Chapter 36 Section 4 Huang Yi, who returned to China with huge sums of money to invest

In old China, overseas Chinese returned home to invest, and the largest one should be the Indonesian overseas Chinese Huang Yizhu (1868-1945 A.D.). Huang Yizhu has experienced very difficult life tribulations.He was born in a farmer's family in Nan'an, Fujian.Dropped out of school due to family poverty, helped his father to farm for a living, and once learned to cut hair. At the age of 16, he went to Nanyang and went to Semarang, Java, Indonesia via Singapore.In the beginning, he was born between man and earth, unable to speak the language, so he had to set up a roadside stall during the day to shave his head (haircut). The business is getting bigger and bigger, from retail to wholesale, from one store to the establishment of branches in various places.The business name "Nixinghang" he set up specializes in the sugar industry, and he pays great attention to market information in operation. He has established communication points in New York, London, and especially in Cuba, the sugar-producing country, to keep abreast of market trends.By the eve of World War I, he was a wealthy entrepreneur.

At the end of World War I, he encountered a conundrum.The Dutch colonial government that ruled Indonesia at that time stipulated that all industrial and commercial enterprises had to pay various taxes during the war, and only Dutch citizens were entitled to relief.According to this regulation, Huang Yizhu will have to pay a huge tax of about 15 million dong.At that time, Dutch officials had persuaded him to become a Dutch citizen, and the Japanese consul also offered him tax cuts as a bait to invite him to become a Japanese citizen.However, Huang Yi lived in the mentality of the overseas Chinese in the era he lived in: he was a dignified Chinese citizen, and he couldn't bear to be humiliated by "entrusting others to his family, and being a slave to his nationality", so he decided to end his business abroad and brought a huge sum of tens of millions of yuan. Back to the motherland.

After returning to China, he chose Shanghai and Xiamen as the main investment places.The most important company is Central South Bank, which was founded in Shanghai in 1921. The total capital stock of the bank is 20 million yuan, and Huang Yizhu holds 75% of the shares.Central South Bank was the largest overseas Chinese-funded financial enterprise at that time. It had the right to issue banknotes, concurrently operated foreign exchange, and set up branches and offices in some big cities.Central South Bank actively invests in textile, chemical, cement, ore and other industries, and is also committed to the development of social and economic undertakings.For the construction of his hometown in Fujian, Huang Yizhu has spared no effort.In southern Fujian, he invested in the transportation business, participated in the preparation of the Zhangxia Railway, and developed the coal mines in Longyan.He solely owned the "Commercial Xiamen Telephone Co., Ltd." and raised funds to establish the "Xiamen Water Supply Company."The real estate company "Huangjudetang" he founded builds houses in Xiamen and Gulangyu Island.All these undoubtedly had a great effect on the municipal construction of Xiamen in the 1920s and 1930s.Huang Yizhu was out of school at a young age, and he knew the pain of being uneducated, so he cared very much about education. He ran primary schools and teacher training classes in his hometown, and funded Nankai University, Jinan University, Xiamen University, patriotic schools in Singapore, Huaqiao Middle School and other schools.

Huang Yizhu is a patriotic overseas Chinese entrepreneur who has made great contributions to the development of my country's national economy and social welfare. The names of Chen Qiyuan, Zhang Zhenxun, Huang Yizhu, etc. represent a group of entrepreneurs who invested in the motherland in modern Chinese history.Almost all of them wandered in Nanyang when they were young because of their poor families.In a foreign land, they have gone through hardships and tribulations before they gradually gain a foothold in economic career.Although the suffering years of old China left them overseas, their homeland was always in their hearts. After they achieved some success in overseas business, they thought of how to revitalize the motherland through investment in industry.The tradition of loving the country and loving the hometown of overseas Chinese is clearly reflected in them.