China Merchants Group is the earliest shipping company in China and the earliest bureaucratic capitalist enterprise. In the eleventh year of Tongzhi (1872), it was founded by Li Hongzhang, a bureaucrat of Westernization School, and the general administration was formally established in Shanghai the following year, which was designated as an official-supervised business enterprise. Li Hongzhang once boasted that Steamboat the Merchant is actually the most successful work in the 40 years since the establishment of Westernization. However, despite a good start, China Shipping Merchants, which Li is most proud of, finally awaits its fate of bankruptcy. At the same time, Japan's Mitsubishi Corporation is still a giant in the world machinery manufacturing industry.
Background of establishment
The Westernization School in the late Qing Dynasty started with "learning from foreigners" and its goal was "controlling foreigners". In this way, the reform and construction path of military industry and national defense construction in the late Qing Dynasty has priority. However, the Westernization School soon found that the rapid development of military industry and national defense construction requires a solid social and economic foundation, because the people are rich and the country is strong. Soon, Li Hongzhang and others not only attached importance to the "military westernization" project, but also vigorously developed the "civil westernization" cause.
Especially after the two Opium Wars, the western powers seized the privilege of sailing along the coast and along the river in China. Foreign companies in Hong Kong, Shanghai and other places use these privileges to operate ship transportation business-carrying goods and people. Among them, the most famous are American flag Chang steamship company, British Jardine Matheson steamship company and Swire steamship company. They monopolized the shipping industry along the coast and along the river in China, and made huge profits. For example, Qicheng 1862 was founded in Shanghai with an early start and a large tonnage. 1866 earned more than 222,000 yuan a year, and187/kloc-0 soared to more than 952,000 yuan a year. In less than a few years, the total capital has soared from the initial10 million to 2.25 million.
Compared with the "barbaric growth" of foreign shipping companies, China's traditional sailing has suffered a devastating blow. For example, in the summer of 1862, a boatman of Wang Yongsheng, a veteran of the Shanghai sand boat industry, committed suicide by taking poison. You know, during the reign of Jiaqing Daoguang, the sand boat transportation industry was unprecedentedly prosperous. It takes about a month for soybeans to be transported from north to south and grain from south to north. Such a sand boat can go back and forth seven or eight times a year, and the profit is still considerable. It is said that in the heyday of Shanghai Port, there were 5,000 junk boats and 65,438+10,000 sailors.
Of course, this also provided some conditions and opportunities for the emergence of China's modern national shipping industry, but China must seize the opportunity to resist the invasion of the shipping industry by foreign powers by using advanced western shipping tools and management methods.
In fact, in order to solve the "grain transportation crisis", as early as 1867, Rong Hong suggested that Zeng Guofan collect shares, buy advanced western ships and form China Shipping Company. It's just that Zeng Guofan, in order to "maintain stability", replied: "Carrying grain ... is a common business in a sand boat. I won't change the map unless I have to."
1March, 872, the Prime Minister's yamen wrote to Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang again, asking them to undertake grain transportation by ship, hoping that they would come up with a practical plan. A month later, Zeng Guofan died of illness, and the burden fell on Li Hongzhang. As a result, three suggestions were made: building canals; Repair abandoned garbage ships and continue to maintain shipping; The imperial court increased the water transportation cost of the sand boat industry. However, all three suggestions were rejected by Li Hongzhang. He believes that this canal with a history of more than 800 years, even if it is used as much as possible, the annual stone transport volume is only100000 stone, which has no influence on the overall situation of water transport; In the case of convenient shipping conditions, it is not crazy to spend huge sums of money to build canals; Repairing these rubbish needs at least 30 million taels of silver, and more than 400 warehouses with mangoku capacity are needed. Where did the imperial court have so much money? Increasing the water freight of the sand boat can save you a while, but not a lifetime.
Finally, in August of the same year, Li Hongzhang ordered Zhu Qi 'ang, a member of Zhejiang Shipping Committee, and his staff Sheng Xuanhuai to draft the articles of association of China Shipping Merchants. Zhu Qi 'ang took his younger brother Zhu Qi's imperial edict to Shanghai to set up a "merchant shipping bureau". In order to enable the company to operate, Li Hongzhang took out 52,000 private funds and lent Zhili 65,438+035,000 at 7% interest. On February 23rd of the same year, he submitted a report on the establishment of China Shipping Merchants Bureau to the Prime Minister's yamen. In his report, Li Hongzhang proposed that "Chinese businessmen raise funds to set up shipping companies, which are commanded by official managers and granted water transport patents to protect the company's profits." And clearly pointed out the basic idea of commercial official supervision: "At present, there is no official merchant ship, and there is no need for official cooperation, so commercial official supervision should still be carried out. Official official supervision should grasp its outline, examine its advantages and disadvantages, and listen to the independent opinions of commercial directors and other businessmen."
1873 65438+1October 4th, China Merchants Bureau for Shipping officially started its business. All its properties are three ships, warehouses and docks in Shanghai and Tianjin, as well as the patent right to transport 200 thousand stone grain.
Zhu Qiang wanted Hu Xueyan to take the lead, but he didn't get a response. It turned out that at that time, Shanghai businessmen were worried that their commercial share rights would be "eaten" by the "official governor". As a result, it was not until April that 65438+ 2 million cash and 65438+ 2 million subscription commitments were raised.
"Business Office" Management
After the establishment of China Shipping Merchants, with its superior facilities and technology, it quickly seized the sailing business. Although there is competition from ocean shipping companies, it has gained huge benefits year after year and the company has been able to continue to grow and develop. "Its commercial prosperity will keep pace with western shipping." All this, in addition to Li Hongzhang's active support, is also related to the "being a good manager" at the top of the bureau, which nominally implements "official supervision and commercial office", but the management right of China Merchants Bureau is in the hands of businessman Tang He. In order to attract giant businessmen to take a stake, Tang led the investment in silver, with 242,000 shares, and mobilized relatives and friends to invest heavily. Soon, wealthy businessmen from all over the country began to join, and the task of China Merchants to donate 654.38+0.2 million yuan was completed in a short time. In the second year after the reorganization, the net profit of China Merchants was as high as 82,000 silver. Then, speed up the purchase of ships and expand business. By 1876, China Merchants had 1 1 ships, which became a new force in the shipping industry at that time.
With the outbreak of the Sino-French War in 1883, the great powers not only invaded China's frontier, but also accelerated their economic aggression. By virtue of the terms in the unequal treaties, the number of foreign ships in China's trading ports has doubled, and China's entry into China is extremely serious, which has seriously affected its economy. In order to get rid of the trade and financial crisis, the Qing government accelerated the pace of controlling private enterprises. China Merchants, the largest private shipping company at that time, naturally became the object of government's "concern".
At that time, a financial crisis broke out in Shanghai. At this time, Tang, the former general manager of China Merchants Bureau, left his post, and Sheng Xuanhuai, the official representative and general manager, was impeached for corruption.
In the face of the unprepared financial crisis, Xu Run was caught off guard and badly managed, and the company suffered huge losses. Li Hongzhang took the opportunity to send Sheng Xuanhuai, who was already a customs official in Tianjin at that time, to the distribution bureau to maintain everything.
In the end, Sheng Xuanhuai revitalized China Merchants through investigation, and "squeezed out" Tang.
"government-run" period
In the modern history of China, Sheng Xuanhuai was known as the "father of commerce", and even in the later period of the Republic of China, he relied heavily on him. However, diligent and pragmatic Sheng Xuanhuai introduced more bureaucratic atmosphere during his term of office. The company's financial, personnel, business and other major issues. It was decided by Premier Sheng Xuanhuai, not the board of directors. The appointment and removal of supervisors are all approved by Minister Beiyang. In this way, the ship investment company in the hands of Li Hongzhang has completely become a official enterprise.
After 1884, private businessmen with a sense of crisis began to have a great decline in their investment enthusiasm for China Shipping merchants. From 1888, China Merchants entered the period of "official supervision and commercial operation". 1890, the company's total capital plummeted from the peak of 5.335 million to 275.438+million. Profits fell sharply to 1920, and the loss of China Shipping Investment has reached 20 million Liang.
The only beneficiary was the Qing government: according to statistics, during the 27 years from 1884 to1910/,two modern enterprises, China Maritime Bureau and Telegraph Bureau, reimbursed the government 3.5 million yuan in silver, accounting for 60% of the total share capital of the two bureaus. It is no wonder that Zheng revealed endless helplessness and desolation in Shang Tan: "Ships attract Kaiping Mine, which is created by businessmen using their commercial shares" and "it is called" protecting businessmen and stripping them, and the government supervises them like tigers ".
Almost at the same time, the Meiji government of Japan transferred Nagasaki Shipyard, a large domestic shipping company, to Iwasaki Yataro at an astonishingly low price, becoming "Mitsubishi" and later becoming a fully commercialized enterprise.
1909, China merchants ships were placed under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. In fact, the fate of China Merchants is not a special case. Almost all westernization enterprises with private capital in the late Qing Dynasty, such as Kaiping Coal Mine, Shanghai Woven Layout, Tianjin Shanghai Telegraph Bureau, had similar fate.
Nevertheless, the establishment of China Shipping Merchants has its practical significance: it introduced some modern western science and technology, trained a group of skilled workers, objectively disintegrated China's feudal economy and stimulated the development of capitalism; It has played a certain role in resisting foreign economic aggression.
After writing so much, give a coolie a compliment to those who float by.