning a good reputation, he is also satisfied. In his career, he did not forget to worry about his country, assisted in the left-west expedition and safeguarded the territorial integrity of the motherland; In the Westernization Movement, he also contributed his own strength and made outstanding contributions. Of course, he didn't get rid of the stereotype that businessmen put interests first, and his life was extremely luxurious, but after all, no one is perfect, and there are many places worth learning from Hu Xueyan, a big businessman.