We read all the lead to present a different history.
Throughout history, the development of civilization has not been achieved overnight, but has been formed in countless denials, reconstructions and perfections. In the eyes of modern people, there are many ideological concepts and customs in ancient times that are very backward, such as the marriage of close relatives that is generally opposed in modern society. In ancient times, due to the emphasis on door-to-door pairs of marriages between men and women, coupled with the influence of the concept of "kissing and kissing", many couples were actually cousins or direct blood relatives. However, the ancients gradually found that the marriage of close relatives is easy to cause harm to the next generation, so with the passage of time, in modern times, there have been few marriages of close relatives. However, there are exceptions to everything, and in the late Qing Dynasty, there was a Qing Dynasty official who married his sister, and although he was ridiculed and accused by the surrounding residents, he gave birth to a son who was famous all over the world.
▲Old photos of Qing Dynasty wedding scenes
This person's name is Li Wen'an, but he is a native of Hefei, Anhui Province, who has been weak and sick since childhood, so he is enlightened and read later than others. At the age of 33, Li Wen'an was only admitted to the examination, and at the age of 37, he and Zeng Guofan ascended the Daoguang Penghu List of Jinshi, the third class of the temple examination, and served in the official punishment department in the same year as Lin Ruzhou, the son of Lin Zexu. It is reasonable to say that Li Wen'an is not a person who cannot marry a wife, and the reason why he marries his sister is actually very much related to his father Li Dianhua. One winter, Li Dianhua went out to run an errand, and suddenly found a baby girl who had been abandoned because of smallpox on the side of the road, Li Dianhua immediately felt pity, plus he wanted a daughter very much, so he took the baby girl home and thought that it was a daughter.
▲The former residence of the Li family in Hefei in the Qing Dynasty
After careful conditioning, the baby girl's smallpox was cured, but some scars were left on her face. Since then, the baby girl has grown up with Li Wen'an, and the two are green plum bamboo horses. When the girl grew to the age of marriage, Li Dianhua took the initiative to marry her adopted daughter to her son Li Wen'an. Objectively speaking, the two are not related by blood, so there is no problem with this combination, and it will not cause any harm to future generations. However, from the perspective of feudal ethics, the combination of the two was still not very suitable, coupled with the fact that the ideological concepts of the people at that time were still relatively traditional and conservative, and the etiquette system was very important, Li Dianhua originally adopted her as a righteous daughter, rather than treating it as a child bride, so although the two were not brothers and sisters, they were nominally brothers and sisters of the Eight Classics of Zheng'er.
▲ Portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Li Dianhua and Mr. and Mrs. Li Wen'an
The act of the two marrying each other is completely contrary to human morality in the eyes of the surrounding people. However, in the face of the rumors of the neighbors, Li Wen'an was unwavering, and he knew that the reason why his father entrusted his sister to himself was that he was worried that his sister would be hurt by his husband's family. That's why I thought of marrying her to myself who had been with him since childhood. After Li Wen'an married this titular sister, although he was often ridiculed and despised by the neighbors, the couple's life was relatively happy. After the two married, Li Shi was diligent and thrifty, took care of everything for Li Wen'an, encouraged her husband to study and obtain meritorious names with peace of mind, and gave birth to six sons and two daughters for him. After years of hard work, Li Wen'an was finally admitted to the jinshi, and his family development was on the right track.
▲Group photo of Li Hongzhang and Li Hanzhang brothers
Speaking of which, although Li Shi does not have any culture, he is very smart and has his own measure in dealing with people and things. No matter what he does, Li Shi will be well organized and clear, will not confuse or suspect others, and the family is very stable and harmonious. Even if Li Wen'an is working outside the home and has not returned from home for a long time, Li Shi is still the same, taking good care of the old and young in the family, so that Li Wen'an can handle work affairs with peace of mind and not have to worry about family chores. Under the words and deeds of the Li family, the sons were very contentious, and the Li family followed his son in his later years and enjoyed all the glory and wealth, and the neighbors who had laughed at Li Wen'an and his wife at the beginning rushed to the door to please.
▲ Li Wen'an and his wife are buried together
It turned out that the second son of the Li clan was Li Hongzhang, who was famous all over the world and was in charge of the major affairs of the late Qing Dynasty military state. In the era of the late Qing Dynasty, when the situation was turbulent, Li Hongzhang handled foreign affairs at home in order to develop national strength, and fought for the interests of the country in a vertical and horizontal manner, making great contributions to safeguarding the rule of the Qing government, and also making meritorious contributions to safeguarding national interests. Because of such an outstanding son, Li Shi not only enjoyed the glory and wealth beyond the ordinary bureaucratic family in his later years, but also received repeated imperial favors - on his seventy-fifth birthday, the imperial court rewarded a large number of treasures; when he was seriously ill, the imperial court specially approved Li Hongzhang to visit home, and also gave ginseng to nourish his body. Even after his death, the Guangxu Emperor personally issued a decree praising his "gentle disposition and teaching his son to be righteous", requiring that "when the coffin returns home, the local officials along the way should be properly cared for." I have to say that Li Shizhen is a model among the virtuous wives and mothers.
Resources:
"Li Hongzhang Family", "Wen An Gong with Mrs. Li as The Final Decree"