Qiongqiao’s pioneering contribution is indispensable

The process of overseas Chinese from Hainan emigrating overseas is also a bitter process. As far as family life is concerned, it means leaving one's own family and going abroad. Before the 1920s, when overseas Chinese from Hainan went abroad, they usually went alone and did not bring their wives and families with them. From the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, the male-female ratio problem among overseas Chinese was a common problem in overseas Chinese society, but the situation among overseas Chinese in Hainan was even more prominent. The seriously unbalanced ratio of men to women has led to a delicate relationship between overseas Chinese in Hainan and their ancestral home in Hainan. That is, overseas Chinese in Hainan often have wives and family members in their hometown, so they will continue to return home to visit and support their families. During the Republic of China, due to their close relationship with their hometown, overseas Chinese in Hainan were more concerned about changes in Hainan society than overseas Chinese in other areas, and participated more actively in local political, economic, and cultural activities in Hainan.

"Hainan Island Chapter" said: "Hainan Islanders were originally the descendants of immigrants who moved to Hainan Island from Guangdong and Fujian. They probably further sought a better place to live and did not regard working abroad as a It is a habit of hard work. Therefore, among the Nanyang immigrants, the Fujian system is the largest, and there are also a considerable number of Guangdong and Hakka people. They have the ability to endure the general poverty and poverty, adhere to the concept of the country, and have strong cohesion in the country. They remit money to their hometowns. , He is also extremely enthusiastic about donating activities to the public welfare undertakings in his hometown."

Advocates of tropical agriculture in Hainan

Overseas Chinese in Hainan are advocates and leaders of tropical agriculture in Hainan. Their pioneering achievements and arduous development laid the foundation for today's tropical agriculture in Hainan.

Scholars during the Republic of China have noted the contribution of overseas Chinese in Hainan to tropical agriculture, especially rubber. Researchers during the Republic of China pointed out: "The only land in my country that can produce gum is Qiongya... Over the years, overseas Chinese have been abroad for a long time and have become accustomed to the benefits of gum, so there are many people who returned to Qiongya to try planting. In the beginning, The person who started it was He Linshu of Lehui County. In the second year of Xuantong (1910), he brought back gum seeds and seedlings from Nanyang, and opened Qiong'an Company in Luohegou area of ??Ding'an County, opening up 250 acres of land for planting. Thousands of gum trees sprouted in the fourth year... He's experiment was successful, and mainland businessmen such as the Qiao Zhi Company, Shibi City's Nanxing Company, and Calais Garden's Maoxing Company started. The company and the Nongfa Li Company in Tielugang have both purchased and transported seeds to Nanyang and returned them to Qiong for planting, and the results have been quite good."

According to records, Dan County “originally had 150 overseas Chinese private rubber gardens in the county, mainly concentrated in that large area, with 140,000 plants (4,600 acres) planted before and after liberation. Among them, there were 150 private rubber gardens established before liberation. There are 37 rubber gardens, planting more than 47,000 rubber plants; 113 were established after liberation, planting more than 90,000 rubber plants."

From the above information, we can see the guiding role of overseas Chinese in the formation of Hainan's tropical planting industry during the Republic of China. The formation of Hainan's tropical agriculture during the Republic of China was not only the introduction of new tropical crop varieties and planting techniques, but more importantly, it was a new plantation economic model that was different from Hainan's inherent agricultural management methods. Its emergence can be regarded as a prominent manifestation of the modernization of Hainan's social economy. It is the beginning of Hainan's agriculture that has the prototype of modern corporate management, and has had a great impact on the development of Hainan's social economy.

Business pioneers in Hainan during the Republic of China

During the Republic of China, Hainan’s social economy was dominated by the efforts of overseas Chinese in Hainan. First of all, in the formation of Hainan City, remittances from overseas Chinese were an important driving force supporting the development of Hainan City. The researcher pointed out: "Hainan Island's unproductive consumption due to overseas Chinese remittances has resulted in a series of problems. First, from the island's weak productivity, it has formed an obvious commercial prosperity, which is very important for Haikou. The development of the city, Jiaji City, Wenchang and other (cities) has a huge role. For example, the amount of remittances from Wenchang County on the island to Nanyang is at least four to five million yuan every year, which is transferred through Haikou, and almost all the banks on the island. They are all concentrated in Haikou City. The development of transit commercial cities (such as Haikou City) is the largest." The Qiaopi industry gradually developed after the founding of the Republic of China, and accounted for a large proportion of Haikou's business. There were 33 companies in the 1930s, 36 companies in 1947, and 36 companies in December 1953, of which 34 were liberated companies. founded before. Among them, the earliest "Sansheng" was founded in 1914.

The flow of large amounts of capital and the increase in the number of overseas Chinese entering and exiting have provided impetus for the development of Haikou City, and a consumption-oriented city has been formed.

Among them, department stores, hotels and catering industries are the main industries that are relatively developed.

The author made statistics based on the "Member List of the Guangdong Haikou Chamber of Commerce" attached to the "Qiongya Industrial Investigation Group Industrial and Commercial Investigation Report": In October of the 19th year of the Republic of China (1930), there were 323 member shops in Haikou City. , including 23 hotels and 7 restaurants and food shops, a total of 30, accounting for 9.28% of the total number of businesses; according to a survey by the Qiongya Industrial Investigation Team in May 1932: there are 572 stores in Haikou City, among which "hotels" "24 businesses" and "12 businesses in the wine and vegetable industry", a total of 36 businesses, accounting for 6.29% of the total number of businesses; according to the Japanese data "Hainan Island" records, among the 576 shops in Haikou City, there are 65 hotels and catering businesses, accounting for 6.29% of the total number of businesses. 11.28% of the total quantity. The development of the hotel and catering industry among commercial enterprises is mainly for the purpose of providing services to people traveling between Haikou City and various places.

Secondly, a considerable part of Hainan’s business capital comes from overseas Chinese capital. During the Republic of China, the overseas Chinese in Hainan were the pioneers of Hainan's business. For example, before liberation and even before 1961, the tallest building in Haikou was commonly known as the "five-story" building. The building was built by Mr. Wu Qianchun, an overseas Chinese from Wenchang, who invested 500,000 silver dollars in 1931 and was completed in 1935. The building covers an area of ??1684.4 square meters, with a total construction area of ??8245 square meters and a height of 27.04 meters. The first floor is for restaurants and commercial rooms, the second and fifth floors are for guest rooms, and the fourth and fifth floors are for movie theaters. During the Republic of China, there are only a few shops in Haikou that have survived to this day. Among them, the "Daya Hotel" (called Daya Hotel during the Republic of China), which is still in business today, basically uses the original business name. Before the 1930s, this hotel belonged to the Wynn Company of Ho Wei Chuan, a man from Lehui. Ho was killed by the Marines during the unrest on the island in May 1931. It seems that the owner of the hotel became Singaporean overseas Chinese leader Wang Xianshu after that. During the Anti-Japanese War, the Japanese army occupied this hotel and renamed it "Hainan Island Hotel" as a reception hotel for Japanese military and political dignitaries when they came to Hainan.

After the end of the Anti-Japanese War, Chen Zhi recorded the names of 46 commercial enterprises in Haikou in "New Chronicles of Hainan Island", including Hainan Travel Agency and Hainan Enterprise Company. He said: This travel agency "is composed of overseas Chinese and people from all walks of life." The business of Hainan Enterprise Company is "various economic development businesses in Qiongya", and the person in charge, Feng Weixuan, "raised funds to establish it for overseas Chinese and Qiongya people". This shows that Hainan overseas Chinese continued to work hard in this regard despite the economic difficulties in Hainan after the Anti-Japanese War.

The impact of overseas Chinese in Hainan on Hainan's economy and society generally has two aspects. One is the impact of general overseas Chinese remittances on Hainan's economy and society, that is, the existence of overseas Chinese remittances affects the balance of consumption and finance in Hainan's economy and society. ; The second is the economic investment evolved from overseas remittances, including commercial investment and industrial investment derived from overseas remittances. During the Republic of China, remittances were very obvious in both aspects and had a great impact on Hainan's economy and society. It can even be said to be one of the driving forces for Hainan’s economic and social development and changes during the Republic of China.

In the economy of Hainan during the Republic of China, because the local economy was still underdeveloped, it was often in a leading position in import and export trade. In order to make up for the shortfall in foreign trade, remittances are the most important means to balance imports into the Super League. It should be said that during the Republic of China, the existence of overseas remittances was the key to maintaining the economic and social collapse of Hainan Island.

“Overseas Chinese are the mother of revolution”

Most of the overseas Chinese in Hainan went abroad in the second half of the 19th century. As a result, the overseas Chinese in Hainan still maintain a very close relationship with the motherland, so they care about Domestic politics, concern about the changes in his hometown, and influencing domestic politics with his own actions, until he personally participates in political and cultural activities in Hainan.

Mr. Sun Yat-sen once said: "Overseas Chinese are the mother of revolution." As far as the Hainan Revolution is concerned, there were overseas Chinese throughout the Republic of China and they made huge sacrifices for this. During the Revolution of 1911, the first revolutionary event in Hainan was the so-called "Fan Yong" attack on Fucheng. Luo Wenyan said: "Under the guidance of Sun Yat-sen, the revolutionary party organized an armed team of more than a hundred people, mainly overseas Chinese and local intellectuals, to attack Fucheng in the winter of 1911. The result was unsuccessful, but the news spread and the society They were frightened. These rebels were called 'Fan Yong' at that time, because most of them came back from Nanyang. People in Nanyang were called 'Fan', and those who went to Nanyang were called 'Qufan'."

Based on the protection of their own interests, overseas Chinese in Hainan are extremely concerned about domestic politics. This concern is not only reflected in the revolution, but also in construction.

In 1932, Chen Hanguang went to Hainan and carried out a comprehensive suppression of the Red Army led by the Communist Party, and held the "Qiongya District aftermath meeting". The main participants included military personnel, county magistrates, and various social groups. The social groups included representatives from the Haikou Chamber of Commerce, the Hainan Association in Beijing, and Hainanese overseas Chinese associations in Southeast Asia. The latter proposed that inspections of overseas Chinese returning home should be relaxed. Offer to facilitate.

During the Anti-Japanese War, like overseas Chinese across the country, overseas Chinese in Hainan were extremely active and made great contributions to the fight against Japanese aggression against China. There are several aspects of outstanding performance. One is donating money to support the anti-Japanese army in Hainan Island; the other is rescuing Hainan refugees who fled from Hainan Island; the third is returning to the country and directly participating in the anti-Japanese war activities in Hainan Island.

Overseas Chinese in Hainan had a profound influence on Hainan society during the Republic of China, especially in terms of culture, education and the spread of new ideas. Its outstanding performance is that the rise of new education is closely related to the efforts of overseas Chinese in Hainan. For example, “In the 10th year of Guangxu (1884), the ‘Luo Feng Bookstore’ in Wenchang County, Hainan Island, Guangdong was built with donations from local people and overseas Chinese from Southeast Asia.”

In addition, the influence of overseas Chinese in Hainan in modern Hainan social customs also deserves our attention.