District Archives recently collected
1935 " Nanxun Phone Number Directory" (digital scan)
This phone number is provided by Huzhou Mr. Chen Zhenting
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From Chen Zhenting's story
Learn about this old phone number directory
Before the Anti-Japanese War, my uncle worked in Nanxun Telephone Company, so my family also collected a "Nanxun Telephone Directory" before the Anti-Japanese War. My mother said that around 1938, the whole family fled to the Mayao Countryside. At that time, some books were afraid of being discovered by the Japanese devils, so the phone number book was hidden in the stove and firewood ash of farmers' homes and preserved. Although it is not an ancient book or cultural relic, I cherish it as a Nanxun native and my uncle worked in the unit. If you look through it carefully, you can learn about some business and social situations at that time. Because this booklet with 32-open cover color not only contains the phone numbers of each user of Nanxun Town , but also publishes nearly 100 commercial advertisements of different sizes. It reflects that Nanxun was already among the "three major cities in Jiangnan" at that time, and had a prosperous history. It is also the birthplace of Hushang . In order to adapt to the social and economic needs at that time, Nanxun had a leading telephone communication facility than other regions as early as the mid-1920s, which played a positive role in serving national industry and commerce.
This phone number directory was compiled in January 1935 and was published by Nanxun Commercial Office Telephone Co., Ltd. It publishes 165 telephone numbers in the town and surrounding areas (including 6 towns including Ma Yao, Dongqian, Fangzhougang, Zacun, Wuqing, all with "telephone separate sales offices"). The telephone book catalog is 20 categories such as the agency column, traffic column, electrical hardware column, beverage column, silk cotton column, etc., including 108 business stores, 17 social groups, 6 schools and hospitals, 11 financial and pawn shops, and 19 private residential telephones. At the same time, there are 98 advertisements (lines) of various types on the top of each page or on the entire page. At that time, due to the incomplete communication equipment, the hand-cranked phone was still hung on the wall, the microphone was separated from the receiver, and the call quality was not good. The telephone company noted the text on the bottom of the notebook: "Speak clearly, not loudly", "If you can't hear it, it's the other party's words that are not aimed at the mouth", etc., reminding users to pay attention to the call and prevent the interference. Due to the early rise of Nanxun business and overseas influence, the use of telephone lights has also begun to begin earlier. Jiaye Library Liujia is the first household powered light in the county (introducing small generators), which is surprising.
"Four Eight Cows and Seventy Two Golden Dogs" commonly known as "Four Eight Cows and Seventy Two Golden Dogs" symbolizes that Nanxun's economy was quite developed in the 1920s, marking the rise of Huzhou merchants. In particular, large-scale businesses such as Liu, Zhang, and Pang operate silk, rice, and finance, and do business and buy land to open shops in the town, and start big business in Shanghai, export raw silk. The "Jili Si" brand won the Panama Gold Award. Liu Yong's grandson Liu Chenggan built the earliest Jiaye private library in the country and was famous in Jiangnan. It can be seen from the telephone directory that the ability of various business units to install telephones at that time was enough to prove their strength in business activities.For example, " Jiangnan Bank " located in Baoshan Street notes: "The bank has opened two departments of finance, industry and commerce for more than ten years" and has connected business dealings with bank banks in Shanghai. There are 5 mainland banks, , Jinlong Bank, etc. recorded in Nanxun; 5 5 slaughter companies such as Dekangdang and Hengshengdang; the exclusive advertisement of "Six Middle School Silk Bureau" declared: "The most affordable and good quality in the silk and satin industry in Nanxun"; Zhengchang Shenhu Shipping Bureau is Nanxun. A powerful shipping agency mainly carries freight transportation. It also travels between Shanghai and Huzhou, and there are several "small steamers" to and from the surrounding towns. The Yutong Silk Road, Nanxun Improved Silk Factory, Xiangji Rice Road, Dechang Rice Road, etc. in the town are important influential enterprises, and 11 rice banks all have telephones alone. The wine industry is also very developed. There are 6 soybean gardens such as Zhang Hengtai and Zhang Hengchang, which are headed by "Zhang"; there are 10 soybean gardens and wine shops; Yifeng Garden and Juyuanlou have become famous restaurants and delicious dishes. Food such as fried grass carp and shredded eel shreds are favored by customers. One phone call is delivered to the door. Because it is steaming in the steamer basket, it is also hot in winter. Those who like to eat vegetarian food also have "Chan Yueju" and "vegetarian vegetarian"; at that time, there were many tourists coming and going, and three major hotels in the town are dedicated to food and accommodation: Nanxun Grand Hotel, Yi'an Grand Hotel and Yingbin Grand Hotel; 6 schools and hospitals: private Nanxun Junior High School, Xunxi Central Primary School (Senior Department, Low Level Department) and Xunzhong Farm have telephones, and the hospitals are Xunxi and Tongren Hospital; Military Affairs Office There are 9 groups of telephone numbers: such as the Third District Office, the Third Branch of the Public Security Bureau, and the Second Basic Team of Wuxing County; there are 6 telephone numbers in the town of the fire department, namely the Firefighting Federation and the East, South, West, North and Central District Fire Brigades, which are very convenient to distribute the grid to deal with fire alarms; there are also 4 charitable organizations such as the Poor Children's Relief Home and Nanxun Nursing Hall; there are very few phone books on shops with local specialties, and only "Huyang Animal Planting Company" has both installed telephone numbers and advertised largely, with Chinese and English comparison text written in a peach pattern. The advertisement says: "The taste is sweet and juicy, the color is bright, and it is easy to peel off and nourishes water honey." There are 19 households who install private residential telephones, such as Zhang Xuxin, Pang Zanchen, Xu Linshi's residence, etc. Except for Xiong Xiuchu (old military and police) in Mayao Town, the addresses of other residents are Green Rao Villa, Qiushuli , Qingfeng Qiaowan, Huangyuhe, Xifengdou, Beixiaowei, Lianjielan and other residential courtyards. They are all representatives of the famous families and business circles in the town.
In the blink of an eye, more than 70 years have passed in the phone number directory. After the founding of New China, earth-shaking changes have taken place in all aspects of society, especially the rapid development of Nanxun after its 30 years of reform and opening up, and the rapid development after its promotion to a county-level system is encouraging. I sincerely wish Nanxun a better tomorrow!
(Original published in "Nanxun Times" July 10, 2008)
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