Life and career
Sheng Xuanhuai's father, Kang Sheng, was an official of the Qing Dynasty. He made friends with Li Hongzhang. Sheng is the eldest of the six brothers. 1870, Sheng was recruited into the shogunate by Li Hongzhang, appreciated by Li, and promoted to magistrate the following year. 187 1 year, Jishui and Shengkang donated clothes and grain, which were purchased by Sheng Xuanhuai and transported to Tianjin for distribution. This is the first time that Sheng Xuanhuai has been engaged in charity.
[edit] transportation
1872, he suggested that Li Hongzhang build merchant ships to provide the cost of building warships, which was adopted by Li Hongzhang. Li Hongzhang appointed Sheng to run China Merchants, the first steamship enterprise in China, which was the beginning of Sheng's steamship operation. 1873, China merchants ship officially opened, and Sheng Xuanhuai served as the conference office. Since then, he has officially become one of the core figures in the Westernization Movement in the late Qing Dynasty.
1875, Li Hongzhang entrusted Sheng to handle the coal and iron mine affairs in Hubei, and Sheng began to handle the mining industry from then on.
[edit] telegram
1879, Sheng suggested setting up a telegraph office, and Li adopted his suggestion and appointed him to be in charge of the telegraph office. 188 1 year, Sheng Xuanhuai was appointed as the general manager of Tianjin-Shanghai telegraph land line, and China entered the telecommunications industry from then on. 1882 In order to prevent foreigners from setting up telegraph networks along the coast of China, Li appointed Sheng to set up telegraph lines from Shanghai to Guangdong, Ningbo, Fuzhou and Xiamen.
In the 9th year of Guangxu (1883), Sheng Xuanhuai was in charge of Tianjin Customs. He was punished for misappropriating customs money to help the telegraph industry and confusing the funds of various departments, but he was not demoted for pleading. This year, he succeeded in striking a blow to Hu Xueyan's career by telegraph, which made Hu Xueyan bankrupt overnight.
[edit] textiles
From 65438 to 0892, he began to supervise the textile industry in Shanghai and founded Huasheng Textile General Factory. 1895 After the treaty of shimonoseki was signed, Sheng Xuanhuai repeatedly asked for his dismissal, but it was not allowed again and again.
[Editor] Education
10.2, Sheng Xuanhuai instructed Emperor Guangxu to set up a new school through Wang Wenshao, governor of Zhili. With the approval of the imperial court, Emperor Guangxu founded Tianjin Beiyang Western Learning School. 1896 was renamed Beiyang University Hall, which was the first government-run university in China's modern history and the predecessor of Tianjin University. From 65438 to 0896, Sheng Xuanhuai began to supervise railways. 1896 Sheng Xuanhuai founded Nanyang Public School in Shanghai, which was the predecessor of Jiaotong University.
Sheng Xuanhuai also founded the second-class school of Tianjin Beiyang School, which opened on February 2nd, 1895. It is the earliest public middle school in China with a four-year schooling. Now it is Haihe Middle School in Tianjin.
[edit] bank
1896 also opened China Commercial Bank in Shanghai Bund. He supported Kang Youwei's reform, but thought Kang was too hasty.
[Editor] Hanyeping Company
1898, Pingxiang Coal Mine was established in an all-round way. 1908, it merged with Hanyang Iron Works and Daye Iron Mine to form the first iron and steel joint venture in China-Hanyeping Coal and Iron Factory and Mine Company.
[Editor] Planning Southeast Mutual Insurance
1900, Sheng opposed the practice of supporting the Boxer Rebellion in the early Qing Dynasty, and ordered local telegraph offices to detain the imperial edict that the Qing court summoned the Boxer Rebellion, which was only shown to local governors. At the same time, he telegraphed them not to obey this order. Under his contact, the governors of the Yangtze River basin and Suzhou and Hangzhou signed the Southeast Mutual Protection Treaty with the great powers. From then on, China warlords began to break away from the central command. This is the beginning of the warlord era, and it can be said that Sheng played a decisive role in it. Sheng advocated peace talks with the great powers at that time. Li Hongzhang invited him to go with him when he went to Beijing for peace talks. Beijing also announced that he would go to Beijing, but he felt that Beijing's politics was too unreliable, so a letter refused him to go to Beijing. Sheng Xuanhuai manages many undertakings, such as telegraph, mining, customs, railways, etc. , is the main income of the Qing court in Beijing. Therefore, Beijing could not help him, but praised him for protecting the peace in the Yangtze River valley and added him as Prince Taibao.
1905 Sheng Xuanhuai founded the China red cross in Shanghai. In the same year, he ceded the railway rights to Tang, which was the beginning of the transportation department headed by Tang in the early days of Beiyang government.
[Editor] Sheng Xuanhuai and the demise of the Qing Dynasty
1907, Sheng Xuanhuai was called to Beijing, and was appointed as the right assistant minister of the postal department the following year. 19 10 After Yuan Shikai was dismissed from office, Sheng Xuanhuai was taken seriously. 19 1 1 was promoted to minister of postal communications. He suggested that the railway and postal services established by the provinces themselves should be turned into central leadership. This measure has been opposed by many places, and road protection movements have taken place in Sichuan, Guangdong, Hunan and Hubei. Sheng Xuanhuai ordered repression everywhere. 19110 After the Wuchang Uprising broke out, Sheng Xuanhuai invited Yuan Shikai to come out of the mountain. At the same time, it was condemned by all parties. Many people blamed the unrest on his road closure policy, and Sheng Xuanhuai was removed from his post and never used it again. Sheng fled to Japan.
19 12 autumn, after the founding of the Republic of China, Sheng Xuanhuai returned to Shanghai and continued to preside over China Merchants and Hanyeping Company in the Shanghai Concession. Sheng Xuanhuai supported Yuan Shikai, hoping that Yuan would win the second revolution. 19 15 Japan tried to win over Sheng, but Sheng refused. 1965438+On April 27th, 2006, Sheng Xuanhuai passed away in Shanghai. His funeral was extremely grand. Sheng Xuanhuai's funeral caused a sensation in Shanghai, costing 302,000 silver. The funeral procession went from Xie Qiao Lane (Wujiang Road) to the Bund, and the concession authorities specially arranged traffic control.
Pingxiang coal mine in Sheng Xuanhuai has played a great role in Japanese economy, especially in steel industry. With the financial support from Japan, the descendants of Sheng Xuanhuai immigrated to Japan. Now Chicago in the Tokyo port area is cooking Chinese food, and the name of the restaurant is also called "Lingering Garden".
[edit] industry
Suzhou Lingering Garden: 1873, Sheng Xuanhuai's father Kang Sheng bought the Lingering Garden abandoned in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom War. Arrived at 1876, rebuilt and renamed as Lingering Garden. 1958, Sheng Xuanhuai's fourth son, Sheng Ian, was poor and died at the concierge in Liuyuan.
Shanghai Xie Qiaosheng Building:
Shanghai Joffrey Avenue/KOLOC-0/5/KOLOC-0/7 Sheng Mansion: Yingwo Infrastructure was built at/KOLOC-0/900, which was later bought by Sheng Xuanhuai, sold to the Rong family after the Anti-Japanese War and later used as the Japanese Consulate General in Shanghai.
[Editor] Behind him
After Sheng Xuanhuai's death, several temples were built to commemorate him:
Gong Sheng Temple in Pingxiang, Jiangxi Province is a three-story German-style building, which has been listed as a cultural relic protection unit.
Shanghai Gong Sheng Temple, located at the entrance of Aiwenyi Road (Beijing West Road) and Gisfair Road (Wanhangdu Road), was confiscated and auctioned by the National Government on 1929, and now it no longer exists.
[edit] evaluation
Levin, a historical novelist, has a low opinion of Sheng Xuanhuai. History of Qing Palace: "Li Hongzhang mocked Sheng Xuanhuai's next word' Lian' in Beijing, saying that if Sheng Xuanhuai can be called clean, girls in eight hutong classes can build a prescription to show their chastity". However, as an official in the late Qing Dynasty, Sheng's forward-looking and pragmatic spirit is commendable. It is an indisputable fact that Sheng has made outstanding contributions to the cause of communication education in China.
[edit] family
Sheng Xuanhuai has married six wives: Dong Shi, Dehua, Diao, Liu, Liu and Xiao. There are eight sons and eight daughters;
Zhang Zisheng Changyi
second son
Three-funded students Yi Tong.
The fourth son sheng (-1958)
Wu Zisheng Chongyi
Liuzi
Seven sons St. Yi Sheng
Buzz
eldest daughter
Second daughter
Sannv
All four daughters are in full bloom.
Five daughters St. Guan Yi
Six women Sheng Jingyi
Seven daughters are Sheng Aiyi (1900— 1983).
Eight daughters St. Fang Yi