Mencius said, "The beauty of a gentleman will be cut off in five generations."
Throughout the five thousand years of China, many families have been like splendid fireworks in history, reaching their peak and then quickly withering away.
Because of this, there is a saying that "you can't be rich for three generations, and you can't be poor by or ."
But there is such a family in China. Their wealth has lasted for more than 15 generations. It is the family of Ieoh Ming Pei - the Suzhou Pei family.
Ieoh Ming Pei's father is the famous Bei Zuyi , and his grandfather is Bei Zaian who founded Shanghai Bank . He is also a prominent figure three generations back.
When people conducted an in-depth study of why the I.M. Pei family's wealth has lasted for so long, they discovered that the secret is hidden in the family motto of the I.M. Pei family...
What is the secret of the Pei family in Gusu? How rich are you?
When you walk into Suzhou , you can find many traces left by the Bei family in its heyday. Many old people have vaguely heard of the glorious history of the Bei family for more than 600 years.
At the end of the Ming Dynasty , there was war and chaos. In order to avoid the disaster, the ancestors of the Bei family moved from Lanxi, Zhejiang to Suzhou, Jiangsu.
came here as a refugee, so he didn't bring much belongings with him. However, he had acquired good medical skills and made a living by using herbal medicine, and gradually started his business in Suzhou.
At first, he had a very difficult life in Suzhou as he was unfamiliar with the place. However, Belandang, who was always kind and charitable, slowly conquered the local people with his character.
After that, Beilandang’s descendants gradually inherited Beilandang’s mantle and gradually expanded the herbal medicine business in Suzhou.
By the second and third generations of the Bei family, the Bei family, which had taken root in Suzhou, had gradually become an important family that cannot be ignored among the "Four Rich Men of Nanhao" Ge, Mao, Bei and Bi.
"Jiangnan gardens are the best in the world, and Suzhou gardens are the best in Jiangnan."
Among the many gardens in Suzhou, Lion Grove is indeed a special existence among the four major gardens.
During the Qing Dynasty, Qianlong accidentally saw the Lion Forest painting and loved the Lion Forest very much. For this reason, he would visit the Lion Forest every time he went to Suzhou. He even wrote plaques for the Lion Forest three times. , so far, if you visit the Lion Forest, you can still see the "True Interesting" plaque left by Qianlong.
This legendary lion forest also came into the hands of the Pei family with the changes of the times. This place has also become part of the most important memory of I.M. Pei's childhood.
But in addition to possessing things that show wealth, the Bei family is also rich in talents.
I.M. Pei in the Lion Grove
In addition to I.M. Pei, who is known as "the last master of modernist architecture", I.M. Pei's uncles and elders for three generations were also prominent figures in the Republic of China.
When Ieoh Ming Pei’s grandfather, Li Tai, did not continue the herbal medicine business that his family had been engaged in when he became an adult, he chose to enter the financial industry.
As the founder of the Bank of Shanghai in 1915, Bellitai quickly opened up his position in Shanghai's financial industry by focusing on the needs of ordinary citizens. Since then, he has flourished in the financial industry, and the world has called him " Financial family".
I.M. Pei’s great-uncle Pei Runsheng was the famous “Pigment King” at that time.
As a member of the not-rich Bei family, Bei Runsheng can be called a business wizard. Because his father passed away early when he was young, he could only rely on his mother for a living, so this also made him feel the warmth and warmth of human beings very early.
In the poor life, Bei Runsheng did not give up. When he was 16 years old, Bei Runsheng came to Shanghai alone with two silver dollars given by his grandfather and worked as an apprentice in Ruikang Pigment Factory.
and in the following ten years, he was relied on by the boss of Ruikang and became the manager of Ruikang Bank. Later, with his keen business vision and the honesty and hard work taught by his family, he became a business giant in Shanghai. People The well-known "King of Pigments".
Ieoh Ming Pei's father, Pei Zuyi, was a well-known figure in Shanghai during the Republic of China, just like Song Ziwen and others.In 1918, due to the warlord separatism, Bei Zuyi had to rush to Hong Kong with his wife and children. At that time, it was difficult for him to rebuild a branch in Hong Kong.
At that time, Hong Kong, under the control of the British, was not friendly to the Chinese, and the funds that Bei Zuyi could use were very few. However, Bei Zuyi was keenly aware that Hong Kong's regulations in this area did not exist at that time. It was not strict, so he quickly got the original funds by earning exchange rate .
After several years of hard work, Bei Zuyi's rapid growth quickly leveraged the status of some British people in Hong Kong at that time, and this also made people take the Chinese seriously.
In 1927, ten years of financial career made Bei Zuyi famous, and he established the Shanghai Branch of Bank of China when he returned to Shanghai.
In the following years, Bei Zuyi also served as deputy general manager of Bank of China, and as president of Bank of China.
, who has extraordinary abilities, also served as the head of the China Technology Delegation in Washington.
What is worth mentioning is that his second wife Jiang Shiyun is Zhang Xueliang 's true love.
Many people are surprised by such a prominent family inheritance. What kind of family can give birth to so many outstanding people, and what kind of family education can be so lucky.
The ancestral motto of the Bei family
But in fact, when you see the ancestral motto of the Bei family, it may suddenly become clear.
"Our Bei family does not value inheritance of money, but we value education and the construction of family tradition. The inherited Bei family motto states that 'value science, cultivate future generations, be dedicated to the industry, and work hard...Be modest and prudent, Be generous and sincere. Keep away from evil ways and honor your ancestors... Be diligent in cultivation, respect etiquette and benevolent, and be willing to help others..."
Even if you are a hundred years old, the ancestral precepts of Baijia are still deeply rooted. It has taken root in I.M. Pei's mind and has never been forgotten. For this kind of ancestral precept, the Pei family has always used it as an important teaching to educate their children and discipline themselves.
This is the secret that the Bei family's wealth has been passed down for hundreds of years, but even though these words are so simple, they have been throughout the history of the Bei family.
According to historical records, during the Ming Dynasty, the Bei family who moved to Suzhou "made a living by trade, adhering to the goodness of their ancestors, and doing more good deeds than the people."
Although the Bei family did not have such a rich accumulation of wealth after coming to Suzhou, they have continued their family's tradition of kindness, charity, and welfare for the poor.
This tradition is also true even for I.M. Pei’s grandfather. He was a powerful figure in the financial world and served as the president of the Chamber of Commerce in Suzhou. He took the lead many times to initiate fund-raising for road construction and good deeds.
Not only that, in that era when a woman's lack of talent was regarded as a virtue, in order to encourage Chinese women to break feudalism, he and others specially established Zhenhua Girls' Middle School.
In 1917, I.M. Pei’s great-uncle bought the Lion Grove Garden in Hangzhou and invested a huge amount of money to renovate the garden, which had been abandoned for a long time.
But the most important thing is that he is grateful for the education that the Bei family has given him, and he also knows what is most important in revitalizing a family. Therefore, he does not take advantage of this lion forest that everyone envies. Own.
With the ancestral precepts firmly in mind, he once again invested more than 800,000 people to renovate the Lion Forest and provide the Lion Forest to the Bei family. Because he knew the difficulties of not having money since he was a child, in order to help those members of his family who were once in trouble like him, he also established Bei's Chengxun Yizhuang in Lion Grove to provide them with help.
and actively contribute money to help children from poor families in the family go to school, and work hard to improve their food and clothing.
Women of the Bei family
In addition to the famous men of the Bei family, many women in the Bei family also play an important role. There is a saying in China that "a good wife affects three generations.", this sentence It's not false.
may be well aware of the important influence of women in a family on the future growth of children, and also knows the impact of a woman on her husband. Therefore, when choosing a future wife, the choices of men in the Bei family all point to one indicator. " culture".
The so-called culture refers to those women from famous families who are born into scholarly families. These women understand the general concept. In addition to being good wives at home, they also have a profound influence on their children.
Zhuang Lianjun
Ieoh Ming Pei's mother Zhuang Lianjun was such an existence. As the daughter of the last Imperial College of the Qing Dynasty, Zhuang Lianjun grew up in a very peaceful family. Not only that, she knew poetry and had a very high level of talent. artistic sentiment.
In 1917, Zhuang Lianjun gave birth to Bei Zuyi’s eldest son, Ieoh Ming Pei.
In Pei’s memories, his mother occupied a very important time in his childhood.
As the eldest daughter from a scholarly family, Zhuang Lianjun brought I.M. Pei a childhood full of the essence of Chinese culture. She would not only hold I.M. Pei to look at her calligraphy and paintings, but also teach him the subtleties of these things.
When doing other things, she would take I.M. Pei’s brothers and sisters to make wine and cook delicious meals. Her mother’s quietness and peace allowed I.M. Pei to develop a temperament that is invisible to emotions and anger, calm and full of strength since he was a child. character.
In addition to these, as the eldest son of Pei Zuyi, the most profound memory of Pei's childhood was the days in the temple.
"I have never experienced such silence - there is no sound at all. When the sky is about to break, there is a strange crunching groan, which is the sound of bamboo breaking out of the ground. This is what my mother said to me. One of my teachings is to learn to listen in silence. "
This unprecedented feeling made this child, who was only a few years old, feel full of wonders. He was originally at an energetic age and did not like the purity of the temple at first. , but because my mother is a devout Buddhist, it is inevitable for to go to the temple to perform meditation in her daily activities.
Therefore, when she went to the temple to stay for a while, she often took I.M. Pei with her. There is no meat or fish in the temple, and the most unbearable thing for I.M. Pei at first was the silence. As a child of a few years old, can only be in the world of adults, without the company of children to play, and he has to behave like an adult. Tranquility, this feeling, made him very resistant.
But as the number of visits gradually increased, Pei began to gradually imitate her mother, meditating on the futon. In the quiet temple, when she closed her eyes, her ears became more and more keen, and various magical sounds came out. And thus broke into his world.
In addition, I.M. Pei’s mother’s welcoming treatment when getting along with her other friends has also become a very profound nourishment for him.
Although, when I.M. Pei was 13 years old, his mother left him forever due to cancer , the influence her mother had on him stayed with him throughout his life.
In addition, I.M. Pei, who followed his father back and forth across China in his early years, witnessed with his own eyes how Pei Zuyi used his excellent professional knowledge to change China's outdated monetary system .
At that time, I.M. Pei’s classmates all wanted his father Pei Zuyi’s signature to appear on the coins. However, Pei, who had already been influenced by his family, had his own goal in mind. He was very serious about his classmates. Said, "Given time, you will see my influence in more places."
I.M. Pei and his children, his wife
After the death of I.M. Pei's mother, the newly arrived Jiang Shiyun did not allow I.M. Pei and his three brothers to The sisters lived with her, and the four brothers had to move out of their long-standing home.
But fortunately, their grandfather took care of them, and in the years that followed, he showed them how he provided tuition and materials to relatives in need in the Bei family, and how he led hundreds of people in the Bei family together. Participating in ancestor worship, although he lost his mother when he was 13 years old and was kicked out of the house by his father, he felt the power of family cohesion around his grandfather.
Among them, his grandfather paid great attention to his education. He once told I.M. Pei, "You must persist in doing the right things." This also led him to build the huge glass pyramid at the "heart" of the Louvre , he can still stick to his ideas when faced with strong opposition. This is how
came about. Later, after the glass pyramid was built, countless people admired it, and he also won the Pritzker Prize .
But among the many educations I.M. Pei received, the most important thing was his deep-rooted recognition that he was Chinese.
For this reason, he also named his three sons "Bei Dingzhong, Bei Jianzhong , Bei Lizhong " with the meaning of "stabilizing China, building China, and being civilized in China". Warn your children that they are Chinese at all times, and if the motherland needs to be determined, it is their duty to do so.
In 2017, when the 100-year-old Ieoh Ming Pei received the " Influence the World Chinese Lifetime Achievement Award ", he said, "I have never. I dare to forget what my father said, and I dare not forget the motherland, because the blood of Chinese people remains in my veins. No matter when, I will be Chinese! "
