When it comes to red-crowned businessmen, people naturally think of Hu Xueyan. During the Tongzhi period of Qing Dynasty, Hu Xueyan made full use of the war at that time, expanded its business scope, made extensive friends with left-class senior officials, and explored a dual profit model of official supervision and commercial operation.
A little later, Hu Xueyan could be compared with Zhang Bishi, who was very famous at that time. There was a popular saying at that time: Hu Xueyan in the south and Zhang Bishi in the north. When it comes to Hu Xueyan, people will think of Hu Qingyutang, while Zhang Bishi has its Changyu Company, which has been passed down from generation to generation. Both of them left a respectable century-old shop. Hu Xueyan is a second-class official, while Zhang Bishi is a first-class official. At its peak, its assets reached 80 million taels of silver, which was equivalent to the annual income of the Qing treasury at that time. Can be described as "extremely rich".
Zhang Bishi was born in 184 1, dapu county, Guangdong. 18 years old, went to Nanyang to make a living alone. He started as a handyman in a rice shop in Jakarta. After hard work, he set up reclamation companies in Indonesia, Sumatra and Java, opened ocean shipping companies in Penang, Jakarta and Aceh, and opened pharmacies in Singapore, Jakarta, Hong Kong and Guangzhou. He is known as "the richest man in Nanyang".
The indissoluble bond between Zhang Bishi and wine began at 187 1. At that time, he was invited to attend the reception of the French Consulate in Jakarta. A French consul told me that he had been to Yantai with the British and French allied forces during the Xianfeng period and found that the mountains were covered with wild grapes. During the camp, the soldiers used the small wine-making machine they carried with them to make juice, and the wine tasted quite good. The speaker has no intention, but the listener has intention. Zhang Bishi secretly wrote down the story of Yantai.
189 1 year, Zhang Bishi made an on-the-spot investigation on the grape cultivation and soil hydrology in Yantai, and decided that Yantai was indeed a natural garden for grape growth, so he proposed to government officials to establish a winery in Yantai.
1892, Zhang Bishi took out three million and two thousand silver and founded the first grape brewing company in the history of China. The company name is "Changyu". Since then, the prelude of wine industrialization in China has been opened.
What really made China's wines famous internationally was the Panama World Expo 19 15. At this Expo, Changyu products won four gold medals in one fell swoop, which is the first time that China wine won the grand prize in an international exhibition. When attending the celebration banquet, Zhang Bishi delivered a speech excitedly: "As long as we strive to become stronger, the products of our motherland will become world famous brands!"
19 16, Zhang Bishi died at the Royal Dutch Hospital in Jakarta at the age of 76. When his spiritual pivot passed through Singapore and Hong Kong from Batang, the local people flew flags at half mast to pay their respects, and the Governor personally paid tribute. Dr. Sun Yat-sen sent Zhu Qinglan, the governor of Guangdong Province, to send the elegiac couplet: "Fine wine won the gold medal and is fragrant all over the world; Geeks win the hearts of the people and are immortal. "
After a century of vicissitudes, Mr. Zhang Bishi's dream of a world famous brand is becoming a reality. According to the research report of Canadian company, an authoritative research institution in the world, Changyu Group's sales revenue in 2007 reached US$ 695 million, and it has become one of the top 10 wine industries in the world.