Zhang Bishi

Name in Chinese
張弼士
Name in Wade-Giles
Chang Pi-shih
Related People

Biography in English

Chang Pi-shih (1840-August 1916), entrepreneur, was known for his Chang Yu brewery at Chefoo. He became a multimillionaire in Java and Malaya and was one of the few overseas Chinese whose patriotism and services were utilized by the Manchu government.

A native of Tap'u hsien in eastern Kwangtung, Chang Pi-shih was born into a poor family. The Tap'u district was culturally one of the more advanced areas of Kwangtung province, and Chang did receive some education in his boyhood. Even so, in 1856 at the age of 17, he left home and emigrated to Southeast Asia to seek his fortune. His destination was Batavia. The young Chang Pi-shih was both ambitious and observant. On his arrival in the new land, he soon recognized that his interests could be furthered most effectively by cultivating the friendship and trust of the Dutch colonial masters. He worked assiduously and gradually ingratiated himself with the authorities. In 1 858, only two years after his arrival in Java, he already had established his first business, a company engaged in the development of coconut and rice plantations. The rich island of Java was then leading the other islands of the archipelago in intensive economic development. Chang's growing friendship with the Dutch colonial officials provided him with opportunities to acquire wasted land for reclamation and development and enabled him to bid successfully for trade monopolies, such as those for the sale of tobacco and wine. Within a few years he had accumulated sufficient wealth to become one of the most prominent residents of Java. Business success, in turn, strengthened his personal relations with Dutch administrative circles. In 1875, when Chang Pi-shih was 36 sui and in the prime of his career, his Dutch friends suggested that he extend his operations to Sumatra, which was undeveloped economically. The Dutch correctly estimated that Chang was the ideal man to be entrusted with pioneering work in the development of the economic resources of Sumatra. Chang's success was phenomenal and rapid. In 1877 he organized his first large-scale undertaking, the Yu-hsing Company, which began the development of pepper, rubber, coffee, and tea plantations on Sumatra. His operations contributed greatly to the growth of the port of Deli on the northeast of Sumatra. Chang also established a bank in Deli. The proximity of Medan to Penang, the British island colony which was then the second largest trading center in Malaya, soon attracted Chang Pi-shih into extending his operations to Malaya. Together with a friend, Li Ya-i, who was at the time the leader of the Chinese community in Surabaya, Chang established a trading firm at Penang chiefly for the export of products from Sumatra. Next, he entered the shipping business. In 1886 he founded the Wan-yu-hsing Company, which acquired three vessels operating between Sumatra and Penang. By this time Chang Pi-shih was recognized as the wealthiest Chinese in Sumatra and had become one of the most prosperous in Southeast Asia. The Manchu government in Peking, then gradually awakening to the need for modernization and industrialization, had the very practical idea of offering high official posts to rich Chinese abroad in return for their financial investments in China. Chang Pi-shih was among the first overseas Chinese to be selected by the Manchu government for such honors. In 1890 Peking established a consulate in Penang and appointed Chang consul.

As a government official, Chang Pi-shih made periodic visits to China. During these trips he surveyed economic conditions and invested in a variety of industrial enterprises in many parts of the country. His grasp of the principle of diversification, the more remarkable because of the early date, is apparent from even a few of his interests : a weaving mill with machine-operated looms in Canton; a machine-operated brick factory in Fatshan, Kwangtung; a glass works in Waichow, Kwangtung; a cattle ranch in the Luichow peninsula on the mainland opposite Hainan island; and a salt works at Pinghai, Fukien.

In 1894 Chang Pi-shih established the best known and most successful of his enterprises in China, the Chang Yu winery at Chefoo in Shantung province. The Chang Yu establishment was the first large-scale Chinese enterprise to undertake the production of commodities entirely Western in character. The origins of this winery idea may be traced back to 1871. Then a young man of 32 sui beginning his climb to wealth and prominence, Chang Pi-shih had met a veteran of the 1860 Anglo-French expedition against China who had become a French consular official in Java. The Frenchman said that the troops, while on occupation duty in the Chefoo area, had established by experiment that the climate was well suited to the cultivation of grapes for wine. In 1891, the year after he was appointed consul at Penang, Chang visited China and made a trip to Chefoo at the invitation of Sheng Hsuan-huai (q.v.), who was customs tao-t'ai there. Recalling the Frenchman's observations, Chang made inquiries of Sheng Hsuan-huai, who pointed out that native wines were produced successfully in the district. Determined to proceed with the project, Chang then sought to obtain the services of a European expert. The first man he engaged died on the trip to China. The second man proved to be unqualified. The third man, an Austrian, finally arrived at Chefoo, imported grape seedlings from both Europe and the United States, and gradually established a vineyard. However, it was not until 1906 that the winery began to produce on a commercially profitable basis. In 1 909 the winery built its own glass works. Chang Pi-shih's eldest son, Chang Chih-chao, an able entrepreneur like his father, managed the Chang Yu winery from its beginnings. The establishment produced red and white wines, and also brandy.

In 1896, Chang Pi-shih embarked on a silver mining scheme in Kweihsien, Kwangsi. That venture was a failure, partly because the machinery imported was unsuited for local use, and partly because the political situation in the area was unstable.

In Southeast Asia, however, Chang Pi-shih continued to add to his vast fortune. He took a hand in the fast-growing mining industry in British Malaya. In 1898 he helped to found the mining town of Bentong, on the east coast of Malaya, where a miniature "gold rush" was reported. Tin, however, was the major mineral undertaking in Malaya, and Chang had interests in tin mining in the state of Selangor. Chang Pi-shih also advanced in his official life, being promoted to consul general at Singapore in 1902. In 1903, he was summoned to an audience with the empress dowager in Peking. There he was given the rank of third grade metropolitan official and was appointed to the newly created Board of Trade. On 24 October 1904 Chang submitted, through the board, a memorial to the throne, making important recommendations regarding the economic development of China. Considering the date at which it was written, the document was remarkably advanced in its views. Chang pointed out that the top government leaders of China, while anxious to attract foreign capital for the development of the country, did not offer practical measures to interest prospective foreign investors. Chang suggested the alternative of raising capital from overseas Chinese entrepreneurs. He explained the difficulties that obstructed overseas Chinese interest and suggested methods to overcome them. The Manchu government viewed his proposal with approval, and Chang was appointed special trade commissioner in Southeast Asia and, concurrently, tupan of agricultural, industrial, highway, and mining development for the two provinces of Kwangtung and Fukien. He was also given an honorary title as director of one of the five imperial courts and the personal rank of vice minister with permission to wear the first class button. The court's objective was, of course, to ensure Chang's active support in the attempt to interest his fellow overseas Chinese to invest in China. However, in spite of great effort, Chang made little or no headway. The revolutionary tides were rising, and no overseas Chinese leader wanted to offer support to the Manchu government.

When the republic was founded in 1912, Chang Pi-shih returned to Java and Malaya. In Penang, he launched a new enterprise connected with the coconut industry. He died in Surabaya in August 1916, at the age of 77 sui.

Biography in Chinese

张弼士
字:振勋
张弼士(1840—1916.8),企业家,以他的烟台张裕酿酒厂知名。他在爪哇、马来亚成了一个百万巨富。他的爱国心和他的事业为清政府所利用,这是极少数华侨中的一人。
张弼士出身在粤东大埔的一个贫苦家庭。大埔是广东省的先进地区,比较开通,张弼士童年时受了一些教育,1856年十七岁时离家赴东南亚去试试他的命运。他的目的地是巴达维亚。
青年张弼士既有雄心又小心谨慎,初到客地,他认为必须取得荷兰殖民主人的交情和信任,才能对他的事业进展更为有利。他工作勤恳,且不断地讨好荷兰当局。1858年,他到爪哇才两年,就办起了他第一桩事业——开公司种植椰子和稻米,爪哇是当时诸岛中经济最为发达的一个地区。
张弼士和荷兰殖民官员的交情不断加深,使他获得垦殖荒地的机会,又使他有效地垄断例如烟酒之类的贸易。几年之内,他发了财,成了爪哇的一名显要人物。实业经营的成功,反过来又加强了他和荷兰行政当局的私人关系。
1875年,张弼士三十六岁,他的事业达到高峰,他的荷兰朋友提议他向苏门答腊发展他的事业,那里的经济不甚发达。荷兰人看准了张弼士,认为他是开发苏门答腊经济资源的可靠而理想的开拓人。张的事业飞黄腾达,1877年他创办了第一个大企业永兴公司,在苏门答腊种植胡椒、橡胶、咖啡、茶叶。他所兴办的事业对苏门答腊东北德利港的发展起了很大的促进作用。他在德利还开设了一所银行。
从棉兰到英属殖民地槟城很近,槟城又是马来亚第二位的商业中心,所以很吸引张弼士,他准备到那里去寻求发展。他与友人泗水华侨首领李大义在槟城设立一家贸易公司,从苏门答腊出口商品。接着,又从事航运业,1886年设立万永生公司,有三艘船只来往于苏门答腊和槟城之间。
张弼士成了苏门答腊最有钱的中国人,也是东南亚最富有者之一。北京清政府渐渐悟到需要现代化和工业化,提出了很现实的办法,准备授海外富裕华侨以高级官衔,以吸引他们向国内投资。张弼士就是获得这种荣誉的第一批华侨中的一个。1890年,清政府在槟城设领事馆,张任领事。
张弼士作为清朝官吏,常回国探访,观察国内经济状况,并向国内许多地方的工业企业投资。在很早时候,他就掌握多种经营的方针,创办一些很少有人去经营的事业,这更是引人注目了,例如广州机器纺织厂、广东佛山的机器造砖厂、广东惠州的玻璃厂、海南岛对岸大陆上雷州半岛的畜牧场、福建平海的盐场。
1894年,张弼士在山东烟台创办了他在中国的最有名而最成功的企业——张裕酿酒厂,这是国内第一个生产西式商品的大企业。创办酿酒厂的过程要回溯到1871年,那时三十二岁的张弼士正开始登上名利之途,他遇到了一个参加1860年侵华英法联军的老兵,那时这个法国老兵已成为爪哇法国领事馆的外务官吏了。他说,占领烟台的军队根据经验都认为,那里的气候适宜于种植酿酒葡萄。1891年,张在被任命为槟城领事的那一年回国,他应烟台海关道盛宣怀的邀请,到烟台访问。他回想起那个法国人提出的主意,他就向盛宣怀讯问,盛告诉他说烟台酿制的土酒质量很好。张弼士决心着手进行此项企业,他聘请欧洲专家,第一个死在来华途中,第二个不合格,第三个奥地利人终于到了烟台,引进欧美葡萄种籽,渐渐垦拓了一片葡萄园。但直到1906年酿酒厂才能获利,1909年又附设玻璃厂。张弼士的长子张秩君像他父亲一样是个经商的行家,张裕酿酒厂从建厂起就由张秩君经营,出产红、白葡萄酒和白兰地酒。
1896年,他又投资开掘广西桂县银矿。这一招失败了,一方面是由于进口机械不适合当地需用,另方面是由于该地政治局势不安定。
张弼士在东南亚的巨资不断增添。他参加了英属马来亚迅速发展的开矿业,1898年他又协助在马来亚东岸建文冬矿城,在那里正掀起了一个小规模的“淘金热”。锡是马来亚的主要矿藏,张弼士对雪兰莪地区的锡矿很感兴趣。
张弼士的官吏生涯也有进展,1902年提升为新加坡总领事。1903年慈禧召见,赏给三品京官,入新设的商部任事。1904年10月24日张弼士给商部上书,对国内的经济开发作了重要建议。从他所撰文件的时代来考虑,其中有不少先进的见解。他指出政府的最高首脑渴望得到外国资本来开发中国,而又无实际措施吸引外国投资者。他提出与其如此,还不如吸收海外华侨企业家的投资为好,他又说明了阻碍华侨投资的困难所在,并提出了克服的办法。
清政府赞同他的建议,任命他为东南亚的特别商务大臣,又任命为闽粤两省农工路矿督办。清廷还授以太仆寺卿的荣誉职称和穿戴一品朝服副大臣官衔。清廷的目的是想通过他的积极支持吸引海外华侨的投资。张弼士虽作了极大努力,但殊少成效。革命高潮正在兴起,没有一个华侨首领愿意支持满清政府。
1912年民国成立,张弼士回爪哇、马来亚。他在槟城又创办了一个经营椰子的新企业。1916年8月死于泗水,年七十七岁。

 

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