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欧仁·吕贝尔

Hanyang Iron Works 汉阳铁厂

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.

在武汉市，有一座博物馆，凭借其恢弘独特的设计与丰富的历史底蕴，吸引着络绎不绝的游客们前来观赏研究，成为一处“网红打卡圣地”。这便是张之洞与武汉博物馆。它由世界著名设计师李博斯金设计，采用全钢结构，致敬“钢铁之父”张之洞与中国重工业的辉煌往昔。馆内，设有一处关于卢森堡大公国的主题展，默默诉说着张之洞与武汉博物馆的来由以及它背后的故事。

一个世纪前，卢森堡大公国17位钢铁工程师与专家组，跨越重洋来到武汉,援建当时的汉阳铁厂,开启了武汉与卢森堡大公国之间长达百年的历史渊源。

1890年，清朝政府筹建汉阳铁厂。当时卢森堡是世界钢铁强国，他们先后派出一支由17位工程师和钢铁专家组成的援建队伍，漂洋过海来帮武汉。当时，铁厂还有来自其他国家的工程师，但总工程师后来由来自卢森堡的欧仁·吕贝尓先生担任。

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卢森堡工程师及卢国工头们在汉阳铁厂建厂十七周年时合影纪念

吕贝尔先后担任汉阳铁厂高炉炉长、总工程师、驻欧洲全权代表，三次来华进行技术指导和管理，曾被清政府授予勋章。

卢森堡工程师将他们的经验传授给汉阳铁厂的中国工程师，他们与中国工程师和其他国家工程师一起努力，确保汉阳铁厂顺利投产。汉阳铁厂的建成轰动中外。1897年，美国驻汉领事参观汉阳铁厂后惊呼：“登高下瞩，使人胆裂……是为中国二十世纪之雄厂耶!”此后汉阳铁厂和“汉阳造”叱咤亚洲百年，成为中国重工业的标杆。然而当时积贫积弱的中国，还是没能征服时代的狂风暴雨，汉阳铁厂支撑到民国中叶陷入全面停产，而后逐渐衰落。

1994年，卢方来汉举办“武汉卢森堡卓有成效之百年合作纪念展”，唤起了武汉人们对这段友好历史和昔年汉阳铁厂辉煌成就的回忆。纪念展历时10天，用珍贵的老照片和历史资料展示着中卢两国合作的往昔岁月。卢森堡有关人员前往汉阳铁厂旧址追踪寻访，并向作为汉阳铁厂历史传承的汉阳钢厂赠送珍贵历史资料：吕贝尓先生回到卢森堡之后的著作《游华日记草》，里面详细记录了他在中国的所见所闻，大至钢铁炼造，小至风土人情。这本著作现在还陈列在张之洞与武汉博物馆里，成了镇馆之宝。

当时，汉阳钢厂面临着艰难的“退一进三”转型时期，时任厂长受卢森堡人回访的触动与启发，发出了“连卢森堡人都珍贵收藏的历史，我们武汉却没有一座专门的博物馆去纪念它”的感慨。2001年起，老厂员顾必阶先生被委以重任，创建“张之洞与汉阳铁厂博物馆”并担任馆长。筹建组仅三人，经费不够，人员不足，条件十分艰苦。博物馆没有足够的资料，顾馆长等人就广泛搜集资料，并应邀去卢森堡访问，卢文化大臣热忱对待远道而来的访客，卢国家博物馆馆长米契尔·波尔弗更是盛情邀请顾先生一行出席考古文物展，并赠送有关珍贵的照片和资料，记录着中卢双方不可磨灭的钢铁历史与友情。卢森堡国家博物馆中收藏着许多当年吕贝尓先生从中国带回去的物件，如中国书籍（《百家姓》等）、钱币、宝剑等，两国文化迎来了一次民间交流和轮回。

此行，顾馆长一行与卢森堡有关人员结下了深厚友谊，多年来他们一直保持着紧密联系，卢森堡大使等人数次到博物馆交流，并赠送博物馆一件广场雕塑，名为“合二为一”，象征东西方两个国家的友谊。关于卢森堡柯意赫大使对顾老的初访还流传一段佳话。10年前，博物馆人员在楼下喊话告诉顾老：“卢森堡的人来啦。”他还不相信，以为是在开玩笑。大使没等顾老露面打招呼，径直带着一行人鱼贯上了楼梯，给顾老一个大大的惊喜，双方由此结下情谊。

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汉阳铁厂1908年完成扩建改造工程后，吕贝尔先生等中外人员留影

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张之洞与武汉博物馆由世界著名设计师李博斯金设计，采用全钢结构，致敬“钢铁之父”张之洞与中国重工业的辉煌往昔

此后，卢森堡有关人士常常“微服私访”，顾先生与同事便带着他们一览武汉风采。一次，大使与卢国家博物馆馆长来访，他们驱车去吉庆街与江滩。在江汉关附近，大使先生受到震撼，跳下车徒步前行，用相机记录着眼前美景，顾先生和随行人员驱车慢慢跟在他身后陪伴解说。晚上他们在吉庆街用餐，米契尔馆长乘兴拿过一把吉他纵声歌唱，其乐融融，双方不似国家官方往来一般严肃，更像是多年密友相聚。

2018年3月27日，张之洞与武汉博物馆新馆历时8年正式开馆，中卢两国的真挚友谊也在这新旧两馆的见证之下熠熠生辉，百年流芳。