From Chenghai to Thailand, I started my business with diligence and frugality, and became a leader in the business world
The statue of ant light flame in front of the ant light flame memorial pavilion in Shantou Seven Days Red Park
In Sangpu Mountain Qiri Red Park, located at the intersection of Shantou, Chaozhou and Jieyang, there is an Ant Light Flame Pavilion. In front of the pavilion, there is an Ant Light Flame statue, which is to commemorate the Thai overseas Chinese leader who sacrificed his life to save the country.
In 1939, Yi Guangyan, who was then the chairman of the China Chamber of Commerce, was unfortunately assassinated by the Japanese and puppets for leading the Thai overseas Chinese to carry out the anti-Japanese and national salvation movement. He was the first overseas Chinese leader to sacrifice his life for the motherland's resistance to Japan at the age of 60.
Ant Light Yan, born in the first month of 1879, is from Nanpanzhou Village, Dongli Town, Chenghai District, Shantou City, Guangdong Province. Although the surname "Yan" is a surname that is not recorded in the "Hundred Family Surnames", it has a strong overseas overseas leader - Yi Guangyan.
Yin Guangyan has been poor since childhood. His family relies on some land and makes a living by farming. The few houses he lives in are rented. When Yi Guangyan was three years old, his parents died one after another due to overwork and no money to treat him. Not long after, his brother unfortunately passed away. He was raised by his widowed sister-in-law and two sisters.
The former residence of Yi Guangyan in Dongli Chenghai
At the age of eight or nine, despite his poor family background, his sister-in-law and sister were still frugal, giving him the opportunity to go to a private school in the village. He was smart and studious, but unfortunately he only studied for three months. Because his family couldn't make a fuss, he had to drop out of school and go home to help farm. However, when he had free time, he would find books to read, and ask others for advice if he didn't understand. Over time, he not only knew how to read newspapers, but also wrote notes and letters, and also knew how to remember simple accounts.
The poor child was already in his family. By the age of fifteen or sixteen, he was already the "pillar" of his family. The young people in the village also followed him and did a lot of good things for the local area.
The Dongli Ancient Town in Chenghai is one of the famous overseas Chinese hometowns. As early as the Kangxi period, many people built ships to go to sea to do business in Nanyang; it is worth mentioning that the Zhanglin Ancient Port in Dongli Town is also known as the "hometown of the Red Head Boat". In 1896, Yi Guangyan, who was only 17 years old, left his hometown from here and went to Vietnam and Thailand to work hard. With his diligence and business vision, by the 1930s, he was already a famous overseas Chinese businessman in Thailand.
Ant Light Yan, who traveled from Vietnam to Bangkok, Thailand to make a living, was originally working as a handyman in a soybean garden run by a Chinese on the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok, and later was sent to the dock to work as a loader and unloader. When the boss of the sauce garden saw that he was loyal, strong, and diligent in his work, he asked him to be the foreman and handed over the task of escorting goods to him. Later, when the boss saw that he was literate, he even entrusted him with customs declaration matters.
At that time, from the section from Chao Phraya River to the sea, due to the years of silt, large ships transported cargo to the inland had to be connected by many small boats. Ant Light Yan, who has always wanted to change the current situation of poverty, find the right time to buy a small barge by saving money and buying a small barge.
Chenghai Chao Opera Troupe's Chao Opera Troupe's Chao Opera Troupe's Chao Opera Troupe
After Yi Guangyan's thirty years of thirty years, he had a certain amount of accumulation and co-founded the "Liu Shun" company with five friends. Later, his partner withdrew. On this basis, he founded the "Liu Shunxing" company and later founded the "Guangxingli" company. Not only did he show his skills in the shipping industry, transporting oxen ears, but also operated fire hulls and rice milling, becoming a leader in the business world.
The diversified Ant Light Fiber also invested in the "lagel" industry that was not favored by the time. Later, due to the sharp rise in international rubber prices, it made a lot of profits. In the mid-1930s, Khmer Hohlong Winery fell into chaos due to the internal disagreement between shareholders of the Ant surname and shareholders of the foreign surname and poor management. The shareholder surnamed Yi came to Yi Guangyan, hoping to help. Yi Guangyan felt that the winery had development prospects, so he spent money to acquire shares of other shareholders and sent people to manage them, which brought the winery back to life.
In addition, Yi Guangyan also operates large shops, cinemas, photo studios, and also opens machine factories. He cooperates with others to develop rubber plantations, sugarcane gardens, etc. He is one of the leading figures in Thailand's business circles in the 1930s, with his career covering Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and other places.
The half-body stone statue of Mr. Yi Guangyan in the exhibition hall of Yi Guangyan's former residence
Because of its well-off business and business at its peak, Yi Guangyan has become a famous Chinese businessman in Thailand and played a huge role in promoting the local economic development of Thailand. He is also a well-known patriotic overseas Chinese leader. He has served as the chairman of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Thailand, chairman of the Overseas Chinese News and Baode Shantang, and chairman of the China Medical College. He has also held important positions in major overseas Chinese communities such as Chaozhou Association, Tianhua Hospital, and Huolong Association. He has a remarkable position in the Thai overseas Chinese community.
Do good to do good. The famous Chinese charity organization "Baode Shantang" in Thailand was founded in 1910 and was later approved and registered by the Thai government in 1937. The first chairman was Yi Guangyan. When he was young, he was out of school due to poverty and was always passionate about education. In Thailand, he has donated or built many Chinese schools, such as Siam Chinese Middle School, Xinmin School, Zhongsheng School, Overseas Chinese School, Juncai School, etc., and personally served as the chairman of the school board of directors.
It is worth mentioning that for Chaoshan’s hometown, the public welfare Ant Light Yan is in love with his hometown. In addition to establishing Nanzhou Primary School in Nanpanzhou Village, his hometown, he also generously contributed money to Chenghai Middle School, Chaoyang Xiguan School, Shantou Haibin Middle School and other schools.
By the way, the "Yin Guangyan Former Residence" located in Nanpanzhou Village is an old house built in 1933 while Yiin invested in the establishment of Nanzhou Primary School.
The last drop of blood is shed, and the monument remains forgot to the patriotism
Ant Light Flame (left) and Lin Sen, the elder of the Republic of China (right)
Although in a foreign country, Yi Guangyan cares about the future and destiny of the motherland at all times, and shares the same fate through thick and thin.
The "September 18th Incident" broke out in 1931. At that time, overseas Chinese in Thailand were extremely dissatisfied with the Kuomintang's "non-resistance policy" and set off a boycott of Japanese goods to fight against Japan and save the country. At that time, Yi Guangyan mobilized his subordinate companies to refuse to transport goods for Japanese merchants, took the lead in refusing to sell Siam rice to Japan, and mobilized other merchants to carry out a boycott of Japanese goods. In addition, he also generously donated money to support the motherland's war of resistance.
In 1937, after the "July 7" Lugou Bridge Incident, the Japanese invaders stepped up their invasion of China, and the Chinese nation reached the most dangerous time. Yi Guangyan, who was elected chairman of the Siam Chinese Chamber of Commerce in early 1936, raised patriotic donations from the Thai overseas Chinese community through organizing charity performances, dancing "Saving the Country and Dance of the Lion", calling for vegetarian meals to celebrate the New Year, and taking the lead in subscribing to save the country's government bonds, raising a large amount of foreign exchange funds for the motherland's war of resistance.
In order to solve the need for anti-Japanese soldiers to keep warm, Yi Guangyan and overseas Chinese leader Zheng Wulou and others launched a clothing donation activity through the Vende Shan Hall. According to records, Thailand's cloth was bought out in just three days. After the opening of the Yunnan-Burma Highway, he not only donated trucks, but also mobilized overseas Chinese mechanics to return to China to serve. By the way, after the establishment of the Eighth Route Army Office in Hong Kong, he had donated money, donated drugs, trucks, etc. to the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army through channels such as Soong Ching Ling, Liao Chengzhi and Hong Kong Huabi Bank, and encouraged Thai youth to travel to Yan'an and head to the frontline of the Anti-Japanese War. He once said: "We are all Chinese, and everyone has the responsibility to save the country!"
In order to promote the anti-Japanese war, Yi Guangyan participated in the establishment of the Zhongyuan Daily. It is worth mentioning that in 1939, after the fall of his hometown Shantou and Chaoshan area, he ventured back to his country despite enemy plane bombings and ran around Guangdong to help the victims. In addition, he also went to Hong Kong, Chongqing and other places to participate in donations and comfort anti-Japanese military and civilian activities.
Ant Light Flame (3rd from the front row right) organizes Thai youth to participate in the anti-Japanese and national salvation movement
In the 1930s, the then ruling authorities of Thailand pursued a pro-Japanese policy. Under the provocation, temptation and threat of the Japanese invaders and the Wang puppet regime, they blocked and suppressed the anti-Japanese and national salvation movement of Chinese and overseas Chinese in Thailand, and demanded patriotic overseas Chinese such as Yi Guangyan to stop anti-Japanese resistance, which were severely denounced and flatly rejected.
When the enemy saw that he failed to tempt, he decided to take action and conspired to plan an assassination against patriotic overseas Chinese leader Ant Guangyan.
On the night of November 21, 1939, Yi Guangyan drove to the Hangzhou Theater on Yaohuali Road, Bangkok, preparing to pick up his wife and sister. The enemy who was ambushing the theater suddenly rushed out and shot him. At that time, Ant Light Yan was shot and fell into the car. The enemy even stepped forward and shot three times. After his family sent him to the hospital, he was too serious to heal.
A generation of patriotic overseas Chinese leaders shed the last drop of blood and died heroically for the country at the age of sixty. While dying, Yi Guangyan still used a faint voice to instruct his family: "Although I die, please do not feel sad, China will definitely win!""
The patriotic ant light flame has left, but he keeps the spiritual monument in people's hearts forever. In Bangkok, Thailand, his memorial hall or memorial pavilion was built in his hometown of Chenghai, Guangdong. Among the stele forests of Xi'an, there is also a tomb table written by Yu Youren, a veteran of the Republic of China, for which he wrote.
At that time, at the memorial service held in Bangkok, the Chinese compatriots were deeply saddened and shouted at the words he left at the last moment of his life - China will surely win!
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