Who donated the building?, Not "Yizhu Hall" - the oldest and most elegant building in Fudan, "Yizhu Hall" is a historical talent | historical talent | Fudan

"Shaving my head and living," I used to be penniless

The construction funds for "Yizhu Hall" came from Mr. Huang Yizhu, a famous patriotic overseas Chinese industrialist.

Huang Yizhu

Huang Yizhu, from Nan'an, Fujian, was born on December 7, 1868. His ancestors have been farming for generations, his father has been farming for the rest of his life, and his mother has been spinning yarn for others. The family is extremely poor. Huang Yizhu is the eldest son in the family. At the age of five or six, he was sent to a private school by his father to study. Later, due to inability to afford tuition fees, he was forced to drop out of school and go home to help his father farm. In order to support his family, Huang Yizhu started learning to shave his head from his uncle at the age of 12. Three years later, he carried the burden and went to the village to shave his head, enduring discrimination and bullying.

In the spring of 1885, Huang Yizhu went to Nanyang with his family and friends. There are multiple explanations for the reason why he went to Southeast Asia. There is a saying that one day, Huang Yizhu shaved the head of a wealthy gentleman. While repairing his appearance, the gentleman suddenly coughed. Huang Yizhu was caught off guard and his razor fell, cutting his forehead. The gentleman immediately became furious, scolded and cursed, and threatened to come and settle accounts with him in the future. Huang Yizhu couldn't provoke him and was afraid that his parents would be implicated, so he decided to go to Nanyang to avoid trouble. My family didn't have the money to buy him a boat ticket, so my parents sold his ancestral field for 36 silver dollars to help him drift out to sea. The ship he boarded was a wooden sailboat belonging to Huang Zhonghan, who was two years older than him. The ticket fee could be owed -30 years later, both Huang Yizhu and Huang Zhonghan became Indonesia's "sugar kings".

After experiencing bumps and drifting, Huang Yi settled in the city of Semarang on the Dutch colony of Java, passing through Singapore, Medan, and other places. At first, others were unfamiliar with the land, had difficulty speaking, and life was very difficult. During the day, he carried the burden of shaving his head and went to the dock to find Chinese workers to shave their heads; At night, one can only stay in the Mazu Temple. In the spring of the second year, the one year's wages he saved were only enough to repay the unpaid shipping fees.

Two years later, Huang Yizhu became proficient in dialects and became familiar with local overseas Chinese and Chinese workers. Everyone called him "Shatou Zhu". One day, the old overseas Chinese Wei Jiashou said to him, "Being a shaver like you may never end your poor days. Why not do some small business?" Upon hearing this, he immediately expressed his willingness to change his profession. Wei Jiashou told him that he could try becoming a vendor and lend him 5 guilders as capital. After Huang Yizhu received the money, he immediately wrapped his shaving tools in rags and threw them into the sea.

From then on, Huang Yizhu bid farewell to his career as a shaver and became a burden bearing vendor. At first, he went deep into the countryside and indigenous tribes, selling groceries, coffee, and pastries. In 1891, he opened a "Rixing grocery store". Soon, the grocery store became a wholesale and retail business, and the business was doing very smoothly. In 1897, Huang Yizhu had already invested nearly a million dong and established the "Rixing Commercial Bank Branch" in central, western, and eastern Java, as well as the "Rixing Co., Ltd.". Later, Huang Yizhu took advantage of the local abundant production of sucrose and began to engage in sugar trade. By 1913, his assets had reached between 3 to 5 million rupiah, ranking him among the "Four Sugar Kings" of Indonesia.

"If you want to be rich, learn from Huang Yizhu."

In 1914, the First World War broke out. During this period, Huang Yizhu's sugar business experienced several setbacks and risks. Once, he bought a large amount of sugar, but encountered a sharp drop in sugar prices and was on the brink of bankruptcy. It was not until the rise in sugar prices that he was able to turn the tide and make a comeback.

The most dramatic incident occurred on the eve of the end of World War I. One day, a sugar storage warehouse near the Sanbaolong Railway Station caught fire. Huang Yizhu and his eldest son Huang Qinshu went to inspect it. Huang Qinshu is very active and likes to climb high. When he saw piles of burnt sugar packets, he climbed up. Upon reaching the top of the pile, he accidentally discovered that the fire was actually on the periphery, with the inner sugar package intact. He jumped off the sugar bag and told his father about the situation. Huang Yizhu immediately approached the warehouse owner and said he wanted to buy all the sugar bags here. Upon hearing this, the boss immediately sold tens of thousands of tons of sugar bags in the warehouse at a price of 2 shields per pack. Both sides received their silver and goods, each proud... Unexpectedly, soon after World War I ended, sugar prices rose rapidly. By 1920, sugar prices had surged more than 50 times. Huang Yizhu sold tens of thousands of tons of sugar at a profit of 2 guilders per pack.

By the end of World War I, Huang Yizhu had become a millionaire. The story of his sudden rise to wealth quickly spread in his hometown of Fujian. There is a popular saying in Minnan: "If you want to be rich, learn from Huang Yizhu." Many years later, his legendary experience was even compiled into a "new language style" by Shanghai's tabloids, making people "marvel at it":

Huang Jun... was young and poor. He practiced haircutting in Java and had nowhere to be found. There was a large sugar merchant in his hometown of Quanzhou in Fujian, and upon seeing his profound skills, he was described as having a rich character, intelligent qualifications, and a seemingly poor appearance. One day, while waiting for a haircut and chatting, I asked Huang Jun why he wasn't in business? Due to a lack of capital. A certain person smiled and said, "It's not difficult. My warehouse is full of discarded sugar on the ground, and I can pick it up and dust it up. Even if it's of low value, I can get platinum. If I set up a small shop, it would be more than enough.". Huang Jun expressed his gratitude and left, ordering him to report to the manager of the warehouse. What will happen if you abandon the sugar and sell it immediately? The soaring price of sugar is the starting point. Surprisingly received over five hundred gold. This 500 gold is actually the first batch of capital initiated by Huang Junfa. By doing so, he devised a plan to win, seized the opportunity, and tamed the cloud of wealth to thirty million. "Living", July 13, 1937, Shanghai Daily)

"Meeting with the Declaration Hall", Pioneering Central South Bank

In 1919, at the age of 51, Huang Yizhu decided to return to his motherland. Before leaving, someone once advised him, "You sit in Jinshan, where is not a good place?" He responded with a smile, "As a Chinese, how can I be exploited, placed under someone else's protection, or have my nationality taken over?"

Starting from April, Huang Yi settled on Gulangyu Island in Xiamen. No one knows how much money he has brought back to China. Some speculate that the minimum figure should be 23 million US dollars. Many of these funds were used by Huang Yizhu to donate to public utilities in Fujian. For example, he once supported Chen Jiageng in founding Xiamen University and generously donated books and equipment. To this day, Xiamen University still retains the commemorative monument of "Huang Junyi's residence, generous donations, beneficial books, and his friendship can be preserved".

Shortly after returning to China, Huang Yizhu set his investment sights on Shanghai. Shanghai is a hub for industry and commerce, what projects should we invest in? He decided to personally throw stones and ask for directions. Huang Yi, who lives in Xiamen, must read "Shen Bao" every day. He thought that Shi Liangcai, who presides over "Shen Bao", must have a wide range of knowledge. Therefore, he made up his mind to visit and said, "As an overseas Chinese, I will visit the president and he will always meet with me.". They arrived at the declaration hall on Hankou Road with a light and simple carriage.

Shi Liangcai

It is said that Shi Liangcai initially thought the other party was an ordinary visitor and did not take him seriously. Later, there was a report that described the "Declaration Hall Meeting":

Visit Shi Shi at the application hall for the first time. However, due to the simple nature of overseas Chinese, the clothing is extremely simple. During the Wei era, Shi Shi met Huang Yizhu and saw that he was similar to a local wish, but little did he know that he was a famous overseas Chinese wealthy businessman. Therefore, Jin Jiezhi did not attach much importance to him. Mr. Huang asked Mr. Shi, "Where should I start if I want to pursue the greatest career in my country?"? History is the saying of Manying: opening a bank is the best way to listen. Xuan Huang replied: How much capital is required to open a bank? History has it that 500000 yuan is also a bank, and one million yuan is also a bank. It is up to you to choose. Upon hearing this, Huang showed disdain and said, "If our country sets up a bank, wouldn't it be just a simple matter to run it?"? Shi Shi was talented and wise. Upon hearing this, he immediately realized that Huang was a very important person, so he immediately turned his mouth and said: "What I have said in an instant is at least the ears of ordinary small banks. If I consider it, I can establish a bank for 10 to 20 million yuan in order to achieve success.".

After several interactions, Huang and Shi hit it off and decided to establish Central South Bank. "Those from the central and southern regions demonstrate that overseas Chinese from Southeast Asia never forget China." With the recommendation of Shi Liangcai, Huang Yizhu met Hu Bijiang, a former Beijing branch of the Bank of Communications, and had a pleasant conversation. He originally planned to invest 10 million yuan to operate the bank as a sole proprietorship. Hu Bijiang told him that domestic commercial banks are "all within 5 million yuan, and it is advisable to have limited liability as a joint-stock company." Therefore, he decided to pay a full capital of 5 million yuan in the first phase, and Huang Yizhu subscribed to 3.5 million yuan, accounting for 70%.

On July 5, 1921, the Central South Bank opened in Shanghai, with its headquarters located at No. 4 Hankou Road. Huang Yizhu serves as the chairman, Hu Bijiang as the general manager, and Shi Liangcai and others as directors. According to reports, "On the same day, the counter received silver deposits totaling over 5 million yuan. It was the first to check the overseas Chinese business organization bank, and the strong capital was also rare among commercial banks.". After the establishment of Central South Bank, Huang Yi lived between Xiamen and Shanghai, and his son Huang Yuyi served as the assistant manager of Central South Bank in 1928, representing his father in the operation.

Central South Bank Building, 110 Hankou Road

Shortly thereafter, Central South Bank obtained the same issuance rights as Bank of China and Bank of Communications, becoming one of the three issuing banks under the Beijing government. Starting from March 1923, it also formed a joint venture with Salt Bank, Continental Bank, and Jincheng Bank, becoming the backbone of the "Northern Four Banks". It successively established the Four Banks Joint Business Office, Four Banks Preparatory Warehouse, and Four Banks Savings Association, and built the famous "Four Banks Warehouse". In 1932, the Sihang Savings Association allocated 5 million yuan to build an international hotel on the north side of the Shanghai Happy Valley. In the winter of 1934, the 78 meter high international hotel was built, and the Four Rows Savings Association immediately moved into operation. The international hotel is located in Shanghai and has maintained its reputation as the tallest building in China for 50 years.

Intersecting with Lee Teng hui and befriending Fudan University

When Huang Yi lived in Shanghai and founded the Central South Bank, it was during the time when Fudan President Lee Teng hui was carrying out large-scale construction in Jiangwan. In January 1918, Li Denghui went to Nanyang to raise funds for the construction of a new campus in Fudan. In June, he raised 150000 yuan in funding from overseas Chinese and returned to Shanghai to purchase 70 acres of land in Jiangwan. In July, he told graduating students that the construction cost of the Jiangwan campus was estimated by American engineer Mufei Shi who came to China. In 1920, the blueprint for laying the permanent foundation of Fudan University slowly unfolded in Jiangwan.

The Jiangwan campus designed by Murphy was originally grand and imposing. Due to financial constraints, when the school building was completed in 1922, only three buildings were built: an office building, a teaching building, and the first student dormitory. Fudan alumni Yu Youren once said that when his alma mater moved to Jiangwan, there were only three buildings. The "three buildings", arranged in a zigzag pattern, with carved beams and painted rafters and cornices and corners, are known as the "school palace". Among them, the office building faces south and north, and was built with a donation of over 10000 yuan from Huang Yizhu. After completion, it was named "Yizhu Hall". It, along with the teaching building "Jian Gong Tang" facing west and east, and the first dormitory facing north and south, formed the initial form of Jiangwan School Building.

Yizhu Hall, built in 1921. Collection of Fudan Archives

When it comes to donating to build Yizhu Hall, I have always had a question: why did Huang Yizhu donate funds to Fudan? When did he meet Lee Teng hui? Some people say that Shi Liangcai's acquaintance with Huang Yizhu originated from the introduction of Tang Shaoyi, the director of Fudan University, in 1919. The basis for this statement is based on the recollection article "Principal Li and His Construction of Fudan" by Principal Secretary Ji Yingbo, but I checked the original text of this article and found that "it was introduced by Mr. Tang Shaochuan and received a large donation from Jane's," and Huang Yizhu was not mentioned in the article.

In fact, there are very few historical materials about Huang and Li's acquaintance, and there were no words left by them during their lifetime. Now, I can only use Lee Teng hui's activity trajectory to piece together their historical intersection.

Firstly, Li Denghui's ancestral home is Tong'an, Fujian. He was born in 1872 in Batavia, western Java, Indonesia. He lives with Huang Yi, both of his age and from Fujian. In 1890, Lee Teng hui went to the United States to study abroad and later graduated from Yale University. In the first half of 1901, he returned to Batavia and became the president of the local Yale College. Due to insufficient funding, Yale College was handed over to the local Chinese Chamber of Commerce. Huang Yizhu once served as the Finance Director of the Indonesian Chinese Chamber of Commerce, managing the funding of schools run by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, and there is a possibility of time and space intersection between the two.

Secondly, in the winter of 1904, Li Denghui returned to his home country. In 1905, Li Denghui came to Shanghai and founded the Global Chinese Student Union, where he taught at Fudan Public School. In the first half of 1918, Li Denghui went to Southeast Asia to raise funds and received help from Chinese communities such as the Fujian Association in Indonesia. At this moment, Huang Yizhu's career is in full swing, and Li Denghui is highly likely to meet him.

Thirdly, Li Denghui has always been dedicated to the Global Chinese Student Union. Looking up the Yearbook of the Chinese Student Union in the early 1920s, Lee Teng hui almost always appeared on the list of "founders" and "directors" of the association, while at the same time, Huang Yizhu was listed as the "most powerful sponsor of the association.".

Fourthly, during the preparation of the Central South Bank in 1921, in the prospectus of the Central South Bank, in addition to the founders Huang Yizhu and Shi Liangcai, there were also over 100 honorary members from various regions who signed their names. Li Denghui was one of the honorary members in Shanghai.

In summary, Huang Yizhu and Li Denghui are likely to have known each other since Java; Their friendship will not be later than when Huang Yizhu returns to China at the latest. Moreover, judging from Huang Yizhu's donations to Fudan University and sponsorship of the Global Chinese Student Union, it seems that Huang and Li have a good personal relationship.

A replica of the old Fudan school gate. Photo by our reporter Zhang Chunhai

In 1937, the August 13th Incident broke out. In the "Three Houses" of Fudan, the first dormitory was flattened by Japanese artillery fire; The roof of Jian Gong Tang was lifted off, and although it has been repaired, it has lost its former grandeur. Only Yizhu Hall was well preserved during the Anti Japanese War. Throughout history, it has been known as the oldest building in Fudan along with Jian Gong Tang. A few years ago, Jian Gong Tang was demolished and rebuilt, and Yizhu Tang became the only existing and oldest old building in Fudan.

It is worth mentioning that in the history of Fudan University, Yizhu Hall has always been written as "Yizhu Hall", which is related to the fact that Huang Yizhu's name is often mistakenly written as "Huang Yizhu". In fact, in the newspapers back then, Huang Yizhu's name was also written in various ways, such as "Huang Yizhu", "Huang Yizhu", "Huang Yizhu", and "Huang Yizhu". This was certainly due to manual typesetting errors, but also reflected Huang Yizhu's consistent low-key style. Fortunately, in recent years, scholars from Fudan University have conducted research and correction on this issue, and I believe that over time, these errors will be corrected.

The commemorative stone at the entrance of Fudan Yizhu Hall is engraved with the three characters "Yizhu Hall". Photo by Lao Zhang, Reading History

In 1937, after the outbreak of the Anti Japanese War, Huang Yizhu moved from Xiamen to Hong Kong. In May 1938, Xiamen fell. The Japanese sent people to Hong Kong to see him and persuade him to assume his pseudo position. He firmly stated, "It would be better to go bankrupt than to harm the enemy!" As a result, all of his businesses in Xiamen were occupied by the Japanese. In the winter of 1938, he took refuge in the Shanghai Concession. On June 5, 1945, he passed away in Shanghai at the age of 77.

Does Huang Yi have any further contact with Fudan in his later years? Is there any intersection with Principal Lee Teng hui? Unknown. Nowadays, Yizhutang, named after him, has been with Fudan people for over a hundred years as a "building" for office buildings, libraries, Chinese departments, economics departments, and school history museums over the years

Fudan people will always remember him.