Zhang Jian on Business Philosophy

Zhang Jian — founder profiled in the Chinese Founder Ledger — is documented as follows: qing-dynasty top imperial exam scholar who turned to industry after 1895, founding the Dasheng Cotton Mill in Nantong and framing industrialization as a way to strengthen China against foreign economic encroachment. The profile is grounded in the 3 sources indexed for this founder.

Zhang framed his industrial and educational projects around building a modern domestic economy that could resist foreign commercial and political pressure on China, later founding schools, a museum, and a planetarium alongside his mills.

Beyond Dasheng, Zhang diversified into fisheries, salt production, an oil mill, and a flour mill, building an integrated regional industrial base centered on Nantong rather than a single-product company.