Speaking of international friends who made great contributions to our country during the War of Resistance Against Japan, many people's first reaction must be Bethune of Canada. He was a famous internationalist fighter who came to China in 1938 to participate in the anti-Japanese revolution and died of illness in 1939, just one year later. It saved the lives of countless Chinese soldiers and civilians on the anti-Japanese battlefield. Today, the name Bethune has become synonymous with saving lives in Chinese.
However, during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the foreign friends who came to China to help were not only Bethune. Today, I would like to introduce you to a Frenchman named Pei Xiye, who came to China in the early years of the Republic of China and served as a medical officer at the French Embassy in China at that time.
Pei Xiye does not only treat the French, he is more focused on helping China establish a complete medical system. In 1937, when the July 7 Incident broke out, Pei Xiye and Chinese Min stood on one front, and he sent a letter to the Red Cross Society of China on behalf of foreign medical officers stationed in Beijing, willing to help China's anti-war cause.
It was thanks to the help of Pei Xiye that the medicines that were most lacking in the anti-Japanese battlefield at that time were continuously replenished. Because the Japanese army easily searched the residences of foreigners, a large number of military drugs in our army at that time were stored in Pei Xiye's home. He also played a key role in transporting medicines.
"The Eight-Year War of Resistance of the People of Beiping" records the story of Pei Xiye's transportation of medicines in that year, when Pei Xiye, who was 50 years old at the time, still practiced what he preached, personally riding a bicycle to transport dozens of kilograms of drugs to our army. He even later bought a Citroën sedan, which was used specifically to pull medicines. It can be said that Pei Xiye single-handedly contributed half of the drug supply of the entire Anti-Japanese Battlefield in North China, and the success was quite large.
Such an international friend with such a noble personality attracted the attention of a rich family at that time. She is the daughter of Wu Mingyuan, the general manager of Sino-French Industrial Bank, wu xiangdan, and their family is also the same as the famous Beiyang warlord Wu Peifu.
Speaking of wu xiangdan and Pei Xiye, the reason why she was related to Pei Xiye was because she was born prematurely since she was a child, frail and sickly, and there is a risk of dying at any time, and many Chinese medicine practitioners have not been able to cure it. In the end, she chose Western medicine and went to The Chinese Medicine Hospital, where Pei Xiye, who was the president at the time, was her attending physician and cured Wu Xiangdan.
Since then, Wu Xiangdan has been full of reverence for Pei Xiye, and when she later learned that Pei Xiye was still supporting China's anti-war cause, this feeling was even deeper. In 1947, due to years of high-intensity front-line work, Pei Xiye fell ill. After Wu Zhidan got the news, he rushed to Pei Xiye's villa as soon as possible, took good care of him, and never abandoned him. Pei Xiye also quickly recovered, because he had never married a wife, and Wu Zhidan had never married, and the two had a good feeling.
And the age difference between the two is a full 52 years! At that time, even if the concept of marriage was more open, it was impossible to accept such a "grandfather-grandson love". But Wu Xiangdan did not care, she has fallen deeply in love with Pei Xiye, in 1952, under the huge pressure of the Wu family, Wu Zhidan married Pei Xiye, and the two also returned to France together.
However, after all, the age is there, when the two got married, Wu Zhidan was only 28 years old, and Pei Xiye was already 80 years old. After 10 years in France, Pei Xiye died peacefully in his sleep. Later, Wu Zhidan did not remarry, but was widowed for Pei Xiye until his death, which lasted for 55 years.
In wu's later years, a reporter asked her why she had to be with Pei Xiye at all costs and remained a widow for him for 55 years. She smiled and replied, "Marry Pei Xiye, I have no regrets in this life." It was not just to repay his life-saving grace, but more importantly, his humanitarian spirit of abandoning all prejudices and races and selflessly dedicating himself to The cause of China's anti-Japanese resistance. This kind of personality charm is what really impresses me. ”
This is the truth of the marriage between Wu Xiangdan and Pei Xiye, which is very real and moving. Modern people always say that they no longer believe in love, but they do not know that in that era when we can no longer touch, the occurrence of love is often so simple.