Zhou Ying has become a household name because of the TV series "The Flower Blooming and the Moon Is Round", and there is even this saying that Zhou Ying is the female version of Ma Yun in the last years of the Qing Dynasty. Of course, this understanding cannot be said to be false.
Because in the Qing dynasty, not many women came out to show their faces, and those who could do big business like Zhou Ying were even rarer. Zhou Ying’s wealth, even if not as good as Sheng Xuanhuai’s or Hu Xueyan’s, was nothing but a few Her ranking in women's ranks can be the first place, so it is correct to think that she is the female version of Jack Ma in the late Qing Dynasty, So what is the life of such a wealthy Zhou Ying in her old age?
Picture: Zhou Ying's public appearance stills
1. Zhou Ying's not easy
In fact, in ancient China, the social status of merchants was quite awkward. The so-called awkwardness lies in the merchant's control With a lot of social wealth, but on the other hand, under the butcher knife of feudal law.
For example, as early as in the history of Qin, Shang Yang believed that the merchant group must be completely eliminated when he reformed the law. After Qin Shihuang unified the world, this idea was also popularized throughout Qin. Although the Han Dynasty overthrew the Qin Dynasty, the attitude toward merchants in the subsequent dynasties was mainly to suppress.
At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the reason why the Qing government was forced to encourage industry and commerce was mainly because it was stimulated by the great powers, and the other was because it owed too much indemnity, which led to financial loss. Therefore, the Qing government was not allowed to make ends meet. Without announcing the encouragement of industry and commerce, Zhou Ying's achievements were actually carried out in this context.
Picture: Encouraging industry and commerce stills in the late Qing Dynasty
1. widow hard to be
Zhou Ying’s experience is similar to that in the TV series. Her husband died soon after marriage.And the father-in-law in charge of the family also went with it. After this series of shocks, according to normal circumstances, it is a sense of sight in the family. However, fortunately, Zhou Ying is a responsible woman. She just relied on her business talent to pass the operation, and then re-earned the Wu family's industry.
2, thinking avant-garde
Zhou Ying is relatively a thinking comparison avant-garde people, after learning about the business operation mode of Western Capital in coastal areas, Zhou Ying carried out it To imitate and replicate all of this in the inland and remote province of Shaanxi.
For example, a typical example is to carry out industrialized production reforms. In addition, there are equity incentives and other content. Of course, this kind of operation method may be ordinary for modern people.
However, we must know that in the last years of the Qing Dynasty, many men did not have the courage and responsibility to learn from the West to change their business methods, but Zhou Ying, as a female classmate, did this. Zhou Ying is very admirable, and because of the avant-garde, she was able to stand out in the business sea of the late Qing Dynasty.
Picture: Zhou Ying's stills in Shang Hai
2. The brilliance of Zhou Ying
Zhou Ying's most glorious time was in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Because Zhou Ying has become a grateful person to Empress Dowager Cixi.
1. Zhou Ying’s generosity
In 1900, the Empress Dowager Cixi declared war on the Eight Nations, which resulted in the Eight-Nation Alliance defeating the city of Beijing. The Empress Dowager Cixi saw that her troops could not stand it anymore _ strong4strong ,So hurried to Shaanxi, and then sent people to negotiate with the Eight-Nation Alliance.
At this time, the Qing Dynasty has entered a state of unprecedented crisis. The governors of the Southeastern provinces announced the implementation of the Southeastern Mutual Protection. These governors believed that the Empress Dowager Cixi and the Eight-Power Allied Forces were tantamount to self-humiliation and would certainly not succeed.
Therefore, after the Empress Dowager Cixi declared war on the eight countries, the Southeastern provinces announced the Southeastern Mutual Insurance. The so-called Southeastern Mutual Insurance is actually similar to a semi-independent state. There is even a saying that Li Hongzhang was still considering whether to elect a president representing the Southeastern provinces to lead the Southeastern provinces. This behavior was almost treasonous to the Qing Dynasty.
Picture: Stills of the Empress Dowager Cixi
Although the northern provinces still obeyed the orders of the Empress Dowager Cixi, the Germans believed that the German army was fully capable of invading Xi'an and capturing Empress Cixi alive.
Therefore, he was unwilling to negotiate with the Empress Dowager Cixi, and specially sent troops to attack Shanxi, preparing to enter Xi'an from Shanxi.
As a result, in the first battle of Niangziguan, a large number of German troops were ambushed by the Qing army. After the German troops suffered losses, they gave up continuing to hunt down the Empress Dowager Cixi and chose to negotiate with the Qing Dynasty.
And before and after this, Zhou Ying took the initiative to donate a large sum of money to the Empress Dowager Cixi, which moved the Empress Dowager Cixi very much. Empress Dowager Cixi thought this was a gift in snow, and even the Empress Dowager Cixi herself felt that where is her tomorrow. What the fate of the Qing Dynasty will be is an uncertain future. At this time, Zhou Ying is willing to help herself, which shows that Zhou Ying truly respects herself.
Therefore, the Empress Dowager Cixi gave Zhou Ying a certain reward (of course, these _strong4 rewards are only honorary), and expressed that she would accept Zhou Ying as a godfather. This is the greatest achievement of Zhou Ying's life. .
Because in the concept of Chinese feudal times, how much money a person has is not important, what matters is how high social status is. Being able to climb relatives with the Queen Mother, it is conceivable that almost no one can match this status.
Picture: Zhou Ying kneeling down to worship the Empress Dowager Cixi stills
2, evening scene
Because of the empress dowager Cixi, Zhou Ying can be described as smooth in her later years in business, in the shopping mall of the Qing Dynasty. The commercial dominance of China has a lot to do with the attitude of the government. Because of the relationship with the Empress Dowager Cixi, Zhou Ying remained unbeaten in the market in the last few years.
Unfortunately, Zhou Ying's family failed, because Zhou Ying had no biological son, so she could only adopt one from her husband's family, the Wu family. However, Zhou Ying's relationship with her adopted son is not harmonious. This disharmony is due to the fact that as the child grows up his own opinions, the relationship with the adoptive mother will gradually drift away.
At first, Zhou Ying could also use her leadership in the family to suppress and 's adopted son, so that the adopted son's several resistances eventually failed because of Zhou Ying's strength. , So he said to bow his head to his adoptive mother.
Picture: Zhou Ying and her adopted son stills
However, with the death of Zhou Ying, the adopted son decided to retaliate against his adoptive mother. According to the ancient concept, it would be a misfortune and humiliation if they could not enter the ancestral grave after death. . When Zhou Ying’s adopted son was buried, he deliberately found a relatively deserted and secluded place. The purpose was to make Zhou Ying a lonely ghost. Maybe when Zhou Ying was alive, she never dreamed that she would fall after her death. Let's end up like this.
author of the article: Da Hui
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