樂倫

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我三爺爺的決心

作者：樂倫於 2019-4-13 12:23 發表於最熱鬧的華人社交網路--貝殼村

作者分類:走過母親所走的路|通用分類:原創文學

我三爺爺的決心

我不知道我三爺爺怎麼渡過那些日子的，他上面還有一個母親，一個嫂子，就是我的奶奶，和我年紀尚小的父親，他還有一個妹妹，我的姑奶奶。

為了照顧這個家，我三爺爺在心裡說，我什麼工作都肯做，不論貴賤。他到外面去找工作，做學徒，學會向人低頭，也學會討人喜歡。

有一句開玩笑的話說：大哥二哥麻子哥。我三爺爺就是這個麻子哥，他小時候得過天花，留下了一臉麻子，不然他還算英俊。

三爺爺打聽到，當時煙台有洋行，派人出國做生意，許多人都發大財了。所以他打定主意要到洋學堂裡打工和讀書，並學好英文和做生意。

19世紀末、20世紀初，英國傳教士馬茂蘭（James McMullan，1860年—1916年9月23日）

與妻子Lily來到煙台，Lily與美國長老會傳教士海爾濟(George Hays)

的妻子梵妮合作，開辦了一家花邊講習班，教授煙臺婦女學習花邊編織技術。次年，海爾濟夫婦回國，馬茂蘭夫婦將講習班擴建為培真女校，學校採用半工半讀的形式，上午念書、學習聖經，下午學習花邊編織，月收入有5000至8000文。因此吸引了許多女孩到培真女校學藝，最多的時候學生人數達到500多人。由於馬茂蘭打開了美國市場，培真女校生產的花邊已無法滿足需求，大部分花邊產品由周圍膠東各縣的農村婦女進行編織。棲霞等縣也創辦了花邊學校。至第二次世界大戰前夕，膠東地區以此謀生的婦女達數十萬人。

應運而生的仁德洋行，啟動資金來自老馬茂蘭積攢的傳教士津貼及教徒捐贈，為了標榜洋人也尊重「仁義道德」的中國傳統，講究經營信用，特取名「仁德」。到20世紀初，生意日益興旺的仁德洋行，資金滾動積累達到五六萬兩白銀之巨，進出口貿易量一度居山東境內洋行首位。根據《中英條約》中「協定關稅率」的保護條款，仁德出口貨物享受關稅豁免優惠，銷往海外市場的花邊，以教會慈善性質的孤貧院出品之名義銷售，也不用在入口國納稅。再加上收購花邊及付給女工的報酬，都使用中國的銅元，而出口結算則收英鎊，匯率利差可觀，產品的國際市場競爭力也很強。

1916年9月23日，馬茂蘭在煙臺病逝，1923年，仁德洋行由其長子羅拔（大馬茂蘭）接管。

大馬茂蘭主管時期，仁德洋行生意達至鼎盛，為外國資本在煙台最大的一家，進出口及商務代辦業務居於山東全省首要地位。它不僅在青島、濟南設立分支公司，在威海、上海等地設有聯合股份公司，還到香港注了冊。洋行內部設繭綢、發網、花邊、印刷、進出口五個部門，並斥資收購了一家經營不善而倒閉的船行。洋行上層高管多為英籍人士，各部門由熟悉本地情況的中國人協助打理，各級職員200餘名，工人則有300多

1941年12月8日，太平洋戰爭爆發，日本人立刻查封了仁德洋行和培真女校、培真小學，並將他們一家關押在濰縣集中營，羅拔則在青島被殺。

「煙台自開埠後，來自各縣及沿海各省的人多起來。聰明，勤奮的煙台人將以花邊為主的工藝品發展了刺繡檯布和髮網，並派人到國外去做推銷工作，同業公會名稱為「花邊公會」，是本地實力最強的，其中絕大多數是英文館即實益學館和馬茂蘭原有的職員，他訓練了沒法數計的國際貿易人才。
　　煙台對國內沿海各省至大的輸出品是水果和海產。對國外的輸出除了花生和草帽編（辮）為外商操縱外，就是工藝品，煙台市五十年來直到七七事變為止的繁榮建築在手工品上，膠東各地的婦女賴以為生者先後應在數十萬人以上，皆拜基督教美國長老會宣教士之賜。」

http://www.ebaomonthly.com/ebao/readebao.php?a=20100101

My Third Granduncle and his determination

I don't know how my third granduncle lived through those days. He had a mother, a sister-in-law, my grandmother, and a nephew, my father. He also had a sister, my grand aunt.

In order to take care of this home, my said I will do whatever I can, no matter how hard. He went to find jobs, to be an apprentice, to learn to bow to people, and to learn how to be liked.

There is a joke saying: Big Brother, second brother, pockmark brother. My third grandfather is this pockmark brother. He had smallpox when he was a child, leaving pockmarks on his face, otherwise he was kind of handsome.

Third granduncle heard that Yantai had some foreign trading companies and they sent people to go abroad to do business. Many of them made a fortune. So he made up his mind to go to work and study in the Foreign School, learning English and business.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a British missionary named James McMullan(1860 - September 23, 1916) came to Yantai with his wife Lily to preach Gospels.

Lily collaborated with the wife of the American Presbyterian missionary George Hays, Vanni, to run a lace workshop to teach Yantai women to learn lace weaving techniques. The following year, the Hays couple returned to United States. The McMullans extended the workshop as Peizhen Girls School. The school used the work-study methods. The girls studied the Bible in the morning and learned lace weaving in the afternoon. They earned a monthly income 5,000 to 8,000wen. Therefore, many girls have been attracted to the school of Peizhen Girls School. At the most, the number of students has reached more than 500.

McMullan opened the US and European markets, the lace produced by Peizhen Girls' School could not meet the demand. Most of the lace products were woven by rural women from various counties in Jiaodong. Qixia and other counties also founded a lace school. By the eve of the Second World War, hundreds of thousands of women had made a living in the Jiaodong area.

Thus the Rende Trading Company came into being, with funds from the old McMullan's missionary allowance and donation. In order to advertise that the foreigners also respect the Chinese tradition of "benevolence and morality", they pay attention to business credit, and they are named "Rende".

By the beginning of the 20th century, the business of Rende, which had become increasingly prosperous, had accumulated a total of 560,000 yuan and silver. The volume of import and export trade was the first in Southeast Asia. According to the protection clause of the 「Agreement Tariff Rate」 in the Sino-British Treaty, Rende export goods enjoy preferential tariff exemption, and the laces sold to overseas markets are sold in the name of charity-oriented orphans, and are not taxed in the importing country. In addition, the payments to the women workers, they used China's copper dollar, while the export settlement was sterling, the exchange rate is considerable, and the product's international market competitiveness is also very strong.

On September 23, 1916, McMullan died in Yantai. In 1923, Rende Trading Company was taken over by his eldest son, Robert. He was called Big McMullan in Yantai. The import and export business agency ranked first in Shandong Province. It not only set up branches in Qingdao and Jinan, but also established joint stock companies in Weihai and Shanghai, and also registered in Hong Kong. The Render Trading has five departments: crepe, hair net, lace, printing, import and export, and has invested in a ship that has failed to operate and has closed down. The top executives of the foreign banks are mostly British. The departments are assisted by Chinese people who are familiar with the local situation. There are more than 200 employees at all levels and more than 300 workers.

On December 8, 1941, when the Pacific War broke out, the Japanese immediately seized Rende Training Company and Peizhen Girls' School and Peizhen Primary School, and held their family in the Wei County concentration camp. Robert was killed by the Japanese on the road.

「After the opening of Yantai, there are more people from various counties and coastal provinces. The smart and diligent Yantai people developed embroidered tablecloths and hair nets with lace-based handicrafts, and send people abroad to do sales. The name of the trade association is 「Lace Guild」, which is the strongest local strength. The vast majority of them are the English-language pavilion, the practical school and the original staff of McMullan. He trained the international trade talents who could not count.

Yantai』s largest exports to the coastal provinces of China are fruits and seafood. In addition to peanuts and straw hats (辮) for foreign trade, is handicrafts. The prosperity of Yantai City until the July 7th Incident is built on the these handicrafts.

Hundreds of thousands women from all over Jiaodong made a living on it. These were all by the Christian missionaries. 」