China Warlord Order manufacturers - Yong Zeng and Lao Tian Di

[drclaw]

Two frequently encountered manufacturers of the early Republic Orders are Yong Zeng and Lao Tian Li.

Their manufacturer stamps, often found on the reverse of the insignia they made, were posted by Nick in "Striped Tigers and their marks":

http://gmic.co.uk/in...nd-their-marks/

First up, Yong Zeng. Some writers have described Yong Zeng as a manufacturer in Guangdong (Canton) Province who also produced insignia for the Guomindang Government of Sun Yat-sen / Chiang Kai-shek. Others described him as Superviser of the Beijing Mint. Neither of these theories are correct.

JCwaters has provided a detailed history in Mandarin which I've had professionally translated to share. Thanks JC!

Yongzeng Military Clothing Store

The Yongzeng Military Clothing Store located on the north side of the Polishing Factory Road outside Qianmen (currently named “West Polishing Factory Street”) was a large company enjoying great popularity in Beijing before “the Marco Polo Bridge Incident” happened in 1937. The Yongzeng Military Clothing Store had over 40 affiliates in Beijing, Tianjin, Shenyang, Xi'an, Shanghai and other cities including machine factories, chain belt factories, badge factories, timber mills, steel rolling mills, old-style private banks, banking houses, silk and satin stores, leather goods and foreign goods stores, and employed seven or eight hundred staff.

1. Starting from A Small Hat Store

The founder of the Yongzeng Military Clothing Store was FENG Yongxiu from Shen County, Hebei Province. He came to Beijing at the age of 15 or 16 and worked as an apprentice in a hat workshop outside Chongwenmen. After he finished the apprenticeship, he started producing all kinds of cotton hats and promoted them in many different stores. The hats made by FENG Yongxiu were good and cheap, so they were in high demand and the business was booming. Later, FENG Yongxiu and a person called GAO Zengyuan jointly funded and opened a hat store named “Yongzenghe Hat Store” outside Qianmen. The word “Yong” stands for “FENG Yongxiu " and the word “Zeng” stands for “GAO Zengyuan”. The “Boxer Incident” in the year of Emperor Guangxu 26 happened shortly after the store was opened, and the store was burned down. FENG Yongxiu and GAO Zengyuan felt helpless. They had no choice but to go back to their hometowns respectively. After the Qing government signed an unequal treaty named “Boxer Protocol ”with eleven imperialist countries including Britain, the United States, Germany, France, Russia, Japan, Italy, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain in 1901, the Eight-Power Allied Forces withdrew and calm was restored in Beijing. FENG Yongxiu returned to Beijing and raised a fund from friends, people from the same village and business people. He returned to his old trade and opened a small hat store on the north side of the western section of the Polishing Factory Road outside Qianmen. He changed the previous name “Yongzenghe” to “Yongzeng”.

FENG Yongxiu was good at management and focused on the quality of his products, especially the brand name of “Yongzeng”. Therefore, the Yongzeng Hat Store won a high reputation in the community and the business was very prosperous.

2. Transforming into a Military Clothing Business

In the last years of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty, a new official called WANG Shizhen was appointed as the head of the Division of Military Training for New Recruits in the Qing government, who was FENG Yongxiu’s old friend. FENG Yongxiu’s relationship with Wang Shizhen helped him get a purchase order for a small amount of uniforms. He made a very good profit after he delivered the uniforms. After that, FENG Yongxiu changed the Yongzeng Hat Store to the Yongzeng Military Clothing Store in 1908. The store offered wholesale products rather than retail products and was designed to sell products in bulk quantities for large orders.

Yongzeng Military Clothing Store was the first store of its kind and was the only one in Beijing. FENG Yongxiu was very good at socialising and made a lot of friends in different factions of the Beiyang Army. For these reasons, the Yongzeng Military Clothing Store received a lot of bulk orders for military uniforms and the business grew rapidly. The Yongzeng Military Clothing Store enjoyed a high reputation in Beijing. Especially in the military and police communities, everyone knew the Yongzeng Military Clothing Store in Beijing.

3. Yongzeng at its Peak

Over the twenty years from 1912 when the Republic of China was founded to 1937 when the "Marco Polo Bridge Incident" happened, the Yongzeng Military Clothing Store had reached its peak of the development in history. Yongzeng set up a military clothing factory in Beijing and employed about a hundred workers. It also set up iron factories to produce sabres, military swords and military equipment, leather goods factories, old sheepskin factories, tanneries, dyeing factories, embroidery factories, silverware factories, silk braid factories, inner garment factories, steel rolling mills, glassware factories, etc. Everything that an army needs such as soldiers’ military uniforms, military caps, military boots, military officers’ uniforms, sabres, officers’ sabres, walking swords, warhorses’ saddles, military camping tents, military camping beds, kettles, buckets and meal boxes could be produced and provided by Yongzeng, in order to meet supply demands. In order to generate more business from the troops stationed outside Beijing, Yongzeng set up offices, factories and stores in Tianjin, Xi'an, Shenyang, Taiyuan, Qingdao, Shanghai and other places. In addition to the military uniform store, FENG Yongxiu opened more than 40 businesses including the Duomao Banking House, the Yongzenghe Private Bank, the Yongzeng Silk, Satin and Foreign Goods Store, the Yimau Silk and Satin Store, the Yongyu Food Store and the Yongshou Coffin Store. FENG Yongxiu had a personal relationship with many dignitaries in the military and political circles such as YUAN Shikai, DUAN Qirui and WU Peifu. FENG Yongxiu was an important person in the business sector in the Republic of China and he enjoyed an extremely prominent status.

However, dozens of small and medium-sized military uniform stores were opened in the military clothing industry in the Republic of China, which broke the situation that Yongzeng Military Uniform Store was the only one in the market. After 1912, over 20 stores were opened in Beijing, including the Yongchanglong Military Clothing Store, the Huachang Military Clothing Store and the Weicheng Military Clothing Store. In addition, more than ten businesses with “military clothing stores” were opened in Tianjin, which supplied military equipment for armies. The emergence of these rivals took away a lot of business from the Yongzeng Military Clothing Store. However, FENG Yongxiu was good at managing people and the business, so he was always the winner when competing against his rivals in the industry and became the number one choice in the military clothing industry.

The military clothing for armies was seasonal. Winter clothing was ordered in autumn while the summer clothing was ordered in winter. For this reason, the machine wasn’t used in the military clothing store when there was no order. However, once an order was placed, it was always urgent and the products should be delivered within the deadline. Therefore, if the military clothing store hired more workers and they earned wages when there was no work, the military clothing store would lose money. If it hired fewer workers, the workers wouldn’t be able to manage their workload when an order for thousands of or tens of thousands of uniforms was placed. The Yongzeng Military Clothing Store’s solution was that the managers in its stores and factories were permanent employees. A small portion of skilled workers were permanent employees. Most workers were temporary employees. They came when there was work and left when there was no work. The temporary employees were paid on a piece-rate basis. No matter what project it was, they would be paid by the piece. There were three kinds of workers in the Yongzeng Military Clothing Store. The first kind of workers didn’t have any machine or tools. The second kind of workers had sewing machines and tools. They earned wages and received the monthly payment for machine rental. The third kind of workers didn’t need to work in the factories. They took the raw materials home instead and delivered the products when they were done. They would also receive the payment for their machine. Since the Yongzeng Military Clothing Store adopted the system where the permanent employees led most of the temporary employees, it not only reduced the expenses and the amount of equipment, but also ensured the quality of the products and on-time delivery of the products.

4. The Decline of the Yongzeng Military Clothing Store

After the “Marco Polo Bridge Incident” in1937, the puppet regime established by Japan ruled Beijing. All the military clothing of the Japanese army was centrally distributed by the military authority of Japan in North China. The Yongzeng Military Clothing Store and the other military clothing stores in Beijing could only get purchase orders for military clothing and uniforms from the army of the puppet regime, postal service companies and railway companies, or undertook some jobs as retail outlets. The business of the Yongzeng Military Clothing Store went down sharply. After FENG Yongxiu died, his son FENG Xinchuan took over the business. The business of the Yongzeng Military Clothing Store went worse. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, Yongzeng changed its trade and started producing working tools and protective equipment. In 1956, it participated in a public-private partnership. In 1958, it was merged and the plaque of “Yongzeng” was removed. The Yongzeng Military Clothing Store came to an end in history.

Edited October 5, 2012 by drclaw

[drclaw]

And here are some notes on Lao Tian Li that I compiled from various sources.

Lao Tian Li and Chinese Cloisonne

Cloisonné is an ancient technique for decorating metalwork, in recent centuries using vitreous enamel, and in older periods also inlays of cut gemstones, glass, and other materials.[1]

The decoration is formed by first adding compartments (cloisons in French) to the metal object by soldering or adhering silver or gold wires or thin strips placed on their edges. These remain visible in the finished piece, separating the different compartments of the enamel or inlays, which are often of several colors. Cloisonné enamel objects are worked on with enamel powder made into a paste, which then needs to be fired in a kiln.[2]

The technique was in ancient times mostly used for jewelry and small fittings for clothes, weapons or similar small objects decorated with geometric or schematic designs, with thick cloison walls. In the Byzantine Empire techniques using thinner wires were developed to allow more pictorial images to be produced, mostly used for religious images and jewelry, and now always using enamel.[3]

By the 14th century this enamel technique had spread to China, where it was soon used for much larger vessels such as bowls and vases; the technique remains common in China to the present day, and cloisonné enamel objects using Chinese-derived styles were produced in the West from the 18th century.[4]

Chinese cloisonné began appearing in Yuan Dynasty in the 14th century and soon became a luxury good adored by the court. During Ming dynasty, the emperors funded shops in Beijing to serve exclusively to the royal courts and nobles. Since most cloisonné made during this period were in blue color, Chinese cloisonné was given the name Jingtai Blue.[5]

The imperial obsession with cloisonné reached its height during the Qing Dynasty, especially under the Kangxi and Qianlong emperors. The Imperial Court hired and trained highly skilled artisans to work on cloisonné and the technology was pushed to new heights. At this time, cloisonné remained a luxury good available to only the very few people at the top of the social class.[6]

With the decline of China’s economic and political power during the late 19th and early 20th century, however, the late Qing Emperors could no longer fund imperial cloisonné shops. Having lost imperial patronage, skilled cloisonné artisans were forced to find new ways to make a living. They founded their own commercial shops, focusing on making cloisonné products that could be sold more widely. Their products moved away from luxurious decorative items to more functional and practical items.[7]

There were several famous cloisonné shops during this period, such as Lao Tian Li, De Xing Cheng, Bao Hua Sheng, Jing Yuan Tang and Zhi Yuan Tang. At the beginning, products followed traditional Chinese art trends and values. But they soon evolved to catering also to western styles and flavors. This style of cloisonnes was made mostly for exporting.[8]

Little is known about Lao Tian Li (lit. "Old Heaven Advantage / Profit"), a fine Chinese cloisonne craftsman. Lao Tian Li is more likely his business name.

It is believed that Lao Tian Li operated his own studio in Beijing during the early 1900s to 1930. He may have been a former Imperial cloisonne craftsman or he may have employed Imperial craftsman after the Imperial kiln was closed before the end of the Qing Dynasty.[9]

In 1904, an incense burner made by Lao Tian Li was showcased in Chicago World Expo and won first prize. This event brought the name of Chinese cloisonné to thousands of American households and triggered a much bigger wave of Chinese cloisonné exporting.[10] There is also documentation that he participated in the San Francisco Pacific Panama International Exhibition in 1915, shortly after the establishment of the Chinese Republic. [11]

Lao Tian Li's workshop in Beijing was commissioned to produce cloisonné Orders for the new Republic and he may also have produced samples of the late Qing Orders of the Coloured Dragons (these were established in March 1911 but were never conferred).

His insignia were of high quality. For example, his Striped Tigers are richly detailed with delicate cloisonne work. They display, in my opinion, the highest craftsmanship of all the manufacturers perhaps surpassed only by the few Striped Tigers produced by the Japanese Mint at Osaka.

Gavin

[1] ‘Cloisonne’, Wikipedia.

[2] Ibid

[3] Ibid

[4] ‘A Quick Look at Chinese Cloisonne’, March 2011, http://www.mycrystal...tml#dexingcheng

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Lisa Duchesnay, ‘Lao Tian Li – Important Qing Dynasty and Republic Producer’, 2009, www.idcloisonne.com

[10] ‘A Quick Look at Chinese Cloisonne’, March 2011.

[11] Lisa Duchesnay (2009)

[12] Lisa Duchesnay (2009).

[13] Ibid.

[14] Ibid.

Edited October 5, 2012 by drclaw

[JapanX]

Cool story about Yong Zeng workshop!

Many thanks for translation Gavin

It also set up iron factories to produce sabres, military swords and military equipment, leather goods factories, old sheepskin factories, tanneries, dyeing factories, embroidery factories, silverware factories, silk braid factories, inner garment factories, steel rolling mills, glassware factories, etc.

Do all these Yong Zeng products bear the same mark as Yong Zeng Striped Tigers?

Cheers,

Nick

[drclaw]

I'm not sure about Yong Zeng but Lao Tian Di's cloisonne vases, tea sets, etc, certainly did.

Have a look at this excellent website on Lao Tian Di's cloisonne ware. It's an example "our" hobby crossing over to decorative arts. We always knew that our bling were works of craftsmanship!

http://www.idcloisonne.com/archivedcloisonnestudies/id8.html

[JapanX]

I'm not sure about Yong Zeng but Lao Tian Di's cloisonne vases, tea sets, etc, certainly did.

Have a look at this excellent website on Lao Tian Di's cloisonne ware. It's an example "our" hobby crossing over to decorative arts. We always knew that our bling were works of craftsmanship!

http://www.idcloisonne.com/archivedcloisonnestudies/id8.html

Nice vases with familiar marks ;)

[drclaw]

Well this is an interesting one.

If you've just been awarded a bling Golden Grain but are too modest to wear at home when visitors come calling, why not commission a large vase as a centrepiece for your living room ....

It was attributed as "probably Lao Tian Li" on the basis that Lao Tian Li made orders for the Republic. I've yet to encountered a Lao Tian Li Order of the Golden Grain which were exclusively (other than the odd foreign made insignia) produced by the Central Mint at Tianjin. Also, all of Lao Tian Li's cloisonne vases, etc, proudly bore the Lao Tian Li stamp. This particular vase does not.

http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_05_2013/post-11630-0-17933200-1369776563.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_05_2013/post-11630-0-73454700-1369776574.jpg

[JapanX]

If you've just been awarded a bling Golden Grain but are too modest to wear at home when visitors come calling, why not commission a large vase as a centrepiece for your living room ....

Or the whole china-ware set