Chapter 59 Why does Tian Jiabing want to return to "civilian"?
Due to the different levels of civilization, Hong Kong people from the past to the present have all kinds of "look down" on the mainlanders. This is actually a very natural expression. Would you extend a helping hand to "help a brother"?no.Many Hong Kong people, especially those who are economically capable and generous, are willing to help the mainland to popularize culture and improve civilization. This has formed a term that I have never heard of in the mainland: "Giving Culture".This kind of "culture" is completely different from the "charity" of the rich to the poor. It is sincere dedication and compassion.
Once I made an appointment with a local friend to go out to run errands at night. When we met, she said, "I'm sorry, I have to find a bank's ATM first." I asked why?She said: "Just now there was an association organizing a fundraiser for impoverished children in the Mainland. I donated all the money in my pocket, but now I have no money and can't do anything."
Yeah? "Penniless"?Donate to this extent?
In Hong Kong, I have met a lot of poor people, and I also know a lot of rich people. Among the poor, there are not a few people who are self-improving with backbone, and among the rich, it is not uncommon to see meek and restrained philanthropists.However, in the ranks of the rich, some people donate half of their lives, and in the end they "generously donate" to the point where they emptied the bottom of their own house, sold the mansion and mortgaged the factory, and they are willing to rent a three-bedroom apartment Ordinary dwellings, returning to the ranks of "common people", can such "rich people" hit the world's "Guinness Book of Records"?When I first heard about such "rich people", my head didn't seem to be on my neck, and I didn't know where I was admiring and moved. The first reaction I had was to feel dizzy, which was unbelievable——
The Hong Kong "Fu Ci" I am talking about is named Tian Jiabing, the big boss of Hong Kong "Tian's Chemical Co., Ltd."
In fact, he is said to be "big", and his wealth is far less than that of "Cheung Kong Enterprises" (Li Ka-shing's company), but his donation merits, if you pull out a "details", A4 copy paper, use the smallest 5 The number of prints is so dense that it can fill 4 sheets. These 4 "details" are only the names of the recipients, and do not include specific items and expenditures.
As of September 2006, Mr. Tian Jiabing has donated a forest of teaching buildings to 71 universities and colleges in the Mainland; he has established a total of 130 "Tian Jiabing Middle Schools"; There are 1,150 "Tian Jiabing Libraries" in poor primary and secondary schools in provinces and cities. In addition, there are technical secondary schools, kindergartens, scholarship funds, and scientific research funds. If you count other aspects, such as hospitals, nursing homes, youth service centers, Museums, observatories, etc., Mr. Tian's enthusiasm for patriotism and selfless dedication spreads all over the country, both inside and outside the Great Wall.
In December 2006, my postgraduate teacher at Beijing Normal University came to Hong Kong for a meeting. She said, "This time I come to Hong Kong, I must spare time to visit Mr. Tian Jiabing."At that time, I didn't know Tian Jiabing's "tragic story", and I thought that Mr. Tian donated 5 million yuan to build an art building for our school, so my teacher came to Hong Kong, so I had to express my gratitude.But when my teacher saw my shallowness, he corrected me immediately: "Oh, you can't just treat Tian Jiabing as an ordinary Hong Kong rich businessman. He is very kind-hearted. For a long time, do you know what he can do for the education of the whole country? He sold the old house where he has lived in for 37 years, sold the Mercedes-Benz, and held his own business Make a mortgage, get a loan from the bank to help teach and study!"
"Really?" After listening to the teacher's words, I lost my head, and kept saying "unbelievable", "unbelievable", "how could he make things so far" mechanically?And layers of apology surged up in my heart.When I returned to normal thinking, I immediately realized something, and then I entrusted the teacher to introduce it to me, and asked Mr. Tian Jiabing if he would accept our CCTV interview, so that the contemporary "Wu Xun" and "Tao Xing" Knowing” If I don’t do interviews, and don’t let all the Chinese people know about his “special case”, what sense of responsibility do I have as a reporter stationed in Hong Kong?Also very remiss.
A few nights later, on a Saturday night, a completely unfamiliar calling number was displayed on my mobile phone. When I pressed the answer button, it turned out to be Mr. Tian Jiabing.Three days ago, according to what the teacher said: She first called to ask Mr. Tian if he would like to be interviewed, and then I made an appointment, but I called, and Mr. Tian was not at home at the time, and went to the mainland to check his donation projects. His family told me, "Sir, you may come back on Saturday, and I will tell you what you mean." I felt relieved for a while, thinking that this matter would have to drag on for a while, and it was hard to find rich people in Hong Kong. , even if you find it and agree to the interview, I won’t make an appointment with you soon.
However, as soon as Mr. Tian Jiabing returned to Hong Kong, he took the initiative to call me back as a young reporter that night. On the phone, the old man first expressed his gratitude to me for my attention to him and my visit.But then, the old man's statement came: "If the purpose of your interview is to promote me personally, I will decline; but if the purpose is to promote a spirit, so that everyone in China today understands that everyone is rich. You should not forget the country, and you should not forget to help those in need, then I am willing to cooperate."
"Will you cooperate?" "Don't want to promote yourself?" Mr. Tian explained clearly to me word by word on the phone.Because I respect Mr. Tian's character, no matter whether Mr. Tian will agree to accept my interview or not, I have been studying his information in those few days, and I know that Mr. Tian's thoughts are self-contained: "Young people follow the teachings of the court, and Dunpin Encourage learning, be indifferent to fame and wealth, and do not seek fame." This is Mr. Tian's motto in his life.But after putting down the phone, I couldn't help but ask myself: Are we living in the 21st century? In the 21st century, inside and outside the country, up and down, where in the world of the Chinese people can we find such "old stubborn" who "are rich and poor, value reality over China, serve the country with alms, and do not seek fame"?No wonder some Hong Kong media "praise" Mr. Tian as a "stupid rich man who sold his mansion and donated 1 billion".Isn't it a bit weird for Tian Jiabing to do this?If "strange", what is his inner support?What power can open up his heart so broadly?
In the end, although Mr. Tian was persuaded by me to agree to the interview with CCTV, he did not agree to another request I made at the same time, that is, I wanted to take the film crew to his house, because in his house (that is, the three-bedroom apartment) I heard that there is a window, from which the lens of the camera can directly take pictures of his big villa.Mr. Tian said to me: "Let's talk about it first when we meet. If we really want to make a video in the future, I think it will be in my foundation office." He doesn't care about "artistic methods" and "television effects", and he may do that. He also felt that it was somewhat suspected of "promoting him personally".
In 1982, "Tian Jiabing Fund Co., Ltd." was established in Hong Kong. The company's mission is to operate related "businesses" such as "giving back to the motherland, giving back to the people, benefiting others, and being good at education" proposed by Mr. Tian. The donated funds are all from The annual rent of the "Tin's Industrial Building" which he built specially for this purpose.
At the end of 2006, I followed Mr. Tian's suggestion of "let's talk first when we meet", and came to his foundation office.As soon as he entered the door, Mr. Tian was dressed in a suit and tie, with a youthful face and a hale and hearty spirit.I tried to politely inquire about his age, what?Already 88?You can't see it that way.Then sat down, Mr. Tian asked someone to pour tea for me, and then said to me: "If you want to know anything, just ask, don't be polite, I am not a great man, just an ordinary Hong Kong citizen, take the bus, eat Home cooking, living in the same house as ordinary people.” Facing such an unusual “ordinary person”, I was full of questions and didn’t know how to start.
In 1998, after the Asian financial turmoil, Hong Kong’s economy was sluggish for several consecutive years. In order to abide by his commitment to donate funds, Tian Jiabing resolutely resolutely designed the building himself and lived in it for 37 years in April 2001 when the rental income of the building was insufficient. The luxury house in Kowloon Tong was sold for sale, and the proceeds of this move were 56 million Hong Kong dollars, all of which were allocated to Chang Liushui's education donation.
"Why did you sell the villa back then?" My first question finally came out of my mouth.
Then came the second one: "When you donate funds, why do you have to mortgage your only business to get a bank loan? What if you lose money? Isn't the business over?"
Face to face, face to face, these two questions, no matter what, I have to really listen to what the old man thinks "exactly" in his heart?
"What's on my mind?"
After hearing this, Mr. Tian laughed: "It's really not that big of a deal, so don't be so serious. In fact, you have to settle the score. I sold the old house back then, because our children were grown up, and our old couple couldn't live in such a big place at all. 56 million, and the monthly interest is 400,000. Wouldn’t it be a pity to waste more than 10,000 if you don’t sell it or cash it out? But with 56 million Hong Kong dollars, how many schools in the mainland can I help build? How many teaching buildings will be built? There are also loans and donations, which are also playing with the time difference, and education is sometimes like farming land: people miss the land for a while, and the land misses people for a year. Who doesn’t understand this truth?"
I haven’t met the old man. To be honest, I still retain a certain secular view in my heart: Once a person regards the things that he thinks he should do most in his life as too “important”, he will be paranoid and go to extremes. , even unreasonable, doing so is not necessarily a scientific attitude; however, when I met Tian Jiabing, especially the old man did not have any "rhetoric words" when explaining the two very important issues I raised, he just settled the score for me and let me understand His real thoughts let me see that his "crazy behavior" is not irrational——
"However, your old man sold the villa. Once the children come back on weekends or holidays, where will you let the children and grandchildren go to reunite with you?"
In fact, Mr. Tian, my subsequent questions are also more specific.
Mr. Tian was taken aback. This question obviously made the old man a little "difficult".
In fact, I know that Mr. Tian has 9 children in this life, and all 9 children have already married, three or four generations of grandparents and grandchildren. If the family really wants to get together, dozens of people are not an exaggeration, such a three-bedroom apartment Think about it, let alone sitting, everyone can't even stand up.
The face of the old man showed a trace of "embarrassment" of love for his children, and also showed a little bit of helpless apology.However, after a short pause, he explained: "Then it depends on what is minor and what is serious."
Faced with his father's dedication to donating to the society for the rest of his life, none of Tian Jiabing's nine sons and daughters, the most precious, rose up to resist, and none of them dared to blush with his father.The children all know that the father has a belief that no one can shake in his heart, which is: "If a person has money in his pocket, 1 billion is just a number. From 1 billion to 10 billion, it is only a matter of time." An extra zero is added to the tail, how much can I eat, how much can I sleep? If a family’s solitary happiness becomes a social happiness, then my business is still expanding, isn’t it still my business?” Tian Jiabing said to what It is the concept of "career" that has its own unique and "stubborn" vision.
If it weren't for saving pen and ink, I could write a book about Mr. Tian's various "feats" in his life.
In 1919, Tian Jiabing was born in Dapu, Guangdong to a Hakka descendant. His father died unfortunately in 1935, and he had to drop out of school to start a business, and since then he shouldered the burden of running the family. In 1937, Mr. Tian, who was under the age of 18, went to Vietnam to start selling porcelain clay from his hometown, and his career was successful. Later, he went to Indonesia to start a rubber company, which was still a great success.However, in 1958, he suddenly gave up his well-to-do life in Indonesia and moved his family to Hong Kong. He built the first "reclamation factory" on the coast of Tuen Mun, founded "Tianshi Chemical Company", and then worked hard all the way to start a business. It soon became the famous "artificial leather king" in Hong Kong at that time.So what was Mr. Tian's consideration in the first place that made his life take a "big turn" that ordinary people can't do?The old man told me: "First, the anti-Chinese sentiment in Indonesia was very serious at that time, and I didn't want to let my mentality not relax; second, and more importantly, this is that I can't just watch my children grow up slowly. big, but they are far away from China, and never know what Chinese culture is.”
"Chinese culture?" A businessman is mercenary, making money wherever there is a market, isn't that justified?What is culture?What is more important than business?
"One father, one book", Mr. Tian's answer could not be simpler.These two reasons make him not only focus on making money, but also take into account the traditional culture of the motherland and the motherland that will never be forgotten.
"A father", this father refers to Mr. Tian has a traditional Chinese "father" who is well-read in poetry and books, and he was called Yuhu Gong back then.It stands to reason that Lord Yuhu had a son in his later years at the age of 48, so he should have pampered Tian Jiabing, but Lord Yuhu did not do this. He passed on the current affairs to his son orally, and taught by example. He often donated to the poor, dispensed medicines and coffins, and sometimes borrowed money to do some good deeds.These "precepts and deeds" made Mr. Tian understand since he was a child that being honest and honest, being kind to others, and helping others are the virtues that he should stick to when he grows up.
"One book" refers to the "Family Maxims" written by Zhu Bailu, a master of "Cheng Zhu Confucianism" in the Ming Dynasty. Mr. Tian can memorize it from childhood, and has a realistic comparison of every sentence since he was a child. Therefore, despite all the ups and downs in this life, He has also seen through the fickleness of the world, but "Zhu Zi's maxims" have influenced his life, and he can still catch them when he is an old man.
Sometimes Mr. Tian went to the mainland to help students. The teachers and students at the school did not believe that his "children's skills" had been "unforgettable" to this day. I'll recite it", and then he recited it according to the paragraphs specified by people: "One porridge and one meal, when the source of thinking is not easy, half a thread, half a thread, the constant remembrance is only difficult..." I met with Mr. Tian, and then the conversation was over. It became very easy, so I also mentioned this matter and asked him if this "gong" has not been "abolished" until now?Mr. Tian also happily said to me: "Then you also test me on the spot!" He also said, "Don't test the easy passages in front, but test the latter." The Ministry selected three "difficult" paragraphs in a row to "test" the old gentleman on the spot.As a result, no matter which paragraph, Mr. Tian could not be "confused" anywhere - "Being honest and simple in life, teaching children to be righteous. Don't think about unexpected wealth, don't drink too much wine", "When you see poor relatives and neighbors, you must Warming shirt. It is mean to get married, and there is no long-term enjoyment"...Zhu Zi's "Family Governance" has more than 500 words. Wherever I point it, Mr. Tian will recite it. In Mr. Tian's view, this book is a traditional Chinese virtue He has "benefited endlessly" from this book throughout his life.
Culture, the traditional culture of a nation, would originally have such a strong vitality that it can carve out a beautiful life in any era. In 1993, the International Asteroid Center named the asteroid 2886 discovered by the Purple Mountain Observatory in Nanjing as "Tian Family Bingxing" in recognition of his charitable deeds; in December 2006, by the time I visited Mr. Tian, 68 cities in mainland China had awarded Mr. Tian the title of "Honorary Citizen"; and Hong Kong 8 Every government-run university (increased to 9 by the end of 2006) gave Mr. Tian Jiabing the title of "Honorary Doctor", which made Mr. Tian very happy and often joked about himself: "Look, this one' Doctor's really qualified? I haven't graduated from middle school, and the 'doctor's hat' has fallen one after another. Isn't this status just for nothing?" After finishing speaking, the old man and I both bowed our heads with laughter...