亞細亞火油公司奠定重慶百年工業基礎

楊艷

在重慶南岸馬鞍山樹木茂密的山坡下，一棟小洋樓隱藏其中。經典的西式格調，青磚綠瓦的樓體被斑駁的樹影包裹著，淺綠色的欄桿和窗欞彰顯著百年前的建筑美學。精致的拱門房檐、樓梯扶手上的雕花、鑲嵌琉璃的木門和西式壁爐，被歲月沉淀過的歷史在面前緩緩展開。

這棟樓曾被稱為重慶“紅樓”，是一座火油庫，曾是亞細亞洋行大班、二班的別墅和辦公用地，抗戰時期還曾是英國大使館的所在地。

100多年前，煤油進入重慶，取代了人們照明用的桐油、菜油。最早進入重慶市場的是美國美孚石油公司。幾乎在同一時間，英國亞細亞火油公司、美國德士古洋行也來到重慶。這幾家洋行在19世紀曾壟斷了亞洲特別是中國的銷售市場。

英國亞細亞火油公司是現在著名的殼牌石油前身，它的分公司曾奠定重慶百年工業的基礎，是西南近代工業的發祥地。當時，亞細亞火油公司總部設在上海，在天津、青島、廣州等城市建有地區性分公司，主要經營煤油、汽油、柴油、機油、魚燭等，尤以殼牌汽油質量為佳，擁有“渝光”“滇光”“黔光”“安瀾”4艘運油專輪。

民國初期，重慶萬縣鐘姓富商與武漢漢口亞細亞分公司簽訂代理四川買辦合約，買辦左德范來到重慶做銷售代理。隨后，亞細亞火油公司派員來重慶設立重慶分公司，建立經銷點，逐步擴大業務，左德范繼續做該公司買辦。

1918年，亞細亞火油公司又在唐家沱租用土地，修建多座大型儲油池和高級職員宿舍，雇傭員工千余人。1950年上半年，重慶市政府接管亞細亞火油公司唐家沱油庫。1951年4月，亞細亞火油公司的存貨和設備被重慶市石油公司全部征購，從而結束了該公司在重慶的經營活動。

目前，亞細亞火油公司舊址已被公布為重慶市南岸區區級文物保護單位。

圖片/南岸區文旅委 文管所提供

A small house is hidden beneath the tree-lined hillside of Maan Shan in the Nanan district. In a classic Western style， the gray-brick and black-tile building is wrapped in dappled tree shadows， with light green balustrades and windowpanes highlighting the architectural aesthetics of a century ago. The exquisite arched eaves， carvings on the staircase handrails， glazed wooden doors， and western fireplaces quietly unfold a period of history before you.

Once known as Chongqing's "Red Building"， this building was used as a kerosene depot， a villa and office for the "Tai-pan" （literally "top class"， meaning general manager） and deputy manager of Asiatic Petroleum Company， and the seat of the British Embassy during the War of Resistance Against Japan， respectively.

Kerosene entered Chongqing over 100 years ago， replacing tung oil and rapeseed oil that people had used for thousands of years. The first to enter the Chongqing market was Mobil Oil Corp. （USA）. At almost the same time， the presence of Asiatic Petroleum Company （UK） and Texaco （USA） was also visible in Chongqing. These foreign companies had a monopoly on the sales market in Asia， especially in China， in the 19th century.

Asiatic Petroleum Company （UK） was the predecessor of Shell， a famous oil company now. The settling down of the company in Chongqing laid the foundation for the city's century-old industry and served as the fountainhead of the modern industry in Chinas southwest. At that time， the company， headquartered in Shanghai， set up regional branches in Tianjin， Qingdao， Guangzhou， and other cities， mainly trading kerosene， gasoline， diesel， motor oil， and candles， among other products， with Shell gasoline the best in quality. The company owned four special oil tankers such as "Yuguang"，"Dianguang" "Qianguang" and "Anlan".

At the beginning of the Republic of China， a rich merchant， surnamed Zhong at Chongqings Wanxian， inked a contract with the Hankow branch of Asiatic Petroleum Company for agenting the latter's business in Sichuan province， Zuo Defan was dispatched to Chongqing to act as a sales agent. Subsequently， the company sent staff to Chongqing to set up the branch， put up outlets， and progressively expanded business， Zuo Defan remained as the agent in the branch.

In 1918， Asiatic Petroleum Company leased land in Tangjiatuo and built many large-sized oil storage tanks and senior staff quarters， employing over a thousand people. In the first half of 1950， Chongqing Municipal Government took over the oil depot at Tangjiatuo. In April 1951， the company's inventory and equipment were purchased by Chongqing Petroleum Company， marking an end of the company's operations in Chongqing.

At present， the former site of Asiatic Petroleum Company has been identified as a cultural site under the protection of Chongqings Nanan District.

Photos/ Provided by Nanan District Culture and Tourism Committee，

And Institute of Culture Relics Management