隐藏的商斗:李平书首次经营上海内地自来水公司考辨(1903-1908)

Hidden Business Fighting: A Textual Research on Li Pingshu's First Operation of Shanghai Mainland Water Company(1903-1908)

上海内地自来水公司在1902年供水后,在经营管理方面经历了剧烈的变化,不同史料的记载并不完全相同,学界相关研究亦没有注意到史料不同叙述背后的原因。文章利用盛宣怀档案、《申报》等史料,指出1903年,上海本地士绅在得知内地自来水公司借有洋债,以关系主权为由,要求官方介入,再加上地方自治运动的影响,李平书开始介入经营管理;1904年,在公司总董唐荣俊病故后,为防止公司被他人控制,公司原办人杨文骏极力推荐幕后大股东刘学询继任,李平书受到排挤,转而推荐亲信参与管理,直到1908年告退。这种斗争反映了地域商派之间的竞争,并最终为上海内地自来水公司由"粤商"投资控制变成由寓居上海多年的嘉兴商人姚慕莲控制埋下伏笔。

Shanghai Mainland Water Company has undergone drastic changes since 1902.Different historical records are different.The researchers did not notice the reasons behind the different records.By using historical materials,such as Sheng Xuanhuai Archives and Shen Bao,this article points out that,in 1903,the local gentry in Shanghai learned the foreign debts Shanghai Mainland Water Company,they demanded the official intervention on the grounds of relationship sovereignty and the influence of the local autonomy movement,so Li Pingshu began to intervene in the management of the company.In 1904,in order to prevent the company from being controlled by others after the death of Tang Rongjun,the company's general manager,Yang Wenjun,strongly recommended Liu Xuexun,the major shareholder behind the scenes,to succeed the company's general manager.Li Pingshu was excluded,and then recommended his close relatives to participate in management until he retired in 1908.This struggle reflects the competition among regional business groups.Shanghai Mainland Water Company has been changed from investment control by Cantonese businessmen to control by Yao Mulian,a Jiaxing businessman who has lived in Shanghai for many years.