卜內門洋行 見證中國“洋皂”百年

楊艷 龍曉

位于南岸區南濱路、依山而建的卜內門洋行舊址，也是曾經的卜內門貿易公司辦事處、卜內門洋堿公司。20世紀初，老百姓習慣把生活日用品肥皂、堿、火柴、釘子，稱作洋皂、洋堿、洋火、洋釘。當時，這些都是漂洋過海從西方進口的時髦用品。

1873年，英國人卜內與門氏合作，由經營洋堿起家，創建卜內門公司（Brunner Mond&Co），總部設在倫敦。這家公司是當時英國四大公司之一，也是今天財富世界500強企業之一、全球化工行業前十的英國帝國化學工業集團（ICI）的前身。

1891年重慶開埠，外國企業、銀行等機構紛紛進入重慶。1898年，英國卜內門公司在上海設立駐中國總公司。1904年，在重慶開設機構，推銷“洋堿粉”、開辦肥皂廠，取名“祥合公司”。聘請南京技術工人進行生產，月產肥皂4000箱。

當年，卜內門公司是最早進入中國、規模最大的外國洋堿生產銷售企業，是重慶最著名的洋行之一。卜內門洋行在重慶開辦后，刺激和推動了重慶肥皂業的發展，到20世紀30年代中期，重慶開辦了5家肥皂廠。抗戰爆發后，隨著內遷工廠的增加，至1942年，重慶制皂工廠發展到23家。可以說，卜內門洋行見證了中國百年“洋皂”發展歷史，是研究重慶開埠歷史以及社會、經濟發展最好的實物資料佐證，具有重要的歷史研究價值。

卜內門洋行舊址整體建筑為青磚墻體，小青瓦屋面，圓弧形石砌拱門。如今，依稀還能看到昔日洋行的氣派風格。樓高三層，臨江面有外廊，舉目遠眺，是開闊的江面，對面就是渝中半島。底層采用橫向條石砌筑，正大門朝南，門楣上依稀可見刻有“1915”字樣，其他文字風化嚴重。建筑主體雖保存完好，但內部皆有不同程度的損毀。斑駁的石欄桿上的石雕、破損的門窗木地板、殘缺的壁爐，昭示著它曾經的輝煌。

歲月流逝，歷史留痕。在抗戰時期，國民政府有關單位在卜內門洋行倉庫開辦過訓練班，也作過臨時學校和避難場所。新中國成立后，這里也曾作為重慶三鏈廠的職工宿舍。

如今，在重慶兩江國際影視城臨江路5號，有一棟沒有任何店招的三層小洋樓，青條石砌成一樓，樓上是青磚，外廊上為木質欄桿，細節處處體現著這棟建筑不凡的歷史。它的原型就是卜內門洋行舊址，于2016年10月仿建完成。

一個世紀過去了，今天的卜內門洋行舊址，作為重慶開埠歷史的見證，被列為重慶市文物保護單位。據南岸區文化與旅游委相關負責人介紹，作為城市記憶的載體，卜內門洋行舊址將通過修繕和保護，重新煥發活力。

Located in Nanbin Road， Nan'an District and built on the mountain， the former site of the Brunner Mond & Co is also where the working office of this previous foreign trading firm was placed. In early 20th century， Chinese people used to name daily necessities like soap， matches and nails foreign soap， foreign matches and foreign nails， all of which were fashionable goods imported from the West.

In 1873， British national Brunner found the Brunner Mond & Co with Mond in London engaged in alkali business， becoming one of the four largest companies in the UK at that time， and it is the predecessor of ICI， one of the Fortune 500 companies in the world and one of the top 10 companies in the global chemical industry.

Chongqing was opened as a port in 1891， which attracted foreign enterprises， banks and other institutions to arrive one after another. In 1898， the British firm Brunner Mond & Co established its China headquarters in Shanghai and a branch in Chongqing in 1904， which set up a soap factory named "Xianghe Company" to promote "foreign soap powder" ， with skilled workers employed from the east Chinas Nanjing city who could produce 4，000 boxes of soap per month.

At that time， Brunner Mond & Co was the first and largest foreign enterprise to produce and sell foreign soap in China， and one of the most famous foreign companies in Chongqing. The presence of the company in Chongqing stimulated and promoted the development of Chongqing's soap industry. By the mid-1930s， Chongqing had opened five soap factories. Since the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War in 1937， with the increase of factories moved in from elsewhere of China， there had been 23 soap factories in Chongqing by 1942. It can be said that having witnessed the development of? "foreign soap" in China over one hundred years and serving as the best physical evidence for the study of Chongqing's port opening history and social and economic development， Brunner Mond & Co has high value of historical research.

The whole building of the relic of the company is a green brick wall， a small green tile roof and an arc-shaped stone arch， by which we can still trace the style of the former foreign firms. Standing at three stories high， the building is provided with a veranda overlooking the river， from which one can see the wide open river and the Yuzhong Peninsula on the opposite side. The ground floor is built with horizontal stones， with the main gate facing southward and the figure "1915" faintly visible on the lintel but other words unrecognizable due to heavy weathering. Although the main body of the building is well preserved， the interior is in varying damage. The stone carvings on the mottled stone railings， the broken wooden floors of doors and windows， and the incomplete fireplace all imply the past glory of the structure.

As time goes by， history leaves its mark. During the Anti-Japanese War in 1937 to 1945， agencies of the relocated Chinese national government set up training classes， temporary school and shelters in the warehouse of this foreign firm. After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949， the site was also used as the dormitory of Chongqing No.3 Chain Factory.

Today， at 5 Linjiang Road， Liangjiang International Film and Television City， Chongqing， there is a three-story small building of western style but without any shop signs. The first floor is made of green stones. The upper floor is made of green bricks， and the outer corridor is covered with wooden railings. The details inside and out reflect the extraordinary history of the building. It is a building made after the relic of Brunner Mond & Co， completed in October 2016.

A century later， the site of Brunner Mond & Co， as a witness of Chongqing's port opening culture， is listed as a cultural relic under protection in Chongqing. According to the official of the Culture and Tourism Commission of Nan'an District， as the carrier of city history， the former site of Brunner Mond & Co will be rejuvenated through repair and protection.