Original Su Yibai S Miss Lan and Miss Huang
I often talk about Crazy Rich Asians, not because this book is well written, but because it has a high curiosity. After all, the author Guan Kaiwen is a rich man’s son, which is a little exaggerated, but he is familiar with the lifestyle of the upper class in Asia.
The most impressive thing in Crazy Rich Asians should be the mysterious and luxurious Messer Manor owned by the master and grandmother. It is written in the book that this building is magnificent and brightly lit. It is more like a palace than a mansion, hidden in the city center, and it is hard to find traces even on the map.
In fact, the mansion described in the book is more than this one.
When talking about the sky villa where nick young’s parents live, the author Guan Kaiwen wrote this:
Apartment No.1, located at the main point of Jingxi Road, is an amazing combination of architectural cultural relics protection and real estate miracle. Originally the home of the famous banker Jia Qinji, it was built in late Victoria and has long been a landmark.
However, due to the skyrocketing land price in the past decade, other villas nearby have been replaced by buildings built by real estate developers, and high-rise buildings have sprung up like overgrown bamboo shoots, surrounding this gorgeous mansion.
Until 2006, after the death of this great man, it was a pity that the mansion was demolished because of its historical significance, and because its value was too wasteful as a single house, the successor of Jia Qinji decided to keep the original structure of the building and transform it into a fashionable 30-story skyscraper, which is where Nick’s parents now live.
Ladies and gentlemen, this building is real in Singapore!
The white mansion at No.42 Jingxi Road is the former residence of Mr. Chen Zhenchuan, a banker, and the 20-story building behind it is an apartment built by family descendants after Mr. Chen’s death in 2005, with only 16 units inside.
That is to say, there are only 16 families living in the whole building. The whole building has complete facilities, swimming pool, gym and 24-hour security. The descendants of the Chen family also live here, and other families need to go through their strict examination and approval. It is really not rich to live in.
As stated in the book, it is only a walking distance from Orchard Road, the commercial center. Looking out from the high-rise residence, you can see the most lively business district in Singapore.
As we talked before, Kevin Kwan, the author of Crazy Rich Asians, was born in a wealthy family, and his great-grandfather Oh Sian Guan was one of the directors of OCBC Bank.
▲ The list of early directors of OCBC mentioned Guan Kaiwen’s great-grandfather and Li Guangqian, the son-in-law of Mr. Chen Jiageng, a famous overseas Chinese.
At that time, Mr. Chen Zhenchuan, the owner of Guan Kaiwen’s mansion, had not yet been able to have a place in OCBC, but later, he has become one of the most important figures in the development history of this old bank and was honored as "Mr OCBC" by the outside world.
The intricate family relationships and the interests of closeness and distance in the book are all really staged in this hot land.
In 2005, after Mr. Chen Zhenchuan died at the age of 98, his granddaughter Zhou Yuqin inherited the business he left behind, kept this historic mansion, and expanded the territory, vowing to carry forward his grandfather’s achievements.
▲ Today, Zhou Yuqin leads her family to rank 29th in the Forbes Rich List with a net worth of US$ 1.26 billion.
She always appears in a cheongsam, always smiling, elegant and calm.
Today, we will talk about the real old money family, what kind of temperament and behavior rules the real aristocratic women have, and get a glimpse of the reality of the low-key giants in real life.
Let’s take a closer look at this mansion. The whole landmark is named after Tan chin tuan.
▲ Standing on the sidewalk and looking in, the white mansion and the tall buildings behind it are covered by lush greenery, and there are perfect security guards at the entrance.
▲ Approaching, the whole mansion feels solemn and full of historical precipitation. (The animation comes from the program "I Dong You | Zhou Yuqin, the only rich woman in Singapore’s Forbes Rich List", which is the only Chinese interview she accepted. The video is available in bilibili, and interested friends can find it.)
▲ The Corinthian column at the entrance is exquisitely carved.
▲ Because the house was built in Singapore during the colonial period, the overall architectural style combines elements of various countries.
▲ Including the external Indian dome, the internal European porch, the chandelier and the floor tiles of Nyonya.
▲ In fact, in addition to the renovation of the interior of the mansion, the exterior also gave up a large garden because the government requisitioned land to expand the road. Looking at the size of Zhou Yuqin’s finger ratio, you can imagine how big it used to occupy.
This house was built in 1926 by a famous patriotic overseas Chinese, Mr. Chen Jiageng, the Chen Jiageng who founded Xiamen University.
And Mr. Chen’s son-in-law Li Guangqian, as mentioned above, is called "the father of OCBC Bank", which contributed to the merger of the three banks, namely, Huashang Bank, Hefeng Bank and OCBC Bank.
▲ Many years later, Mr. Chen Jiageng’s direct descendants seem to be less brilliant in Singapore’s business circles, but the low-key Li family still has an unshakable place in Singapore’s Forbes rich list with its 20% stake in Nanyi Rubber Kingdom and OCBC Bank.
Chen Zhenchuan bought a house in the 1930s and lived there until his death in 2005.
▲ Now the first floor is more like an exhibition hall, with precious memories of Mr. Chen Zhenchuan and his family.
▲ The whole wall facing the hall is a photo of Mr. Chen Zhenchuan and his family, which symbolizes the history of this family.
▲ On the second floor, in addition to the long-standing exhibits, Mr. Chen’s study, which works diligently, is also preserved.
▲ Tan Sri (Tansri) written here is a title of Malaysia and the second highest honor after the Ruler’s Medal Tun (Dun).
▲ After the death of Mr. Chen Zhenchuan, Zhou Yuqin redecorated this place and turned it into a social activity place for the family foundation.
For Zhou Yuqin, she grew up here since she was a child. This house is her root and has precious family memories.
▲ In this mansion, she witnessed the great people received by her grandfather, such as Tengku Abdul Rahman, the father of Malaysian independence, and Governor McDonnell who came to stay at home.
▲ david marshall, one of the founding fathers of Singapore, had a cordial conversation with her in her teens.
▲ including now, she lives in one of the 20-story apartments in the back, and her parents have settled down in the meantime, while her younger brothers and sisters have already moved away. Guarding this historic landmark is more like a mission and glory of Zhou Yuqin.
To understand today’s heroine Zhou Yuqin, we must first talk about the background of her grandfather, Mr. Chen Zhenchuan, an old man who is both a banker, an investor and a philanthropist, and is called the pioneer of banking.
In 1908, Chen Zhenchuan was born in a wealthy family. His father, Chen Zhenxiang, was the general manager of OCBC Bank at that time, and there was a rubber garden with good income at home, so he was actually a rich second generation.
▲ Chen Zhenchuan (pictured left) and his younger brother when he was a child.
Unfortunately, at the age of 14, his father died of a heart attack. In addition to losing the opportunity to study abroad, he had to file a lawsuit with the trustee for the legacy left by his father.
After graduating from ACS school, 17-year-old Chen Zhenchuan followed his father’s footsteps into the banking industry, joined Huashang Bank under the introduction of family friends, started as the lowest-level clerk, and was promoted to assistant secretary and then secretary a year later.
In 1926, he married Huang Hailun, a classmate, and Huang Hailun’s father Huang Tiancheng was the general manager of Huashang Bank.
▲ Look at the photos of the two when they got married. Lace wedding dress, smart suit, car and several layers of big cake were completely the highest living standard in Lion City at that time.
▲ After the marriage, the two had a harmonious relationship. For the sake of banking, his wife accompanied him all the way to Australia and India.
In fact, both Chen Zhenchuan and his wife’s family have a pivotal position in Singapore’s upper class.
Mrs. Huang Hailun’s sister Wee Yew Neo is the mother-in-law of former Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. Chen Qingyan, the son of Tan Seng Hwee, Chen Zhenchuan’s half-brother, was the chairman of Singapore Newspaper Group and was elected as the seventh president of Singapore. A few words can prove the Chen family’s position in Singapore’s economic and political upper class and its complicated relationship.
▲ By the way, only the Prime Minister in Singapore has real power.
We won’t go into the details of Chen Zhenchuan’s rising career. Anyway, he has always been conscientious in his work, and he has to work hard every day when he comes home from work. He sleeps for a few hours and gets up again to continue. He can be called a real work madman.
From 1942, he became the managing director of OCBC Bank, and in 1966, he served as the chairman of OCBC Bank until he retired in 1983. He was appointed as the honorary life president of OCBC Bank.
In fact, Chen Zhenchuan was not only at the helm of OCBC Bank, but also the chairman of many listed companies during the 1950s and 1970s, including great eastern Life Insurance, Raffles Hotel, Malaysian Brewery, Robinsons & Co and Straits Trade.
▲ He also set foot in politics and served as the deputy speaker of the Legislative Yuan, and his position was equivalent to that of the deputy governor.
At that time, when the British colonists left Singapore, they sold a lot of low-priced stocks and vacated career opportunities.
Chen Zhenchuan, who is in charge of OCBC Bank, hopes to master the control of Asians by acquiring the shares of these colonial companies. In addition, he also wants to establish a development alliance group with OCBC Bank as the core, so that these enterprises can support each other and serve each other.
▲ This is not only for commercial considerations, but also for national pride.
The stocks of these companies owned by Chen Zhenchuan have also become the cornerstone of the future development of his own investment company, Tecity Group.
In addition to his commercial achievements, he set up the Chen Zhenchuan Foundation in 1976 to support various charitable organizations, and his enthusiasm for public welfare and charity is also the reason why he enjoys a high reputation in all walks of life.
▲ The BBC also specially sent reporters to interview the Chen family’s charity. So far, at least hundreds of millions of Singapore dollars have been donated.
In 1999, the Singapore government issued a new policy stipulating that commercial banks no longer have the right to hold shares in non-financial companies, which not only made OCBC face losing control of many companies, but also made Chen Zhenchuan’s lifelong efforts go to waste.
▲ In fact, although Chen Zhenchuan has been holding important positions in many companies and holding many stocks, he is more like a professional manager, and no one really belongs to his family. It will be a great pity for his lifelong dedication if these hard-working companies will eventually lose control with the policy reform. So he told his successor, Zhou Yuqin, that it was necessary to keep these efforts, even if it was a family.
Zhou Yuqin is the eldest daughter of Chen Qionglian, the second daughter of Chen Zhenchuan.
▲ Chen Zhenchuan has a son Qing Xiang and two daughters Qiong Lian and Qiong Zhu.
As written in Crazy Rich Asians’s book, "The local famous family, whose children have to study medicine or law, will study accounting at worst". Joan Lian is an excellent ophthalmologist and has chosen a husband who is engaged in the same profession.
▲ The couple gave birth to three children, Zhou Yuqin, sister Zhou Yuxiang and younger brother Zhou Guishan.
Zhou Yuqin, born in 1961, grew up with his grandfather and has always been regarded as a successor.
After graduating from the prestigious Singapore Chinese Girls’ School, she was admitted to the Law Department of the National University. After graduating in 1984, she first entered the local Dezun law firm with a long history. Three years later, at the invitation of my grandfather, I joined the Tecity Group, the family office of Chen Zhenchuan. At that time, it was mainly composed of the investment department and the Chen Zhenchuan Foundation for charity.
▲ In order not to affect the feelings of grandparents and grandchildren, she also specially set up a "two-year contract" and bluntly told her grandfather that "if you can’t get along within two years, you will find another job", which shows that the two sides are equal and harmonious.
In fact, this stay is more than 30 years.
▲ With a successful person like Grandpa leading the way, it is always easy to get twice the result with half the effort. She is learning, thinking and making progress in the process.
▲ Cheongsam is her battle dress. As early as the early 20-year-old, she entered the shopping mall. In order to make herself more energetic, she chose to show people with cheongsam, exquisite fabrics and close-fitting tailoring, swaying in her step-by-step style. This habit continues to this day.
In 2003, Zhou Yuqin was officially appointed as the chairman of the company and began to fulfill his grandfather’s wish.
She tried to acquire Robinsons & Co and Raffles Hotel, but they all ended in failure. When grandpa died in 2005, his wish was unfulfilled.
▲ Raffles Hotel is the oldest and most famous hotel in Singapore, and Crazy Rich Asians also took photos here.
Until 2008, Tecity started the acquisition war for the cross-strait trade.
▲ Mr. Chen Zhenchuan was the first Asian chairman of the Taiwan Strait Trade, which was especially precious in the post-colonial historical background.
In fact, Zhou Yuqin has been planning this war for three years, constantly absorbing stocks and making full preparations. However, it is Li Jia, the OCBC Bank mentioned above, who holds about 7% of the shares of Straits Trade and controls about 33% of the shares through OCBC Bank and its affiliated companies, which can be described as menacing.
▲ There are many speculations about the confrontational motives and private relationships of these two old money families.
▲ However, Zhou Yuqin said that business is business.
In order to fulfill her grandfather’s last wish, she is bound to win this acquisition.
Finally, Zhou Yuqin successfully acquired Straits Trading, a long-established tin smelting company, in the name of its subsidiary The Cairns Pte Ltd, at a cost of about S $2.18 billion (US$ 1.56 billion), with a shareholding ratio of 88.98%.
But the acquisition of the company is only the first step, and the management that comes with it is the severe challenge. It is the first time to manage a listed company, and it is a company with a long history (founded in 1887) and complicated business (starting from smelting and trading tin mines). Everything in the process needs to be learned and explored by ourselves, including clarifying the company’s business, reorganizing hotel assets, rebuilding the group building, selling low-income residential properties and so on.
Naturally, there have been mistakes and controversies, such as the sale of a symbolic company building.
▲ This building, built in 1972, is a landmark and witnessed the growth of cross-strait trade. After taking over the company in 2009, Zhou Yuqin spent a lot of money to rebuild it.
▲ However, in 14 years, she sold the building, which was later considered by the outside world as underestimating the selling price, because two years later, wealthy Indonesian businessmen were pocketed by rewriting the highest record of local Grade A offices.
However, as a person in the company, Zhou Yuqin’s business philosophy is the same as her life, and she doesn’t need flashy decorations.
▲ A building with poor rate of return, like a diamond, is exquisite but can only be viewed. For a company such as Straits Trade, which is in urgent need of transformation and whose benefits are uncertain, this building has no more practical function except being a witness of history and a talk of outsiders. Instead of this, it is better to maximize its value.
▲ Now the Straits Trading Company has moved its headquarters and is located on the same floor as Tecity, Chen Zhenchuan’s family office.
Since 2010, after five years of transition, Straits Trade has become an investment company with real estate, hotels and resources as its core business, and its performance has also steadily increased.
Zhou Yuqin also bought a 20% stake in ARA Asset Management (Yateng) for $232 million in cash and stock as the vice chairman, trying to cultivate the real estate industry, and one of Yateng’s partners is Li Ka-shing of Cheung Kong.
Last year, Yateng spent 2.4 billion RMB to acquire Sanlin Impression City in Pudong, Shanghai.
Zhou Yuqin’s achievements in shopping malls are obvious to all. She has been selected as one of the 50 most influential Asian business women in Forbes for many times. In 2014, he won the Singapore Businessman Award, in 2016, he won the Meritorious Service Medal, and in 2019, he won the highest honor award "Super Nova" for female entrepreneurs in Singapore.
▲ This oil painting hanging in the corridor of the company is the prize of an outstanding businessman in 2014. In the painting, she is wearing a red cheongsam and adorned with earrings and brooches, showing elegance and extravagance.
As for today, why should we talk about such a businessman who is not very familiar with everyone and the old money family behind her? Because she let me see a clean stream.
We have talked about many giants in Hong Kong and South Korea before, and most of them are rich, eye-catching and arrogant. Some of them turned against their mother and son and became enemies because of the dispute over property, some of them fell apart with the departure of the speaker, and some of them owed romantic debts to the previous generation, so many descendants succeeded in their property.
It can be recalled here:
The biggest rule of the real old money family is not to show off their wealth, not to attract attention, and it is best to travel at night and keep a low profile. Zhou Yuqin and the family behind her are like when Crazy Rich Asians wrote Astrid:
Her father is Harry Liang. Speaking of the Liang family, you won’t find their clues in the open literature. This family has always been cautious and well versed in seclusion. Such a "anonymous" Straits Chinese family has industries all over Asia, and its industries, ranging from raw materials, agricultural products to real estate, are all monopolized.
If you think that her background is only the Liang family, you are all wet. Her mother is Felicity Young. Most of the children of Yang’s family intermarry with Qian’s and Shang’s. Compared with them, ordinary giants are just dirt …
▲ Although it is not small, it is low-key and rich, deliberately hiding its own strength and never showing its dew.
This is also the unfathomable reason for the old money family, because you really don’t know how many cards it has. It is mysterious and an invisibility cloak that confident businessmen like to put on. Because vanity is the nature of the weak, it is precisely because they are afraid that others will look down on him that they will use their teeth to attract attention and show off their strength.
Old money families usually have three characteristics:
First of all, we should have a truly inclusive legendary parent.
In grandpa Chen Zhenchuan’s autobiography "Rock Solid: The Corporate Career of Tan Chin Tuan", he wrote, "His name has never been tainted with the slightest scandal".
▲ I have been open and aboveboard all my life, and I have strict self-requirements. Even my private life is cleaner than too many wealthy businessmen.
He made a wide range of good relationships, and all the friends he made were in the same boat through thick and thin, not just for profit.
At the same time, it has been generous, and the foundation under its name has helped many people.
▲ In 1998, Chen Zhenchuan, who was 90 years old, also distributed S $1,000 to all elderly people over 90 years old in Singapore, with a total of more than 1.2 million, to share the joy with you.
▲ In 2005, the Foundation directly donated S $25 million to the National University, and the three brothers and sisters of Zhou Yuqin were framed.
Apart from his contribution to business and society, Chen Zhenchuan is also the founder and guide of the whole family style.
Although his ancestral home was in Fujian, and he was born in the conservative era at the beginning of the last century, he did not have the old-fashioned style of the old Chinese family. For example, the meaning of identifying women is to marry a woman to carry on the family line.
▲ He is willing to hire women and give his career to women. He indulges his children and grandchildren to talk freely at the dinner table.
At the same time, being open-minded, understanding, and constantly accepting new ideas, it has created an equal and harmonious atmosphere in the family.
Secondly, the humility and gratitude of family members.
It can be said that from all kinds of interviews with Zhou Yuqin, we can feel that she is a gentle person, always smiling. At first glance, we can know that she is a little girl who grew up bathed in love, and there is no tact and snobbery of too many businessmen.
▲ I want to grow up in a lively big family and have a carefree childhood, which is one of the reasons for her optimistic and cheerful personality.
Moreover, she also has enlightened parents, which is inseparable from her grandfather’s education and profound family studies.
▲ Parents are not strict with their children, but only require a sense of responsibility and hard work. You can see that the one in the red polka-dot shirt above is Zhou Yuqin, right?
▲ As a doctor, mother Chen Qionglian teaches by example and never regards gender as a shackle that imprisons herself.
Zhou Yuqin is grateful for his background and believes that "man can conquer nature".
This passage in the above picture may be thought by many people as "why not eat minced meat" by a rich girl, but in fact, each of us has our own roots, no matter whether we are poor or rich, only by facing ourselves squarely can we dominate our destiny.
I have seen too many giants, and the second ancestor squandered his wealth and showed off the great achievements of his elders all day; I have also seen too many ordinary people who are eager to deny their dishonorable origins after their success, and even retaliated to prove that they have always been noble with their present status. It is ridiculous. "People who are truly confident in their identity don’t have to prove it to the world at all."
▲ For us ordinary people, the objects left by our elders belonging to their time are not so much souvenirs worth collecting, but also feelings for history and proof of blood and family ties.
Third, the whole family knows how to hide from the world and pursues a low profile from the heart.
It is precisely because they have experienced the wind and rain and seen the terrible evil of mediocrity that the old Qian family has absolute requirements for keeping a low profile, especially for the older generation and the next generation.
As mentioned above, the family relationship between Chen Zhenchuan and his wife is spread throughout the upper class in Singapore, and they have many children.
▲ However, except for the second daughter Qiong Lian who entered the Tecity Group, others have their own strengths in other fields and rarely show up. The eldest son Qiong Xiang has little information, while the youngest daughter Qiong Zhu is an elite in the publishing industry.
▲ Qiong Lian’s family from left to right: the younger brother Zhou Guishan (graduated from Nottingham, England), the second sister Zhou Yuxiang (graduated from the National University of Singapore majoring in accounting), the father and mother Chen Qionglian, both doctors, and the eldest sister Zhou Yuqin.
▲ Among them, mother, younger brother and younger sister all hold important positions in the Chen Zhenchuan Foundation.
In addition to the busy family, Zhou Yuqin also has her own happy family, but she only said that her husband is engaged in education and rarely talked about anything else.
▲ There are reports that she has no children, and there are also reports that she has a son and a daughter, and she can’t tell which is true.
▲ However, in her office, she can see photos of her suspected husband in addition to a happy family photo.
The book says, "real celebrities, they only show up once or twice a year at most."
▲ Zhou Yuqin rarely appeared in the public eye except for necessary interviews and attending the award ceremony.
▲ Her younger brothers and sisters will only be interviewed on matters related to the Chen Zhenchuan Foundation.
This is a far cry from the mainland businessmen’s daughters who bought magazines on the page some time ago and labeled themselves as "celebrities".
Zhou Yuqin’s dress style is also low-key. Although her cheongsam dress has been unique and impressive for decades, she hardly wears any decorations except earrings and brooches.
▲ The same antique watch appeared repeatedly.
▲ Only occasionally, the earrings are changed from diamonds to big jade or red agate. The richness of this detail needs to be appreciated by tasteful people.
▲ At a lunch meeting, she came from the office in a 10-minute drive by Lexus, instead of Bentley and Rolls Royce, which rich girls love to bask in. The reporter described her as "a pair of black high heels, a white bag without any logo, and the only jewelry on her body is earrings combined with diamonds and jade".
▲ She said that the reason why she wears cheongsam is very simple, that is, it is convenient to go out, and there is no need to waste time on wearing it.
▲ Most of the styles she bought are similar, and some even wear them for more than ten years, but these fabrics with hairspring luster can be seen at a glance as excellent choices.
▲ Only when attending the award ceremony can you see her more gorgeous and grand than usual.
▲ Take a closer look at this dress when she won the "Star of Honor", the highest honor award of Singapore women entrepreneurs last year. In fact, it is just a more exquisitely designed cheongsam with more bracelets and dinner bags.
Once upon a time, Yi Shu said, "I cut Shi Nansheng’s photo from Women and Family, put it on a small mirror in my purse, and take it out in my spare time to cool my eyes and ears.".
This makes sense. People and things we like are often kept in mind, and photos are placed around us, and we often take them out to look at them. It is also a kind of borrowing gas to resist inner fears and doubts, so that the existence of these people and things tells us that there are people and things in the world who act like this, and they are not completely cheating.
This is also the purpose of introducing Zhou Yuqin today.
Really noble and low-key celebrities don’t have to wear gold and silver, and they won’t be fully armed to wander around vanity fair, and they don’t have to spend money to prove their existence.
There is no pampering, extravagance, high-profile, arrogance and rudeness. There is an effortless elegance in her, which is a kind of extravagance that exudes all over her body without talking about money.
Without relying on their upper-class background, they hide in the assets sheltered by their ancestors to collect rent and eat interest, unlike many rich girls who follow the principle of caring for each other and educating their children and only occasionally show up for charity. She has her own firm belief, the goal of working hard for it all her life, and the mind of helping the world.
▲ She doesn’t want her life to be defined as "waste", and she doesn’t want the epitaph to only say "beautiful skin and afternoon tea" in the future.
▲ As long as you are firm in your goals, you will go forward without hesitation.
▲ In addition to her status as a businessman, she has helped more people as a philanthropist through the family foundation, which is also the best inheritance of the spirit of her ancestors.
Perhaps becoming the chairman of a listed company is not within the scope of Zhou Yuqin’s plan when he was young, but now that he has done it, he must do his best.
▲ It is true that compared with ordinary people, rich descendants have more resources and capital for trial and error, but trial and error does not mean that they can make mistakes indefinitely. When you hold the lifeline of too many people’s livelihood, the factors to be considered and the risks to be taken will increase. At this time, it is even more necessary to learn from history and step by step.
Now, it seems that Zhou Yuqin is successful. She has completely made her name in the business world by acquiring and changing the company Straits Trade, which proves that she is not only the granddaughter of banker Chen Zhenchuan, but also an excellent entrepreneur who can have a place in Asia.
In this way, she shocked us not only with the knowledge of the old Qian family, but also with the knowledge of outstanding women. They are so alive with relish, giving strength to others, trying to give back to the society, and also focusing on self-enrichment. True celebrities are also.
Original title: "Celebrity || The real old money family, the real aristocratic family originally looks like this …"
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