As many people know, Yantai has a long history of timepiece manufacturing industry, but not every person knows the fact that Yantai is the birthplace of China modern timepiece manufacturing industry. But how could the less developed little town lead the precision manufacturing industry in the early part of last century in China?
From the medium term of the seventeenth century, handwork timepiece manufacturing industry with the characteristic of family workshop was rising in Guangzhou 、 Yangzhou 、 Suzhou 、 Nanjing, etc. The elaborate clocks collected in timepiece museum in the Imperial Palace record the brilliant achievements in that period. But the good technique of Chinese skillful craftsmen could not match Occidental mechanized efficiency after all. In the intermediate period of the nineteenth century, more and more foreign clocks flooded into China, handwork clock manufacturing industry declined gradually. In 1906, Ningboese Tingyuan Sun and Meitang Sun built Jincheng clock manufacturing workshop. In 1912, the workshop moved to Yangshupu In Shanghai, " Meihuali Timepiece Factory " was set up; it continued to engage in handwork. In 1915, they set up construction clock manufacturing factory in Tiantongan town in Shanghai, they purchased some equipments, began to manufacture clocks for construction use.
In the same period, Yantai as the earliest opened port had already had the conditions for originating an industry. Factories that manufactured flour 、 canned foods 、 weaving cloth 、 matches emerged. When Mr. Zhongsan Sun came to Yantai in 1912 to publicize " Industry saving the nation ", he praised Yantai to be " one of the most prosperous ports in Beiyang ".
In July of 1915, a tablet of " Yantai Baoshi Timepiece Factory " was hang out in front of a one-story house on Chaoyang Street in Yantai. If we can say the establishment of " Meihuali " is a turning point from handwork to mechanical manufacturing, well then " Baoshi " represents a new point of China modern timepiece industry characteristic of mechanical manufacturing. The founder Dongshan Li could not realize the important social value and historical significance of his own measures, he was the boss of "Deshunxing Hardware Shop" in the beginning, he drew inspiration from distributing foreign clocks, then decided to set up timepiece factory, and gained much profit. During the setting up of the factory, he went to Japan three times as a distributor to visit and investigate factories, and fetched their production technology surreptitiously. Foreign advanced technology and production method broadened his mind. He first invested twenty five thousand silver yuan to purchase factory buildings and equipments. There were only sixteen punches and lathes, more were added later. It was said by 《 Shandong Industry and Commerce Report 》 compiled and printed by Shandong Country Government Industry Hall in 1931: " machinery in the factory include turning lathe 、 drill press 、 planer 、 pressing machine 、 machine saw 、 wood planing machine 、 milling machine, etc., all using motivity electric power, eighty-three altogether, either purchased from Germany or self-made, worth thirty thousand yuan in all, have already used for sixteen years " , it ' s enough to confirm the high jumping-off point of " Baoshi".
After the factory opened, it produced some hardware to offset expenditure, as purchased components of foreign clocks, assembled them and added cases for sale. At the same time, they studied and imitated Japanese clocks and grasped their keys. After two years of technical preparation, the first table mechanical pendulum clocks were produced with the registered trademark " Bao ". The first produced small-lot pendulum clocks were sold only in eastern area of China. In 1920s, the patriotic campaign to boycott foreign products was rising in our country. " Baoshi" took advantage of it to launch "Domestic Products" brand — enclose 《 Durability Certificate 》 for each clock, promise to guarantee for ever, note "use domestic products please". To compete with Japanese clocks, the factory on the one hand improved technology, reduced the cost, and increased quality, on the other hand drove down the prices, reduced the price of each clock from over five yuan to over one yuan and resumed the original price after having opening the market. By this means, "Baoshi" clock opened the eastern market at first, then entered North China and the Northeast, and began to be sold to megalopolis in the South. In 1928, campaign to resist Japanese products was at the climax, "Baoshi" clock followed up in the markets, defeated Japanese brand "Polo" which had been in our market for several decades eventually.
In March of 1927, some technicians separated from "Baoshi" established the second timepiece factory — Yong Kang Timepiece Company with the registered capital of three thousand six hundred Liang silver and registered trademark of "Yong". With the experience of "Baoshi", " Yong Kang " operated smoothly at the very beginning, mainly followed the design of the wall clock and desk clock in Western Europe, the quality of the products was no less than foreign clocks, the production output reached ten thousand pieces a year later, and the products were exported to Southeast Asia.
In November of 1928, "Baoshi" and " Yong Kang " attended China Domestic Products Fair held in Shanghai together; it was the first time for clocks of the two brands to appear in nationwide fair. The fact that two factories from a northern little town produced clocks that could compare with foreign products at that time surprised the participators, and even aroused the attention of the government and media. The appraisal of National Government Industry and Commerce Department to the two factories is: "Although the products are imitation, they really are pioneering work, whenever they are in a domestic products fair, praise and diplomas should be awarded as encouragement". Related press reported: "It ' s well sold around our country as national product. Its fame is spreading all over the world, the products are exported to Liaoning 、 Jilin 、 Heilongjiang in the north, to Burma 、 Singapore in the south. The products were sold to any place with convenient traffic. Both the factories produced over thirty thousand pieces each year.
In 1931, in order to avoid tax, Yantai Baoshi Timepiece Factory was incorporated with Deshunxing Hardware Shop; Deshunxing Timepiece Factory was set up then. The number of employees reached five hundred for a time, and the annual production of wall clocks fifty five thousand pieces. In the same year, " Deshunxing " and " Yong Kang " attended again China Domestic Products Fair held in Shenyang, " Deshunxing " was universally accepted as " China clock making initiator ". After 9 · 18 Incident, "Baoshi" brand clocks were blocked in the Northeast which made the products unsalable. The factory strengthened sale promotion and advertisement in big cities like Shanghai 、 Nanjing 、 Guangzhou 、 Chongqing, etc., set up branches, sales volume in the south was made to increase greatly as a result. Affected by patriotic campaigns, progressive overseas Chinese patriotism were rising, they helped to advertise 、 purchase and market domestic products actively. "Baoshi" brand clocks were sold to Singapore 、 Indonesia 、 Philippines 、 Malaysia, etc., became far-famed in those archipelago countries.
Yong Kang Timepiece Factory ' s management ideas were more advanced. Offices in big cities such as Shanghai 、 Nanjing 、 Guangzhou were set up shortly after starting up, they adopted credit buying and asked many companies to act as agents for them. They attached importance to advertisement activities, they not only advertised in newspapers and in cinemas, but also printed samples to distribute among big companies and rich persons. For the sake of export, they especially registered " YK " brand (the capital letters). The year of 1993 is the best for " Yong Kang ", the number of employees reached three hundred, and the annual production of clocks over fifty thousand pieces. In 1934, patriotic general Yuxiang Feng came to Yantai and visited Yong Kang Timepiece Corporation, and wrote a poem for it "Everybody say foreign products are always better, both watches and clocks. Coming to Yantai to appreciate timepiece, you will find both the equipments and components are excellent, domestic products are better than foreign prodicts."
During the periods, Shengli Timepiece Factory 、 Yongye Timepiece Factory and Ciye Timepiece Factory were open in Yantai respectively in 1931 、 1932 and 1933 with the respective trade marks " Sheng " 、 " Ye " and " Ci ". Although the scale was not larger than the former two factories, they took advantage of existent technique and fame of Yantai timepiece industry to develop quickly. Shengli Timepiece Factory reached the annual production of twenty-three thousand clocks and Yongye Timepiece Factory reached thirty thousand pieces, all were sold to big ports all over the country.
In the end of 1934, there were one thousand and fifty employees in timepiece factories in Yantai, equipment over two hundred and ninety, annual production over sixteen thousand. Yantai timepiece was very famous all over the country then, advertisement of "Yong" 、 " Ye " and "Bao" brand could be seen at any time in newspapers 、 in cinemas and in the streets in cities like Shanghai. Dongshan Li invested to build new workshop buildings and " Jincheng " cinema in the Chaoyang Street. At the same time, timepiece factories increasingly developed new products — " Deshunxing " developed alarm clocks with single bell and double bells and fifteen day pendulum clock; " Yongye " developed and put into production hairspring wall clock originated in our country; " Shengli " developed grandfather moon chronometer originated in our country.
When the sixteenth timepiece factory opened in 1937, Yantai timepiece industry was beginning to decline. The " 7 · 7 Incident " blocked the supplying and marketing channels. After Japanese seizing holding of Yantai, the factories could not recover after the setback.
Just during the thriving year of 1932, Shanghai Meihuali timepiece factory was destroyed by Japanese gunfire, and never recovered after that. The 《 Shanghai Mechanism Industry 》 compiled by Shanghai community bureau and published by China book bureau in December of 1933 records the historical course in detail.
In fact, several other timepiece factories except " Meihuali " opened in Shanghai in 1920s and 1930s, but most of them were not prosperous, so they were seldom referred to in history books, but Yantai timepiece industry occupied much space, for example 《 China Industry Journal 》 compiled by national government industry office international trade bureau in December of 1934 and 《 Shanghai Industry News 》 published in 1947. The registered capital 、 production scale 、 equipments and materials consumed of the factories are also elaborated in the books.
It ' s not by accident for a little seaport in the beginning of last century to gain the capability to influence national manufacturing. Firstly, Yantai set up factories earlier; it made Yantai persons contact Western culture earlier than others, the factories initiators could purchase foreign equipments and raw materials. Secondly, the location of Yantai city decides that its temperature and moisture are suitable for wood clock cases processing. In addition, the most important reasons for the success are the founder ' s characters and skills like foresight 、 determination just as the appraisal of 《 Shanghai Mechanism Industry 》 . In addition, they took " Industry saving the nation " as their purpose to elaborate domestic products, which was surely to be advocated by the masses in that age. All the present "Bao" 、 "Yong" 、 " Sheng " and " Ye " brands clocks collected in the museums have advertisement such as "Love our country, promote the industry, elaborate domestic products " behind the cases. Some wall clocks even have " Please use domestic products " on the front glass. The patriotic kind of clocks is rare among the same type products during that age.
Another influence of Yantai timepiece industry is that it spread modern clock making techniques all over China. More than ten technicians in Deshunxing Timepiece Factory including Xuanmin Lu and Wengeng Sun set up Beiyang Timepiece Factory in Tianjin in 1932; Yuxiu Liu and Shuxiang Chen of Deshunxing Timepiece Factory set up Shichen Timepiece Factory in Qingdao in 1934; technicians Chuanyao Zhao and Baoren Xun of Deshunxing Timepiece Factory resigned to set up Xinming Timepiece Factory in Shenyang and Dalu Timepiece Factory in Dandong in 1935; the technician Chuanyao Zhao of Deshunxing Timepiece Factory went to Shanghai to set up Zhongzhong Timepiece Factory with Shunxi Cong and Zhihai Li in 1943; the technician Baoren Xu of Deshunxing Timepiece Factory went to Beijing to set up Changcheng Timepiece Factory with Huamei Xu in 1944; Dianzhang Li 、 Zhicheng Tang 、 Shaoxiang Tang and his sun went to Shanghai to set up Minshi Timepiece Factory in 1945; Yuwu Chen of Deshunxing Timepiece Factory went to Tianjin to set up Huawei Timepiece Factory in 1946. They pushed forward the local timepiece industry, which made Yantai worthy of the birthplace of national modern timepiece.
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