陈嘉庚生平介绍(中文+英文版)

A Brief Biography of Mr. Tan Kah KeeBIRTH AND FAMILYAn overseas Chinese legend, Mr. Tan Kah Kee's legacies have inspired many in Southeast Asia. From humble immigrant origins, he rose to a prominence which few can match. Best remembered as an eminent entrepreneur, social reformer, political activist, philanthropist, community leader, and educationist, he died at the age of 87 in Beijing on 12 August 1961 and was accorded a national funeral by the Chinese Government for his contribution to society.Born on 21 October 1874 in Fujian, China. At the age of 17, Mr. Tan arrived in Singapore to join his father, Mr. Tan Kee Peck in the family's rice business.Business responsibilities came early as his father's business failed in 1904, leaving him much on his own. With extraordinary fortitude, enterprise and risk-taking ability, he set about establishing a business of his own which began in pineapple canning, then diversified into rice milling. He eventually found the mainstay of his fortune in rubber plantation. The switch from rubber plantation to rubber manufacturing was a move he made boldly, and it established him as one of the most successful Chinese overseas businessmen in the whole of Southeast Asia.By the 1920s, he thus came to preside over a huge business empire which extended into most East and Southeast Asian cities, employed over 10,000 persons. It spanned areas as diverse as rubber plantation and manufacturing, shipping, import and export brokerage, real estate and rice trading.His business success put him in the forefront of the leadership of the Hokkien community from which he originated. He held advanced views about social reform and criticized several outmoded practices then prevalent, such as gambling, opium-smoking and ritual extravagance.An abiding interest that underpinned Mr. Tan Kah Kee's multi-faceted public activities sprang from his firm commitment to educational philanthropy. In 1894, at the age of 21, he established a school in his village in Jimei. In the decades, thereafter, his enthusiasm and passion for educational philanthropy grew, culminating in his endowment of the Xiamen university in 1921.In Singapore Tan Kah Kee's educational endeavours were impressive, imbued by the same missionary zeal and vision that had inspired him to found the Xiamen University. Through his inspiration, five primary and secondary Chinese schools were founded here, chief among them being the Chinese High School. He also generously donated to schools which imparted English education. For instance, he donated $30,000 to Anglo-Chinese School in 1919.THE BUILDING OF ENTERPRISESTan Kah Kee migrated to Singapore at the age of 17. He obtained his working experience as an apprentice in his father, Tan Kee Peck's rice trading company, Soon Ann. Tan proved himself to be an exceptional worker and was promoted to manager of the rice company. Unfortunately, Soon Ann did not do well and eventually failed in 1904. The young Tan Kah Kee resolved to be an entrepreneur to regain the family's fortune.One of his first businesses was a small pineapple canning factory which he managed to start with a small capital of seven thousand Straits dollars. He was rather successful at the business and managed to get additional funds to open another firm. This time, it was a return of his family's old trade. Named Khiam Aik, the rice company was situated at North Boat Quay.Tan's fortune really turned for the better in 1905. It was then he bought a 500-acre undeveloped forested land in Singapore. He started to open up the land, removing the thick foliage and started the Hock Shan Plantation there. Tan Kah Kee was already aware of the growing pineapple industry and that demand outstripped supply. He was determined to get into this business.Tan's pineapple canneries for Southeast Asia had wider implications than just building up his personal fortunes. His industries were seen as the forerunners of an indigenous industrial revolution in Southeast Asia. It showed the rest in the region that industrialization is possible given the commercial impetus to do it.Tan Kah Kee was also aware of the potential that the rubber trade had in 1906. He allocated part of the cleared land to plant rubber saplings. He also had the vision that he would go into rubber manufacturing and wanted to have his own supply of raw rubber. An ambitious man, not only did he want to go into the rubber industry but also he wanted to enter it in a big way. At his peak, Tan Kah Kee had more than 10,000 acres of rubber plantations.Tan's business showed results by 1910. Between the years 1904 and 1910, he obtained a profit of S$730,000 from his businesses. He was subsequently given the nickname 'Henry Ford of Malaya'. By the early 20th century, Tan Kah Kee owned three pineapple canneries, rubber trees and a network of trading firms in Southern China and Hong Kong.CONTRIBUTION TO EDUCATIONMr Tan's energy and drive were refocused on strengthening the still infant Republic of China after the collapse of his business empire. In his view, money should also go into education to the extent that he made a public declaration that with the founding of the Republic of China, he was willing to donate his entire fortune for the promotion of education in China and Singapore.Mr. Tan has a strong belief in the ability of education to enable people for social upliftment. He founded Amoy University (Xiamen University) for this purpose. His dedication to Amoy University is admirable, continuing to maintain and fincance Amoy University even when his business empire was in financial difficulties from 1926 to 1937. At the point of his death, he had donated $20 million to education in Fukien, having financially supported Amoy University for sixteen of its formative years.Besides, Tan's educational grants and donations also covered the entire spectrum of education in the Fukien province of China. He founded the Chi Mei (Jimei) School in 1894, and expanded Chi Mei School into a chain of schools that covered the full spectrum of education.Other than mainstream education, Tan also started specialized institutes that produce graduates in the fields that China was lagging behind. They included business, marine and navigation, Chinese language, agricultural as well as kindergarten teachers' training schools. Altogether, it is estimated that Mr Tan Kah Kee put in no less than ten million dollars for his educational contributions to China's Fukien province.China was not the only beneficiary of Tan's philanthropic quest in education. Many Chinese schools in Singapore, including Tao Nan (1907),Ai Tong (1912), Chung Fook Girls School (1915), Chung Poon (1915), Singapore Chinese High School (1918), Nanyang Normal School (1941) and Nan Chiao Girls High School (1947) were founded by Mr. Tan Kah Kee. After establishing these schools, he did not neglect them. In order to provide them with the institutional support that they needed, Tan created an education Department in the Hokkien Huay Kuan to centralize the control and subsidized the operating costs of the above-stated schools. Mr. Tan did not restrict his generosity to Chinese schools. Some English-speaking institutions that are benefit from Tan's generosity included Anglo Chinese School and Raffles College.Even after his death, Tan Kah Kee remained a symbol of advancement in the field of public education in Singapore.ANTI AGGRESSIONAs Sino-Japanese relations broke down, Mr Tan Kah Kee was increasingly involved in mobilizing the Chinese community against Japanese aggression. He was very active in the Shantung Relief Fund and was later appointed as the chairperson of the China Relief Fund Federation in Southeast Asia and he raised millions of dollars from the overseas Chinese community in Southeast Asia for the benefit of war-torn refugees in China. Under his leadership, the Shantung Relief Fund turned into a Japanese goods boycott movement with its headquarters in Ee Ho Hean Club. Tan also formed the National Salvation Movement, an anti-Japanese group in Malaya and Singapore.After 1936, Tan led the Singapore China Relief Fund and the South Seas China Relief Fund Union, mobilizing Southeast Asian Chinese to contribute financially to the war against Japan. The Singapore China Relief Fund was particularly impressive as it consisted of over 300 branches and mobilized over 300,000 Chinese in Singapore to ensure the widest and deepest reaches into the Chinese community. The fund also contributed to the 400 million Chinese yuan donated by overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia between 1937 and 1942.Tan's ability to mobilize the masses did not escape the British authorities in Singapore. British Governor Sthenton Thomas requested for Tan's leadership in the Singapore Chinese Mobilization Council to assist in the militia and civil defence of the island. In addition to assisting in manpower mobilization, the British authorities also asked Tan for help in selling war bonds to raise money for the war efforts. He was approached to sell $40 million worth of bonds that had been allocated to Malaya. Tan himself bought $100,000 worth of bonds out of patriotism and through his efforts and those of other personalities within Malaya, the Britisheventually sold $15 million worth of bonds, a remarkable sum in view of the harsh times then.Because of Mr Tan Kah Kee's prominent role in anti-Japanese war, when the Japanese troops occupied Singapore, he had to escape to Java where he sought sanctuary for the duration of World War II. He lived quietly in Indonesia throughout the Japanese Occupation of Singapore, starting from 1943. It was during this phase of his life that he started writing his memoirs that was published later on in the postwar years as the "Memoirs of the Nanyang".TAN KAH KEE SPIRIT INHERITANCEMr. Tan died on 12 August 1961 in Peking (Beijing) at the age of 87 and was given a national funeral by the government of the People's Republic of China. Even at his death, Tan was still fervent about his public education cause. He willed all his money (1million renminbi) to be given to the schools in his hometown.Tan left behind Jiageng Park, a national monument in China that was formerly a little island on the southeast seaside of Jimei.On 11 March 1990, the International Asteroid Centre of China named Asteroid 2963, discovered by Zi Jin Shan Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, after Tan Kah Kee to commend his remarkable contributions to educational causes. The naming ceremony of the "Tan Kah Kee Star" was held at Xiamen University.Other than monuments and the "Tan Kah Kee Star", he has such a high status amongst overseas Chinese that some of the world's most prominent Chinese got together in Hong Kong in 1992 and established the Tan Kah Kee International Society. The society aims to promote the advancement of science and culture for the benefit of human Society.Just as he is remembered in China through national monuments, Mr. Tan Kah Kee is remembered in Singapore through his donations, foundations and scholarships. The Chinese High School, specially erected a bronze statue of its founder, Tan Kah Kee, in front of the clock tower for remembrance. His generosity continues to benefit future generations of Singaporeans. Mr Tan's Young Inventors' Award continues to fund budding scientists as well as inventors in Singapore, playing a role in spurring the scientific community as well as Singapore's research and development capabilities.Other than Asia, Mr. Tan Kah Kee's name can also be found in the United Sates. On 28 April 1993, Professor Lee Yuan Tseh and Professor TienChang-Lin recommended and fought for a building named "Tan Kah Kee Hall" to be built in the School of Chemistry at University of California, Berkeley. The completion of the Tan Kah Kee Hall signified that Tan Kah Kee's noble spirit and philosophy had been introduced to the West, expanding further and rooted in different parts of the world.出生与家庭陈嘉庚先生祖籍福建省同安县集美村，生于 1874年10月 21日。