Chapter 21 Chapter 12 1929: The Merchants' Struggle

The mutations that occurred one after another were obviously far beyond the expectations of the entrepreneurs. When the money was first sent, the Shanghai business community and Jiang "agreed in four chapters", that is, "to protect Shanghai's industry and commerce, to acknowledge and guarantee the repayment of the debts owed by the Beiyang government, and to repay the money in installments. It will be used in Jiangsu (Shanghai was under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province at that time)." Jiang promised with his personality.But what happened later was no longer "protection" but recruitment, fraud and blackmail.Yu Qiaqing had 16 ships requisitioned by the army, but he had not returned them or paid the rent for several months. He had to ask Bai Chongxi, the commander-in-chief of the Martial Law Command, to get the ships back.Fu Zongyao was wanted, and he pleaded with Jiang out of the friendship of his fellow villagers in Ningbo. As a result, he came back with a bad nose.

In his diary on June 11, 1927, Chen Guangfu expressed his extreme disappointment with the Chiang government. He compared it with the violent Northeast warlord Zhang Zuolin, and concluded that "the establishment of the Chiang government was too early, and it has already been seven years old." Zhang Zuolin's method." His so-called "method" is: "First, regardless of business conditions, forcefully withdraw 10 million yuan from the Bank of China; Third, citing general believers in semi-anarchy to disrupt politics." In terms of financial governance, he complained that the government only knows how to appoint party members and does not trust professionals. ) has no authority, and relies entirely on Zhang Jingjiang, who is a semi-disabled person, and if he is asked to advocate finances, the future can be imagined. If we follow this method, within two or three years, something will happen again in Jiangsu and Zhejiang."

Disappointed, Yu Qiaqing and Chen Guangfu were unwilling to be restrained and determined to fight. In November 1927, Yu Qiaqing issued a very strong announcement in the newspaper in the name of the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce, saying, "Since the arrival of the national army in Shanghai, our merchants and people have been groaning. Coupons, exhausting the best efforts of businessmen, providing money for racking their brains, are nothing more than promoting politics... Since the Qing Party was returned, there should be a clear hope, and the same is true, so I am still the same. Although it is said that the political party is currently Month, the blame cannot be too severe, but what is the life expectancy? The dry fish has entered the market first." Yu publicly accused Chiang Kai-shek of not fulfilling his promise, and if the status quo is not changed, all businessmen will become "dry fish", and the anger is vivid on paper.

As Chiang Kai-shek's "pocket", Song Ziwen, who has a volatile temperament, wanted to act as a bridge between the government and entrepreneurs at the beginning. There is no information showing that he participated in horrific kidnapping and extortion activities. The background of a business family and liberal American education It made him full of sympathy for entrepreneurs, and he still hoped to rebuild the relationship between government and business through normal financial policies. In June 1928, Song Ziwen held the National Economic Conference in Shanghai. More than 60 of the most important industrial, commercial and financial entrepreneurs from Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang attended the meeting, including Yu Qiaqing, Rong Zongjing, Zhang Gongquan, Chen Guangfu, Song Hanzhang, Li Ming and others. Bombarded Song Ziwen and put forward two motions, one is the "Restriction of Trade Unions and Strikes", which requires that "the government must formulate labor laws to control trade unions, so as to prevent troublemakers from using trade unions to stir up troubles, and the funds of trade unions must be disclosed. and will be placed under its supervision.” The second is the “Protection of Merchant Property Case,” which demands that “all private property, such as ships, flour mills, factories, and mines, which are still occupied by government authorities, be returned immediately, All illegally confiscated properties will also be immediately returned to their original owners.” Among these two bills, the first is their main original intention of funding the Chiang Kai-shek clique more than a year ago, and the second is a completely unexpected “accident”.Song Ziwen admitted at the meeting that "we were forced to use extreme means to raise funds during the war." He also agreed to propose disarmament to the central government and limit annual military expenditure to 192 million yuan.Bankers such as Zhang Gongquan said they would stop buying any government bonds if Song's promises were not fulfilled.The Zilinxi Daily, which reported the meeting, said, “Only if all the plans are accepted, otherwise after July 31, the Shanghai bankers who have mastered China’s wealth will not lend even a penny to the Kuomintang government.” After the meeting, Song Ziwen immediately took this newspaper to Beijing, which had just been taken back, where all the senior generals of the Kuomintang were holding a military meeting. Ridiculously, they flatly rejected disarmament and military spending restrictions, and by the way, asked the Ministry of Finance to immediately issue another 30 million to 50 million yuan in public bonds.In the first round, Song Ziwen's efforts were in vain, and the entrepreneur was defeated.

In two months, the Kuomintang established its capital in Nanjing, and immediately held the Fifth Plenary Session of the Second Central Committee.Under the suggestion and encouragement of Song Ziwen, Yu Qiaqing led 100 Shanghai business representatives to Nanjing to petition aggressively. These people represented the Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce, the Shanghai Banking Trade Union and 60 Shanghai industry associations. Troops, tariff independence, labor-management cooperation” and other ten requirements, if they cannot meet, they will refuse to pay the loan in August.This was the toughest action taken by the entrepreneurial group after Chiang Kai-shek entered Shanghai, and public opinion at home and abroad was shocked.Of course, Chiang Kai-shek could not use bayonets and machine guns to deal with these donors, so he invited them into the Tangshan villa, sent senior officials to entertain them day and night, and promised to form the National Budget Committee and the Central Financial Reform Committee. Director of Aviation Administration.After eating soft nails all the way, the petition group returned without success.In such a process, Song Ziwen, who had been trying to reach a compromise between politics and business, gradually slipped to the side of the regime, and he soon became another Song Ziwen.

In October, the national government announced the reorganization of the two most important private banks in China at that time, Bank of China and Bank of Communications, and joined the government-owned shares, each accounting for 20% of the shares, and restored the nature of government-business cooperation.Zhang Gongquan and others were forced to accept the reality. He wrote in his diary: "Soldiers don't know about finances, but they interfere in finances everywhere, and the future is pessimistic." In December 1928, Zhang Xueliang, the warlord of the Northeast, sent a telegram expressing his obedience to the Nationalist Government, and the Kuomintang formally unified China.

Under the pressure of public opinion at home and abroad, in January 1929, Nanjing held an army formation meeting, and all major generals in the country except Zhang Xueliang attended the meeting.The entrepreneur group launched the third protest, and a flood of telegrams rushed to Nanjing. The Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce and 15 important business groups jointly issued a power call, "demanding that the Nanjing government must lay off the army and decide on the national budget." At this meeting, finally Passed resolutions to cap military spending and cut the military from nearly 2 million to 715,000.The protests of the entrepreneurs seem to have been won.But the fact later is that from Chiang Kai-shek to Zhang Xueliang in the northeast, Yan Xishan in Shanxi, Feng Yuxiang in the north of China, and Li Zongren in the southwest, none of the generals is willing to cut a single soldier, and military expenditures are of course still high.

Three consecutive protests were launched in more than half a year, indicating that the entrepreneurial group at this time still has the ability to resist. At the same time when entrepreneurs were frequently dispatched, free intellectuals with similar ideas also joined the camp of resistance. At the beginning of 1929, the national government issued an order on "human rights protection": "human rights in all countries in the world are protected by law. No organization or group shall infringe upon the body, freedom, or property of others with illegal acts. Violators shall be punished strictly according to law. All administrative and judicial courts shall comply with this order."

Soon, Hu Shi published the article "Human Rights and Contracts" in the second volume of the "New Moon" magazine, No. 2, openly opposing the "political training" of the Kuomintang. He wrote that in terms of human rights violations, "the order prohibits only 'Individuals or groups', without mentioning government agencies... But what we feel most painful today is that various government agencies or under the guise of government and party agencies infringe on people's physical freedom and property."Sven was regarded by many scholars in later generations as the most brilliant writing in Hu Shi's life, and it was the first conflict between liberal intellectuals and the ruling system around human rights issues.Then, Hu Shi wrote "When Will We Have a Constitution" and Luo Longji published "What Kind of Political System Do We Want?" A human rights movement against political training was born from this, and KMT politicians launched a fierce campaign against it. Hu Hanmin, who had been Sun Yat-sen's secretary and then president of the Legislative Yuan, wrote an article to refute and vowed not to "communist China" with Hu Shi, but the latter had no fear, and responded frankly, "God, we can still criticize, let alone The Kuomintang and Sun Yat-sen?" This debate lasted for four years, and ended in June 1933 when "New Moon" was suspended. By then, the party-state system had become a fact.

In this struggle, an interesting fact is the attitude of another type of intellectuals.Just half a year after Hu Shi published "Human Rights and Contracts", Lu Xun, who was also in Shanghai, published an article "The Task of Critics of the Crescent Society". Law and order", "Since the executioner and Zaoli have done such a task of maintaining law and order, they will naturally be respected in the society, and they may even say a few words at will to show their prestige in front of the common people, as long as they do not hinder law and order." In his book "Hu Shi and Lu Xun: Two Intellectuals in the 20th Century", Shao Jian believed that "Lu Xun, in his consistent language, With sarcasm, Hu Shi's group of people were judged as 'executors and soap slaves', and they threw sharp spears unceremoniously, which is indeed confusing to today's readers."

In fact, there were indeed two types of intellectuals in China at that time, one was the constructive type who "participated in" and the other was the critical type who "never compromised". China's modernization choices have become more unpredictable and difficult. Of course, Chiang Kai-shek would not allow the protests of the entrepreneurial group to continue endlessly. Their protests or complaints could not change his established national policy at all.Soon, under his plan and the cooperation of Song Ziwen, the entrepreneurial group was completely broken up and defeated. The attack is carried out from two aspects. One is to completely disintegrate the organizational system of entrepreneurs, and the other is to completely "kidnap" them with the seemingly extremely favorable public debt policy. After nearly 30 years of development, Shanghai has formed an entrepreneurial organization with clear hierarchy and strict structure. It is headed by the General Chamber of Commerce, with branch associations in each district and trade associations in each industry. Public governance experience.As a seasoned politician, Chiang Kai-shek certainly understood the power of this organizational system better than anyone else. Shortly after the "April 12" incident, he took the opportunity to arrest Fu Zongyao and ordered the Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce and its directors to be dissolved in the name of the Shanghai Political Branch of the Kuomintang.Afterwards, Jiang appointed Song Ziwen and others to adopt the strategy of division and mutual containment, negotiate with one merchant organization after another separately, making it impossible for them to resist, and were absorbed into the KMT organization one by one. In July 1927, Chiang Kai-shek promulgated a decree announcing that the Shanghai municipal government would now enjoy extremely broad and important administrative and judicial powers under the direct control of the central government, and that all commercial organizations in Shanghai would be subject to the supervision of the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Social Affairs.All professional disputes between industries must be resolved by the city government. The city government is also responsible for collecting various economic statistics and handling various charitable undertakings.In order to cultivate its own merchant organizations, the Shanghai KMT Party Headquarters established the National Salvation Association and the Merchant Association. Go to the office of the Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce - the Houtian Palace in the public concession, and implement the so-called "joint office". Chiang Kai-shek is also very good at using the media to completely isolate the entrepreneurial class.In the KMT-controlled media, entrepreneurs are often portrayed as partners and lackeys of imperialism, pursuing their own interests at the expense of the nation.In a Chinese society with a 2,000-year-old tradition of centralized power, our national character naturally has the worship and fear of the regime.It is very easy for politicians to use people's emotions about social injustice to guide issues, shift the focus, and achieve their own goals.In this kind of behavior, it is an easy strategy to arouse people's hatred of the wealthy class, because it has almost no risk, and it seems very "moral", which is in line with the emotional intuition of the grassroots. In June 1928, when Yu Qiaqing and others were besieging Song Ziwen at the National Economic Conference, the Kuomintang media immediately published a severely condemned article. An author named Yao Qun wrote in the "Leader Monthly", "When I When I heard the news, I thought that this meeting is very serious and serious in the period of political scholasticism... I was very disappointed when I learned that the majority of the participants in the meeting were capitalists and not one farmer or worker was included.” For enterprises "Ultimatums" issued by experts, his comment was, "We should not allow the Economic Conference to be accused of representing the capitalist class. This document plagiarizes things from capitalist countries and lacks the revolutionary spirit of the Kuomintang." In December 1928, after the Northeast changed its flag, Chiang Kai-shek immediately declared that "the party governs the country" and that "all the military affairs and public administration shall be fully borne by the party." Picked up the pace. On March 15, 1929, at the Third National Congress of the Kuomintang, Chen Dewei, director of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee, proposed to the congress a motion to abolish chambers of commerce throughout the country. "Miller's Review" commented very keenly, "This is the government's attempt to stifle the struggle of business groups and the Kuomintang to seize power politically, and Chen Dewei specifically targeted the Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce because it was the earliest and most important organization in China. a business group". On March 23, representatives of major chambers of commerce in Shanghai met at the Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce. The meeting passed a resolution refuting the motion to cancel the chamber of commerce, and sent a delegation headed by Yu Qiaqing to Nanjing to defend their position to the government. Impossible to cancel directly, Chiang Kai-shek quickly came up with a second trick. On April 22, a farce broke out in the Houtian Palace in the public concession. The National Salvation Association and the Merchants Association and the General Chamber of Commerce, cultivated by the Kuomintang, fought for the office. The Chamber of Commerce announced that it will temporarily suspend operations.Two days later, a group of brothers from the Green Gang broke into the Tianhou Palace with placards insulting the General Chamber of Commerce, destroyed equipment, stole documents and files, and severely injured four staff members.The General Chamber of Commerce immediately lodged a protest with the government authorities and complained to all walks of life.Organizations such as the Association of Banks and the Federation of Spinning Mills also called Nanjing, declaring that if the murderer was not dealt with, a strike would be launched. The KMT City Party Headquarters strictly ordered all Chinese-language newspapers not to publish any statements by the General Chamber of Commerce and explanations of the truth of the conflict.On the other hand, the party newspaper "Central Daily" published a series of statements and reports that the National Salvation Association and the Merchants Association reprimanded the General Chamber of Commerce. The latter was identified as a "running dog of imperialism". He and Lin Kanghou are despicable and hateful traitors and profiteers. On May 2, the Central Executive Committee of the Kuomintang ordered all commercial groups in Shanghai to stop their activities on the grounds of investigating the truth.One month later, the Central Executive Committee of the Kuomintang set up the Shanghai Merchants Group Reorganization Committee on the grounds of "unifying the business movement". All non-governmental business groups, including the Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce, stopped their activities and handed over all conference affairs to the "Business Reorganization Association" , KMT members and controlled submissives became the most important members.According to the reorganization regulations promulgated by the Central Executive Committee, the new Chamber of Commerce "must abide by the guidance and instructions of the Shanghai Municipal Party Headquarters and be subject to the jurisdiction of the Shanghai Municipal Administration." All members of the Chamber of Commerce "must believe in the Three Principles of the People" Those who have slandered the Kuomintang for counter-revolutionary purposes are not allowed to be members.” On May 25, the "Commercial Reorganization Association" held an inaugural meeting. The Central Executive Committee of the Kuomintang, the Shanghai Party Headquarters of the Kuomintang, the Songhu Police Command, the Shanghai Social Bureau, and the Central Ministry of Industry and Commerce became the protagonists of the meeting. Zhang Qun of the Central Executive Committee The general said in his speech, "The Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce was established before the National Revolutionary Army arrived in Shanghai. At that time, the affairs of the General Chamber of Commerce were controlled by a few people who colluded with the warlords." "It was established by Shanghai merchants themselves, and it was completely based on Sun Yat-sen's ideological theory." Xu Jianping, a representative of the Central Ministry of Industry and Commerce, declared, "Shanghai merchants were once suppressed by the Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce. Now it's all right, the Shanghai business community It is planned to organize a new unified chamber of commerce following the orders of the central government." More than a year later, in June 1930, a new "Shanghai Chamber of Commerce" was born. In the announced list of directors, the representatives from the original General Chamber of Commerce accounted for less than one-third, and the representatives from the Chamber of Commerce and Citizens became the majority.The ethnic business class in Shanghai, which had always valued its independence, was deprived of its independent representative organization, lost its right to manage local affairs, and was expelled from its traditional activities.After the Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce was disintegrated, chambers of commerce in other cities across the country encountered exactly the same fate one after another.Many years later, Baijier commented in the book "Cambridge History of China", "Since the 19th century, the development of commercial organizations has been able to control the management of urban communities, and now it has been roughly reversed." If Chiang Kai-shek succeeded in smashing the entrepreneurial class into a mess from the organizational system, then Song Ziwen used more ingenious means to kidnap interests. Since the first day when the Kuomintang army entered Shanghai, it has regarded the issuance of public bonds as one of the important ways of raising funds. At the beginning, due to the lack of real credit guarantees, it was very difficult to issue public bonds, and bankers often used this as an excuse. To blackmail the government, Chiang Kai-shek had to resort to apportionment, kidnapping and extortion.Song Ziwen, who was born in financial investment, of course knew the minds of bankers well. Beginning in the spring of 1928, he redesigned the rules of the game for public bond issuance. The specific method is as follows: when the government announces the issuance of a public bond, it first deposits these public bonds in the subscribing bank to obtain a cash loan from the bank. Generally speaking, the cash withdrawn by the government is equivalent to depositing the bond par half the value.According to the information retained by the Shanghai Money Industry Association, from March 1928 to November 1931, the association purchased a total of 30.6 million yuan in bonds, while the actual loan to the government was 15.625 million yuan.After the public bond is issued, the bank can put the bond directly on the stock exchange in Shanghai for speculative trading.This preferential discount policy suddenly makes buying government bonds a very attractive business. The average annual interest rate of government bonds is 8.6%. With the addition of a large amount of discounts, the annual yield of government bonds has reached more than 20%, and some can be as high as 40%.At that time, the annual interest of banks on loans to factories was generally 6-8%, and the annual interest on loans to commercial enterprises was 10%.In addition, speculating and trading bonds in the securities market can also obtain greater returns. This was an irresistible temptation. Bankers all over China immediately entered the game circle designed by Song Ziwen, especially bankers in Shanghai with the most abundant capital bought government bonds one after another. In the following ten years, the central government issued a total of Of the 2.412 billion yuan in public bonds, 70% of them were bought by these people who claim to be the smartest people in China. The "public debt craze" has led to three results. The first is that the issuance of public bonds has changed from "the most difficult thing in the world" to a sweet steamed bun that everyone is vying for. The second is the formation of a frenzied and dangerous speculative market. Shanghai's financial industry is super prosperous, and private savings and private hot money are introduced into government administrative activities. In the middle and early 1930s, Shanghai citizens speculated on treasury bonds. As Arthur Young said, "Speculation has become a way of life for Shanghainese." The third is that the bankers have since been "kidnapped" by the government.Since the new government bonds can partially offset the old government bonds, the banks keep buying new bonds in order to maintain the old bonds, and fall into a "circular trap".Chen Guangfu, Zhang Gongquan and others were also quite worried that such an approach would shake the credit of the bank at the beginning, but under Song Ziwen's strong derivation and the temptation of current profits, they finally couldn't extricate themselves.According to calculations by Zhang Naiqi, a scholar of the Republic of China in the article "China's Monetary and Financial Issues", by around 1932, 80% of all securities held by banks were government bonds.With so much money being lent to the government, they had to sit in the same boat, and the relationship of equality ended.Wang Yejian, an expert on Chinese economic history in Taiwan, therefore commented, "This kind of cooperation of Shanghai bankers not only solves the government's economic difficulties, but also strengthens the government's control over the business world. When the safes of various banks are full of government money When it comes to bonds, it is a manifestation of their active political participation in this regime." Chen Guangfu, Zhang Gongquan, Song Hanzhang and others have always valued their independence, but they entered government service one after another, mostly because of this. However, if the government really honors the 20% to 40% interest rate, it will be considered a very good business.In the next chapter, we will see that due to political turmoil and other reasons, the government forcibly discounted the repayment of public debt, and some even refused to repay it with excuses. It was too easy to punish an entrepreneur at that time. Profiteer" or "communist" hat will do.When the political situation was turbulent, the spot and futures market prices of government bonds often fell sharply, and private banks suffered heavy losses, and they could no longer compete with the power of the state.In this "cat-and-mouse game" between the government and the people, the latter's nose and eyes were swollen and he had nowhere to complain. In addition to tempting bankers by changing the rules of public bond issuance, Song Ziwen also managed to control the Shanghai stock exchange market, and the target of the rectification was Yu Qiaqing's holdings, where Chairman Jiang had served as a "red vest" a few years ago. The exchange is up.Since the establishment of the institute in 1920, every warlord regime has regarded it as fat, and either threatened to ban it or increase taxes layer by layer. Poor Yu Qiaqing's exquisite mediation, it was finally bleakly preserved.Now it is finally impossible to escape the hands of the Chiang regime.Even though this was initiated by the father of the nation, even though someone Jiang used to hang out here, even though the owner of the exchange was his benefactor and benefactor, but because of the national policy of "organizing finances and firmly controlling financial resources", naturally he cannot tolerate it. In October 1929, the national government promulgated the "Exchange Law", which stipulated that each region was only allowed to have one securities exchange, and all other exchanges were merged. The cotton yarn transaction with the largest trading volume in the Shanghai Stock Exchange Yu Qiaqing was the first to be merged into the state-run gauze exchange, and Yu Qiaqing struggled vigorously. In a letter to the Ministry of Industry of the Nanjing Government, he resolutely declared, "There is still a breath left, and I will save it to the death, and I will not hesitate to sacrifice any sacrifice." However, the general situation is over. In the reversal, various trading items were merged one after another, the securities part was merged into the stock exchange, and the gold and item trading was merged into the gold industry exchange. .Facing a domineering and powerful state apparatus, businessman Yu Qiaqing had no choice but to do anything. This is the Shanghai story that happened around 1929.In just two years, the Chiang Kai-shek regime not only unified China by force, but also defeated the powerful and well-organized entrepreneurial class.The prosperity of national capitalism that had appeared since 1911 came to an abrupt end.Since then, China has become black and white, either one or the other, and the blood in the gap in the middle is churning. Maybe it is really fate. In the past few years, the great thinkers who have influenced the course of history have withered one after another. In July 1926, Zhang Jian passed away. On March 21, 1927, Kang Youwei, the number one leader of the Reform School, died of illness in Qingdao. On June 2, Wang Guowei, a master of Chinese studies, sank himself in Kunming Lake, the Summer Palace in Beijing. His last words said, "In fifty years, I only owe one death. After this incident, I will never be humiliated again."Wang's death is seen as a symbol of the decline of traditional Chinese culture.Chen Yinke, a junior scholar, said in his elegy, "Today's Chixian Shenzhou is worth a huge catastrophe that has not been seen in thousands of years; if the catastrophe becomes poor, the people who are condensed by this cultural spirit will be able to live without sharing their lives with it." At the same time, Mr. Guantang had to die, and he was deeply mourned and deeply cherished by future generations." The tombstone he wrote for the king reads, "Free thought, independent spirit".These ten characters changed from reality to dream in later China. On January 19, 1929, Liang Qichao died at the age of 57.Three years ago, he was admitted to Peking Union Medical College Hospital for diagnosis and treatment because of blood in his stool. The result of the diagnosis was that one kidney was suffering from tuberculosis and necrosis and needed to be removed.Director Liu Ruiheng performed the surgery himself, but Liu made a mistake in judgment and took a good kidney by mistake.Friends are sad and angry, and they want to sue.Liang said, "Chinese people learn Western medicine and can perform surgery. It is considered good for me to live to this day. Why should I sue him?" Then he died.Liu was later transferred from the hospital and became the political undersecretary of the Ministry of Health.After Liang's death, the moderate constitutional reformers had no spiritual leader. Just half a year after Liang Qichao's death, in June, the Kuomintang held the Second Plenary Session of the Third Central Committee, and based on Sun Yat-sen's "three periods of founding" theory of "military administration, political training, and constitutional government," announced that "the period of political training shall be six years, until (Republic of China) ) in 24 years (1935).” The historical fact in the future is that the Kuomintang repeatedly delayed the convening of the National Assembly, and it was not until nearly 20 years later, in 1948, that it declared its entry into “constitutional government”, and it lost the mainland a year later. From the historical facts so far, all we have seen is the powerful and terrifying side of the Chiang Kai-shek regime. If it is determined that its main economic work is blackmailing companies and drug trafficking, then it is a gangster organization.History is like a coin, of course there is another side. The decade we are talking about, 1928-1937, is sometimes called the "Golden Decade" in economic history.During these ten years, the average growth rate of the industrial economy reached 8.7% (some scholars calculated it as 9.3%), which was one of the fastest growing periods in the history of modern China. (According to Chang (1969), the industrial growth rate was as high as 13.4% during 1912-1920, there was a brief depression in 1921-1922, 8.7% in 1923-1936, and 8.4% in average during 1912-1942, Throughout 1912-1949, the average growth rate was 5.6%.) However, unlike the previous 16 years, this was a decade of strong state intervention in the economy, a decade of economic control, and a decade of rapid growth in state-owned enterprises and heavy industry. 2010 was a decade in which private capital was suppressed. The national government's achievements in economic reconstruction are also worth recording.One of the most commendable is the recovery of economic sovereignty.After the unification of China at the end of 1928, the government quickly launched activities to recover rights and interests. Since 1842, the Qing government has signed a lot of unequal treaties with various countries. The "neck" is the tariff restriction. The country's customs management power has been controlled by the British for a long time, and the import tariff is ultra-low, which has seriously affected fiscal revenue.In the past ten years, the Beiyang government has been trying to take back customs autonomy and raise tariffs, but it has been collectively resisted by the big powers.Chiang Kai-shek changed his previous method of collective negotiation with the big powers, and first sent Song Ziwen to negotiate with the United States. In July 1928, after arduous negotiations, China and the United States reached an agreement, agreeing to China's tariff self-reliance.In the following months, Britain, France, Japan and other countries successively announced the recognition of China's customs autonomy.The national government immediately announced the implementation of new tariffs from January 1929, and the tariff on imported goods was greatly increased from 4% to 10%, and then increased to 25%.This diplomatic victory not only restored China's sovereign dignity, but also became the main means for the new government to alleviate the financial crisis. In 1928, the annual tariff revenue was 121 million yuan, which doubled to 244 million yuan by 1929, and by 1931 reached 385 million yuan. The government's efforts to rectify the domestic financial order have also been effective.During the period of the Beiyang government, the warlords set up various taxation categories, and the lijin system was extremely chaotic. What's worse, the currency was not unified. Gold nuggets, silver ingots, "Yuan Datou" and various silver dollars and banknotes of different colors were in circulation. And there is no unified currency standard and exchange system. In July 1928, the national government held a national financial and economic conference, and proposed a reform plan to use the silver dollar as the basic unit to eventually realize the gold standard system. In October, the central bank was established.At the beginning, Song Ziwen wanted to reorganize the Bank of China, which was formerly the Bank of Great Qing, but was opposed by Zhang Gongquan, so he reorganized the central bank, which also paved the way for Kong Xiangxi's raid on the Bank of China seven years later.The promotion of financial reform was very difficult. In 1931, the lijin system, which was deeply corrupted, was abolished. In 1933, the two-unit system of silver was abolished. In the same year, the clearing house was established to assume the responsibility of inter-bank account settlement. This function was previously undertaken by HSBC. .Finally, in November 1935, the "legal currency reform" was officially announced, thus establishing a unified currency system. In terms of economic growth model, the national government implemented a firm planned economy model and a strategy of giving priority to the development of state-owned enterprises. The planned economy thought of the Kuomintang government originated from Sun Yat-sen, the "Father of the Nation".He has always advocated vigorously developing the state-owned economy so that state capital can dominate the entire social economy.Similar expressions can be seen everywhere in "The Complete Works of Sun Yat-sen", "If you want to save its disadvantages, the only way is to put all large companies and organizations under the public ownership of the people of the whole country. Therefore, in my international development industrial plan, it is proposed to organize all industries into one Great companies are owned by the Chinese people.”, “What is manufacturing national capital? It is the industry of developed countries.” “The people’s livelihood of the Chinese Kuomintang is the socialism of foreign countries.” , use machines to produce, so that people all over the country have jobs.” After the establishment of the Nanjing National Government, it was this Sun’s idea that was pursued. However, around 1928, there was a fierce debate between nationalism and liberalism. After all, in the past sixteen years, private capital has developed greatly, and now it is a matter of great importance to change course. National policy changes and interest adjustments.At the National Economic Conference in June of that year, there were differences in the discussion of various industrial issues. When discussing the development ideas of major industries such as iron and steel, railways, and mining, some people advocated "follow the Premier (Sun Yat-sen) plan and The nationalization of steel mines, oil mines and various special mines, and the policy of equalizing interests in real terms", "Strictly implement the government-run, is actually a permanent solution", while some people think that "if the railway is to be developed, the government should abandon the state-owned policy, except for some important trunk roads In addition, fully entrust the business to manage", "implement mining liberalism, and vigorously implement the supervision and protection policy", there is another compromise plan, "the government insists on running it, and once it is effective, it will be sold to the business." When discussing the issue of setting up a central bank, there was a fierce dispute on the spot.In the archived "National Economic Conference Special Issue", the scene of the controversy at that time was recorded.Yao Yongbai said, "In order to establish the National Bank, we must first raise government shares, and then change to commercial shares after the implementation is effective."Ye Xun said, "National Bank should cooperate with the people, and the share capital can be divided among various groups."Chen Xing said, "Regardless of government-business partnerships or purely commercial shares, if the government interferes powerfully, it will do anything." Li Ming said, "Since the Bank of China, the Bank of China has been a centralized system. Due to bad politics, its actual It can’t be shown, it’s the bad politics, not the bad banking system. Now the national banking system is always taken as the principle.” Zhou Liang said, “We oppose the government-run business. If we have to, we should cooperate with the government and businessmen and adopt the director system.” It is not necessary to indicate that the government and the business are cooperating." The differences in everyone's views can be seen here. At the government decision-making level, the firmness of nationalism has become a national policy.Chiang Kai-shek believed that "the policy of China's economic construction should be a planned economy." Two months after the National Economic Conference, the government issued the "Government Declaration During the Training Period", which clearly stated: "The exclusive nature of Ruofu's industry should be The basic industry of the country should not be entrusted to individuals, but should be run by the state. This kind of business is the main goal of the government's efforts to build in the future, and will determine the steps to implement it. In terms of the urgent needs of the people, it must be The first plan is to develop the basic industries on which the social economy depends.” In this passage, the strategy of state-owned capital controlling important industries and prioritizing development has been described very clearly.So, what are the so-called "basic industries"?There are detailed lists in the "Draft Construction Outline" supporting the "Declaration": "All transportation enterprises related to the whole country, such as railways, national highways, telegraphs, telephones, radios, etc.; Hong Kong, city streets, and municipal public utilities; basic industries and mining related to the country's future, such as iron and steel industry, basic chemical industry, large coal mines, iron mines, kerosene mines, copper mines, etc., are all constructed and operated by the state." Listed fields, Both are energy and resource-based upstream industries. Obviously, the national government's thinking is exactly the same as Sheng Xuanhuai's state-owned philosophy in the late Qing Dynasty, and its future trajectory and fate are no surprises. 在这样的决策下，理论与口号迅速被文本化为一个个看得见摸得着的发展计划与运动，在《建设大纲草案》之后，政府又先后拟订“基本工业建设计划”（1928）、“实业建设程序案”（1931）。“国家建设初期方案”、“实业四年建设计划”（1933）、“重工业五年计划”（1935）、“中国经济建设方案”（1937）以及新生活运动（1934年2月，蒋介石宣布发动“新生活运动”，大意是讲究“忠孝廉耻”，小节到不打麻将、不吐痰，多吃维生素等。蒋氏说：“我现在倡议的新生活运动是什么呢？简单地说，就是要使全国公民的生活完全军事化，这样他们可以培养勇敢和敏捷，吃苦耐劳，特别是统一行动的能力和习惯，最后他们就可以随时为国家牺牲。”）、国民经济建设运动等等。众多大型的冶金、燃料、化工、电气及军工企业在这段时间创建，构成了一个国营工业高速发展的高峰期。 除了种种内因之外，蒋介石的国家主义之所以能够成为主流选择，还与当时的世界形势颇有关系。 在1920年代，处在战后复苏期的欧洲爆发了严重的经济危机，各国经济出现可怕的大滑坡，自由主义的经济理论遭到严峻的挑战，特别是在德国，该国经济在1928年前后近乎完全崩溃，全国失业人数高达600万之多，约占全国总人口的10％，希特勒的纳粹党（国家社会主义党）迅速崛起，在四年后很轻易地夺取了政权，希特勒在国内取消民主自由，煽起排犹运动，加强国家对大型企业的控制，发展国家垄断资本主义，在产业政策上，优先发展重工业（特别是军事工业）和基础产业，“熟练的工人进兵工厂，不熟练的工人修筑高速公路”，在这种“大炮代替黄油”的政策下，重工业畸形繁荣，失业人口锐减，一个超级军事强国十分恐怖地诞生了。相比较，新成立的苏联也以强势的国家力量干预经济，大力发展重工业，同样取得了引人注目的经济成就。正是在这样的背景下，主张国家干预经济的国家主义渐成欧洲政商界的主流意识。 在大洋另外一端的美国，也在1929年前后陷入了空前的经济危机——这一年的美国总统就是30年前与英国人联手骗走开平矿务局的那个赫伯特·胡佛。在过去的将近十年时间里，没有受到世界大战波及的美国一直处在一个经济高速增长的黄金时代，也正是在这个阶段，美国开始确立其世界霸主的地位。到1929年，美国家庭已经每户拥有一辆汽车，电冰箱、电扇、洗衣机、烤箱、收音机等家用电器迅速普及，股票市场空前繁荣，在不到4年时间里，道·琼斯股票指数上涨了3倍。可是就在这一年的10月24日，纽约证交所突然爆发可怕的大崩盘，史称“黑色的星期四”，从此，美国进入持续四年的经济大萧条，8.6万家企业破产，5500家银行倒闭，失业人数从不足150万猛升到1700万以上，占整个劳动人口的四分之一，整体经济水平倒退至1913年，道琼斯股票指数从1929年9月最高的381点到1932年7月的最低点41点，下跌了89%。自由主义的经济理论遭到空前质疑。 What happened in Germany, the Soviet Union, and the United States undoubtedly had a profound impact on China's reform thinking.在晚清四十年，强调国家控制的官商逻辑是主流，而民国最初的十六年，则是管制宽松的民营经济黄金年代，到1929年前后，随着国内外形势的转变，国家主义再次抬头，中国经济从此进入到另外一个新的成长时期。 在对这一国营企业建设热浪的观察中，一个让人很好奇的问题是，国民政府的投入资金是从哪里来的？ 一个大规模的工业振兴运动需要巨额的资本金投入，这是一个常识。在130多年的中国经济史上，国家在干预经济的初期，资本之匡缺是一个共同的难题，而不同的决策人采取了不同的策略。晚清的洋务运动靠的是外大举债和鼓励民营资本的参与，因此有了官督商办的体制，1949年之后的新中国，毛泽东靠的是苏联援助、对农业收入的吸取转移和“勒紧裤腰带”，1978年的改革开放初期，邓小平起初也曾寄希望于引入六百亿美元的欧美资本，建设120个重大工程，在初衷落空后，被迫转而在南方开放“特区”窗口试图引进香港华人资本以及扶持乡镇企业的体制外崛起。对于1928－1937年的国民政府来说，资本投入同样乏力。 根据《剑桥中国史》的记录，在这十年中，政府的实际财政收入为57.29亿元，仅占其实际支出总额的79.4％，其余部分不得不举债度日，也就是说，这是一个出不敷入的政府。即使这为数不多的财政收入，也绝大部分用于军事及债务支出，数据显示，十年间政府的军事及债务支出高达53.22亿元，相当于其实际收入的92.9％——在这个意义上，蒋介石政权实际上是一个如假包换的“军政府”。据此可见，财政对国营企业的投入十分可怜。 在外资引进部分，成绩也十分糟糕。在整个三十年代，西方世界陷入重大经济危机，根本无力东投，十年中，国民政府中央一级机构仅借外债17项，实际债额1.61亿美元，年均1600余万元，比晚清及北洋政府时期所借外债少许多，与其计划利用外资目标相去甚远。 在内则财政不足，在外则引资乏力，那么，数以千计的国营工厂是靠什么建起来的？国民政府的经济领导者到底有怎么样的“以小搏大”的财技？秘密埋在下面这些地方： 第一，发行高利率公债，把民间资本圈进来。十年间发行的二十多亿元公债成为军事和经济建设的重要血源。用陈光甫的话说就是，“年来国外无新投资，自中央政府成立以来，全恃内债抵充，预算不敷。” 第二，大量接收“逆产”。这又是一个“无本生意”，政府出台《处理逆产条例》，规定将北洋政府所有的国营企业全部收归国民政府所有，连北洋军阀在企业中的个人投资也予以没收充公。据此，政府相继接收江南造船厂、上海兵工厂、汉冶萍钢铁联合体、中原煤矿等众多企业，晚清及北洋政府的所有国营成就全部归入国民政府囊中，一个所谓的“战地政治委员会”还把黎元洪、张作霖、张勋等老军阀在棉纺、煤矿等企业中的私人股份也一一没收了。一些已经实现了民营化的洋务企业，如轮船招商局也被迫再度国营化。 以零成本的方式收到一大批工矿企业，可是还是要有投入才能扩大再生产，这时候，政府又想出一个好办法，那就是把企业再抵押出去，从银行套出资金。如此循环往复，国营资本当然越来越大。国民政府有一个中央直属的“建设委员会”，委员长就是当年捐钱给孙中山的张静江，在1928年成立的时候，只有不到10万元的资本金，到1937年竟已扩张到5000余万元，其采用的办法就是“接收－抵押－入股”。 第三，利用经济危机，大量收编民营企业。1934年前后，国内爆发金融危机，孔祥熙、宋子文等人乘机把手伸向民营工业，先后入股或收编众多知名企业。这些“事迹”，在后面的章节中有详细的描述。 第四，出现特殊的区域经济发展模式。国民政府在名义上统一中国，实际上，一些省份仍然由军阀控制，他们出于“自治建设”理念，也在这十年中取得了很大的经济成就。其中最突出的是阎锡山在山西的建设。阎锡山是近代中国政坛上的一个“不倒翁”，他从辛亥革命起就开始统治山西，前后三十八年，因而得了一个“阎老西”的外号。他奉行的是“三不二要主义”，即“不入党、不问外省事、不为个人权利用兵，要服从中央命令、要保卫地方治安”，总之，管好山西事，关门当大王。他干的最夸张的事情是，把山西的铁路修得跟其他地方的铁轨规格不一样，山西境内的正太（河北正定石家庄到太原的铁路，后名石太线）和同蒲（大同到蒲州的风陵渡，后来风陵渡划归芮城）两条铁路干线采用的是法国型一米窄轨，而不是全国统一的1．435米宽轨，这造成省外的军事势力和商品无法直接通过铁路进入山西。他还在省内发行一种独有的地方货币“物产证券”，山西商家或企业主生产多少物资就发多少券，然后又以券换物。多年来，阎锡山在山西采取的是休养生息的政策，1930年前后，他提出提出“造产救国”的口号，成立经济建设委员会，制订了山西省政十年建设计划，组建了山西人民公营事业董事会，大力投资创办公营企业，如山西银行、兵工厂、炼钢厂、机器厂等。他还组建了一家西北实业公司，自任总经理，近10年中改造及创建企业33个，拥有员工2万人，成了一个涉足多个产业的“工业托拉斯”，其平均资本是全国2800多家最重要工厂均值的六倍，其机器厂工人占全国机器工人总数的40％，炼钢厂可产48种合金钢，技术和产能在全国首屈一指。到1937年，山西形成一个庞大的国营资本体系，资产达到2亿元，成为一个稳定、繁荣的“模范省”。与山西情况相近的是广东省，两省的国营工业资本额竟占到全国地方国营工业资本总额的60％。据许涤新在《中国资本主义发展史》一书中的研究，到1936年，中央政府控制的国营工业资本总额为1.16亿元，地方国营工业的资本额为1.56亿元另加61.6万两白银，后者的成就超过前者。 除了山西、广东的实业发展之外，东北是一个更特殊的景象。跟阎锡山一样，奉系军阀张作霖、张学良父子曾经长期统治东三省，号称“东北王”，到1929年前后，东北形成了以钢铁、煤炭为中心的重工业体系和以粮食加工、纺织、食品工业为中心的轻工业体系，其规模已经比肩江南。当时国内仅次于上海的国际大都市是哈尔滨，有34家外资银行在哈埠开设分支机构，与巴黎、纽约等国际金融中心直接业务往来，哈埠的金融动态左右远东的金融形势，在哈尔滨的外国商业机构达1809个。在1928年，以出超实际利益比较，哈尔滨的滨江海关稳坐全国六大海关头把交椅，成为全国最大的面粉生产和出口基地、酒精和啤酒生产基地，而辽宁的大连是仅次于上海的全国第二大海港。1928年5月，哈尔滨车站已经可以出售直达欧洲各城市的客票。1931年，日本悍然发动“九一八”事变，霸占东三省，建立满洲国。在后来的14年里，日本先后投资20亿美元用于交通运输网络和工业化建设，满洲全境的铁路里数达到6000英里，公路约6万英里，为全国最密集的地区，煤的产量达3000万吨，鞍山钢铁厂每年能生产200万吨生铁和150万吨钢，众多的机器、化学制品、汽车甚至飞机工厂建成。大连、长春和沈阳相继成为大工业城市，其中长春是亚洲第一个全面普及抽水马桶和管道煤气的城市。费正清在《美国与中国》一书中认为，“满洲作为一个工业基地，在日本人的开发下，超过了中国其他地区的总和。” 对1928年到1937年的十年进行评价是十分困难的，这在史学界一直众说纷纭。 整体而言，这段时间的经济成就还是显著的。国民政府在收回国家经济主权以及重建金融秩序上的努力值得称道。在中央政府及地方军阀政权的努力下，工业经济得到了一定程度的发展，以扶持国营事业为宗旨的国家主义成为主流的经济思想。强大的国家主导意志，产生了聚集能量的专制力量，并提高了投资的效益和效率，经过这一段集中式建设，中国基本完成了重化工业和全国运输网络的布局，也完成了诸多中心城市的市政建设。 与此同时，私营资本集团受到了压抑和排挤，国营体制所内在的制度弊病无法避免。早在1935年，一个叫A·H·约翰的英国人便在《中国的贸易与经济：1933－1935》一书中观察到：“中国的工业投资，尤其是在那些享有垄断便利的领域中，官方的参与常常导致企业运营过程中对技术和商业因素的忽视，并因政局的变动而导致企业行政管理的非连续性。”民国经济学家方显廷的评论更是生动：“我们国营事业，证诸以往，率皆有始无终，议而不决，决而不行，为政府之惯技。计划迭出，实行无期，堆积案头，徒壮观瞻。” 除了体制的弊端之外，一个更具危害性的流弊是，在国家主义和发展国营实业的大旗下，官僚资本迅猛壮大。国民党政府最主要的经济操盘人宋子文、孔祥熙及张静江等人都拥有庞大的私人资本，由实业而入政府服务的诸多人士也身兼政经两职，他们成为困扰经济健康发展、孳生严重腐败现象的最大毒瘤，最终导致了政权的合法性危机。 1929年之后，国家力量如日中天，群星顿时黯淡失色，中国商业界告别了市场型企业家辈出的时代，此景再现，将在整整50年后的改革开放时期。其间，惟一的“异数”，是一个远离中央控制范围的企业家。 这年开春，卢作孚（1893－1952）从一个叫谭谦禄的商人手里买下一艘轮船，改名“民望”，这是他的民生轮船公司的第三艘船，从此，民生逐步成为重庆长江水段的最主要的民营航运企业。这个人有着典型的川人长相，面庞削瘦，个子很小，看上去显得十分文弱，做起事来却干劲十足。这一年他才37岁，但是见到他的植物学家胡先骕则在一篇《四川杰出人物卢作孚及其所经营之事业》一文中描述说，“在人眼里已是貌若五旬，须鬓苍白。”胡继而说，一经接触，就能感受到卢作孚的理想家气质，目光冥然而远，声音清而尖锐，办事的热忱，舍己为人的精神，处处都像个宗教改革家。这是一个乱世中的理想主义者。 卢作孚出生贫寒，他的父亲是一个麻布小贩。他少年时是一个“爱国愤青”，18岁就加入了同盟会，能把孙中山的《建国大纲》一字不漏地背下来。他只有小学学历，却当过算术老师、国文教员、《川报》主笔和总编。快到30岁的时候，他突然意识到，在这个乱世之中，靠一支笔不但救不了国家，甚至连自己的生命也被虚耗。他曾去南通拜访张謇，目睹“状元企业家”的实业发达及南通面貌的更新，一时颇受鼓励，终于下定了投身实业的决心。1926年10月，他筹集5万元创办民生实业股份有限公司，购船一艘，来往于重庆到他家乡合川县的航运生意。 卢作孚是文人出身，却有惊人的商业天才。当时长江航线上的民营船运业非常落后，航期不固定，往往客满才发，客运与货运也混搅在一起，脏乱不已，客户服务更是谈不上。民生在制度设计上有许多创新，比如定期航行，新辟航线，以客运为主，避开以货运为主和船舶拥挤的航线，再就是稳定运价，建立信誉。卢作孚为公司设计了很多基本管理规则，从“经理须知”、“船长须知”到“驾驶员须知”、“轮机须知”、“理货须知”、“茶房须知”、“水手须知”，分工明确，责任到位，实际的工作方式、程序，从早到晚，从开船到靠岸，应有的工作都规定得详细无遗，从一开始就俨然是一个现代的航运企业。长江有一个冬季枯水期，航运往往无法保证四季定期，卢作孚的第二条船就是专门在上海定造的，载重只有34吨，吃水很浅，适合枯水期航运。 当时的四川省被川系军阀刘湘、杨森控制，名义上服从南京政府，却是割据的局面，所以，卢作孚的事业没有受到国民政府的国家主义的影响。到1929年，民生三条船的总吨位不足230吨，比许多公司一条船的吨位都不如，但卢作孚却雄心万丈，决心以小搏大、统一整个长江上游的航运业。他实施了有效的兼并策略，将重庆上游至宜宾一线、下游到宜昌一线的华商轮船公司逐步吃掉。民生的原则是，只要愿意出售的轮船，不论好坏，民生一律照价买下。愿意与民生合并的，不论负债多少，民生一律帮他们还清债务，需要现金多少即交付多少，其余的作为股本加入民生。卖船给民生或并入民生，所有船员一律转入民生工作，不让一个人失业。接收一条船，就按民生的制度运转。到1931年前后，民生船只数达到12艘，总吨位扩张到1500吨，员工人数500多人，已成长江上游最大的民营航运企业。 卢作孚从投身商业的第一天起就怀抱着济世的理想，因而有着特别的焦虑与悲悯，在日后一篇总结毕生经商心路的文章《一桩惨淡经营的事业》中，他写道，“我自从事这桩事业以来，时时感觉痛苦，做得越大越成功，便越痛苦。”年轻时的他崇尚革命，时刻准备做一颗唤醒民众的“炸弹”，而成为企业家后，却心境大改，愿意以更为建设性的方式来实现改善社会的理想，他自比为“微生物”，他说，“炸弹力量小，不足以完全毁灭对方，你应当是微生物，微生物的力量才特别大，才使人无法抵抗。”张謇式的理念成为他的目标。 在民生事业规模初具之后，他便仿效张謇在北碚尝试社会试验。北碚是重庆附近的一个地区，山岭重叠，交通困难，此间地处四县之交，兵匪横行，无人管束，城区肮脏混乱。卢作孚就在这么一个地方实践他的理想。从1927年起的三年里，他建起了中学、工厂、医院、科学院、公园和植物园，倡导文明、整洁和健康的生活，他没有象张謇那样的投入巨额资金改善北碚的硬件设施，却把大量人力、物力投注于人的教育。在所有的新设机构里，他聘请都是二十多岁的文化青年，试图以清新的朝气一寸一寸地改变沉淀千年的陋习。他的工作竟然得到了让人惊奇的成效，到1930年代初期，北碚已成为四川境内最先进的地区，著名记者杜重远曾到北碚访问，他在重庆时，触目所及的是衣冠不整的军人、乌烟瘴气的鸦片馆和妓院以及委靡的民众，但一到距离重庆市区仅仅几十公里外的北碚，却全然是另外一番景象，杜赞叹说，“昔称野蛮之地，今变文化之乡。”北碚大名从此传闻天下，成了继南通之后的另一个“全国模范之地”。 卢作孚的思想中有十分朴素的社会主义气质，在《建设中国的困难以及必循的道路》一文中，他曾经很详尽地写道，“我们的预备是每个人可以依赖着事业工作到老，不至于有职业的恐慌；如其老到不能工作了，则退休后有养老金；任何时候死亡有抚恤金。公司要决定住宅区域，无论无家庭的、有家庭的职工，都可以居住。里面要有美丽的花园，简单而艺术的家具，有小学校，有医院，有运动场，有电影院和戏院，有图书馆和博物馆，有极周到的消费品的供给，有极良好的公共秩序和公共习惯。”在后来的十余年中，他确实也是这么实践的。 卢作孚的实业和名气越来越大，但却保持着苦行僧式的自律生活。他曾在民生公司的会议上描述自己的作息时间：“我从早上七点半迈进公司的大门，一直要工作到晚上十一二点，才能够回家。”身为企业总经理，他的夫人、孩子坐民生轮船，一样按职工家属买半票的规定买船票，和其他乘客一样排队等候上船，规矩地坐在舱里。有时被船员认出，请他们到经理室去坐，他妻子坚持不肯。民生公司为职工在重庆修建了一个“民生村”宿舍，全部是平房，一家人住一套。但是，卢作孚本人却没有搬进去住，他的家租住红岩村2号，那是一栋一楼一底的房子，住了四家人，厕所在房子外面的菜地里。美国《亚洲和美国》杂志描述过他的家居环境：“在他的新船的头等舱里，他不惜从霍菲尔德进口刀叉餐具，从柏林进口陶瓷，从布拉格进口玻璃器皿，但是在他自己的餐桌上却只放着几只普通的碗和竹筷子。甚至这些船上的三等舱中也有瓷浴盆、电器设备和带垫子的沙发椅，但成为强烈对照的是，他那被称为家的六间改修过的农民小屋中，围着破旧桌子的却是一些跛脚的旧式木椅。”这段文字，如金如玉