A Practical Compendium of Wealthy Merchants Throughout Chinese History, Volume One

This book presents the remarkable stories of fifteen Chinese tycoons who rose from nothing to amass enormous fortunes. They include Fan Li, who retired at the height of his success during the Spring and Autumn period; Lü Buwei, who made a fortune from rare commodities during the Warring States period; Shen Wansan, a wealthy merchant in Jiangnan at the end of the Yuan dynasty; Wang Haifeng, a salt merchant from Shanxi at the end of the Ming dynasty; Lei Lüta, founder of a private bank in the Qing dynasty; Qiao Guifa, the foremost of the Shanxi merchants; Hu Xueyan, the red-topped merchant; Zhang Jian, an industrial magnate; Sheng Xuanhuai, a bureaucrat and merchant in the Republic of China; Li Hongling, a reformer of the draft-bank system; Rong Zongjing, an outstanding industrialist; Zhou Zuomin, skilled in capital management; Liu Hongsheng, the match king; Wu Yun Chu, the king of monosodium glutamate; and Lu Zuofu, a renowned shipping magnate. Drawing on their own intelligence and business acumen, they adapted to local conditions, treated righteousness as a path to profit, sold in high volumes at low margins, and stayed alert even in times of prosperity. Over the years, they developed distinct approaches to business and amassed enormous wealth. These stories, rich in profound and masterful wisdom, are a precious spiritual legacy of the Chinese people. They can inspire us to think wisely, discover our potential, and strive to build our own success.