Gu Weijun, born in 1888 in Jiading District, Shanghai, holds a Ph.D. from Columbia University in the United States. After returning to China, he started as Yuan Shikai's secretary and worked all the way to the premiership for five months, becoming the de facto head of state.
He was a tumbler of the elders of the Three Dynasties, and he was also known as the "first diplomat of the Republic of China", which is rare in a hundred years; at the age of 76, he was elected vice president of the International Tribunal, which is a rare story; and later left a memoir of China so far for posterity, with more than 10,000 pages in English, which is unprecedented.
Looking at the emotional journey of Gu Weijun's life for a hundred years, the four wives he married were also from famous and prestigious families and dignitaries, and their legends were even more amazing. In this article, the author will briefly introduce the legendary deeds of Gu Weijun and his four wives.
1. Zhang Run'e
In Gu Weijun's life, there have been four marriages, but only the first marriage with Zhang Run'e is nominal.
Zhang Run'e was born into a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners in Shanghai, and her father, Zhang Yunjun, was a skilled doctor who often traveled to and from GuFu. It was also for this reason that Zhang Yunjun was very familiar with Gu Weijun, the young master of the Gu family at that time, and often saw him. Perhaps Zhang Yunjun felt that this little guy was very smart, so he had the idea of marriage. After being matched by a matchmaker, 12-year-old Gu Weijun officially engaged 10-year-old Zhang Run'e.
In 1904, at the age of 16, Gu Weijun went to the United States to study. Four years later, when he was in his third year at Columbia University, he suddenly received a letter from his family, hoping that he would be able to marry Zhang Run'e after returning to China. In this regard, Gu Weijun was very confused, because he had long forgotten the marriage in his childhood, so he wrote several long letters in a row, focusing on his studies and rejecting the marriage.
Gu Weijun's refusal greatly annoyed Gu's father. In the end, Gu's father decided to let Gu Jingchu, the eldest brother who had a good relationship with Gu Weijun, write more letters to persuade him. Later, under the persuasion of Gu Jingchu, Gu Weijun finally made concessions, but he put forward several requirements: the woman must liberate Xiaozu and learn English. In addition, Gu Weijun also specifically stated that this time he returned to China only to try to contact and contact first, not to get married immediately.
That summer, Gu Weijun returned home from the United States on an appointment, but what he did not expect was that as soon as he arrived at home, his parents were soft and hard, insisting that he marry Zhang Run'e immediately, and even threatened him with hunger strike. In desperation, Gu Weijun had to make concessions and expressed his "willingness to get married in form."
Although it is said that this is an old-fashioned wedding, on the wedding day, the pomp and circumstance is still very large, there are many mounted police, lantern teams, drum bands, and the streets are full of drum music. But what is interesting is that above the wedding hall, after worshiping the heavens and the earth, the newlyweds should worship each other. Both sides of the couple have already whispered warnings, do not rush to bow to each other when worshipping each other, because of superstitious sayings, the first worship party will be controlled by the other party in the future. As a result, when the emcee asked the newcomers to worship each other, the two sides stood in opposition, and neither of them refused to worship first. After a long stalemate, both sides prostrated their heads at the same time.
What was even more unexpected was that when the candles in the cave room were about to be spent that night, the groom Gu Weijun actually "disappeared". Later, at the request of his mother, he had to return to his new room, but refused to go to bed. This made the bride Zhang Run'e extremely uncomfortable, asked the reason, Gu Weijun actually said that this big bed is for her, she can sleep on the sofa. No matter how Zhang Run'e requested, Gu Weijun refused to go to bed, and in the days that followed, they never shared a bed with them.
After the wedding was completed, Gu Weijun was about to embark on the road to the United States. Before leaving, his father had warned him that Zhang Run'e was the only daughter of the Zhang family and was responsible for her. Therefore, Gu Weijun had to take Zhang Run'e with him and go to the United States together.
However, as soon as he arrived in the United States, Gu Weijun sent his wife to the home of a kind old couple of German descent in Philadelphia, where he lived with them and learned English, while he himself went back to New York to go to school alone. In fact, from this moment, it is not difficult to see that Gu Weijun does not have any feelings for Zhang Run'e, and some are only coping with his parents and perfunctory about this marriage.
In the autumn of 1909, Gu Weijun finally raised a thorny and painful issue for both parties: divorce by agreement. Gu Weijun confessed to Zhang Run'e the pros and cons of going on for a long time. As for divorce, Zhang Run'e did not express her attitude, she neither approved nor opposed. Therefore, Gu Weijun took advantage of the situation to write a divorce contract and asked For Zhang Run'e's opinion.
A few months later, Gu Weijun met again with Zhang Run'e, and he pulled out the divorce contract. For this contract, Zhang Run'e said that she did not see anything to change in the contract, and said to Gu Weijun, if you want me to sign, I will sign. Gu Weijun is a legal person after all, he said that in order to avoid nonsense and criticism from the outside world, in order to avoid the unhappiness of the parents of both sides, to prove that this is not what he forced her to do, he hopes that Zhang Run'e can personally copy four copies and give them to the parents of both sides and hold one copy each.
In this regard, Zhang Run'e showed great tolerance and open-mindedness, and she complied. In 1911, they signed a divorce agreement and broke up with great friendliness. For this failed marriage, the author can only say: the disparity in knowledge and the difference in realm are the biggest reefs of a happy marriage.
2. Tang Baoyue
After Gu Weijun divorced Zhang Run'e, he soon concluded a relationship with his second wife, Tang Baoyue. Among them, it is worth mentioning that the elder of this marriage was Tang Baoyue's father, Tang Shaoyi, a famous diplomat at that time.
In 1908, Tang Shaoyi visited the United States in the name of a special envoy of the Qing court, thanked the US government for partially refunding gengzi's reparations, and at the same time shouldered the responsibility of negotiating loans from the three eastern provinces and seeking the alliance between China and The United States. On the eve of his return to China, Tang Shaoyi also sent a letter inviting forty student representatives studying in the United States to visit Washington as his guests.
Tang Shaoyi did this for two reasons, one is to encourage Xinxin students to study hard and serve the country in the future; the other is to find outstanding talents to introduce them to return to China to serve in the future.
At that time, Gu Weijun had already emerged as the editor-in-chief of the "Chinese Student Monthly" in the United States, and he could speak and write. Therefore, he quickly attracted the attention of Tang Shaoyi and asked him to speak as a representative of international students at the welcome banquet held by Tang Shaoyi. Facts have proved that Tang Shaoyi did not look at the wrong person, and Gu Weijun's speech at the meeting was concise and very moving. After the meeting, Tang Shaoyi even privately received Gu Weijun and expressed appreciation and encouragement for his speech.
After the outbreak of the Xinhai Revolution, Yuan Shikai stole the country and became the president. Tang Shaoyi and Yuan Shikai were brothers in arms and had a close personal relationship, and were appointed as the first cabinet premiers. Gu Weijun was also admired by Tang Shaoyi and was appointed by Yuan Shikai as the secretary of the presidential office and the secretary of the cabinet.
At this time, Tang Shaoyi also had the heart to adopt Gu Weijun as the son-in-law of the East Bed, so he tried everything to create an opportunity for his daughter Tang Baoyue and Gu Weijun to meet. He personally arranged a picnic party for young cabinet colleagues to attend with his daughter.
Tang Baoyue, foreign name May, dignified and generous, gentle temperament, English, well educated in the West. After Gu Weijun and Tang Baoyue knew each other, the male and female appearances soon became fond of each other. Later, in the subsequent contact, the two also gradually became acquainted, and the relationship was even more separated by a layer of window paper, but it was all in silence.
After Gu Weijun was ordered to return to China, he did not have time to return to Shanghai to visit his parents due to official duties. When he wanted to return to Shanghai to visit his relatives, It just so happened that Tang Baoyue also proposed to his parents the idea of visiting his aunt in Shanghai. So, the two went to Shanghai together as a companion. When they arrived in Shanghai, the two met frequently in the twilight of the morning, and soon fell in love. The parents of the Gu family have forgiven their son's pain in divorce, and the combination of a pair of talented and beautiful people has come to fruition.
In 1915, the 27-year-old Gu Weijun was ordered to serve as a minister in the United States, and before leaving, Tang Baoyue also went with him. After going to the United States, Gu Weijun has been active among the American government and opposition, while Tang Baoyue has been washing and cooking at home, taking care of children, and living a happy life.
However, it is regrettable that in the United States, Tang Baoyue suddenly fell ill with the Spanish flu, and died two days later, leaving a pair of young boys and girls.
The death of his wife made Gu Weijun extremely sad. However, at this time, when the Paris Peace Conference was held, Gu Weijun could only put away this sadness and go all out to prepare for the upcoming Paris Peace Conference. After the meeting, Gu Weijun spared no expense to bury Tang Baoyue and transport her body back to China in a glass tube and temporarily placed it in the Ancestral Hall of the Gu Clan in her hometown.
It is said that between 1924 and 1925, Gu Weijun often visited Tang Baoyue's coffin. After the warlords went to war, Tang Baoyue's coffin was also destroyed in the chaotic world, and the Gu family could only change his remains to earth burials. When he was buried, Gu Weijun personally led a pair of sons and daughters back to China to attend the funeral. Before 1949, in his last days on the mainland, Gu Weijun would often go to Tang Baoyue's tomb to pay homage.
3. Huang Huilan
When Tang Baoyue died of illness, Gu Weijun had just turned 32 years old, when he was young, plus he had a pair of children, naturally he needed to continue the string, but how many women could be the wife of diplomats?
Fate and love are always good to the brave, and Gu Weijun is a genius who is brave and good at seizing opportunities. One day, when Gu Weijun went to visit Jian Chonghan, a classmate of St. John's University, he suddenly glimpsed a jade photo on the piano of the owner of the house, and he was immediately moved. After inquiring, I learned that this was originally a friend's aunt Huang Huilan, who was nineteen years old.
Huang Huilan's father, Huang Zhonghan, was a well-known "sugar king" in the Chinese business community, and his wealth was invincible to the country. Huang Huilan has received a good education since childhood, and knows Dutch, Malay, English, French; music, dance, piano, chess, calligraphy and painting are proficient in everything, and she is a woman full of aristocratic atmosphere. She was modern, but civilized, with the virtues of an oriental woman; she was arrogant and disdainful of her brother who had fallen under her pomegranate skirt.
Therefore, when Jian Chonghan introduced Gu Weijun to Huang Huilan, she did not feel how good Gu Weijun was. But with the conversation, Huang Huilan could not be impressed, and Wasun was impressed by Gu Weijun's eloquence and wisdom, and he was even more touched by his love and consideration for her.
Immediately afterward, Gu Weijun was angry and continuously sent people to send candy and flowers to Huang Huilan, sometimes visiting the door several times a day, and they listened to concerts, operas, and coffee together. When Huang Huilan was riding on the road in a car specially provided by the French government for Gu Weijun, and listening to music in a state box that only diplomats could enjoy, she felt extremely proud and honored.
At this time, Huang Huilan understood very well that money did not equal power, and these were things that her father could not buy with more money. Gu Weijun also duly described to Huang Huilan the grandeur and elegance of foreign affairs activities at Buckingham Palace in Britain, the Elysee Palace in France and the White House in the United States, and certainly did not forget to emphasize the scenery of the diplomatic lady.
But in the face of the reality that Gu Weijun has two children, Huang Huilan still feels overwhelmed. She consulted her mother, who hoped that her daughter would break into the European high society and stand out for her. However, his father, Huang Zhonghan, was firmly opposed, on the grounds that Gu Weijun had no money, had been married twice, and even had two children. But later, the father Huang Zhonghan changed his attitude under the persuasion of his mother and began to support his daughter.
On October 21, 1920, Gu Weijun and Huang Huilan held a wedding ceremony at the Chinese Embassy in Brussels. At this wedding, the Huang family's dowry was dazzling, and the banquet was full of high-level friends, and the scene was grand and warm, making Huang Huilan feel that she was the happiest woman in the world.
After the wedding, when Huang Huilan dressed up carefully and wanted to give her husband an unexpected surprise, she was stupid - when she walked into the living room of the new house, Gu Weijun, who was working, did not even lift her head, but still dictated a memorandum to the secretary next to her. Because the next day's League of Nations congress was to be held, Gu Weijun, as the head of the Chinese delegation, had to attend.
That night, Gu Weijun, together with his wife and staff, took a train to Geneva overnight. At this time, Huang Huilan never dreamed that her wedding night was actually spent on the train.
Husband and wife Rong. After Huang Huilan became the wife of a diplomat, she often accompanied Gu Weijun in and out of various diplomatic occasions. She has sharp teeth and maneuvers around the princes and counts, and she is at ease. And because she is young and beautiful, elegant in temperament, proficient in various languages, she is successful in the diplomatic arena.
Since then, Huang Huilan has not only become Gu Weijun's right-hand man, but also a beautiful Chinese landscape. In order to establish the image of Chinese, Huang Huilan not only dressed herself up with pearlescent beauty by virtue of her father's financial resources, but also "transformed" Gu Weijun, starting from his hairstyle and dress, and even teaching him to dance and ride horses.
However, Huang Huilan is Huang Huilan after all, she is bent on going her own way, not changing the habit of arrogance and luxury, gambling, collecting, antiques, and playing life. During Gu Weijun's return to China to serve as a cabinet, she used the huge amount of 250,000 yuan sponsored by her father to buy the former residence of Chen Yuanyuan, Wu Sangui's favorite concubine, which was extremely beautiful.
In terms of emotions, Gu Weijun's support for her will naturally not be forgotten. But Gu Weijun is a dedicated strongman, so that the care for his wife is naturally one point less. It is also for this reason that Huang Huilan complains a lot on weekdays, she once said: "He is a respectable person, a person that China needs a lot, but not the husband I want." ”
Later, due to various relationships, after living together for 36 years, they still calmly broke up.
Fourth, Yan Youyun
Gu Weijun experienced the baptism of three marriages, prepared to taste sweet and sour, bittersweet, and was combined with his 20-year-old Ms. Yan Youyun at the age of 72, who had entered old age. It's a journey of pure love without any utilitarian overtones. Together, they frothed hand in hand in the afterglow of the setting sun.
Yan Youyun, born in Tianjin in 1905 and graduated from Fudan University, is a fashionable new woman. Her ex-husband, Yang Guansheng, who had a Ph.D. in international law at Princeton University, had taught at Tsinghua University in his early years, entered the diplomatic service, and had served as consul general in the Philippines.
But in fact, as early as the 30s, because her husband was also engaged in diplomatic relations, Yan Youyun had already met Gu Weijun. Later, after the death of her husband, Yan Youyun went to New York and served in the United Nations around the 1950s. At this time, Gu Weijun was serving as an "ambassador" to the United States. It was also because of their work that the two developed a good feeling for each other in the process of contact, and in 1959 they successfully married and settled in The Hague.
Yan Youyun is a hostess who is good at family management, good at family management and hospitality. Gu Weijun and Yan Youyun, as the stepfathers and stepmothers of their respective children, welcomed their respective children to visit, regardless of each other, and treated them equally; the visits to the relatives and friends of deceased friends were also full of various courtesies.
The reason why Gu Weijun was able to complete 11,000 pages of oral memoirs at the age of 96 is actually inseparable from Yan Youyun's careful care. When Gu Weijun talked about the secret of longevity in his later years, he summed up three points, namely walking, eating less snacks, and taking care of his wife.
On November 14, 1985, Gu Weijun died without illness at the age of 97. After Gu Weijun's death, The University of Columbia set up the "Gu Weijun Scholarship"; Yan Youyun made a set of Chinese-style birthday clothes for him in China, donated 155 relics of Gu Weijun to the Shanghai Jiading Museum, and donated 100,000 US dollars to fund the establishment of Gu Weijun's life exhibition room.
Later, 32 years after Gu Weijun left, that is, in 2017, Yan Youyun also left this world at the age of 112.