(The Woman Who Told History – Issue 1104)
Fate is a mysterious thing that no one can control. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, there was a woman with a very bumpy fate: she had two marriages in her life, but she was unfortunately widowed twice, and she lost her children three times, and she also served as a nun, which was unfortunate; but she was also lucky, and after her death, Dr. Sun Yat-sen personally wrote an altar for her, which is an honor. So who is this woman? What is different about life, this issue is decomposed.
(i) A woman who is considered to have a Kef phase
It is said that her family is also well-off, and even should be described as "solid". If she had been born into an abject poor family, she would not have had a name, and many women in the old days had only a surname and no name, and could only be called so-and-so. And she has a beautiful and even very learned name, called Wang Caiyu. Whether she can harvest jade in her life is another matter, but there are good wishes in it.
In the second year of Tongzhi (1863) of the Qing Dynasty, Wang Caiyu was born in Gezhu Village, Shengxian County, Zhejiang Province. Her father, Wang Youze (王有則), was a well-read poet, and although he did not seek fame, he was shrewd and capable, and he was once in the business of selling native products, and he was very good at business; later he also recruited exiles in southern Anhui and western Zhejiang to reclaim wasteland abandoned in the war, thus making a fortune. Wang You has two wives, the original match is called Yao's, and the sequel is also called Yao's. The original match had three sons and a daughter; the next pair gave birth to a daughter and two sons, and the daughter was Wang Caiyu.
Originally, the Wang family was well-off, but after Wang Youze died, he fell into the middle of the family. At this time, Wang Caiyu was only 19 years old. The middle of the family road mainly refers to Wang Caiyu's side, because after the death of his father, the children of the two wives and rooms lived their own lives. Wang Caiyu also has two younger brothers, the eldest brother does not do the right thing, and the younger brother does not do the right thing. The eldest brother is also addicted to gambling, and the younger brother suffers from mental illness and is difficult to do the right thing. Therefore, the family's livelihood depends on the support of Wang Caiyu and his mother, who have just reached adulthood, and how can the family be well-off when two women raise two men?
Fortunately, Wang Caiyu is clever and clever, proficient in female red, and uses a pair of dexterous hands to do some needlework for people and supplement the family. But the life of a family of four is still very hard.
Soon, the female eldest was married, and Wang Caiyu was still married. Her husband is Zhu Mou, who is stationed in Cao Jiatian. After marriage, the husband and wife get along well, but Zhu Mou has an impatient temperament, often loses his temper for a small matter, causes quarrels, and even scolds his wife, that is to say, Wang Caiyu is often abused by domestic violence. However, in the second year after marriage, Wang Caiyu gave birth to a son, and as soon as the husband was happy, the wife was better. Unfortunately, months after the birth of the child, he died of a sudden emergency.
Misfortune ensued. In the autumn of that year, the epidemic (cholera) epidemic in the Caojiatian area killed many people in a row, and Wang Caiyu's husband also unfortunately contracted the disease and died. Just after the age of 20, she lost her husband and son, she did not even have the opportunity to stay in her in-laws' house, and her in-laws' family was very poor, so she returned to her mother's house (however, it was not so much to go back to her mother's house, but to be driven out of her husband's house) and continue to live with her mother and brother. Wang Caiyu tossed around, not to mention jade, nothing was collected, and he was beaten back to the prototype.
Within a year, Wang Caiyulian suffered the loss of her son and husband, and coupled with the death of her father not long ago, she was extremely sad and had to bear a heavy family burden, which she really could not stand; at this time, she heard the neighbors say bad things about her, saying that she "had the appearance of Kefkezi" and was hit hard again. So she was momentarily discouraged, and she had the idea of escaping into the empty door.
(2) Renunciation
About a year later, an old nun in Jinzhu'an near the village of Gezhu fell ill and died. Wang Caiyu's mother, Yao Shi, believed in Buddhism, and when she heard about it, she asked her daughter to go with her to help with the funeral. Wang Caiyu, who originally had the idea of becoming a nun, encountered this opportunity at this time and took the opportunity to ask Jinzhu'an and his mother that he wished to go to Jinzhu'an to become a monk. At first, of course, her mother disagreed, and her daughter was still so young, how could she be so negative? But then she was determined and had to go, and her mother agreed, but there was a condition, that is, she was not allowed to shave her hair, only to let her practice with her hair. In this way, the mother and daughter compromised with each other, and the young Wang Caiyu became a nun.
Originally, Wang Caiyu planned to eat and pray to the Buddha in the nunnery for a lifetime, but seeing someone two years later changed her life.
This person was her cousin Wang Xiandong. At that time, Wang Xiandong was working as a guy in a salt shop in Xikou. The owner of the shop is jiang Zhaocong, who has also read books, is shrewd and capable, and is nicknamed "Port Head Yellow Eel" (meaning that he has a high level of business, and others are not easy to take advantage of him). Wang Xiandong is trusted by his boss, Jiang Zhaocong, and is in charge of the daily affairs of the store, even the accounts. He was very good at talking in front of the boss.
Wang Xiandong saw that Jiang Zhaocong had been sighing and depressed lately, so he thought about doing something to please his boss, which changed the life of his cousin Wang Caiyu and also changed the history of China.
(3) Returning customs
It turned out that Wang Xiandong's boss Jiang Zhaocong's wife Sun Shi had just died, and he was in a very bad mood for this, and he was sullen all day. Wang Xiandong thought that his cousin Wang Caiyu was still very young, only 23 years old, and quite beautiful, so he intended to match her with Jiang Zhaocong. In fact, he understood that Wang Caiyu's renunciation was also forced, she had been hit too hard, and the burden of life was too heavy; as long as she was given a good kiss and let her get rid of the predicament of life, she was likely to be vulgar. So he went to find his cousin Wang Caiyu.
On this day, Wang Xiandong took a leave of absence to go home and came to Jinzhu Nunnery. After he saw Wang Caiyu, he greeted her about her life in the nunnery. As he spoke, he talked about the affairs of xikou and his owner, and then exhorted in a caring tone: "Caiyu, you are still so young, you want to become a monk here to grow old, this is a long time, it is not easy to be old..." Wang Caiyu also sighed. Wang Xiandong then encouraged her to go out and face life again.
Then Wang Xiandong said his thoughts. Say how good his boss is, how well the business is doing, and how well his family is. Wang Caiyu hesitated.
Later, after repeated encouragement and persuasion by Wang Xiandong, Wang Caiyu finally had some heart. But she still couldn't make up her mind, and she didn't know how to answer his cousin, so she had to say: "This matter must be carefully discussed with her mother." ”
When my mother learned of this, she immediately made a decision. In fact, when she first let her daughter only bring her hair to practice, she had a purpose, that is, to find a suitable opportunity for Wang Caiyu to remarry. Under the supervision of his mother and cousin, Wang Caiyu decided to return to the vulgar.
In June of the twelfth year of Guangxu (1886), the 23-year-old nun Wang Caiyu finally walked out of the Jinzhu Nunnery and became the 45-year-old successor of Jiang Zhaocong of the Xikou Yutai Salt Shop and became the boss lady.
(4) Suffered another heavy blow
Wang Caiyu's life after marriage was once very happy and happy. After all, she is still very young, full of endless energy, and there are endless dreams in her heart. Although the difference between the two is 22 years, her husband is very affectionate with her, and the husband of the two sings with the woman, and the days get better and better. In the second year after marriage, Wang Caiyu was pleased with his son.
On September 15, 1887, Wang Caiyu gave birth to a boy on the back floor of the Yutai Salt Shop, who later became a historical celebrity.
At that time, the Jiang family also thought that this boy was a rich man. Because before that, Wang Caiyu was looked at by a looker and said that she would give birth to a noble son. Wang Caiyu and her father-in-law both believed in Buddhism, and of course they also believed in the saying that they looked at each other. Therefore, Wang Caiyu and her husband and father-in-law are very fond of her son, believing that he will inevitably honor his ancestors in the future, and his son has also been named Ruiyuan, an atmospheric and rich name. "Rui", XiangRui, Fugui also, "Yuan" person, "Yi" also, Xiao Ruiyuan has been pinned on high hopes since childhood.
Good things came one after another, when the eldest son Jiang Ruiyuan was 4 years old, Wang Caiyu gave birth to a daughter Ruilian; later, he gave birth to a daughter Ruiju and a youngest son Ruiqing. Two sons and two daughters, two children and two children, seems to mean that Wang Caiyu will usher in a happy second half of life.
But the good times are not long, and the happy days come and go quickly. Nine years later, Wang Caiyu's misfortune came again. First, her 81-year-old father-in-law died of illness, and if this is not unfortunate, the next year, her real misfortune completely broke out.
At that time, a serious plague occurred in Xikou, and her husband Jiang Zhaocong unfortunately fell ill and died. This is undoubtedly a disaster for the 32-year-old Wang Caiyu. Since then, she not only has to manage the housework, but also take care of the affairs of the store; in particular, the 4 children left by her husband, and the upbringing and education of them all fell on wang Caiyu's shoulders. At this time, the eldest son, Jiang Ruiyuan, was only 8 years old, from a few months of babies to 8 years old, with four children in a row, she took care of her alone, and she was more restless and restless.
However, Wang Caiyu's blow was not over. Within 4 years of her husband's death, the youngest daughter Ruiju and the youngest son Ruiqing also died one after another. Within 5 years, 4 members of the family were killed, and no one could bear this blow.
(5) Extraordinary mothers
At that time, Wang Caiyu was crying without tears and crying without a door. But who can blame this? You have already escaped into the empty door, who made you covet the red dust again? Therefore, Wang Caiyu complained that it was useless, so she only had to grit her teeth, crush her teeth and swallow into her stomach, she wanted to fight with the god of fate to the end!
Believing in Buddhism, on the one hand, she pinned her hopes on the bodhisattva, and she prayed to the bodhisattva to bless her son with no illness or disaster; on the other hand, she was determined to educate her son to become a talent. Wang Caiyu's mother's family, Gezhu Village, hired Yao Zongyuan of Shengxian County to set up a school to teach at the Wang Clan Ancestral Hall, and she sent her son Ruiyuan to study. Jiang Ruiyuan also did not live up to his mother's high hopes, he studied very hard, and vowed to claim merit and fame and get ahead.
However, Jiang Ruiyuan is not a fuel-saving lamp. Just when Wang Caiyu was at the mouth of the stream, reciting Buddhist scriptures and hanging on to his son's reading, Ruiyuan, who was still a small hairy child, was "early in love". He actually clamored to marry his cousin Mao Achun as a wife. Wang Caiyu was very surprised, at a young age, just thinking about this matter, wouldn't it make people laugh behind their backs? In the end, it was Wang Caiyu's mother, Yao Shi, who came forward and said that she should simply go to the man's house to propose to her, marry Mao Achun, and also put a cage on this little wild horse! Wang Caiyu felt that her mother was right, so she found a matchmaker to go to Mao Achun's house to propose to her.
Mao Achun's mother, Jiang Saifeng, was Jiang Zhaocong's cousin, and when she heard the news, she was angry. Not only did he refuse, but he also reprimanded Jiang Ruiyuan for not being a tool. The matchmaker touched a nose of ash, and Wang Caiyu was also ashamed of himself after hearing it. However, she secretly swore: "She Jiang Saifeng regards my family Ah Yuan as a worm, and I must choose a good daughter-in-law for my son under her eyes!" ”
When all was said and done, Wang Caiyu personally hired a small car and rushed to Yulin to visit his cousin Chen Chunquan and ask him to find a good daughter-in-law for his son. Chen Chunquan was a very learned gentleman. He promised to help, and finally fell in love with Mao Dinghe and his family, asking him to marry his second daughter Mao Fumei to Jiang Ruiyuan.
Unexpectedly, Mao Dinghe quickly agreed to this family affair. Mao Dinghe had his own criteria for choosing a son-in-law. He thinks that Chen Chunquan is a person of high moral standing and respect, and with him as a matchmaker, this matter is not bad; moreover, he thinks that the Jiang family in Xikou is not an idle person, and in the early years he was also a big gentleman, and although his family is now in the middle of the road, his reputation is still there; third, Jiang Ruiyuan, a child who studied at the age of 6, heard that he was extremely intelligent and had a rich and noble appearance; moreover, he heard that Jiang's mother, Wang Caiyu, was a generous and virtuous person, and that he had a good god son, and thought that if he had his mother, he would have a son, and although the boy was a little stubborn, he might have a great deal in the future, so he decided that his family affair was fixed. As a daughter, Mao Fumei certainly did not have the right to speak, and naturally agreed with her father's intentions.
In the twenty-seventh year of Guangxu (1901), the 14-year-old Jiang Ruiyuan married the 19-year-old Mao Fumei. In order to cultivate her son to become a material, Wang Caiyu took pains to send her new daughter-in-law to study at the Zuoxin Girls' School in Fenghua County, so that she could learn culture and establish a husband in the future. This is really a vision, not only to cultivate sons, but also to cultivate daughters-in-law!
At that time, the Qing Dynasty was already in a serious crisis, the anti-Qing revolutionary movement was surging, and many people with lofty ideals went abroad to study in search of a way to save the country and save the people. Jiang Ruiyuan also had a whim, he resolutely cut off his braids, and he was also determined to study abroad. This also caused a lot of shock in his hometown countryside. Some people admire, this boy is good, ambitious, ambitious! However, many relatives and friends opposed him, believing that he was a great rebel and strongly discouraged him.
In the face of her son's thoughts, Wang Caiyu is very calm, and she firmly supports her son's choice. Therefore, although she is also inseparable from her son, after all, she has gone through all kinds of hardships, lost her husband twice, lost three children, and only this one son is left. But she was very much in favor of the boy's ambition, and resolutely raised funds for her son and sent Ruiyuan abroad.
After Jiang Ruiyuan arrived in Japan, he entered the Zhenwu School and achieved good academic results. Soon he joined the League and took part in revolutionary activities. In the autumn of 1911, Jiang Ruiyuan and his classmate Zhang Qun returned to China to participate in anti-Qing activities. After the founding of the Republic of China, he followed Dr. Sun Yat-sen's revolution.
Later, Yuan Datou stole the fruits of the revolution, and Jiang Ruiyuan cooperated with Sun Yat-sen to participate in the perverse act against Yuan Datou. Therefore, he became one of the most wanted criminals wanted by Lao Yuan and the Beiyang government. In order to deal with old Yuan, Jiang Ruiyuan returned to his hometown several times to take refuge. Therefore, his home was searched by the enemy from time to time, and many relatives and friends of the clan were afraid of connecting with themselves, so they stopped interacting with his family. However, in the face of his son's predicament, Wang Caiyu was calm, never complained about his son, and frequently comforted, encouraged, tried every means to help his son take refuge, and even supported his anti-Yuan actions.
(f) The last glory
As an ordinary traditional housewife, a good wife and mother, Wang Caiyu also had the idea of holding a grandson. However, after the son got married, because he often ran around, he did not see his daughter-in-law give birth for many years, and he could not help but be a little anxious. Under her repeated supervision, later the daughter-in-law finally became pregnant, and Wang Caiyu was very happy.
At that time, Jiang Ruiyuan was still studying in Japan, and when he came back from a winter vacation to visit his relatives, everyone was originally happy and happy, but Jiang Ruiyuan and his wife had a quarrel for some reason. Jiang Ruiyuan got up on a momentary basis, went down one foot, and unexpectedly kicked his wife's belly that was seven or eight months pregnant, resulting in his wife's miscarriage. The grandson who had been waiting so hard was yellowed, and Wang Caiyu was furious and scolded his son for not filial piety. There are three filial pieties, and no queen is greater. Jiang Ruiyuan knew that he was wrong, so he had to pretend to be a turtle and obediently kneel down to listen to the old mother's scolding.
Later, under the pressure of Wang Caiyu, Jiang Ruiyuan's wife became pregnant again. Finally, when Wang Caiyu was 47 years old, she had a grandson and named him Jingguo. Wang Caiyu was very happy and loved Xiao Jingguo very much, and then she spent a lot of her mind on the raising of her grandson Jingguo.
Wang Caiyu worked hard all his life, went through all kinds of hardships, and worked hard for the Jiang family, and finally became ill with hard work, and died on June 14, 1921, due to a heart attack, at the age of 58.
When Wang Caiyu came out of the funeral, Mr. Sun Yat-sen personally wrote a tribute text for him, and he also personally wrote a tombstone for the tomb of Mother Jiang. On the top of the stele, the four words "pot fan foot style" are engraved, which means a model for women. On both sides of the stele is engraved a self-inscription of Jiang Ruiyuan: The disaster is virtuous, and it is too late to regret the stubbornness of the day; he is ashamed of being a contrarian son, and he hates Jingya for life. The payment is "No Filial Piety Zhou Tai".
Jiang Ruiyuan is also a prominent figure, he has done good things, but also did bad things, which is beyond the scope of this article, in short, he greatly influenced Chinese history, in 1948 he also became the president of the Republic of China. Jiang Ruiyuan's big name is Jiang Zhongzheng, of course, he has many names, and his name is Jiang Zhoutai, Jiang Zhiqing and so on. His name was very atmospheric, like a man who did great things. However, without the cultivation of his mother Wang Caiyu, he would be nothing.
(Text/Woman Who Tells History: Flowers Don't Go)
References; "The Women Who Married the Jiang Family", "The Biography of Chiang Kai-shek", etc.