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從街邊小販到慈善大王:90歲香港商業(yè)巨頭帶你領(lǐng)略人生百味
發(fā)布時間:2018-04-16 10:12 點擊:
2018年,美國商業(yè)雜志《福布斯》公布新的香港富豪榜,嘉華集團現(xiàn)任董事會主席呂志和排名第三,僅次于李嘉誠、李兆基。
中國日報香港版記者對這位年近90的老人進行了專訪,傾聽了他近一個世紀(jì)的心路歷程。
皮之不存,毛將焉附
清朝光緒11年,呂志和的曾祖父呂德盈和成百上千的中國勞工一起被塞進船艙里,從廣東遠渡到美國。
In 1885, Lui Che-woo’s great-grandfather Lui Deying boarded a ship to the United States, among thousands of Chinese laborers seeking a better life for their families.
晚清華人“下南洋”的情景
挨過近百天的旅程,穿越極高死亡率的生死線,15歲的呂德盈來到加州一家農(nóng)場工作。從最開始領(lǐng)著比白人低一半的薪水,到一度成為美國出口蔬菜市場的最大華人供應(yīng)商,呂德盈在美40年的生意拼搏為呂家打下了殷實的基礎(chǔ)。
通過三代人的奮斗,1929年呂志和出生時,呂家已是江門的富裕人家。呂家坐落在江門東海里第八巷的第一家,是座擁有天井的小洋房,屋內(nèi)鋪著高檔的麻石。
In 1929, when Lui Che-woo was born in Jiangmen, Guangdong province, Lui’s family had become one of the richest in the village, thanks to his hard-working elders.
Lui’s family lived in the first house on the eighth alley of Donghaili. The house had a patio. The floor was covered with granite, an expensive building material at that time.
呂志和現(xiàn)在還記得曾祖父笑著走進門來,從懷里掏出一個溫?zé)岬挠图埌,里面包著香噴噴的燒鵝腿。曾祖父一邊看著呂志和吃,一邊細(xì)心地問他在私塾里學(xué)了什么。
Lui Che-woo remembers his great-grandfather was amiable to him, always wearing a kind smile. He still remembers a sunny afternoon when his great-grandfather walked into the house and passed Lui a hot roasted goose leg, carefully wrapped in greaseproof paper.
呂志和父母呂金銓及李寶璇
然而,家人為呂志和撐起的保護傘,卻無法抵抗大環(huán)境的風(fēng)雨飄搖。
Lui’s carefree days did not last long. Japan’s invasion of China shattered the quiet life.
1931年,日本發(fā)動對中國東三省的侵略戰(zhàn)爭,呂志和五歲那年,呂家舉家遷往香港避難。
1941年12月8日清晨,正在上課的呂志和清晰地聽見炮彈炸響,那一年的圣誕夜英軍徹底向日本投降,香港進入了三年零八個月的黑暗日據(jù)時期,人權(quán)尊嚴(yán)與社會秩序蕩然無存,生存成了極大的難題。
呂志和在自傳中回憶道,所有香港市民見了日軍都要90度鞠躬。日本兵濫殺成性,看誰不順眼就一槍打死。呂志和曾親眼目睹自己的同胞在幾米以外的地方被槍殺。
民族的苦難成了呂志和心中最痛苦的回憶,當(dāng)年受到的譏諷,至今無法釋懷。他永遠無法忘記日本人那句,“你們中國人,是文盲!”即便已經(jīng)過了近一個世紀(jì),聽到這句話時的苦楚,仍然無法被稀釋。
白手起家,迎難而上
作為家里唯一的曾孫,看到戰(zhàn)時家人三餐不繼,呂志和下決心自己做生意。
回憶起那段少年經(jīng)歷,呂志和哭得很傷心,“日本人攻打香港,當(dāng)時的生活是很困難的,租也沒得收了,生意也沒得做了。當(dāng)時就見證了中國被日本人欺負(fù)。在那個環(huán)境之下,自己那么小,十幾歲......我那時也就十幾歲,自己謀生,真的好慘。”
“Life was tough at the time. We couldn’t receive rent, and our business was cut off because of the war. I witnessed our compatriots being bullied by the Japanese. I was in my early teens at that time… It was a hardship for me to make a living on my own.”
他發(fā)現(xiàn)成百上千的人為了重返內(nèi)地,排著隊領(lǐng)通關(guān)證件,就向他們兜售花生等零食,稍微有了本錢后,就雇人做起神仙糕等需要加工的熟食。他還安排自己的祖母做銷售,13歲的呂志和則當(dāng)起了小老板,跑市場、搞采購、做決定。
1948年呂志和及四位妹妹
憑著超常的辛勞付出和別出心裁的點子,呂志和在油麻地的食品界漸漸做大。那段時期,他賺到了約200萬元日本軍票,在當(dāng)時可以買下一條街的房子。
1945年日本宣布無條件投降,香港生活秩序漸漸恢復(fù),呂志和卻遭到了人生第一個打擊,拒絕兌換“軍票”的日軍撤出了香港,他手中的200萬元日本軍票瞬間變?yōu)閺U紙。
消沉過后,呂志和重振旗鼓,在姨夫的介紹下進入了汽車零件行,當(dāng)了庫管員。又依托祖母給的一小筆錢,他開起了自己的汽車零件行,賺到了人生的第二桶金。
1955年,呂志和成立一家名為“嘉華”的公司,并于1964年進軍石礦業(yè)務(wù)。然而次年,呂志和就遭遇巨大的打擊。港英政府推出順利邨公務(wù)計劃,挖出大量石料,并免費供應(yīng)給建筑商取用,這給當(dāng)時只靠賣石料為生的嘉華造成毀滅性的打擊,一度沒有生意可做。
1960年代攝于雍雅山房
呂志和的長子呂耀東回憶道,“當(dāng)時我也就十來歲,我爸每天很勤奮,很辛苦,回家身上都帶著泥……即使他故作輕松和堅強,我們還是能看到他的失意、不快。”
經(jīng)過幾年的苦苦支撐,1967年,港英政府采取“以發(fā)展促穩(wěn)定”的策略,啟動一系列大型基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施項目,嘉華集團也因此恢復(fù)了元氣。
半個世紀(jì)后,嘉華成了香港本土最大的石礦建材生產(chǎn)商,呂志和被人們稱為“石礦大王”。如今的嘉華集團已成了市值數(shù)百億的跨國企業(yè)。
始終是中國人
呂志和一直告訴自己“始終是香港人,是中國人”。
在教育下一代時,也一定要孩子們勿忘作為中國人的本分與責(zé)任。
Lui has passed on his passion for the motherland to his children. He has asked his children never to forget their roles and responsibilities of being Chinese.
七十年代,送子女出國還是奢侈的事情,每個孩子臨行前,呂志和都要叮囑他們:只要有機會,就一定要回來發(fā)展。
呂志和在自傳中回憶到:“我的子女去外國讀書,我都逐一對他們說,你是中國許多億人中最幸福的一個,有吃、有住,還有機會到外國讀書。你要答應(yīng)我,畢業(yè)后一定要回來香港,以及為祖國辦事。”
“Before I sent my children to study abroad I told them seriously, you are the luckiest ones among hundreds of millions of Chinese. You do not have to worry about shelter or food and on top of that, you get to study abroad. You must promise me that when you graduate, you must return to Hong Kong and serve our country,” Lui recalled.
除此之外,呂志和還會向兒子們提出一個特別的要求:“你們下一代也要保持中國人的身份,如果你娶了外國人當(dāng)老婆就不好了。” 必須要得到孩子們肯定的答復(fù),他才肯送他們?nèi)鈱W(xué)習(xí),“如果不答應(yīng),我就留他們在香港。”
Lui had one more demand of his boys: “Your next generation also needs to maintain their identity as Chinese. It wouldn’t be OK if you were to marry a foreigner,” he told his sons. He would send his children abroad only after they agreed to his conditions. “I’d have kept them in Hong Kong if they didn’t agree to make that promise,” he said.
兒女們也全部如呂志和所愿,一畢業(yè)連證書還未到手就回到香港工作。大兒子呂耀東在放下行囊的第二天,就去工地上做事。
為香港,為祖國,能做多少,我就做多少
2012年7月1日,香港特區(qū)政府授予呂志和“大紫荊勛章”。這是香港特區(qū)政府授予公民的最高級別榮譽獎?wù)。而呂志和獲得獎?wù)碌脑虿⒎巧虡I(yè)成就,而是社會成就。
On July 1, 2012, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government awarded Lui a Grand Bauhinia Medal, the highest honor awarded to a local citizen by the government. Lui was awarded the medal not for his success as a businessman, but for his contributions to society.
2012年呂志和獲香港特區(qū)政府頒授最高榮譽“大紫荊獎?wù)?rdquo;。
特區(qū)政府的頒獎詞這樣寫到:“呂志和博士長期參與社會及慈善服務(wù),表現(xiàn)卓越,尤其對本港各界組織慷慨解囊,并支持商界與政府合作,濟弱扶貧。”
呂志和:“其實我們中國人,過去有三百多年是落后的,被外國人看不起,在經(jīng)歷了很多事情以后,我想著有能力了,就盡心盡力回報祖國、回饋社會。”
“China was in fact underdeveloped for around 300 years in the past. We had been looked down upon by foreigners. I had gone through these experiences, so I’ve been driven to make contributions to society and do what I can.”
在云南省昆明市的一次考察中,呂志和目睹了偏遠山區(qū)窮困農(nóng)戶的狀況。兒時親身經(jīng)歷過溫飽不濟的生活,他明白,如果生活窮困就更談不上下一代的教育了。于是他在心中醞釀計劃:要為這些孩子們建學(xué)校,讓他們走出因貧困而受不到教育,因受不到教育而貧困的惡性循環(huán)。
He saw the poor living conditions of the local people during a business trip to Kunming, capital city of Yunnan province. Having experienced the poor life when he was a child, Lui knew that for people with empty stomachs, education is a luxury. He decided to provide support for education in remote and poor rural areas of China to help people escape the vicious cycle of lacking money for education and thus growing even poorer without it.
呂志和找到當(dāng)時的新華社香港分社(中聯(lián)辦前身),吐露了希望在內(nèi)地建設(shè)學(xué)校的心愿,又努力與國家教育部取得聯(lián)絡(luò),最終啟動了在偏遠地區(qū)捐建希望小學(xué)的計劃。至今,呂志和已累計幫助八個省市新建或修復(fù)了122所中、小學(xué)。
Coordinating with the then Xinhua Agency’s Hong Kong branch, the former Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong SAR and the nation’s Ministry of Education, Lui established a plan to build Hope Primary School in poor rural areas in the Chinese mainland. So far he has set up or renovated 122 primary and secondary schools in eight provinces and cities on the Chinese mainland.
中國人自己創(chuàng)立的國際獎項
2017年10月3日,第二屆“呂志和獎 - 世界文明獎”(下稱“呂志和獎”)頒發(fā)了三個獎項 —— “持續(xù)發(fā)展獎”、“人類福祉獎” 和 “正能量獎”。這三個獎項分別是由解振華、蘭德薩農(nóng)村發(fā)展研究所(Landesa)以及國際殘疾人奧林匹克委員會獲得。
“呂志和獎”得獎?wù)叩莫劷鹗?,000萬港元的獎金(相當(dāng)于大約256萬美元)。獎金數(shù)額之高,已經(jīng)超越多個世界級獎項 —— 遠高于約110萬美金的諾貝爾獎項獎金、120萬美元的邵逸夫獎以及100萬美金的圖靈獎。
在2017年的第二屆“呂志和獎”的頒獎典禮上,香港特區(qū)行政長官林鄭月娥說香港有“邵逸夫獎”、“呂志和獎”及“一丹獎”三大國際性獎項,均以嘉許具國際地位的人士、在社會宣揚正能量為目標(biāo)。這證明香港是個有建樹的國際性城市,值得香港市民自豪。
2017年“呂志和獎-世界文明獎”第二屆頒獎典禮
在2015年,呂志和宣布“呂志和獎”正式成立,并表示自己已捐出市值20億元的資產(chǎn)做為第一期資金。出資創(chuàng)辦這樣一個屬于全人類的獎項,他并沒有一個驚天動地的戲劇化理由,他的愿望是中國人能夠做出一個獎項來,希望人們在追求物質(zhì)的同時,不忘對美好社會的追求。
呂志和:“還是那句話 ‘施比受更有福’。在這方面,我內(nèi)心安樂。我希望呂志和獎的精神能傳承下去。這是一粒種子,希望有人能夠明白,能夠幫助。慢慢地推動下去、發(fā)展下去。”
“As the saying goes, ‘it is more blessed to give than to receive’. I feel really fulfilled in this regard. I hope the spirit of the Lui Che Woo Prize can live on. I see it as a seed. I hope people can understand it and help to promote the spirit of the prize and to facilitate its development.