家族史《一則清末北京日報上求職廣告的相關故事》

家族史《一則清末北京日報上求職廣告的相關故事》

作者：高歌

宣统三年三月十日至十六日（公元1911年4月8日至4月14日），北京日报上连续七天登载了一份求职广告。广告内容如下：

     “兹有德国皇家工程师于土木工程历练有年 愿就工程顾问及教授之职并能英语 欲聘者函送北京日报转交C E可也”

这位登广告的德国工程师正是我曾祖父在1911年雇用的那位德国工程师！

德国工程师C.E.原来是德意志帝國军队的一名军官。他因为反战，当了逃兵才来到北京。在北京期间因为害怕暴露自己逃兵的身份，他不敢与在京的其他德国人接触。为了生计，他才登此广告。

在这里先介绍一下我的曾祖父当时有什么背景能够收留并聘请一个德国工程师。

我的曾祖父高增源为河北深县高盐场有名的乡绅，也是益德堂高家第20代掌门人。家族从明朝初期开始持续兴旺了四百多年。到清朝末年的时候，拥有一所大庄园与良田500多亩。

曾祖父的同乡好友封竹轩（字永修1854-1943），出身贫农。十六岁时到北京的一个制帽作坊学徒。后来，帽店关门歇业，封竹轩失去了生活的来源，就曾自己单独干，生产各式帽子，通过串店推销，做起小批发商的生意。这样几年下来，靠着自己的精打细算和辛勤劳作赚到些钱，除了维持生活之外，还有了一定剩余。封竹轩便拿出自己积存的资金，在前门外鲜鱼口街开了个小帽铺。由于做的帽子工精价廉，受资金限制生意虽可获小利但发展很慢。后来，他与我的曾祖父一起合作，由我曾祖父拿出主要资金白银100两，封竹轩以原帽摊入伙，由封竹轩主要负责经营（合伙经营）。俩人各取名字（封永修、高增源）中间的一个字，组成“永增合”作为新帽铺的字号。合伙经营后二人终于创办了一份不错的产业。生意也越做越好。

光绪二十六年（1900年），赶上“义和团运动”，永增合等店铺被义和团焚毁，帽铺的全部资产一无所剩。封竹轩和我曾祖父一齐返回深州老家共同商议对策。一年以后，八国联军撤走，北京恢复了平静。于是封竹轩与我曾祖父又商定由高家再投资。曾祖父于是变卖家乡祖产200亩土地为资本，交由封竹轩再开业经营。封竹轩携带高家提供的资金，另外封竹轩也贷了一些货款为合资资本，在前门外打磨厂西段路北找到一个经营场所。已经四十七岁的封竹轩，凭多年在京闯荡和涉足商业的经验重开旧业。他极重视商铺牌匾字号的声誉，即将原“永增合”改为“永增领帽局”。光绪末年，清政府仿照西方近代军制创建新式陆军，称之“新军”。 这一年，“新军”的练兵处换上一个叫王士珍¹的长官，恰好封、高认识这个人，王士珍曾是原永增合帽店的老主顾，且交往甚密。封竹轩就主动找到王士珍拉关系，不想，很顺利地揽到一小批军帽和军装的加工活儿。到手的生意，他们却是小心翼翼地对待。因为从来没有做过这类服装，他们深知这批军服的生意必须一炮打响！他毫不犹豫地从南方高价聘请了技术娴熟的裁缝师傅，顺利完成了这批“任务”。交活后一结算获利颇丰。初战成功，他们没有固步自封，凭着与政府和军界强人的新关系，力图谋求更大的市场份额。一方面增加厂房设备，挑选员工，并扩大经营规模与生产能力，同时又积极地拓展自己的市场。光绪三十四年（1908年），封竹轩与我曾祖父将“永增领帽局”改为“永增军装局”，门市不零售，专门承揽“大活儿”。值得一提的是，有一宗买卖是与马福祥²做的，它开启了这之后40多年高家与西北马家军的交集。

由于永增军装局开办的最早，曾在北京是独此一家，大掌柜封竹轩和我曾祖父都善于社会交际，他们在“北洋”各派系中都有熟人（袁世凯、段祺瑞、曹琨、吴佩孚等）。因此永增军装局做了不少大宗军装订货，买卖发展很快，在北京的知名度也越来越高。特别在军、警界，无人不知北京有个永增军装局。1913年袁世凯的大总统服就是在永增军装局定制。封、高两家的地位得到进一步提高，在军政界受到尊敬。

几年后，永增军装局又一分为二，开办隆增德军装局由高家的另一亲戚主理，后由我爷爷高亚杰接管。

我的爷爷是曾祖父的次子。1911年初进京到一家鞋帽店做学徒。正巧碰上这个德国工程师在北京需要工作。他参与了是否收留德国工程师的讨论。讨论结果是父子二人决定收留并聘请这个德国工程师。当父子二人把这个决定告诉封竹轩老先生时，封老先生开始坚决不同意聘请当逃兵的外国人。经过几次商议后，封竹轩还是不同意。于是高家就想单独出资收留和聘请这个德国工程师，在这种情况下封竹轩最终同意聘请德国工程师但是让这位工程师隐藏起来开展工业方面的探索。于是德国工程师就被安排住在鲜鱼口长巷二条，就是隆增德军装局的后院。地点非常隐蔽，还有夹壁墙可躲藏。据说他开始使用一个中国名字，从不敢用真名。

由于有德国工程师C.E.先生的加入，封、高两家的企业从此进入到工业领域。

德国工程师协助承包的第一项工程是翻砂铸造前门火车站站台上的生铁灯柱子。由他负责购置设备，传授技术，培养工人，建立了翻砂车间（1949年后成为北京市第一阀门厂，后称为北京市阀门总厂）。

工程师第二个建议是成立机械厂，就是1911年开办的永增铁工厂，1912年在天津开办的永增铁工厂分厂和之后开办的隆增德铁工厂。他协助从德国购置了几十台刨床、铣床等机械工具，由他培养一批工人，设立车间承担工程。开始了专业生产标准指挥刀和军剑。1913年又新建军用装备部和皮件厂，还开办老羊皮厂、制革厂（硝皮厂）、 印染厂、绣花厂、绦带厂、中衣厂、轧钢厂、料器厂（珐琅徽章厂）等。凡军队所需的军帽、军鞋、军官服、战刀、马刀、指挥刀、佩剑、枪套、腰带、战马鞍、勋章、奖章，行军帐篷、行军床、担架、水壶、水桶、饭盒、行军锅灶、士兵用品等上百种产品，永增都能生产，充分满足供应。另外工程师还建议更换被服厂的老缝纫机，并协助购买了一百多台胜佳牌（Singer）缝纫机。从而提高了产品的质量与效率并提高了竞争力。新开办的皮革厂（硝皮厂）采用先进制革技术加工生产皮革，为军装局制造鞋靴、武装带等军需用品提供优质皮革原材料。在天津的永增铁工厂曾在1915年制造了一辆四缸汽车，并参加了在北京先农坛召开的国货展览会，轰动了京城。

下面开设的这些商铺是封、高两家没有让德国工程师参与。1915年封、高家利润不分成，又合资成立了银器厂。1917年成立永益木厂。1919年开办中原金珠店。1920年开设永裕粮店、永寿合寿材厂（高家独资）、永巨合料器店、永增售品所等。1922年，开设“多茂钱庄”、“永增合银号”，续开“永通银号”。1924年，在大栅栏开设了永增源绸缎布匹呢绒皮货洋货店（高家独资）。在西单商场开设益茂绸缎店（高家独资）、德茂绸缎店（高家独资）、半亩园番菜馆等。

永增铁工厂和隆增德铁工厂在20年代末与30年代初作为兵工厂，专门为宋哲元的第二十九军制作各种冷兵器包括大刀和其它军需物品。其中最有名的故事就是1933年宋哲元部在河北省、热河省交界一带的长城隘口喜峰口与日军的关东军所辖第八师团第四旅团及独立混成第十四旅团交战。第二十九军挑出500名士兵组成“大刀队”。3月11日深夜兵分两路夜袭日军步骑兵营地和炮兵营地。此次夜袭共砍死砍伤日军逾千人，获喜峰口大捷而震动全国。1937年，以喜峰口大捷为背景创作的歌曲《大刀进行曲》唱遍了全中国。

毫无疑问，因为及时的聘请了这位德国工程师，使得“永增”企业如虎添翼,得到飞速发展。在1928年左右的鼎盛时期，封、高两家共有40家企业与商铺（其中有多间是高家独资开办的），共有员工3000多人。商铺遍及北京、天津、上海、沈阳、太原、青岛、徐州、西安、兰州、银川和玉门³。

封、高两家在20年代末开始分家。原因是两家的后代在企业管理方面出现分歧。30年代初完成分家。封家保留“永增”品牌，得到十几家企业和商铺。高家得到二十几家企业与商铺。分家之后，封、高两家仍保持良好的关系。

在天津的永增铁工厂1949年后改名为天津第一机器厂。隆增德军装局所属的北京机械厂1949年后改名为北京第一机械厂。隆增德硝皮厂在1949年后改名成北京皮革厂。

一九三零年，欧洲战争的风声早已过去，德国工程师C.E.获厚赠离开他生活了十九年的北京回德国定居。

爷爷摄于1920年代初北京。爷爷从1920年代初开始接替我曾祖父与封竹轩一同掌管合作的各个企业。

民国初期永增制造的指挥刀

永增制造的指挥刀

永增合银号

溥仪在中原金珠店定制的金餐具。现收藏于北京故宫博物院

后记1： 一张珍贵的历史相片

这张珍贵的历史相片拍摄于1912年前后的北京。相片中是一名德国军人，身穿中式改良军服。上衣带有传统盘扣和边缘滚边的对襟马褂，袖口处有宽大的浅色装饰或刺绣。下身则搭配了中式宽松马裤，头戴中式小帽，脚蹬中式长筒靴，手持永增军装局制作的军刀。他的面部表情显得严肃、冷静。

我分析他可能就是我曾祖父雇用的德国工程师C.E.先生，但是我不能百分之百的确定。

后记2：在报纸上找到德国工程师求职广告的经过

当我浏览老报纸时，我原本并没有抱着太多期望。三万多份从清末到民国的报纸，仿佛是浩瀚如海的历史碎片，我像是在无边的海面上捞针，心里明白找到关于我曾祖父或爷爷的直接线索几乎是指望不上的。但正是这种不抱希望的心境，让那一瞬间的发现，犹如闪电般击中了我。

那一天，我在翻看1911年的《北京日报》。我看到那一小块不起眼的广告，视线突然停住。那是一则德国工程师求职的广告。短短几十个字，却在我脑中像是点起一团火。我愣在那儿，心跳忽然加快，手指微微颤抖，甚至忘了继续呼吸。因为我想起家族里流传的一个老故事——曾祖父和爷爷在清末民初时曾雇用过一位德国工程师。我几乎能感觉到自己当时眼睛一点点睁大，心里由惊讶变为震动，像是被拉入了一个时间隧道，跨越百年，与那位素未谋面的德国工程师隔空对望。广告上的名字陌生，文笔略显拗口，语句里带着典型的外国人书面汉语，但却无比真切。我甚至能想象他当时的样子：一个异乡人，在风云激荡的北京街头，怀着忐忑和希冀，在一家报馆递上这篇求职启事。

一瞬间，我感觉到一种不可言说的亲近感。那不是单纯的好奇，而是一种深究血脉与历史的强烈共鸣。我意识到，也许，我正在触摸到家族历史的一条极细微却宝贵的线头。那位工程师的经历，也许与我曾祖父与爷爷的故事有某种交汇；那一刻，他不再只是报纸上的一个名字，而可能是曾真实站在我祖先身旁、参与他们生活与事业的人。

我的脊背微微发热，甚至有一种想立刻站起来走动的冲动。我太兴奋了，几乎难以坐稳。许多年来关于家族史的疑问与渴望，在这一刻像被点燃的引线一样快速蔓延。我紧紧盯着报纸上的每一个字，生怕漏掉哪怕一点信息。

我立刻拍下广告的相片，几乎是迫不及待地给远在温哥华的亲戚发了邮件，希望能求证。每敲一个字我都加快一点速度，仿佛所有情绪都挤在胸口，急着要冲出去。当亲戚回复说：“当时那个德国工程师是逃兵，不敢用真名登广告，所以不能百分之百确定”，我心里虽然有一丝失落，但更多的是一种奇妙的坚定。

这份报纸上的德国工程师，也许不是那个人，但也许就是。

那一刻的感觉——那种历史突然活了过来、家族传说突然有了实物线索的震动——是真实而深刻的。它让我意识到：过去不是遥不可及的尘埃，而是在某个角落、某个字里行间等待被发现的生命痕迹。

当我再次回望那张老报纸时，兴奋已经沉淀成一种深深的敬畏和感动。那是跨越百年的呼应，是一个家族与历史之间久违的对话。而我能在此刻读到它，是一种幸运，也是时间给予我们的礼物。

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2024年8月初稿写于加拿大渥太华

2026年7月增补于加拿大温哥华

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A Story Related to a Job-Seeking Advertisement in a Beijing Daily Newspaper from the Late Qing Dynasty （English Interpretation by Gemine)

by Gao Ge

From March 10th to 16th in the third year of Xuantong (April 8th to April 14th, 1911), the Beijing Daily published a job-seeking advertisement for seven consecutive days. The content of the advertisement was as follows:

“A German imperial engineer, experienced in civil engineering for many years, seeks employment as an engineering consultant and professor, and is also proficient in English. Prospective employers are requested to forward replies via the Beijing Daily to C.E., which will suffice.”

The German engineer who placed this advertisement was precisely the German engineer employed by my great-grandfather in 1911!

The German engineer C.E. was originally an officer in the German Imperial Army. Because he opposed the war and became a deserter, he came to Beijing. During his time in Beijing, fearing that his identity as a deserter would be exposed, he dared not contact other Germans in Beijing. In order to make a living, he placed this advertisement.

Here, let me first introduce the background that enabled my great-grandfather to take in and hire a German engineer at that time.

My great-grandfather, Gao Zengyuan, was a well-known local gentry member of Gaoshiyan Salt Field in Shenxian County, Hebei, and was also the 20th-generation head of the Gao family of Yide Tang. The family had continued to flourish for more than 400 years since the early Ming Dynasty. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, they owned a large courtyard and more than 500 mu of farmland.

My great-grandfather’s fellow townsman and good friend, Feng Zhuxuan (styled Yongxiu, 1854–1943), came from a poor peasant family. At the age of sixteen, he went to a cap-making workshop in Beijing to serve as an apprentice. Later, the cap shop closed down, and Feng Zhuxuan lost his source of livelihood. He began to work independently, producing various caps and acting as a small-scale wholesale merchant by peddling through shops. After several years, relying on his careful budgeting and hard work, he earned some money. Besides maintaining his livelihood, he had a certain surplus. Feng Zhuxuan then took out his accumulated capital and opened a small hat shop on Qianmen Outer Xianyikou Street. Because the hats he made were fine in workmanship and reasonable in price, the business made a small profit despite capital constraints, but development was very slow. Later, he cooperated with my great-grandfather. My great-grandfather provided the main capital of 100 taels of silver, while Feng Zhuxuan entered the partnership with his original hat shop, and was primarily responsible for management (a joint venture). The two men took one character from the middle of each of their names (Feng Yongxiu, Gao Zengyuan) to form “Yong Zeng He” as the name of the new hat shop. After the two men cooperated in business, they finally created a fine enterprise. The business grew better and better.

In the twenty-sixth year of Guangxu (1900), right during the Boxer Rebellion, shops like Yong Zeng He were burned down by the Boxers, leaving the hat shop’s total assets completely wiped out. Feng Zhuxuan and my great-grandfather returned together to their hometown in Shenzhou to discuss countermeasures. A year later, the Eight-Nation Alliance withdrew, and Beijing returned to peace. Thus, it was Feng Zhuxuan and my great-grandfather who went to the Gao family to seek investment. My great-grandfather sold 200 mu of ancestral farmland in his hometown, and handed the proceeds over to Feng Zhuxuan to reopen the business. Feng Zhuxuan carried the capital provided by the Gao family, and additionally used some goods as equity capital, finding a business location at the north of the west section of Qianmen Outer Daba厂 Road. Forty-seven-year-old Feng Zhuxuan, relying on his years of wandering and commercial experience in Beijing, restarted the old business. He attached great importance to the reputation of the shop’s brand, changing the original “Yong Zeng He” to “Yong Zeng Ling Hat Bureau”.

In the late years of the Guangxu reign, the Qing government imitated Western modern military systems to create a new-style army called the “New Army”. In this year, the training office of the “New Army” replaced its commander with a man named Wang Shizhen⁴. Coincidentally, Feng knew this person; Wang Shizhen was an old customer of the original Yong Zeng He hat shop, and they maintained close interactions. Feng Zhuxuan actively sought out Wang Shizhen to establish connections, and unexpectedly, he very smoothly secured a processing contract for a small batch of caps and military uniforms. Facing this obtained business, they handled it with utmost caution. Because they had never made this type of clothing before, they knew deeply that the business for this batch of military uniforms had to be a success on the first try. Without hesitation, he hired skilled tailors at high wages from the south, successfully completing this “task”. Once the business was completed and settled, the profit margin was extremely high. With their initial success, instead of resting on their laurels, they leveraged their new relationships with the government and military circles to seek greater market share. On one hand, they increased factory equipment, selected employees, and expanded operational scale and production capacity; on the other hand, they actively expanded their own market. In the thirty-fourth year of Guangxu (1908), Feng Zhuxuan and my great-grandfather changed the “Yong Zeng Ling Hat Bureau” to the “Yong Zeng Military Uniform Bureau,” ceasing retail sales at the storefront and exclusively undertaking “large-scale projects”. It is worth mentioning that one transaction was with Ma Fuxiang⁵, which initiated the Gao family’s interactions with the Northwest Ma clique that lasted for more than 40 years afterwards.

The Yong Zeng Military Uniform Bureau was established the earliest, and it was peerless in Beijing. The chief manager, Feng Zhuxuan, and my great-grandfather were both adept at social networking, and they had acquaintances in all factions of the “Beiyang” clique (such as Yuan Shikai, Duan Qirui, Cao Kun, and Wu Peifu). Therefore, the Yong Zeng Military Uniform Bureau secured quite a few large orders for military uniforms, its business developed rapidly, and its renown in Beijing grew increasingly high. Especially in military and police circles, no one did not know that Beijing had a Yong Zeng Military Uniform Bureau. In 1913, the grand presidential uniform of Yuan Shikai was custom-made at the Yong Zeng Military Uniform Bureau. The status of both the Feng and Gao families was further elevated, and they were respected in military and political circles.

A few years later, the Yong Zeng Military Uniform Bureau split into two. The newly established Long Zeng De Military Uniform Bureau was managed by another relative of the Gao family, and later taken over by my grandfather, Gao Yajie.

My grandfather was my great-grandfather’s second son. In early 1911, he entered a shoe store in Beijing to serve as an apprentice. As it happened, this German engineer needed work in Beijing. He participated in the discussion on whether to take in and hire the German engineer. The result of the discussion was that the father and son decided to take in and hire this German engineer. When the father and son told Feng Zhuxuan, the elder, about this decision, Feng initially firmly disagreed with hiring a deserter from abroad. After several rounds of negotiations, Feng Zhuxuan still disagreed. Consequently, the Gao family intended to single-handedly fund the retention and employment of this German engineer. Under this circumstance, Feng Zhuxuan finally agreed to hire the German engineer, but stipulated that the engineer must be hidden away to carry out industrial explorations. Thus, the German engineer was arranged to live in the second alley of Changjuan, outside Qianmen, which was the back courtyard of the Long Zeng De Military Uniform Bureau. The location was extremely covert, and there were even double-layered walls for concealment. It is said that he began using a Chinese name and never dared to use his real name.

Due to the joining of the German engineer Mr. C.E., the enterprises of the Feng and Gao families entered the industrial field from then on.

The first project undertaken with the assistance of the German engineer was casting the raw iron lamp pillars on the platform of the Qianmen Railway Station. He was responsible for procuring equipment, imparting technology, training workers, and establishing the casting workshop (after 1949, it became the Beijing No. 1 Valve Factory, later named the Beijing Valve General Factory).

The engineer’s second proposal was to establish a machinery factory, which was the Yong Zeng Iron Factory opened in 1911, the Yong Zeng Iron Factory branch opened in Tianjin in 1912, and the subsequently opened Long Zeng De Iron Factory. He assisted in purchasing dozens of machine tools such as planers and lathes from Germany, trained a group of workers, and established a lathe workshop to undertake engineering projects. They began the specialized production of standard pointing instruments and military sabers. In 1913, they newly established the Military Equipment Department and Leather Goods Department, and also opened a sheepskin factory, a tanning factory (chrome-tanning factory), a dyeing and printing factory, an embroidery factory, a braid factory, a Chinese clothing factory, a steel-rolling factory, and a hardware factory (enamel badge factory), etc. Whatever military caps, military shoes, military uniforms, battle sabers, cavalry sabers, commanding sabers, dress sabers, pistol holsters, belts, cavalry saddles, medals, awards, marching tents, military cots, stretchers, canteens, buckets, mess tins, marching stoves, and soldiers’ necessities—totalling over a hundred products—needed by the army, Yong Zeng could produce them, fully satisfying supply. In addition, the engineer suggested replacing the old sewing machines in the garment factory and assisted in purchasing over one hundred Singer sewing machines. This thereby improved product quality and efficiency, and enhanced competitiveness. The newly opened leather factory (tanning factory) adopted advanced tanning technology to process and produce leather, providing high-quality leather raw materials for the military uniform bureau to manufacture military boots, equipment and other military supplies. The Yong Zeng Iron Factory in Tianjin manufactured a four-cylinder automobile in 1915 and participated in the domestic goods exhibition held at the Beijing Xiannutan, creating a sensation in the capital.

The German engineer was not involved in the shops opened subsequently by the Feng and Gao families. In 1915, the Feng and Gao families ended their profit-sharing arrangement and jointly established a silver mine. In 1917, the Yongyi Wood Mill was established. In 1919, the Zhongyuan Jewelry Store was opened. In 1920, the Yongyu Grain Store, Yongshou Timber Mill (solely owned by the Gao family), Yongju Hardware Store, Yongzeng Sales Department, and others were opened. In 1922, the “Duoxu Money Shop” and “Yongzeng Combined Silver Shop” were opened, followed by the “Yotong Silver Shop”. In 1924, at Dashilar, they opened the Yongzengyuan Silk, Satin, and Woolen General Merchandise Store (solely owned by the Gao family). At Xidan Mall, they opened the Yimao Silk and Satin Store (solely owned by the Gao family), Dewao Silk and Satin Store (solely owned by the Gao family), Banmu Garden Restaurant, and others.

In the late 1920s and early 1930s, the Yongzeng Iron Factory and Longzengde Iron Factory functioned as military factories, exclusively manufacturing various cold weapons including dadao and other military supplies for Song Zheyuan’s Twenty-Ninth Army. Among them, the most famous story is that in 1933, Song Zheyuan’s forces engaged in a fierce battle against the Eighth Division’s Fourth Brigade and the Independent Formed Fourteenth Brigade of the Japanese Kwantung Army’s garrison around the Great Wall passes of Xifengkou and Gubeikou in the border area of Hebei and Rehe provinces. The Twenty-Ninth Army selected 500 soldiers to form a “Dadao Unit”. Late at night on March 11, the soldiers launched a nighttime raid in two columns on the Japanese infantry camp and artillery camp. This night raid killed and wounded over a thousand Japanese soldiers, achieving a great victory at Xifengkou that shocked the entire nation. In 1937, the song “The Sword March,” created against the background of the great victory at Xifengkou, echoed throughout China.

Undoubtedly, due to the timely employment of this German engineer, the “Yongzeng” enterprises were given wings and achieved rapid development. At its peak around 1928, the Feng and Gao families jointly owned 40 enterprises and shops (many of which were solely owned by the Gao family), with a total of over 3,000 employees. The shops spread across Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Shenyang, Taiyuan, Qingdao, Xuzhou, Xi’an, Lanzhou, Yinchuan, and Yumen⁶.

The Feng and Gao families began to split their family properties in the late 1920s, the reason being that the descendants of the two families had differences in business management. The separation was completed in the early 1930s. The Feng family retained the “Yongzeng” brand, acquiring over a dozen enterprises and shops. The Gao family obtained over twenty enterprises and shops. After the division, the Feng and Gao families still maintained good relations.

The Yongzeng Iron Factory in Tianjin was renamed the Tianjin No. 1 Machine Factory after 1949. The Beijing Machine Factory affiliated with the Longzengde Military Uniform Bureau was renamed the Beijing No. 1 Machine Factory after 1949. The Longzengde Tanning Factory was renamed the Beijing Leather Factory after 1949.

In 1930, the rumors and threats of the European war had long passed, and the German engineer Mr. C.E. left Beijing, where he had lived for nineteen years, with generous gifts to return to Germany for retirement.

Postscript 1: A Precious Historical Photograph

This precious historical photograph was taken in Beijing around 1912. The photo features a German serviceman wearing a modified Chinese-style military uniform. The upper garment is a double-breasted magua featuring traditional cloth frog buttons and piped edges, with wide, light-colored decorative or embroidered cuffs. The lower attire is matched with Chinese-style loose riding breeches, a Chinese-style small cap on his head, Chinese-style long leather boots on his feet, and a military saber manufactured by the Yongzeng Military Uniform Bureau in his hand. His facial expression appears stern and calm.

I analyze that he might be Mr. C.E., the German engineer employed by my great-grandfather, but I cannot be one hundred percent certain.

Postscript 2: The Process of Finding the German Engineer’s Job-Seeking Advertisement in the Newspaper

When I was browsing old newspapers, I didn’t hold out too much hope. Among the more than 30,000 newspapers ranging from the late Qing Dynasty to the Republican era, which are like a vast ocean of historical fragments, I knew that looking for direct clues about my great-grandfather or grandfather was almost like trying to find a needle in an endless sea, and was virtually hopeless. But it was precisely this hopeless state of mind that made that momentary discovery strike me like lightning.

One day, I was flipping through the 1911 Beijing Daily. When I saw that small, unassuming advertisement, my gaze suddenly stopped. It was a job-seeking advertisement by a German engineer. Just a few dozen words, yet it seemed to ignite a fire in my brain. I was stunned there, my heartbeat suddenly speeding up, my fingers trembling slightly, and I even forgot to keep breathing. Because I thought of an old story passed down in the family—my great-grandfather and grandfather had once employed a German engineer in the early days of the Republic. I could almost feel my eyes widening bit by bit, my heart changing from shock to a tremor, as if I had been pulled into a time tunnel, spanning a hundred years, gazing across time and space at that unfamiliar German engineer. The name on the advertisement was slightly flawed in wording, and the phrasing carried a typical foreigner’s written Chinese, but it was incomparably sincere. I could even imagine what he looked like back then: a foreigner on the turbulent streets of Beijing, harboring anxiety and hope, handing this job-seeking notice to a newspaper office.

In an instant, I felt an unspeakable sense of closeness. It was not simple curiosity, but a profound resonance between bloodline and history. I realized that perhaps I was touching a subtle yet precious thread of family history. That engineer’s experience might have some intersection with the story of my great-grandfather and grandfather; at that moment, he was no longer just a name on a newspaper, but a person who might have truly stood beside my ancestors, participating in their lives and endeavors.

My spine grew slightly warm, and I even had an urge to stand up and walk around right away. I was too excited, finding it almost difficult to sit still. For many years, doubts and yearning regarding family history spread rapidly at this moment like a lit fuse. I stared intently at every word on the newspaper, afraid of missing even the slightest bit of information.

I immediately took a photo of the advertisement and eagerly sent an email to relatives far away in Vancouver, hoping for verification. With every word I typed, I sped up a little, as if all my emotions were crowding in my chest, eager to rush out. When my relatives replied, “That German engineer back then was a deserter and didn’t dare use his real name to place an advertisement, so we can’t be one hundred percent certain,” although I felt a trace of disappointment in my heart, there was even more of a wondrous steadfastness.

The German engineer on this newspaper might not be that person, but then again, he just might be.

The feeling at that moment—the shock of history suddenly coming alive and family legend suddenly having a tangible clue—was real and profound. It made me realize: the past is not dust beyond reach, but traces of life waiting to be discovered in some corner or between the lines of text.

When I looked back at that old newspaper once more, the excitement had settled into a profound awe and emotion. That is a call spanning a hundred years, a long-standing dialogue between a family and history. That I am able to read it at this very moment is both a piece of good fortune and a gift bestowed upon us by time.

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First drafted in Vancouver, Canada, in early August 2024

Supplemented in Vancouver, Canada, in July 2026

编者的话

历史往往隐匿于斑驳的故纸堆中，却又会在不经意间，与后人的血脉重新相连。

本文作者高歌先生从一则偶然发现于1911年《北京日报》的求职广告入手，循着家族留存的百年记忆、珍贵老照片与相关史料，翻开了一页尘封已久的近代工业与家族创业史。

从清末民初冀中大地的商海沉浮，到北京前门外“永增”字号的崛起；从秘密收留、庇护并改名换姓的德国工程师 C.E.，到大刀阔斧跨入近代机械铸造领域——这个从民间成长起来的家族企业，不仅曾为袁大总统量身订制正式的总统大服，旗下工厂更在日后为二十九军打造抗战大刀。这些大刀随着将士走上喜峰口战场，也由此进入中华民族抗战史上一段令人难忘的记忆。

一纸百年前的广告，一组历经岁月保存下来的照片，一段家族代代相传的往事，将个人、家族、企业与时代风云重新连接起来。

这不仅是一段家族寻根的故事，也是一扇观察中国近代民族工业的窗口。透过一个民间企业的创业、转型与沉浮，我们看到的，是普通中国人在时代巨变中求生、求变、实业图强的足迹，也是中国近代工业在风雨飘摇中艰难萌芽、生长的一段历史缩影。

经作者授权，我们将这段跨越百年的珍贵记忆整理发布，以飨读者。

Editor’s Note

History often lies hidden among yellowed and weathered pages, only to resurface unexpectedly and reconnect with the generations that follow.

In this article, Mr. Gao Ge begins with a job advertisement he happened to discover in a 1911 issue of the Beijing Daily. Following the trail of family memories, rare photographs preserved for more than a century, and related historical records, he opens a long-sealed chapter in the history of a family enterprise and China’s early industrial development.

The story stretches from the changing world of commerce in central Hebei during the final years of the Qing dynasty and the early Republican era to the rise of the “Yongzeng” business outside Beijing’s Qianmen Gate. It tells of a German engineer, known as C.E., who was secretly sheltered and given a new identity, and of the family’s bold expansion into modern machinery and metal casting.

From its beginnings as a private enterprise, the business rose to remarkable prominence. It once custom-made formal presidential attire for President Yuan Shikai. In later years, its factory produced the broad-bladed swords carried by soldiers of the 29th Army. Those weapons went with them onto the battlefield at Xifengkou, becoming part of an unforgettable chapter in China’s history of resistance against Japanese aggression.

A century-old advertisement, a collection of photographs preserved through generations, and memories passed down within a family bring together individual lives, family history, industrial enterprise, and the sweeping currents of an extraordinary age.

This is more than a story of tracing one family’s roots. It also offers a window into the emergence of modern Chinese industry. Through the founding, transformation, and fortunes of a private enterprise, we glimpse how ordinary Chinese people struggled to survive, adapt, and build industry amid profound historical upheaval—and how China’s modern industrial economy began to take root and grow through years of turbulence.

With the author’s permission, we are pleased to present this remarkable story and its historical details to our readers.

1. 王士珍（1861年8月19日－1930年7月1日），字聘卿，号冠儒，河北正定人。近现代政治人物，位列北洋三杰之首（王士珍、段祺瑞和冯国璋）。凭借过人的才智和卓越的政绩，得到袁世凯的青睐，历任军政要职，直至陆军部长、总参谋长和政府总理。1918年，退出政坛，隐居北京。1926年5月，任京师临时治安会长、京师救济联合会会长等职。1930年7月，卒于北京。
2. 马福祥（1876年2月4日—1932年8月19日），字云亭，回族，甘肃省兰州府河州城人，马家军的知名领袖。八国联军入侵时，曾参加抗击作战，后护卫慈禧，光绪西逃，受清廷赏识，补为甘肃靖远协副将，驻军甘肃、青海。1916年为陆军上将。1930任蒙藏委员会委员长。子为马鸿逵。
3. 信息来自【李守信自述】第162页
4. Wang Shizhen (August 19, 1861 – July 1, 1903 — Note: 1930 in source text), styled Pingqing, pseud. Yuguan, a native of Zhengding, Hebei. A modern political figure, ranking first among the “Three Heroes of Beiyang” (Wang Shizhen, Duan Qirui, and Feng Guozhang). Relying on his talent, wisdom, and outstanding political achievements, he won the favor of Yuan Shikai, successively holding important government posts up to Minister of the Army, Chief of the General Staff, and Premier. In 1918, he withdrew from political life and lived in seclusion in Beijing. In May 1926, he served as President of the Beijing Temporary Public Security Commission and President of the Beijing Relief United Association, among other posts. In July 1930, he passed away in Beijing.
5. Ma Fuxiang (February 4, 1876 – August 19, 1932), styled Yunting, Hui ethnicity, a native of Hachuan Town, Lanzhou Prefecture, Gansu. A well-known leader of the Ma clique. During the intrusion of the Eight-Nation Alliance, he participated in anti-foreign military operations, later guarding Empress Dowager Cixi during her flight west to Xi’an. Recognized by the Qing court, he was appointed as the Sub-Commander of Gansu Qingyuan, stationing troops in Gansu and Qinghai. In 1916, he became a General in the Army. In 1930, he served as Chairman of the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission. His son was Ma Hongkui.
6. Information comes from Ji Shouxin’s Personal Account, page 162