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The Number One Scholar Zhang Jian: the Ups and Downs of the Rivers and Seas

Jieyang Diving Dragon

128K0

In 1853, Zhang Jian was born into an ordinary family among the green tiles and white walls of Changle Town, Haimen. Since childhood, he had a thirst for knowledge and studied hard under a kerosene lamp. Even when he encountered many obstacles in his studies, he never gave up. With the help of noble people and his unremitting efforts, he crossed over from elementary school to academies, and stepped into the imperial examination room step by step. After ten years of hard work, he finally succeeded. He won the top prize in high school and could have made a smooth career in the official career. However, the smoke of the defeat in the Sino-Japanese War stung his eyes. The country's poverty and weakness made Zhang Jian resolutely abandon his official position and devote himself to industry to save the country. Along the way, he met an important partner, Shen Jingfu. As one of the founders of Dasheng Cotton Mill, Shen Jingfu, with his pragmatic business acumen, cooperated and sometimes disagreed with Zhang Jian in key aspects such as fund raising and factory site selection, but he always supported him and became a solid arm on his industrial road. As for Tang Shouqian, the leader of the late Qing Dynasty's constitutionalists, although he and Zhang Jian had different opinions on the strategy of saving the country, either advocating giving priority to industry or focusing on political reform, they were both "number one scholars going to sea". In the wave of changes of the times, they inspired each other and jointly explored the road to save the country. From the roar of textile machines to the debate on court reform, Zhang Jian, Shen Jingfu, and Tang Shouqian joined hands to write a magnificent chapter of industrial salvation in the turbulent late Qing Dynasty with sweat and faith. Their story is an intertwining of personal ideals and the mission of the times, and it is a shocking epic of struggle.