Flower of Friendship from a Factory

By Yi Wanru & Wang Qianhui

In Wuhan City, there is a historical museum which is now a hotspot for endless streams of tourists because of its grand and unique design and rich historical contents.It is the Museum of Zhang Zhidong in Wuhan. Designed by world-famous architect Daniel Libeskind, it has an all-steel structure to pay homage to Zhang Zhidong, the father of iron and steel in China, and the glorious past of China’s heavy industry.In the museum, there is an exhibition on the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg in a prominent and important position, silently telling the stories behind the construction of the Museum.

A century ago, 17 engineers who specialized in iron and steel in Luxembourg sailed across the ocean and arrived in Wuhan to help establish Hanyang Iron Works. It initiated a onehundred-year friendship between Luxembourg and Wuhan.

Mr. Eugène Ruppert from Luxembourg歐仁·呂貝爾

Hanyang Iron Works 漢陽鐵廠

In 1890, the Qing Dynasty was planning to build an iron works in Wuhan. At that time,Luxembourg was a global superpower in iron and steel production. Invited by the Qing government, 17 engineers and experts from Luxembourg, as well as specialists from other countries, successively came to help out in Wuhan. Among them, Mr. Eugène Ruppert from Luxembourg was later appointed as the chief engineer.

In Hanyang Iron Works,Mr. Ruppert successively held the positions of manager of blast furnace, chief engineer,and plenipotentiary in Europe.He went to China thrice to offer technical guidance and entrepreneurial management and was awarded honorary medals by the Qing Dynasty.

在武漢市，有一座博物館，憑借其恢弘獨(dú)特的設(shè)計(jì)與豐富的歷史底蘊(yùn)，吸引著絡(luò)繹不絕的游客們前來觀賞研究，成為一處“網(wǎng)紅打卡圣地”。這便是張之洞與武漢博物館。它由世界著名設(shè)計(jì)師李博斯金設(shè)計(jì)，采用全鋼結(jié)構(gòu)，致敬“鋼鐵之父”張之洞與中國重工業(yè)的輝煌往昔。館內(nèi)，設(shè)有一處關(guān)于盧森堡大公國的主題展，默默訴說著張之洞與武漢博物館的來由以及它背后的故事。

一個(gè)世紀(jì)前，盧森堡大公國17位鋼鐵工程師與專家組，跨越重洋來到武漢,援建當(dāng)時(shí)的漢陽鐵廠,開啟了武漢與盧森堡大公國之間長達(dá)百年的歷史淵源。

1890年，清朝政府籌建漢陽鐵廠。當(dāng)時(shí)盧森堡是世界鋼鐵強(qiáng)國，他們先后派出一支由17位工程師和鋼鐵專家組成的援建隊(duì)伍，漂洋過海來幫武漢。當(dāng)時(shí)，鐵廠還有來自其他國家的工程師，但總工程師后來由來自盧森堡的歐仁·呂貝尓先生擔(dān)任。

The Luxembourg engineers offered their experiences to their Chinese counterparts and worked together to ensure the successful operation of Hanyang Iron Works.Its completion was a sensation both at home and abroad at that time. In 1897, after visiting the iron works, the American Consul in China exclaimed, “It looks magnificent, and I am thrilled... It is undoubtedly the great factory of China in the 20th century!” Since then, the Hanyang Iron Works and Hanyang-made products grew famous in the Asian market,becoming an icon of China’s heavy industry. However, since China was poor and weak at that time,Hanyang Iron Works failed to reach its peak and was eventually shut down.

In 1994, Luxembourg heldWuhan and Luxembourg’s Centennial Cooperation Memorial Exhibitionin Wuhan,which aroused memories of this historical period of friendship and the glorious past of Hanyang Iron Works. The event lasted for 10 days and the friendship between China and Luxembourg could be seen through the precious old photos and rare historical materials. Organizers of the exhibition from Luxembourg visited the site of Hanyang Iron Works and presented precious historical materials to the Hanyang Steel Factory, the successor of Hanyang Iron Works.After Mr. Ruppert returned to Luxembourg, he wrote the book titled “Travel Around the World-With Multi-year Stay in China and Japan,” which recorded in detail what he saw and heard in China,ranging from the steel smelting to local culture and customs. This book is now stored in the Museum of Zhang Zhidong in Wuhan and is a prized piece in their collection.

At that time, the Hanyang Steel Factory was witnessing a transitional period of “moving back to secondary industry and moving forward to the tertiary industry.” Inspired by this visit, the director of the factory exclaimed that “Even Luxembourg people know how precious our history is, why is there no special museum in Wuhan to commemorate it?”Since 2001, Gu Bijie, a veteran worker of the factory, was entrusted with establishing the Zhang Zhidong and Hanyang Iron Works Museum, the predecessor of the Museum of Zhang Zhidong in Wuhan. The preparation team,composed of three members,faced difficult conditions due to insufficient funds and resources.Mr. Gu, as the curator then, and his colleagues traveled around China and Luxembourg to collect relevant materials. When visiting Luxembourg, the Minister of Culture of Luxembourg treated them with great enthusiasm.Michel Polfer, director of Luxembourg’s National Museum of History and Art (MNHA),extended a warm invitation to Mr. Gu and his team to attend an exhibition of archaeological relics.He also gifted them precious photos and documents related to the history and friendship between China and Luxembourg.The MNHA stores many items Mr. Ruppert brought back from China, such as Chinese books (e.g.Hundred Family Names), coins,swords, and other artifacts.

Engineers and foremen from Luxembourg taking a group photo for the 17th anniversary of Hanyang Iron Works盧森堡工程師及盧國工頭們?cè)跐h陽鐵廠建廠十七周年時(shí)合影紀(jì)念

呂貝爾先后擔(dān)任漢陽鐵廠高爐爐長、總工程師、駐歐洲全權(quán)代表，三次來華進(jìn)行技術(shù)指導(dǎo)和管理，曾被清政府授予勛章。

盧森堡工程師將他們的經(jīng)驗(yàn)傳授給漢陽鐵廠的中國工程師，他們與中國工程師和其他國家工程師一起努力，確保漢陽鐵廠順利投產(chǎn)。漢陽鐵廠的建成轟動(dòng)中外。1897年，美國駐漢領(lǐng)事參觀漢陽鐵廠后驚呼：“登高下矚，使人膽裂……是為中國二十世紀(jì)之雄廠耶!”此后漢陽鐵廠和“漢陽造”叱咤亞洲百年，成為中國重工業(yè)的標(biāo)桿。然而當(dāng)時(shí)積貧積弱的中國，還是沒能征服時(shí)代的狂風(fēng)暴雨，漢陽鐵廠支撐到民國中葉陷入全面停產(chǎn)，而后逐漸衰落。

1994年，盧方來漢舉辦“武漢盧森堡卓有成效之百年合作紀(jì)念展”，喚起了武漢人們對(duì)這段友好歷史和昔年漢陽鐵廠輝煌成就的回憶。紀(jì)念展歷時(shí)10天，用珍貴的老照片和歷史資料展示著中盧兩國合作的往昔歲月。盧森堡有關(guān)人員前往漢陽鐵廠舊址追蹤尋訪，并向作為漢陽鐵廠歷史傳承的漢陽鋼廠贈(zèng)送珍貴歷史資料：呂貝尓先生回到盧森堡之后的著作《游華日記草》，里面詳細(xì)記錄了他在中國的所見所聞，大至鋼鐵煉造，小至風(fēng)土人情。這本著作現(xiàn)在還陳列在張之洞與武漢博物館里，成了鎮(zhèn)館之寶。

當(dāng)時(shí)，漢陽鋼廠面臨著艱難的“退一進(jìn)三”轉(zhuǎn)型時(shí)期，時(shí)任廠長受盧森堡人回訪的觸動(dòng)與啟發(fā)，發(fā)出了“連盧森堡人都珍貴收藏的歷史，我們武漢卻沒有一座專門的博物館去紀(jì)念它”的感慨。2001年起，老廠員顧必階先生被委以重任，創(chuàng)建“張之洞與漢陽鐵廠博物館”并擔(dān)任館長?；I建組僅三人，經(jīng)費(fèi)不夠，人員不足，條件十分艱苦。博物館沒有足夠的資料，顧館長等人就廣泛搜集資料，并應(yīng)邀去盧森堡訪問，盧文化大臣熱忱對(duì)待遠(yuǎn)道而來的訪客，盧國家博物館館長米契爾·波爾弗更是盛情邀請(qǐng)顧先生一行出席考古文物展，并贈(zèng)送有關(guān)珍貴的照片和資料，記錄著中盧雙方不可磨滅的鋼鐵歷史與友情。盧森堡國家博物館中收藏著許多當(dāng)年呂貝尓先生從中國帶回去的物件，如中國書籍（《百家姓》等）、錢幣、寶劍等，兩國文化迎來了一次民間交流和輪回。

此行，顧館長一行與盧森堡有關(guān)人員結(jié)下了深厚友誼，多年來他們一直保持著緊密聯(lián)系，盧森堡大使等人數(shù)次到博物館交流，并贈(zèng)送博物館一件廣場(chǎng)雕塑，名為“合二為一”，象征東西方兩個(gè)國家的友誼。關(guān)于盧森堡柯意赫大使對(duì)顧老的初訪還流傳一段佳話。10年前，博物館人員在樓下喊話告訴顧老：“盧森堡的人來啦?！彼€不相信，以為是在開玩笑。大使沒等顧老露面打招呼，徑直帶著一行人魚貫上了樓梯，給顧老一個(gè)大大的驚喜，雙方由此結(jié)下情誼。

Mr. Ruppert with other Chinese and foreigner co-workers in front of the Hanyang Iron Works which had just been expanded and renovated in 1908漢陽鐵廠1908年完成擴(kuò)建改造工程后，呂貝爾先生等中外人員留影

During the visit, Mr. Gu formed a stable friendship with the Luxembourg cultural officials.Over the years, they have kept in close contact. The ambassador and other officials of Luxemburg have visited the museum many times and presented it with a square sculpture symbolizing the friendship between China and Luxembourg. Luxembourg Ambassador Carlo Krieger’s first visit to Mr. Gu has become a much-told tale among them.Ten years ago, one of Gu’s colleagues shouted downstairs on an afternoon, “The Luxembourg guys are coming,” and Mr. Gu thought he was just joking.Suddenly Ambassador Krieger and his colleagues came upstairs and appeared in front of him,surprising Gu.

Since then, Luxembourg officials have often made incognito visits to Gu, who became their tour guide around Wuhan. Once, Gu drove them to Jiqing Street and the Hankou Bund. When touring nearby the Jianghan Custom House, the ambassador was amazed by the magnificent architecture. Upon first seeing it, he jumped out of the car and captured the beautiful scenery with his camera. Mr. Gu and his colleagues drove slowly behind him and explained the history of this site. At night, they had dinner on Jiqing Street. After dinner, Michel Polfer, director of MNHA, sang while playing the guitar. Instead of an official exchange between the nations, it felted more like a gathering of old friends.

On March 27, 2018, the Museum of Zhangzhidong in Wuhan was launched as a successor of the old Zhang Zhidong and Wuhan Iron Works Museum after eight years of preparation. This museum symbolizes the long-lasting sincere friendship between China and Luxembourg.

Museum of Zhang Zhidong in Wuhan designed by Daniel Libeskind, a world-famous architect has an all-steel structure to pay homage to Zhang Zhidong, the father of iron and steel in China, and the glorious past of China’s heavy industry張之洞與武漢博物館由世界著名設(shè)計(jì)師李博斯金設(shè)計(jì)，采用全鋼結(jié)構(gòu)，致敬“鋼鐵之父”張之洞與中國重工業(yè)的輝煌往昔

此后，盧森堡有關(guān)人士常?！拔⒎皆L”，顧先生與同事便帶著他們一覽武漢風(fēng)采。一次，大使與盧國家博物館館長來訪，他們驅(qū)車去吉慶街與江灘。在江漢關(guān)附近，大使先生受到震撼，跳下車徒步前行，用相機(jī)記錄著眼前美景，顧先生和隨行人員驅(qū)車慢慢跟在他身后陪伴解說。晚上他們?cè)诩獞c街用餐，米契爾館長乘興拿過一把吉他縱聲歌唱，其樂融融，雙方不似國家官方往來一般嚴(yán)肅，更像是多年密友相聚。

2018年3月27日，張之洞與武漢博物館新館歷時(shí)8年正式開館，中盧兩國的真摯友誼也在這新舊兩館的見證之下熠熠生輝，百年流芳。