胡雪岩故居一游所想到的

Musings on a Visit to the Old Residence of Hu Xueyan

酷暑中的杭州城，在虎跑来一杯龙井，或是于曲院风荷看看满眼的绿色荷塘和盛开的荷花都是消暑的好去处。顶着毒日头去了胡雪岩故居实在有些自虐。原本近日正和《新智囊》杂志共做一个课题：“怎样做好企业”，这个参观就是必修课了。

怎样做好企业，相信是每个企业家终日都在思考的问题。当年胡雪岩可谓富可敌国。真正的是红顶商人。轿厅上方悬挂的数块横匾最能引人深思。其一是“奉扬仁风”而宣扬仁德，品抒情操高尚。另一匾“勉善成荣”意努力行善，为同治帝所赠。一代超级富豪对做善事和培养品性仍然看得很高。胡氏推崇“传家有道惟存厚，处世无奇但率真”。今日企业家们正应该从中学到真谛：个人需时时回馈社会，行善于民。这也就是《新智囊》近日所研究课题的核心：做好企业。好的企业就必须是社会资产的一部分，应该将社会责任看成企业的DNA。那种一味只知赢利，罔顾民生的企业必定是没有灵魂和远见的企业，也是做不长久的。

“财高不是单单用金钱来衡量，真正的高贵，是能在这个世界上对其他需要你帮助的人有贡献，这是内心的财高，也是真财高”，约翰·肯尼思·加尔布雷思在他的《美好社会——人类议程》中这样写道。对于这样的财高，我们有多少企业家是认同并努力追求呢？

当年胡雪岩的“江南第一豪宅”和无数财富随着主人的急速破产，顷刻变成过眼烟云。要做好的企业，成为百年老店。对今天的企业家是挑战，胡雪岩故居一游有助思考。

Where is the best place in Hangzhou to relieve the scorching summer heat? Both Hupao and Yu Yuan Feng He are good options. You can either take a cup of Longjing Tea in the former, or settle yourself comfortably at the latter and feast your eyes on the flowering lotus and green, green leaves undulating above the West Lake. However, my destination, despite the sizzling heat, is the old residence of Hu Xueyan, a wealthy businessman active in the 1870s and 1880s. Isn’t it self torture? Yet, this visit is “mandatory” for I’ve been working lately with the Think Tank magazine on the subject of how to make your company a success, a question believed to be perpetually puzzling people in the business world.

Apart from being a tremendously successful tradesman, Hu Xueyan used to hold important government posts during the reign of Emperors Tongzhi and Guangxu. Mr. Hu was a real “red hat businessman” (in the Qing dynasty, official caps were adorned with red at the top). Several horizontal inscribed boards hanging above the Sedan Hall of his old mansion caught my eyes. The though-provoking inscription on one of the boards says "Benevolence is Promoted"; the other, "Be Generous", was an imperial award from Emperor Tongzhi. Obviously the business tycoon was enthusiastic about helping the poor and contributing to the society, and about self cultivation as well. I believe today's entrepreneurs must have much to learn from Mr. Hu who firmly believed one should be honest, sincere and candid, such as always be helpful to others and to the society.

I'd like to return to the topic on which I've been working in collaboration with the Think Tank: How to make your company a success? What is a successful company? A successful company must make up part of the social assets, and have social responsibilities in its DNA. Those who put profits above everything else and turn a blind eye to social welfare can neither look very far into the future nor keep opening for long; they're soulless. As John Kenneth Galbraith pointed out in “The Good Society: The Humane Agenda”, wealth was not necessarily to be material, and people willing to help others were rich inside. How many entrepreneurs today will accept this and take it as a lifelong goal?

Mr. Hu's fortune melted like snow after he went bankrupt. How to create your own story of success and ensure your company will open for a century? Maybe a visit to the old house of Hu Xueyan will shed light on this question.

Cherry Li