On Wu Jintang's Undertaking And Activities In Mainland China (1905-1910)

As a second-to-none modern overseas Chinese merchant inJapan, Wu Jintang is by no mistake worth study. Research of WuJintang, above all, research of his public welfare and industrialactivities in mainland in later Qing Dynasty, is no doubt offar-reaching and historical and practical significance in deepunderstanding of overseas Chinese patriotic love for their homelandand hometown, and their accomplishments in rendering theirservices, and the difficulties he encountered, and the later Qinggovernmental policy of affairs concerning nationals living abroad.This paper is trying to give a deep research into Wu Jintang'sundertakings and activities in later Qing Dynasty in mainland China,especially from 1905 to 1910, as this was the most frequent time ofhis activities in China in later Qing Dynasty. During these six years,Wu Jintang rushed about between China and Japan, withtremendous zest, participating in varieties of undertakings in laterQing Dynasty of China, and there are matters worth study. The writerof this paper focuses on his activities in the six years in mainland,following Wu Jintang's trace, trying to present his activities whollyand distinctly, in order to survey the relationship between modernoverseas Chinese merchants and their homeland and hometown.The paper is divided into seven sections.Introduction expounds the meaning and value of the research,reviewing the research of Wu Jintang done in both here and abroad,as well as illuminating the matters of the paper's focus.Section one introduces Wu Jintang's activity in Japan andundertaking and the background of his homecoming.The first part introduces Wu Jintang's activity in Japan. WuJintang started from scratch, and owing to his hardworking,advisability, earnestness, and faithfulness, he became the tycoon ofmodern overseas Chinese merchants in Japan, and played a majorrole in Japanese business circles. Wu Jintang also established anddeveloped Chinese merchant organization, subsidized the publicwelfare of overseas Chinese and the indigenous people.The second part presents the background of his homecoming.After getting fame or money, Wu Jintang generated the notion ofreturning home and rendering his service to his homeland. Undersuch circumstance, the Qing government exercised New Policyconducting to protect overseas Chinese merchants and attract theircapital. At that time the war between Japan and Russia was over, andthe relationship between China and Japan was getting better,Chinese began to show affection to Japan. All the above favored thereturning of Wu Jintang in 1905 to his homeland.Section two represents the background, detailedcourse, management and the result of Wu Jintang's construction ofirrigation systems in Du and Bai lakes. The project of Du and Bai lakes' irrigation system, initiated by WuJintang in his hometown Cixi, was really at huge scale, and was madeup of four major parts: to reconstruct the west overflow-pool to bankup the flood from YaoBei Plain in case of flood season; reinforce thelevee of the two lakes to increase the pondage; extend the slushingdam to control water level; dredge up large openings to the sea,increase all kinds of bridge brakes, to perfect irrigation and drainagesystem. Beginning from 1905, Wu Jintang completed the projectafter "5-6 years painstaking effort, and more than 700,000 silvercoins". This section is divided into three parts, trying to represent thebackground, course, management and the result of Wu Jintang'sconstruction of irrigation systems in Du and Bai lakes.Section three represents the course and result of Wu Jintang'sdonation in the establishment of Jintang school.Wu Jintang had experienced three stages in his donation inestablishing the Jintang school: First stage: establishing elementaryschools, from 1905 to 1909; Second stage: establishing primaryschool for silkworm industry, from 1909 to 1910; the third stage:establishing middle school for agriculture, from 1910 to 1911. Duringthe six years, Wu Jintang totally invested more than 200,000 silvercoins, and the Jintang school succeeded to be the best of privateschool in Zhejiang Province. Wu Jintang also endowed the studentswith excellent records in the school to study in Japan, to train theagricultural talents for his homeland. Cai Yuanpei, when he waspresiding China vocational education society, ranked him among thethree worthy persons in running private school with Chen Jiagengand Nie Yuntai.Section four represents Wu Jintang's investment and initiation inindustry in mainland China.This section mainly presents the course of Wu Jintang's investingand initiating industry in mainland China. From 1908, Wu Jingtangturned his inland undertaking in the direction of investment in theinland industry, and the following three years, he contiuouslyinvested Hanyeping coal & iron corporation, Zhejiang railroadcorporation, Ning-Shao steamship company, etc, and establishedYisheng foreign firm and Zhenjiang Yisheng mactch plant.Section five represents Wu Jintang's other activities in mainlandChina.In 1910, it is the busiest year of Wu Jintang in his homeland. Inaddition to the undertakings of Hanyeping coal & iron corporation,Zhejiang railroad corporation, Ning-Shao steamship company, WuJintang also took an active part in other activities, for instance,rushing about for the establishing of Zhejiang provincial agriculturecorporation, and Western Zhejiang agriculture corporation, puttingforward audacious plan to initiate merchant ship association,participating Nan'yo industrial society, overseas Chinese society, paying close attention to Qing governmental preparation activities ofconstitutionalism, etc..ConclusionTo sum up, Wu Jintang, in the last six year of Qing Dynasty,returned homeland sixth times, participated in the activities inmainland China with tremendous zest, from the public welfareestablishments at hometown to the investment of modernindustries, including agriculture, commercial business, mining, match,railway, steamship, and hydroelectricity, etc.. Wu Jintang alsoestablished merchant ship association, participated Nan'yo industrialsociety, overseas Chinese society, paid close attention to thepreparation activities of the constitutionalism, all these activitiescover economy, politics, social benefit and even coastal defense,which fully expressed the patriotic love of the overseas Chinese fortheir homeland, displayed the overseas Chinese's confidence in thegovernment and the good inter-government relationship, in someaspect, reflected the success of the overseas Chinese' policy in laterQing Dynasty. As a whole, Wu Jintang's investment in industry inmainland China resulted not much. Comparatively speaking,although Wu Jintang fell across some difficulties in public welfareestablishments at his hometown, as a whole it was successful.Despite all these, Wu Jintang suffered greatly from the plot againsthim by the local evil power, which was probably out of hisexpectation. It dedicates that the returned overseas Chinese in laterQing Dynasty, whether dedicated themselves in public welfare athometown or invested in industry, turned out just as Wu Jintang, tocome full of hope, and return in dejection.