During the Republic of China in 1935, a hotel named Jinjiang quickly rose in Shanghai and became a gathering place for Shanghai's dignitaries. The owner of this hotel was actually a woman from a peasant family. She came from a poor family and was sold to a brothel. , also experienced an unfortunate marriage, but eventually became a famous female boss in Shanghai, even Du Yuesheng had to be polite. So who is she? How did a common woman step from the bottom of society to become the owner of Jinjiang Hotel?
Parents have advanced ideas and hope that their daughters can change their destiny through reading.
This female gentleman who was famous in Shanghai in the 19th century was named Dong Zhujun. In 1900, Dong Zhujun was born in a patriarchal slum in Shanghai, China. In a girl's family, her parents are both at the bottom of the society, doing the dirtiest and most tiring work, and earning pitiful wages.
Because she is a girl, she has not been cared for by her grandparents since she was a child. She is more discriminated against by her elders, who think she is a loser. Although her parents love Dong Zhujun, under the pressure of her elders, Her parents did not dare to resist and could only persuade their daughter to endure the injustice. In this war-torn and turbulent background, where he was discriminated against since childhood, the young Dong Zhujun was very sensible and developed a spirit of being willing to endure hardship and never give up.
Although Dong Zhujun has not received the attention of the elders in the family since she was a child, fortunately, her parents have relatively advanced ideas, especially Dong Zhujun's mother. Her mother once worked as a maid in a scholarly family, so his mother is convinced that Reading can change people's destiny. In addition, this is her biological daughter after all, and her mother cannot bear to have her live at the bottom of this dark society for the rest of her life. So Dong Zhujun's parents made up their mind that no matter what, they must help their daughter get out of her current predicament. Despite the hardship of life and the objections of her elders, Dong Zhujun's parents still insisted on sending their daughter to a private school.
Dong Zhujun got this hard-won opportunity to study because of his parents’ persistence. The talented Dong Zhujun also lived up to her parents' expectations. She rushed to the private school early every morning carrying a small schoolbag, and she reluctantly returned home when the sun went down the mountain. She memorized textbooks quickly, did her homework well, and her grades were among the best in the private school, and she was praised by her teacher.
Her parents are also proud of their daughter, which also makes her parents more determined to provide for their daughter to study even if they have to bear debts. Just when everyone thought that Dong Zhujun could make a career in the world by studying, accidents were coming quietly.
His father was seriously ill and had no money to pay for school fees, so he was forced to work as a prostitute in a brothel
At the age of 12, Dong Zhujun's father suddenly became seriously ill. This made this already poor family even worse. Dong Zhujun's father's health deteriorated day by day. From the initial physical illness to the fact that he could not even get out of bed, he could only rely on medicine to maintain his life.
Ever since Dong Zhujun's father became ill, the family has instantly lost its main source of income. Even food and clothing have become a problem for the family. They eat one meal all day long but no next meal. Under such difficult circumstances, Dong Zhujun's parents really could not spare any extra money to support Dong Zhujun's education.
In desperation, 12-year-old Dong Zhujun had no choice but to drop out of school. In order to make a living for the family, under the threat of her elders, her parents sold her to a brothel - Changsantangzi to sing. Out of the protection of their daughter, when they sent Dong Zhujun to the brothel, her parents repeatedly told the brothel's madam that their daughter would only be an artist but not her body, and she would be an artist here at a price of one hundred taels per year. Three years later, they will come to the brothel again to redeem their daughters.
The boss of the brothel proposed to take a look at Dong Zhujun's singing skills before making a decision. Although Dong Zhujun has never learned singing, she has an extremely high IQ. She only studied Peking Opera for a few months because of her exquisite singing skills. Being appreciated by the brothel boss, he was taken to Changsantangzi in a sedan chair.
Because Dong Zhujun made an appointment with her parents, as soon as the three-year period is up, her parents will definitely take her out of the brothel. Dong Zhujun, who has always been sensible, accepted this reality in order to relieve the family's financial pressure and agreed to go to the brothel to sing. After that, Dong Zhujun was forced to start his career as a prostitute in a brothel when he was only 12 years old.
Changsantangzi is different from other brothels. Changsantangzi was the highest-end brothel during the Republic of China. The average consumption here is not low. It is not a place for poor people. Therefore, the knowledge and ideological level of people who come and go here are generally relatively high. high. In order to set off the cultural level of dignitaries, prostitutes who pick up customers are usually called "Mr. Big". Those who are good at performing arts but not selling themselves are called "little gentlemen", also known as " Qinghuren".
In this most high-end brothel, the people who come in and out are either high-ranking officials or warlords and businessmen, all of them are prominent figures. No one would tarnish their reputation because of a "pure servant", so ordinary guests would not force "little gentlemen" to sell themselves. Therefore, Mr. Dong Zhu was not aggrieved when he lived here, nor was he harmed by officials and dignitaries.
Dong Zhujun has a classy appearance. She has outstanding appearance at the age of only 12 years old. Moreover, she is extremely smart and has good singing skills. She has quickly attracted the likes of more and more people. Dignitaries and dignitaries came here to praise Dong Zhujun, and many children from wealthy families invited her to sing at their homes. Overnight, he became a popular young gentleman in Changsandangzi.
Dong Zhujun became more and more popular and worked hard. He is also getting busier and busier, and is often so tired that he lies on the bed and falls asleep as soon as he returns to Changsantangzi. In this unfamiliar environment, Dong Zhujun has to perform high-intensity work under pressure every day, and he also has to learn to please. They are all dignitaries.
So Dong Zhujun silently hopes that time will pass faster every day. She is thinking about the three-year period all the time, hoping that her parents can take her home as soon as possible.
, the three-year period is approaching, Dong Zhujun stands at the door of Changsantangzi every day, expecting her parents to show up to redeem her and go home. But day after day, her parents never show up.
During the long wait, Dong Zhujun lost hope for her parents. She knew very well that her parents would never come to take her home. The extremely disappointed Dong Zhujun shed tears every day, and she even had the idea of committing suicide.
At this time, she met the noble person of her life. Aunt Meng also worked in Changsan Hall. She was a relatively high-ranking aunt here. She had many years of work experience and her social experience was more advanced than Dong Zhujun's. Gao. She is very friendly and likes Dong Zhujun's clever and sensible character, so she often enlightens Dong Zhujun.
Gradually, Dong Zhujun and Aunt Meng became good friends who talked about everything. With her help, Dong Zhujun gradually regained hope in life. Aunt Meng loved Dong Zhujun very much and treated her as her own daughter.
But Aunt Meng, who had experienced many right and wrong in Shanghai, clearly understood that Dong Zhujun was now growing up. The popularity of Sandangzi is very high, and they can seek more benefits for Changsantangzi.
But Changsantangzi is a place that eats people without spitting out their bones. Driven by profit, they will never let Dong Zhujun leave easily. . If Dong Zhujun has no way to escape from this ghost place, then she will be ruined here for the rest of her life, and she will never come out again.
Facing Aunt Meng’s reminder, Dong Zhujun suddenly realized that if she wanted to escape. In this place, she must have enough backers to rely on, so she began to look for prey among these dignitaries.
Long drought and sweet rain, meet your loved one and go abroad to study
In people's impression, Changsantangzi is a place where gamblers and perverts have fun, and it is a place where dignitaries stop for entertainment.But what is unexpected is that the most dangerous place is the safest. Many people who love revolution will use this dangerous place as a place to discuss important secrets. Naturally, some passionate revolutionary youths often gather here to discuss national affairs.
Among these young people, many are pursuing Dong Zhujun. Among them, the one who impressed Dong Zhujun the most was Xia Zhishi, who was 13 years older than her. Just a quick glance at Xia Zhishi left a deep impression on Dong Zhujun. At that young age, Dong Zhujun fell deeply in love with this man.
Xia Zhishi was born in a warlord family. He was decent, handsome and generous. He had studied abroad for three years and was well-read in poetry. As the saying goes, he is full of poetry and calligraphy, and Dong Zhujun was attracted by his scholarly quality. Moreover, he was particularly ambitious. He became the governor of Sichuan Province and the commander-in-chief of the Shu Army at the age of only 24. It can be said that he is young and promising.
Dong Zhujun fell in love with him. Xia Zhishi also noticed this gentle, kind, and extremely smart girl. When he first met Dong Zhujun, he was attracted by Dong Zhujun's appearance, and even more fell in love with Dong Zhujun's conversation.
Faced with the confession of her beloved man to herself, Dong Zhujun was happy from the bottom of her heart. However, when he heard that her beloved man wanted to redeem himself, she was very unhappy and refused directly
. Because Dong Zhujun knew in her heart that in that era, if she was a ransomed brothel girl, she would definitely be looked down upon by the society. She did not want to walk in this society carrying the identity of a brothel girl. But she also wanted to be with the man she loved, so after discussing it, the two decided to elope.
On a dark and windy night, Dong Zhujun packed his luggage, said a short farewell to Aunt Meng, and then met Xia Zhishi who was waiting outside. The two quietly escaped from the trapped Dong Zhujun San. A place of filth over the years. In order to escape the pursuit of Changsantangzi, Dong Zhuojun decided to study in Japan.
Because Xia Zhishi had a seriously ill wife at home, she did not want to be a concubine, nor did she want Xia Zhishi to abandon his wife and children for him. Dong Zhujun felt that the top priority was to enrich himself and give himself a foothold in this society.
Dreams are beautiful, but reality is cruel
When Dong Zhujun and Xia Zhishi came to Japan, she originally thought that she would live a happy and healthy life. Unexpectedly, Xia Zhishi grew up in a warlord family. He has a very high desire for control. Dong Zhujun hopes that he can have his own independent time, so that he can do what he wants to do, learn what he wants to learn, and see a world he has never experienced before.
But Xia Zhishi firmly disagreed. He was afraid that Dong Zhujun would be confused by the outside world, so he only agreed that she should go to school for a period of time and hire a tutor to teach her at home. Later, Xia Zhishi wanted to return to China because of the revolution, so he invited his fourth brother to study with Dong Zhujun. The purpose was simply to monitor Dong Zhujun. But even so, Dong Zhujun cherishes his learning opportunities, burning the midnight oil almost every day, and tirelessly learning all kinds of knowledge.
In 1917, Dong Zhujun, who graduated from Ochanomizu Women's High School in Tokyo, wanted to go to Paris for further study, but Xia Zhishi disagreed and insisted on letting her return to China. Considering that the two of them had been separated in two places for too long and they already had children, Dong Zhujun agreed.
Before returning to the Xia family, Dong Zhujun bought a batch of precious foreign goods as gifts and sent them to her home. She knew that people like her would not be easily treated when they came to the Xia family. With these Gifts, this whole family is at least embarrassed to talk about. At the same time, she also knew that this alone was not enough. In order to win the respect of his family, Dong Zhujun began to take care of the housework. He not only learned various housekeeping knowledge and cooking skills, but also asked the children in the family to read. In this way, it didn't take long for the whole family to accept Dong Zhujun.
Just when Dong Zhujun thought he was about to live a happy life, an accident happened. The leader resigned.For a time, Xia Zhishi was in a state of despair. Not only did his family have no source of income, he also smoked opium and indulged in his own world every day. He didn't even care that Dong Zhujun was seriously ill.
But in order to make a living for the whole family, Dong Zhujun had no choice but to drag his sick body and find a way to open the "Fuxiang Women's Socks Factory" and the "Flying Eagle Company" that rents rickshaws. He worked hard every day and didn't even have time to sleep, but because he didn't have experience, and eventually went bankrupt.
However, her hard work to earn money to support the family was not recognized by her husband. Instead, she was insulted by Xia Zhishi. The unpleasant words kept coming out of Xia Zhishi's mouth, hitting Dong Zhujun's face word by word. heart. What's even more outrageous is that Xia Zhishi's mentality of favoring sons over daughters was extremely serious. He only had his daughter playing with male classmates, so he forced his daughter to end it on her own. This made Dong Zhujun completely disappointed with Xia Zhishi. Not long after, Dong Zhujun filed for divorce from her husband. In this way, the two parted ways and have been strangers in the world ever since.
Dong Zhujun, who suffered setbacks in love, was not discouraged, but instead strengthened her determination to make money to support herself. With the help of friends, Dong Zhujun decided to set up a factory again. She mortgaged all the valuable things in her home and used the mortgaged properties as funds to set up her own factory. In 1930, she founded Qunyi Yarn Tube Factory.
In order to run the factory, Dong Zhujun often stayed in the factory for a week, handling all the work one by one, for fear that something would go wrong. Finally, with her continuous efforts, the company became stronger and bigger step by step. For a time, Dong Zhujun became a wealthy businessman. This also allowed her to get acquainted with many dignitaries, which provided great help to her future life experience. Among them, the one who helped her the most was Shanghai boss Du Yuesheng.
At that time, due to the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, Dong Zhujun's factory also fell in the war. In desperation, Dong Zhujun had to start all over again. In 1937, a Jinjiang Hotel opened in Shanghai. Dong Zhujun was the proprietress of this hotel, and Du Yuesheng was the boss behind the scenes who supported Dong Zhujun.
In order to run this hotel well, Dong Zhujun worked hard. From taste improvement to interior design and decoration, everything has been carefully designed. In terms of decoration, because she had studied in Japan in her early years, she chose an architectural style that combined Chinese, Japanese and Western styles; in terms of taste, she chose to take a different approach and chose to cook Sichuan cuisine in Shanghai, which is full of Cantonese and Fujian cuisine.
Finally, under the leadership of Dong Zhujun’s superhuman wisdom, and under the intimidation of Du Yuesheng’s social status, Jinjiang Hotel once became the signature hotel in Shanghai. From dignitaries to ordinary people, everyone likes to dine in this hotel. People visit it every day. Correct, even Du Yueshenglai is no exception.
Because this restaurant never sees people ordering dishes. The service from the guys was welcoming and the food in the restaurant was good and reasonably priced. It is worth mentioning that Jinjiang Hotel is the first hotel in China to use disposable chopsticks , and all tableware is printed with the name of Jinjiang Hotel. These novel manifestations have given Jinjiang Hotel good publicity. It can be said that at that time Jin Jiang Hotel was known to everyone in the whole Shanghai. A hotel in Shanghai dedicated to receiving foreign guests. As of today, Jin Jiang Hotel has received dignitaries from hundreds of countries and regions.
In 1997, Dong Zhujun's 400,000-word memoir "My Century" was published. This book shows us the life of this ordinary woman who climbed up and down from the slums with her own efforts and wisdom. A hundred years of life has truly witnessed the story of a girl living at the bottom of society who resisted the misfortune of fate, social injustice, and the darkness of the times, and finally stood at the forefront of the times after enduring hardships.
