• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

--------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 20 Documents on Wu Yunchu's Enterprises: Introduction and Glossary ~Ji 1JJ ::1£- ;t~ ~ Wu Yunchu, a native of Jiading county, Jiangsu province, was the founder of the Tien Chu Ve-tsin Manufacturing Company (Tianchu weijing zhizao chang ~~11,i~Jl:ltlil [Heavenly Kitchen Monosodium Glutamate Manufacturing Company]), with headquarters in Shanghai and a branch in Hong Kong; the Tien Yuen Electro-Chemical Works (Tianyuan dianhua chang ~]J. t: 1tiil); the Tien Lee Synthetic Nitrogen Products Company (Tianli danqi zhipin chang :X;fU :l ~Jl.Jblil); the Tien Sheng Ceramic Works (Tiansheng taoqi chang :X~15ii!J!i-Jrl); and other chemical enterprises. Wu and his contemporary Fan Xu dong (~}@,JR.), the founder of the Chiu Ta Salt Refining Company (Jiuda jingyan gongsi A.:fc~ !I!lJ:. "§]) and the Yung-Li Chemical Industries (Yongli huaxue gongye gongsi jJ<. ;fU 1t ~.I.'*- !lJ:. "§]) in Tianjin, were often referred to as "the Northern Fan and the Southern Wu" (~t ~ Wi ~). Born in 1891 into a poor family, Wu had no schooling until the age of thirteen. After studying for two years in a private academy, he entered the Shanghai Foreign Language School (Shanghai guangfang yanguan 7J ~ ~). Subsequently, he studied chemistry in the Ministry of Army's Shanghai Munitions Special School (Lujun bu Shanghai haibing gongxue tang ~ :g~J:~~.I.~ ~)and returned to the school to teach after graduating in 1911. When the Shanghai Munitions School closed in 1913, Wu went to Wuhan to work as a laboratory technician in the Hanyang Iron & Steel Works (Hanyang gangtie changjJOJH~It}il). He was appointed brickyard manager of the Hanyang Iron & Steel Works one year later. In 1915, he was invited to Tianjin to establish a nitric alkali works (xiaojian chang -li~ ~ }il). After the effort failed, he went to work for the Tianjin Mint as a laboratory technician. The following year he returned to Hankou to work for the Hanyang Arsenal Works (Hanyang binggong chang [W .I.}il), first as head of its physical chemistry section and then as chief of its pharmaceutical section. In 1921 Wu Yunchu entered a partnership with Song Weicheng C?K.1It !¥.), a capitalist who had opened the Xiechang Match Factory (Xiechang huochai chang fJt. ~ :k.~Jrl), to establish the Chichang Nitric Alkali Works (Chichang xiaojian gongsi j~ ~ -li~ ~ !lJ:. "§]) in Hankou. With Song providing the capital and Wu the technical leadership, the company produced materials necessary for manufacturing matches. In the same year, Wu Yunchu went to Shanghai and established the Chichang New Ox-Glue Works (Chichang xinniu pijiaochang f~ {£ ,fjf.cf Jt~Jrl) to produce the glue needed to manufacture matches. At the time, monosodium glutamate, a profitable condiment produced in Japan, attracted Wu's attention. In 1922 he found a way to mass-produce monosodium glutamate at low cost. In the following year when Zhang Yiyun C*-:1!-i:), a Shanghai condiment businessman, opened the Tien Chu Ve-Tsin Manufacturing Company, Wu Yunchu was appointed manager of the company. Their Buddhist Hand (Foshou 1~ brand of monosodium glutamate 181 Chapter 20 Documents on Wu Yunchu 's Enterpris~s competed well with its Japanese counterpart. With the movement to boycott Japanese goods, Tien Yuen products became increasingly popular in China and Southeast Asia. Consequently, the value of the company's annual output increased from 100,000 yuan a year to over one million yuan. In 1927 annual profits reached several hundred thousand yuan, with a daily output of 1,600 pounds. According to the initial agreement between Wu and Zhang Yiyun, Wu received 0.10 yuan for every pound of monosodium glutamate produced by the company, a lucrative reward that earned him a monthly income of 2,000 yuan. Within a few years he accumulated tens of thousands of yuan, with which he bought shares of Tien Yuen and eventually became both its manager and majority stockholder. Wu Yunchu paid attention not only to chemical production but also to research. In 1928 he founded the China Institute of Chemical Industry (Zhongguo huaxue gongye yanjiusuo t:f ~ 1t ~.I.:#:,'ji)f:§EJiJT) and chaired its board of directors. The Tien Yuen Electro-Chemical Works provided funds for the institute to conduct chemical experiments to meet the needs of the company and the chemical industry at large. Wu Yunchu also supported the publication of Huaxue gongye 1t~I:#: (Chemical industry), the first journal of its kind in China. Because of his work in chemical research, Wu was elected vice president of both the Chinese Chemical Engineering Association and the General Federation of Chinese Industry and nominated as a director of the Shanghai Chemical Materials Guild. From profits made in the Tien Chu Ve-Tsin, Wu Yunchu opened the Tien Yuen Electro-Chemical Works in 1929 to produce hydrochloric acid, caustic soda, bleach, and other chlorine-based products. Previously, all the materials for making monosodium glutamate had been imported from Japan. Wu's purpose in opening the Tien Yuen Works was to provide Tien Chu with domestically manufactured materials. Tien Yuen means "raw materials for the Tien Chu Company." Within several years the capitalization of the Tien Yuen Electro-Chemical Works increased from 200,000 yuan to 1.05 million yuan and output grew sixfold. In 1932, the Tien Chu Ve-Tsin Manufacturing Company was forced to reorganize due to speculation by Zhang Yiyun's heir. Wu used the opportunity to increase his shareholding position and gained control of the company. He expanded the scale and variety of production by establishing the No.2 and No.3 branches of the Tien Yuen Works. During the 1933 boycott of Japanese goods, he bought a fighter/trainer plane for 120,000 yuan, which he named "Tien Chu" and donated to the Chinese Aviation Society. An advertising campaign trumpeting this "patriotic donation of planes" boosted sales at home and abroad. Profits in Southeast Asia increased over 300,000 yuan in that year. In July 1935 Wu Yunchu reorganized Tien Chu into a limited liability company and increased its capitalization. That year he also founded the Tien Sheng Ceramic Works. Previously, China had to rely on imports for its acid and alkali containers. The newly established Tien Sheng Works had a capacity to produce acid- and alkali-resistant containers in sufficient amounts to meet domestic needs. In 1936 Wu founded the Tien Lee Synthetic Nitrogen Products Company to produce ammonia 182 .

Load more

  2

Copy Link