#长文创作激励计划#
Some people say: Taiwan's five major family histories, a book of politics, business and economics. After going through the torrent of history and the ruthless tempering of more than 100 years of history, Taiwan's five major families can stand unshakable, and only when wealth and power are matched with each other can they occupy a position that will never fall.
Chen Tianan, who has served as the "speaker" of Kaohsiung City for more than 20 years, is the third generation of the Kaohsiung Chen family among the five major families in Taiwan. ”
It's really not a good story to get involved in politics!
Chen Tianjian and Huang Shuhui couple
Usually, people will refer to the Lukang Gu family, the Kaohsiung Chen family, the Banqiao Lin family, the Wufeng Lin family, and the Keelung Yan family as the "five major families in Taiwan", and the "five families" have gone through a time tunnel for more than 100 years, and each of their development is the best sample for studying Taiwan's modern and modern history.
The Kaohsiung Chen family started from the first generation of Chen Zhonghe, to the second generation of Chen Qiqing and Chen Qichuan, and then to the late former Kaohsiung City "Speaker" Chen Tianan, until the fourth generation, that is, Chen Tianan's two sons, Chen Jiandong of Xingao Gas Company and Chen Jianping, chairman of Public Bank; For more than 100 years, the Kaohsiung Chen family, as the "five major families", has been rich for four generations and has an everlasting foundation; It is worth mentioning that this year's descendants of the Chen family in Kaohsiung, perhaps they have experienced it and seen it through, and they are also the one with the farthest distance from politics among the "five major families".
Born in 1928, Chen Tianan, who served as the "Speaker" of Kaohsiung City for a long time during his lifetime, has no one else who has been unsurpassed. Chen Tianan, who was born in the Kaohsiung Chen Zhonghe family, served as a "councilor" for more than 30 years before and after the restructuring of Kaohsiung City, among them, he has occupied the throne of "Speaker" of Kaohsiung City for a total of 20 years.
Chen Tianjian passed away on March 7, 2018, at the age of 90, and his wife Huang Shuhui passed away on the evening of February 3, 2021, at the age of 89, due to advanced age and aging physical functions. Huang Shuhui is the daughter of the late Huang Bailu, the "Chairman" of the Senate of South City, and the Kaohsiung Chen family, and Chen Tianjian had 2 sons and 1 daughter after marriage, and the couple have been together for 63 years.
In 1981, Chen Tianjian (left) served as the chairman of the first municipal "council" of Kaohsiung City after the restructuring
Chen Tianan's father, Chen Qiqing, and Chen Qiqing's brother, former Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Qichuan, are the second-generation representatives of the Kaohsiung Chen family.
Among them, Chen Qiqing is the eighth son of Chen Zhonghe, a giant in Taiwan's Japanese colonial era, and is a brother-in-law with Huang Chaoqin, former speaker of the "Parliament" of Taiwan Province and an investor in the State Guest Hotel, and also a director of "Nanshan Life" together with Wu San, a representative of the "Tainan Gang", and his brother Chen Qichuan and Wu Xiuqi of the "Tainan Gang" are sons and daughters, which shows how influential his political and business circles are.
From his grandfather Chen Zhonghe, who is also the "richest man in Kaohsiung", to his father Chen Qiqing and uncle Chen Qichuan, and even Chen Tianan personally, the influence of the Kaohsiung Chen family in southern Taiwan is naturally not to be underestimated, and he is from "the youngest city 'speaker' to the oldest city 'speaker'", and the Chen family has participated in Kaohsiung local politics from the first generation of Chen Zhonghe to the second generation, and even the third generation of Chen Tiananchor, their wealth and power acquisition are matched with each other, but Chen Tiananchor decided not to run for election and retired from politics, He seems to have seen through the reality of the relationship between politics and business, and he may have seen through it.
During Chen Shui-bian's tenure, political and business relations were distorted, and most of Taiwan's "five major families" were involved, but the Chen family in Kaohsiung was one of the few who were not involved. Chen Jianping, the second son of Chen Tianjian and the current chairman of the Public Bank, was elected as a "representative of the people's will", but then he stopped participating. Once, Chen Tianan said with a smile in an interview: "Mixing in politics is really not a good 'daizhi' (note: Hokkien dialect, meaning "thing")! ”
Commonly known as the "dog building", the former residence of Chen Zhonghe in Ling Yaliao, Kaohsiung City
There is a western-style building in Lingya District, Kaohsiung City, which adopts a baroque style and integrates the color of traditional Chinese architecture in the spatial configuration, which is the "former residence of Chen Zhonghe", which is also commonly known as the "Dog Fighting Building" by the locals. Kaohsiung City's "Dagou Port" is the largest port in the local area, accounting for half of Taiwan's foreign trade, that year, Kaohsiung magnate Chen Zhonghe selected Lingziliao, which is adjacent to the Inner Harbor, to build a house called "Dagou Western-style Building" as a starting house, which seems to tell the history of his sugar export.
On the lintel on the first and second floors of Chen Zhonghe's former residence, there is Chen Zhonghe's self-created hall name "Zixun Hall", hoping that the descendants of the Chen family in Kaohsiung will strive for the top; In the Shenming Hall on the second floor, there is also a family motto "Career success depends on others, and social welfare must not be forgotten".
Chen Zhonghe (1853-1930), the first generation of the Chen family in Kaohsiung, was born in the third year of Xianfeng in the Qing Dynasty (April 25, 1853), a native of Lingyazhuang, Fengshan County (now Lingya District, Kaohsiung City), and his ancestral home was Tong'an County, Quanzhou Prefecture, Fujian Province (now Xiamen City).
Chen Zhonghe took a group photo with his sons Chen Qifeng and Chen Qizhen
During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, Chen Zhonghe and his great-grandfather moved to southern Taiwan from their hometown of Tong'an, Fujian, and Chen Zhonghe was the fourth generation to move to Taiwan. When he was 15 years old, he was appreciated by Chen Fuqian, the owner of the "Shunhe" firm and also a fellow villager, and asked him to accompany his son Chen Rixiang and Chen Tiantian to study, and later sent to Tokyo, Japan to study in middle school.
Seventeen-year-old Chen Zhonghe studied as a merchant in the "Shunhe" firm, and later followed Chen Fuqian, the "boss" (i.e., the boss), to inspect the markets in Fuzhou, Xiamen, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and other places, trafficking Taiwanese brown sugar to sell in South China, and then purchasing kerosene, groceries, and even opium that were lacking on the island of Taiwan on his return trip to sell them in various parts of Taiwan.
In 1873, the "Shunhe" firm also sold Taiwanese red sugar to Japan, and distributed it to all parts of Japan through two well-known local trading companies in Yokohama, "Daitokudo" and "Abe Ko", and the proceeds were remitted to Hong Kong, and then the goods were purchased and shipped to Taiwan for sale, diversifying trade and making huge profits; After that, "Shunhe" decided to open a base in Yokohama, Kobe and other places in Japan on its own, in addition to letting Chen Zhonghe take care of it, his elder brother Chen Changchuan and younger brother Chen Weixin were also sent to Japan to assist in management.
The boss Chen Fuqian is a very generous businessman, who does not hesitate to reward him for making money, and after Chen Zhong and Kunzhong share the dividends, he not only changes the family economy, but also accumulates considerable capital for the future self-reliance. It is worth mentioning that Chen Zhonghe's management skills and wisdom have been recognized and admired by the Japanese business community, and he is called "Zhigao". In the ninth year of Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (1883), Chen Fuqian, the owner of the "Shunhe" firm, died young, leaving his last words that "neutralization must be reused". After that, as Chen Fuqian's children grew up, the guests and hosts parted ways due to different ideas.
In 1887, Chen Zhonghe, who broke away from the "Shunhe" firm, founded "He Xingxing" on his own, and was still engaged in the export business of sugar and rice, at the age of 34. In 1889, Chen Zhonghe went to Japan for the third time to develop business, and through the Qing government's envoy to Japan, he donated the official title of "Qinjia Tongzhi". In the following years, he monopolized the export of sugar and rice in the areas of Dagou, Fengshan, and Ah Monkey (note: now Pingtung City) with his flexible business methods, and became a major businessman in southern Taiwan.
Chen Zhonghe's "Dog Fighting Building" (i.e., "Chen Zhonghe's Former Residence") built in 1925
1895 was the most humiliating year in China's more than 100 years, after the First Sino-Japanese War, the Treaty of Shimonoseki was signed, the Japanese government appointed Shiki Kayama as the governor of Taiwan, and led more than 10,000 Japanese troops to invade Taiwan, since then, Taiwan has entered a 50-year colonial era.
Chen Zhonghe was the "richest man in Kaohsiung" in the Japanese colonial era, and his real career is naturally related to this humiliating history. Because he is fluent in Japanese, after the Japanese army invaded Taiwan, he was pushed by the local government to surrender to the Japanese army and cooperate with the Japanese invaders who invaded Taiwan, so he can be said to be a "traitor". In December 1896, the rebel army led by Lin Shaomao attacked the business, and Chen Zhonghe's right thumb was also injured.
The following year, the Japanese Governor Nogi Noshinori asked the Consul General in Xiamen to persuade Chen Zhonghe to return to Taiwan, and awarded him the "Order of Ruibao of the Sixth Class". In 1898, after the implementation of the "Baojia Regulations" in Taiwan, Chen Zhonghe was appointed as the director of the Baojia Bureau of 14 joint divisions including Ling Yaliao, and in addition to organizing local security, he also served as a counselor in Tainan.
Objectively speaking, among the "five major families", whether it is Chen Zhonghe, the first generation of the Chen family in Kaohsiung, or Gu Xianrong, the first generation of the Gu family in Lukang, they all have a "disgraceful" side in the face of national righteousness. In particular, after the Japanese army invaded Taiwan, some people with lofty ideals launched a resolute struggle against aggression and attacked the Japanese colonialists head-on, but some people were willing to become accomplices of the extremely vicious Japanese colonialists on the basis of narrow personal interests of good and evil. When evaluating the ugliness of some Taiwanese people, the Japanese colonial governor Goto Shinpei used the phrase "fear of death, love money, and good face" and pointed out that they were "afraid of prestige but not virtuous, and deceitful and greedy for fame and fortune."
The rice mill of Chen Zhonghe Co., Ltd
On August 8, 1930, at the end of the Qing Dynasty and the Japanese colonial era, one of Taiwan's important entrepreneurs, wealthy businessmen, and the first generation of the "Kaohsiung Chen family" Chen Zhonghe died at the age of 77.
In 1899, Chen Zhonghe and the gentry in Pingtung and Kaohsiung came forward to recruit Lin Shaomao and other anti-Japanese rebels for the Japanese. In 1903, Chen Zhonghe founded the "Nanxing Company" in Sanbiancuo and engaged in the rice milling industry, which was later changed to "Chen Zhonghe Co., Ltd." At that time, his rice milling factory, which used an electric rice milling machine, was the first new rice milling factory in Taiwan. In addition to rice and sugar, Chen Zhonghe also took a stake in the "Wushulin Salt Company" (the predecessor of the later "Kaohsiung Salt Factory") in 1910, and later acquired it completely in 1919.
Chen Zhonghe, who was the target of the Japanese colonial authorities, became the richest man in Kaohsiung during the Japanese colonial period, and he was also the richest man in Taiwan, and the sugar, rice, salt and other industries he controlled were all necessities for people's livelihood.
Chen Zhonghe had many wives and concubines, a total of ten sons and four daughters, and at the time of his death, the second and fifth sons had died in 1908, and only eight sons were sent to die. Chen Tianling's father, Chen Qiqing, is the eighth son of Chen Zhonghe.
It is worth mentioning that the Chen family in Kaohsiung is also a well-known "big landlord" in southern Taiwan, and in the old days, the land in Kaohsiung was uneven and could not be cultivated. From the rich to the noble, when the career was booming, the Chen Zhonghe family also had a positive side of doing good, and his children and grandchildren later set up three charitable and cultural and educational foundations in the name of Chen Zhonghe, Chen Qiqing, and Chen Qichuan.
The story of more than 50 ballast stones of the Chen family in Kaohsiung
Chen Jiandong (4th from left) attends the opening ceremony of Xingao Office Building
At the end of January this year, Chen Tian's eldest son, Chen Jiandong, chairman of Xingao Gas and Xingao Petroleum, presided over the inauguration and opening ceremony of the office building of Xingao Petroleum. Founded by Chen Tianan, Xingao Petroleum has been established for 40 years and was listed on the stock market in March 2000.
Chen Tianjian and Huang Shuhui have two sons and one daughter, the daughter has passed away, the eldest son Chen Jiandong is now the chairman of Xingao Gas and Xingao Petroleum Company, and the second son Chen Jianping is the former chairman of the public bank. In 2015, after the "two-in-one" merger of Yuanta Bank, a subsidiary of Yuanta Financial Holdings, and Public Bank, Chen Jianping was reappointed as the new vice chairman of Yuanta Bank, and then resigned on January 22, 2018.
At that time, Chen Jianping explained the reason for his resignation in a letter to employees, saying: "It is almost a good year, and I really shouldn't have a nostalgia for a position that I can't contribute." "Public Bank was founded by Chen Tianjian in 1990, and its shares were listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange in 1999.
Chen Tian's anchor memorial service
As the third generation of the Kaohsiung Chen family "benchmark" Chen Tianan, he has always been harmonious, sincere, he was the head of the three major political families in Kaohsiung during his lifetime, even after retirement, he is still full of friends, regardless of blue and green, from time to time to ask for benefits, his death, but also symbolizes the three major political and business families in Kaohsiung in the political arena to draw a rest.
In fact, Chen Tian's two sons, Chen Jiangao and Chen Jianping, are only one of the "Jian" generations of the Kaohsiung Chen family, and there are quite a few "Tian" generations like Chen Tian'an, the father of the brothers.
In 1997, the renovated "Dog Fighting Building" - Chen Zhonghe's former residence was turned into "Chen Zhonghe Memorial Hall" for the public to visit. The couplet on the right side of the statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva hanging in the Shenming Hall on the second floor reads: "Resources open fields are the foundation of Jianye", and the "Qitian" and "Jianye" are the names of the descendants of the Chen family in Kaohsiung. For example, Chen Tianan is a generation of "Tian", his father Chen Qiqing is a generation of "Qi", and his two sons Chen Jiangao and Chen Jianping are members of the character "Jian". According to incomplete statistics, among Chen Zhonghe and his relatives, there are as many as 100 people who inherit the "Tian" character generation, and there are more than 40 "Tian" generation of Chen Zhonghe's eight sons' descendants alone.
It is worth mentioning that the descendants of the Chen family in Kaohsiung still retain more than 50 ballast stones of Chen Zhonghe's navigation and business in the former residence of Chen Zhonghe, and keep them as "heirlooms".
At that time, Chen Zhonghe did things in the "Shunhe Xing" opened for his old club Chen Fuqian, relying on a compass to see the stars and the direction of the wind, transporting sugar, rice, and salt from Taiwan to Xiamen and Fujian to unload the goods, and on the return trip, he would take a ballast stone to the ship, and he would not capsize the ship in case of strong winds. Later, his ninth son, Chen Qichuan, and his mother, Liu Yu, cherished these ballast stones and regarded them as the spiritual assets of the Chen family. Later, Chen Qichuan also divided the ballast stone equally among his seven children, in addition to remembering the old and cherishing blessings, it is also to let the children and grandchildren recall the hardships of their ancestors and enhance family cohesion.
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