周有光先祖事略

History of Zhou Youguang's Ancestors

周仲山弃文从商,富裕之后多行义举;周赞襄亦商亦儒,临难之际以身殉城。周家得清廷授封,成为本地望族,又热心公益,对地方发展作出了贡献。太平天国激战常州,周家罹遭兵燹,家道中落,周锦康行事谨慎,周葆贻教书为业,二人均不事经营,生活渐趋贫困。周家数代父祖早逝、父子疏离,徐氏、左氏守节抚孤,兢兢业业,众子女的成人成才,多有赖于母教之力。

Zhou Zhongshan quit study and got into business,benefiting his community with his fortune.Zhou Zanxiang was not only a scholar but also a businessman who chose to sacrifice for his hometown when the disaster came.The Zhous were honored by the Qing Dynasty and became a distinguished family who contributed a lot to the local development.The Zhous declined in the Taiping Rebellion due to the destruction of war.Zhou Jinkang was very cautious and Zhou Baoyi was just a teacher.Neither of them was good at commerce;thus they fell into poverty.The male members in generations of the Zhous died so early that the female members such as Ms.Xu and Ms.Zuo had to be in charge of the family.The children were mostly raised by their mothers,so the career success mainly laid in the maternal education.