Author: Xi Xi Gran Editor: Jia Fangfang
Source: Journal of Marriage and Family
ID：hunyinyujiating99
Born in the lonely late Qing Dynasty, through the ups and downs of the Republic of China, there are always people who have stunned the old time in the turbulent world and left an eternal color.
She is Lü Bicheng, comparable to Zhang Ailing, not losing Lin Huiyin, known as the last female lyricist in the past three hundred years after Li Qingzhao, on the comprehensive strength, ranked first among the four talented women in the Republic of China.
She is maverick and dares to criticize Cixi and not work for Yuan Shikai;
Passionate, she became the first female editor, headmistress, and feminist activist;
She was the richest woman on the beach at that time;
She is dashing and free, showing the world oriental fashion...
She has crossed the shackles of the times, made people enlightened with clear thoughts, dared to be wise and affectionate in times of crisis, and even if she never married for life, she still had a gorgeous life.
She carved the name of Lü Bicheng into the legend of the Republic of China in the past of red dust with her actions.
01
"Soaring beauty rainbow", she used talent to make a name for herself in the era
In 1883, Lü Bicheng was born in a family of Hui merchants, also a scholarly monk.
His father, Lü Fengqi, was a former scholar in Shanxi, and his mother was well versed in poetry, and his family had a collection of 30,000 volumes, while Lü Bicheng was gifted and intelligent from an early age.
One day, his father was in the garden poetry Xing dafa chanted "spring wind blowing willows", unexpectedly, 5-year-old Bicheng immediately received the sentence "autumn rain hit the sycamore", which made Father Lü greatly pleased.
There is also a record that says: "Since childhood, Bicheng has had the name of Talented Algae, Gong Shiwen, Shan Danqing, can cure the seal, and is delicate in music." "Lü Bicheng cannot be said to be an all-rounder, which is also destined to have a good mind and a broad vision."
But all this beauty was broken after Lü Father died of illness.
On the grounds that the Lü family had no male sons, the clan took the property and put Lü Mu and Lü Bicheng's sister under house arrest. Although he is a daughter, Lü Bicheng knows how to resist when he encounters injustice.
Teenage Lü Bicheng ran for help, exhausted everything, and finally rescued his mother and sister, defected to his uncle, and began to live under the fence.
Unexpectedly, bigger blows followed. The Wang family, who had made a marriage contract with Lü Bicheng in the early years, saw that the Lü family's general trend had gone, and Lü Bicheng could save his mother alone, presumably it was not easy to control, so he took the opportunity to withdraw from marriage.
Retiring from marriage was a matter of shame for women in the old times, which was a big blow to Lü Bicheng. But it was precisely the father, the clan relatives, and the future husband's family that all the dependences of the family collapsed, giving Lü Bicheng a wake-up call: the woman must rely on herself in the end.
Therefore, after living in his uncle's family for six or seven years, Lü Bicheng wanted to go to Tianjin to receive a new education, but his uncle strongly opposed it, and said that a woman should teach her husband and children at home.
In the end, she chose to run away from home penniless and "fled" to Tianjin, a silent protest against old-fashioned ideas.
With this walk, Lü Bicheng rushed to a new world.
With a letter, Lü Bicheng's talent was astonished by the general manager of the Ta Kung Pao, Ying, and personally visited her to be a newspaper editor.
As the first female editor, Lü Bicheng, 21, wrote a series of inspiring articles such as "Man Jiang Hong" and "Tribute to Chinese Female Compatriots".
She put the feelings of home and country, new ideas and women's rights into the news, breaking through the long sky of the times and waking up sleeping people.
For a time, the name Lü Bicheng was well-known in Beijing and Tianjin. People use the phrase "The curtain is envied by the people, and everywhere is salty and pushes Lü Bicheng" to describe the pomp and circumstance that her audience loves.
Lü Bicheng also resolutely promoted women's school, adhering to the idea of emancipating women, she spent 6 months to overcome many difficulties and opened Beiyang Girls' Public School. This is the earliest public women's school established in China, which has opened up a new era of public education for chinese women.
At the age of 23, she became the first female principal in China, put forward the avant-garde concept of attaching equal importance to "morality, intellect and body", and insisted on the fairness and popularization of education.
Later, the well-known Xu Guangping, Liu Qingyang, and Zhou Daoru were all students of Lü Bicheng, and Deng Yingchao had also listened to Lü Bicheng's lectures.
Lü Bicheng was appreciated by Qiu Jin with her talent and courage, and Qiu Jin gave up the pen name she had used to use for this reason, and returned it to Lü Bicheng, saying: "Although you and I are both daughters, we are stronger than boys." ”
After 3 years of acquaintance, the two maintained friendship with letters, Qiu Jin founded the "China Women's Daily", and Lü Bicheng wrote the first issue of the speech.
Until 1907, Qiu Jin was unfortunately killed. Many people, in order to save themselves, did not dare to collect their bodies. Only Lü Bicheng risked being killed and buried Qiu Jin on the edge of the West Lake.
One fired a shot back at the dark society, a female school pulled women out of the abyss, and later people called the two "women's double heroes".
Lü Bicheng used talent, courage, and the righteousness of hepatitis and gallbladder to confirm the greatness of the women's pattern, just as she wrote the poem when she was young: "The night rain talks about soldiers, the spring wind talks about swords, and the beauty of the sky rises." ”
02
"Don't meet the heavens and people don't see it", she insisted on love with celibacy
Excellent women never lack suitors, especially Lü Bicheng.
She attracted the attention of many literati, intellectuals and dignitaries. Among them, there are many talents, such as the poet Yi Shifu; there are also many high-ranking officials, such as Li Jingxi, the son of Li Hongzhang, and so on, the most eye-catching of which is Yuan Wenke, the son of Yuan Shikai.
Yuan Kewen was already impressed with Lü Bicheng when he read her article. At that time, when Yuan Shikai was about to eliminate Qiu Jin's fellow party, Lü Bicheng and Qiu Jin had exchanged letters, and Yuan Kewen cleverly exonerated Lü Bicheng in front of his father: "If there is a correspondence that is the same party, then I and Lü Bicheng still have letters and exchanges, am I not also a chaotic party?" ”
Lü Bicheng learned of Yuan Wenke's help and immediately thanked him. But this love should only be grace, she knows what she wants love to look like, is loyalty is single-mindedness, can advance and retreat together.
At that time, when women were mostly attached to men, Lü Bicheng could be described as unique.
Later, Lü Bicheng was selected by Yuan Shikai to be the counselor of the presidential palace, and Yuan Wenke spent more time with him. Although the Prince of the Yuan family was able to write and fight, he was also talented and wrote poems for Lü Bicheng. But sober as Bicheng, in the face of Yuan Kewen's pursuit, she said calmly: "Yuan Kewen belongs to the brother of the prince, and he is only allowed to snuggle up in the happy scene." ”
It turns out that if he commits himself to Yuan Wenke, then Lü Bicheng is only one of his future 6 wives.
Thinking that Lü Bicheng regarded love as a sacred place, there was no soul to match it, and she would rather guard this pure land herself.
As she once said: "My purpose is not in assets and doorways, but in the position of literature, so it is rare to have a companion." Fortunately, I have a little savings at hand, I don't have to worry about food and clothing, and I can only entertain myself with literature! ”
She is not without appreciation, but Liang Qichao has become a family, and the other favorite person is slightly younger, and she would rather lack than abuse.
Lü Bicheng, a noble and independent woman, does not yield to feelings of momentary joy, does not mess with the heart, and is not trapped in love.
In the end, marriage is a shell that protects both parties, and Lü Bicheng has the ability to shield herself from the wind and rain, not to rely on anyone, not to live up to herself, not to meet the heavens and people and not to see, she does not regret.
03
"I'm only here in the world," she danced with enthusiasm
Lü Bicheng's political career with Yuan Shikai ended because of Yuan Shikai's ambition to claim the emperor. War was not what she wanted, and she chose to go into business.
Her former status and talent have accumulated a wide range of contacts for her, and Lü Bicheng's bones are flowing with the wisdom of three generations of Huishang merchants.
Becoming a businessman has become an important turning point for her to become a winner in life, and she will be crowned in the Shanghai Ten Mile Ocean Field.
Lü Bicheng, who is a businessman, not only has methods, but also has extraordinary courage. With her unique vision, she invested in tens of thousands of "signature bonds", and at the same time speculated in gold to do exchanges, and obtained a lot of returns in a short period of time. She saw Shanghai's foreign trade potential and shipped Huizhou's tea to Shanghai to sell to the Russians.
Each investment is unique, and in just 3 years, Lü Bicheng has a considerable wealth and has become a rich woman on the rich side. And this kind of wealth allows her to enjoy life and continue to enrich herself.
She built her own luxurious small Western-style building, which was magnificently decorated and was the best in Jing'an District at that time;
She goes in and out of all kinds of dances and events, each of which is like a high-profile "female star";
She dressed up fashionably and boldly, was the fashion vane of that era, left air bangs, and a hairstyle similar to a princess cut, when others were wearing a cheongsam, she dared to surprise four with a peacock gauze skirt and feathers for the hat.
After financial freedom, the 37-year-old Lü Bicheng began a study tour, studying literature and fine arts at Columbia University in the United States, and also served as a special correspondent for the Shanghai Times.
In foreign countries, Lü Bicheng, who has an extraordinary temperament, has been repeatedly considered to be an oriental princess. Mrs. Sypard, who was known as the "second god" of New York at that time, had feasted on her, which showed the extent of Lü Bicheng's influence.
But no matter where he is, Lü Bicheng always has a sense of home and country. Before studying abroad, she donated 100,000 yuan to the Red Cross, and donated many times to help refugees during the War of Resistance.
Fan Zengxiang praised her: "A weak woman stands on her own in society, her hands scatter thousands of dollars, and her pen sweeps thousands of people without self-esteem." ”
Later, Lü Bicheng looked at the world and spent 7 years traveling to European countries, during which he also participated in the World Animal Protection Commission, becoming the first animal protectionist in China.
In his later years, Lü Bicheng devoted himself to goodness and took refuge in Buddhism. Xu is that her life has bloomed to the fullest, and she chooses to live an open-minded life in peace and distance.
She wrote a poem at the end of her life:
The head of the head can also mourn, and the merits of life can be buried.
After hastily preaching and talking about the scriptures, I only returned to the human world.
At this point, 61-year-old Lü Bicheng has completed his life. All the property was donated, and the ashes were scattered into the sea, and she was born dashing, and finally she had to float freely.
Lü Bicheng has been brilliant all his life, and he is now a female pioneer.
She does not lack money, talent, fame, and love. With an independent soul, she lived a legend in the fluctuating Republic of China with high spirits, bravery and excitement.