On TangTingshu

This thesis threads by the time the story of Mr TangTingsu's change from a comprador of foreign firms to a national capitalist.Tangjia in Xiangshan County abuts on Maucau. Because of the advantage of geographical position and the advanced atmosphere here, TangTingsu received six years' Western education and learned plenty of language, scientific and cultural knowledge. Then he worked in the colonial government and customhouse for ten years, which made him accumulate rich knowledge of international laws and economy. He got familiar with plentiful international laws and regulations about customs. At the same time, he began his original capital accumulating. After TangTingsu became a national capitalist, he could use skillfully the knowledge, laws and capital he had for the development of Chinese national industry.From 1863 to 1873, which was his ten years as a comprador, he did his best working for Yihe Foreign Firm. There he worked for the feudalism exploitation in the private banks and pawnshops, vending salt, shipping goods along canals and also for the plunderous invasion by smuggling opium and trading unlawfully. But he was always a comprador not being trusted. Mistrust, suspicion and insult went with him all the time. By the year 1873, he had the voice of developing national capitalistic enterprises in his mind.In 1873, TangTingsu resolutely left YiHe Foreign Firm and joined into the restructuring of the steamship company. Soon they triumphantly took over the first large capitalistic enterprise self-run by China, which was the symbol of his changing from a comprador to a national capitalist. In 1876, after learning the Western way, TangTingsu set up Kaiping Coal Mine, which symbolized his stepping forward to the national capitalism. In those years,TangTingsu, together with ships, machines, telephones, telegrams, railways, steam engines and so on, which represented the advanced productivity at that time, promoted the China's modernization. He dared to compete with the foreigners in the form of ships and coal mines, which was useful for regaining the rights for China. This is his patriotism and progress. What he advocated was the only way of becoming strong and rich for China. As the representative of new productivity, TangTingsu struggled with the feudalism and won in the end. TangTingsu left behind a lot of valuable things for the exoteric China and the Chinese people today. That is the reason why I talk about TangTingsu here.