On September 17, 1953, at the west entrance of Beijing's Peicai Hutong, a 44-year-old middle-aged woman named Fu Yufang completed the final journey of her life. On her deathbed, she told her husband, who was a cleaner, a secret she had hidden for many years: "I was actually a princess of the Qing Dynasty."
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" >, Manchurian showgirl, young couple</h1>
On December 20, 1909, a girl fell to the ground in a poor Manchurian family in Beijing, and she was the future Imperial Concubine of the Qing Dynasty, Wen Xiu.
Wen Xiu's grandfather was named Erdet Xizhen, who had been an official in the Rebbe Shangshu and had a large amount of real estate in the family. However, when Wen Xiu's father Duan Gong was in a family, the Erdete family suddenly fell. Duan Gong was unsuccessful all his life, never formally served as an official, and at the same time he was also born clumsy and lost his family property. When Wen Xiu was born, the family fell into poverty.
Wen Xiu's mother, surnamed Jiang, was a Han Chinese. After Duan Gong's death, Jiang raised the three Wenxiu sisters alone and struggled to survive. Although the family was poor, Jiang did not relax her education. In 1916, Wen Xiu entered primary school and helped his mother embroidery earn money at night.
Wen Xiu is very competitive, she works hard, so her results are among the best. In 1921, Wen Xiu ushered in a turning point in her life, and she was selected by Zaifeng, the former Prince of the Great Qing Dynasty, to become the candidate for the wife of Puyi, the "Emperor of the Great Qing Dynasty".
As we all know, the Qing Dynasty was already extinct as early as 1912. However, due to the preferential treatment clause signed by the Republic of China and the Qing Dynasty, Puyi's small imperial court could still live in the Forbidden City, enjoying an annuity of 4 million silver dollars per year and the power of foreign monarchs. Therefore, in the Forbidden City, Puyi is still the "emperor".
As early as the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, the Qing court established the system of "draft women", and the daughters of every Manchurian family had the opportunity to be elected to the palace and become concubines. Later, due to the increase in the population of the Eight Banners and the large number of candidates, after Qianlong, the civilian women of the Eight Banners were excluded from the draft.
The standards of royal showgirls are mainly based on virtue and etiquette, so they do not pay much attention to looks. Wen Xiu's appearance is indeed mediocre, but his character and talent are among the best among the show girls. Therefore, Wen Xiu became a popular candidate for Empress Puyi.
According to the eunuch Xin Xiuming's "Memories of the Old Eunuch", it is mentioned:
"When the marriage was discussed, he was very strong in protecting Duan Gong's daughter, and attached the photo to let the emperor choose himself."
But at this juncture, several imperial concubines in the Qing Palace raised objections. Emperor Duankang's concubines believed that the Wen embroidery family was too poor, and I was afraid that after entering the palace, there would be a small family temperament, so she strongly opposed Li Wen embroidery as the queen.
On the contrary, Rong yuan's daughter Wanrong's family is very wealthy, and her appearance is far better than that of Wenxiu. In 1922, Puyi finally personally circled WanRong as empress, and Wen Xiu was made a concubine.
In terms of personality, Wanrong and Wenxiu are two completely different women. Literary embroidery is more inclined to the old-fashioned women, dignified and restrained, knowledgeable and reasonable, everything is measured, never more polite.
Wanrong received a Western-style education in the early days, cheerful and generous, fluent in English, and liked to eat Western food and Western-style dress. Entering the imperial palace, WanRong broke the earth and restored the Chuxiu Palace where she lived into a combination of Chinese and Western styles, adding Western-style furniture such as bathtubs, bathrooms and sofas, and at the same time transforming the Lijingxuan in the apse of the Chuxiu Palace into a Western restaurant.
Like Wanrong, the young Tianzi Puyi also has a deep interest in those foreign things, so he and Wanrong can talk more than Wenxiu.
However, at the beginning, the married life of Puyi and Wenxiu was still relatively harmonious. I heard that Wen Xiu likes to listen to drama, Puyi specially spent a lot of money to buy her a famous brand phonograph; I heard that Wen Xiu likes to raise flowers and grass, Puyi also went with her to raise, and even arranged to buy the most expensive and rarest varieties. In the middle of summer, Puyi will also take Wen embroidery to Jingshan and Beihai to cool off.
A eunuch once said that Wen Xiu and Puyi were incompatible at the beginning, which was not in line with historical facts. In fact, the talent and poetry of literary embroidery are quite appreciated by Puyi. The two often sang poetry and harmony between them, and the romance was extreme. At that time, Puyi once wrote such a poem to Wen Xiu:
"The night sitting steps are cold, and sijun fang is broken." Ning Tong died a million times, and he would not bear to be divided into two pieces. At this point, the sorrow and autumn are gradually forgotten. Wash the cup and drink freely, and want to give up the wish to change the rest. ”
Judging from the poems, Puyi is still quite attached to Wenxiu, even to the point of "Ning Tong dies with ten million, and he will endure two parts". However, the flowers are not red, and with the gradual favor of Wanrong, the marriage between Puyi and Wenxiu has cracked.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > second, jealousy and grace</h1>
WanRong and Wen Xiu entered the palace at the same time, and at first the relationship between the two was not bad. However, after a long time, how can the two serve a husband and wife together? After all, love is selfish and cannot tolerate others.
In terms of personality, Wanrong is proud and arrogant, and likes to play in front of Puyi. With the deepening of her relationship with Puyi, she became more and more unable to tolerate the wenxiu living in changchun palace. Therefore, in front of Wen Xiu, WanRong no longer had the friendship of a girlfriend at the beginning, but instead, it was the meanness and cruelty of a jealous woman.
In the palace, WanRong is above the embroidery. She often wrote letters to Wenxiu, reminding her to know her identity. And Wen Xiu is not willing to show weakness, and constantly uses replies to compete with WanRong.
Wan Rong wrote a letter to Wen Xiu, first referring to her as a lady, and then settling for her English name - Elizabeth. The wen embroidery reply letter neither name nor drop the paragraph, but drew a circle on the graceful typo. The rivalry between the queen concubines is evident.
Later, the two disagreed on meaningless things such as dressing, eating, and talking, which also made the contradiction between the queen concubines deeper and deeper. At this time, Puyi has gradually favored a beautiful and lively appearance. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Wanrong vigorously denigrated Wenxiu at the pillow, so that Puyi gradually had an opinion on the latter. From then on, Puyi never went to the Changchun Palace again, and Wen Embroidery stayed alone all day in the empty boudoir, entertaining himself by reading and writing.
The trees want to be quiet and the wind is not stopping. Although Wen Xiu had been treated coldly, WanRong was furious and became legally sarcastic, sarcastic and mocking Wen Xiu, putting her in an embarrassing situation. In the Palace Museum Archives, there is a letter written by Wan Rong to Wen Xiu, in which it reads:
"Ms. Eileen Huijian:
I haven't seen him for several days, I don't know if Jun still cares about self-pity? Yu Jin even thought about buying a mirror in case gu Jun's shadow. Read a song to return the king's laughter.
Does Ms. Eileen play the piano well? Ms. Eileen sings well? Is Ms. Eileen's petite illness better? Did Ms. Eileen take the medicine? Does Ms. Eileen enter well and pull incense? Good night.
In this letter, wanrong's madness and literary frustration are vividly expressed. Some scholars believe that the letter is nothing more than a joke between girlfriends. But in the author's opinion, if it is really a joke of girlfriends, how can it be so indiscriminate, how can it be so thin, how can it be so poignant?
Just as the so-called dog fights the human position, after Wen Xiu fell out of favor, even the people under her dared to bully her. As the Vernacular Newspaper writes:
"The chief eunuch of the Changchun Palace of the Qing Dynasty, Hai Liu She, and Li Li, because of the trust of the Qing Emperor, were arrogant and arrogant, holding the authority and seeing no one. Every time they saw That Lady Shufei was young and could be deceived, Liu and Li became more and more unscrupulous. Such power and adultery can be said to have existed from generation to generation, why can't the royal family eliminate this root. ”
In 1924, Feng Yuxiang forced the Forbidden City and drove Puyi out of the palace. The fierce Wen Xiu was ready to be martyred, and she stabbed her throat with scissors, but fortunately she was dissuaded by the eunuch, so that it did not cause a catastrophe.
However, Wen Xiu's loyalty to Puyi did not exchange the reflection and love of the latter, but on the contrary, it was exchanged for intensified persecution. So why?
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > third, the Shufei Revolution</h1>
After Puyi left the Forbidden City, he temporarily lived in the palace of prince of Alcohol where his biological father Zaifeng was born. When discussing future plans, Wen Xiu and Puyi had a huge disagreement.
At that time, under the seduction of Zheng Xiaoxu and Luo Zhenyu, Puyi decided to defect to the Japanese and become emperor. Wen Xiu heard the words and quickly adhered to the national righteousness to dissuade Puyi, not to lure the wolf into the room, to become a puppet of Japan, and then to become a sinner throughout the ages. However, Puyi had long wanted to be a traitor, so why didn't Rong Wenxiu continue to rap?
Because Wen Xiu repeatedly advised himself to stay away from the Japanese, Puyi finally couldn't bear it. He picked up the feather duster and beat her up hard. From then on, Puyi did not even have a superficial respect for WenXiu, and completely beat him into the cold palace.
After Puyi left prince's mansion, he lived in Tianjin. Leaving the palace, the westernized grace of the style is like a fish, she changed the dress of the palace, changed into a fashionable cheongsam and high heels, and permed her hair, like a modern noblewoman. She and Puyi hold hands every day, go to the theater to watch Mei Lanfang's performance, go to the dance hall to dance, skate, play tennis, and then go to the department store to shop, see what they sell, whether it is useful or not, anyway, Puyi pays for it.
Sometimes hungry, Wanrong and Puyi also went to Tianjin's famous "Cheese Forest" with Puyi to eat Western food, and later invited the Western food chef there to Zhang Garden to make Western food for him.
In order to achieve the evil purpose of restoration, Puyi wandered between the consuls of Britain, France, Italy, Japan and other countries in the concession and the commander of the garrison, and had frequent exchanges with them. In Zhang Garden, Puyi often holds various ceremonies and cocktail parties, and every time she attends such a social place, Wanrong will attend as a hostess, which can be described as an infinite scenery.
Just when Wanrong was infinitely beautiful, Wen Xiu's situation had fallen into a desperate situation. According to Wen Xiu's recollection:
"WanRong and Puyi live on the second floor, and I live in a room next to the Puyi reception hall downstairs. Although we lived in the same building, no one interacted with anyone, like strangers on the road. Wan Rong chengtian put up a big shelf of empresses, domineering. Puyi especially listened to her words, and I was treated coldly by them. My relationship with Puyi is also getting worse and worse every day. ”
In addition to being snubbed by Puyi's feelings, Wenxiu's life is not guaranteed. Unlike Wanrong, who often received puyi's rewards, Wenxiu not only did not award awards, but also lacked tribute on the empress's birthday and important festivals. Due to the lack of money, Wen embroidery often pawns clothes to subsidize life.
The powerful eunuchs and maids saw that Wenxiu had lost Puyi's favor, and they also treated her coldly and did not serve very well. And the eunuchs around Wanrong dared to face Wen Xiu directly and offend, and spoke evil words to each other. Zhang Yuan's life of more than 4 years, Wen Xiu spent in loneliness, pain and humiliation.
In order to get rid of such a painful situation, Wen Xiu decided to give Puyi the same chance in the end. At a courtesy ceremony for the prince's widow, Wen Xiu proposed that the Xuantong Emperor was abolished and that the identity of empress dowager no longer existed, so he hoped to obtain equal rights with Wanrong. Obviously, although what Wen Xiu said was the truth, it was the last thing Puyi wanted to face. Annoyed and angry, the "little emperor" picked up the whip and beat Wen Xiu fiercely.
After experiencing this domestic violence, Wen Xiu was disheartened by Puyi and had the idea of leaving Puyi in ignorance. A "Shufei Revolution" was brewing in Puyi's luxurious villa.
In July 1929, Puyi moved the mansion to Jingyuan, a mile away. Jingyuan was originally the residence of Lu Zongyu, the minister of the Beiyang government in Japan. At this time, the collusion between Puyi and the Japanese Kou was also getting closer and closer, and it was only a matter of time before he betrayed the country.
At the same time, Puyi also intensified his ridicule and reprimand of Wen Xiu, who sang against him every day. He once instructed the eunuch to rebuke him in the embroidery room:
"There is no one like you in ancient times!" In the two hundred years of the Qing Dynasty, there was no one you who did not know the etiquette! ”
This humiliation made Wen Xiu intolerable, and the painful and repressive life made her have the idea of dying. She wrote a suicide note to her sister. However, Puyi still paid no attention to her life and death, and Wen Xiu understood that her death would not only not make Puyi feel painful, but on the contrary, there would be a kind of comfort in losing her baggage.
Therefore, Wen Xiu brewed a unique rebellion in China for 5,000 years - the "Shufei Revolution". At this time, Puyi had already reached a cooperation agreement with the Japanese Kou and was determined to be a puppet and a traitor. Wen Xiu understood that if he did not run away immediately, he would inevitably be pulled onto the thief's boat by Puyi.
On August 25, 1931, her sister Wenshan went to Jingyuan to accompany her sister and asked for permission for her sister to relax outside, and Puyi unexpectedly agreed. Accompanied by his sister, Wen Xiu drove away from Jingyuan in a special car and never returned.
Subsequently, the special car drove directly to the National Hotel, where three well-known lawyers in the industry were already waiting. Wen Xiu took out three letters that had been prepared long ago and handed them to the eunuch accompanying him, asking him to bring them to the emperor.
Puyi saw three letters brought by the eunuch, two of which were letters from lawyers and one from her sister Wenshan. In the letter, the lawyer complained that Wen Xiu had been abused and could not bear it, and could only seek legal relief. The lawyer has accepted the divorce case.
After reading this letter, Puyi directly collapsed on the sofa, and he could not have imagined in any way that the usually weak Literary Embroidery had made such a bold move, which was something that had not been done for more than two hundred years, and it was also a great shame and humiliation that the Qing Dynasty royal family had not endured.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > four, toward freedom</h1>
After Puyi regained his composure, he quickly approached Zheng Xiaoxu and Hu Siyi to discuss countermeasures. They believed that they could not confront the concubines in court, and they could not let the royal family be ugly.
However, at this time, the news of Wen Xiu's departure had already spread throughout Tianjin Wei. The next day, all the newspapers in Tianjin carried the news of the "Marriage Change of the Former Qing Dynasty Emperor" with a front-page headline.
At this time in China, the feminist movement was already in the ascendant, the call for "women's liberation" had long been heard, and "abolishing polygamy" and "freedom of divorce" had long become hot topics in society at that time. Therefore, Wen Xiu's bravery has won universal sympathy from everyone, and people have praised her courage and revolutionary spirit, and her move has caused a shocking social impact. In the feminist world, it is tantamount to a revolution. Therefore, the wenxiu divorce is also known as the "Shufei Revolution".
In fact, Wen Xiu also wants to leave room for Puyi to save some face. Her initial idea was not divorce, but "living elsewhere". Only need Puyi to drive once or twice a week and give her half a million yuan for living expenses.
However, Puyi believed that Wen Xiu's departure was a great rebellion, and he used the relics of the Qing Dynasty to exert all kinds of pressure on Wen Xiu's brothers, but wen xiu, who was soft inside and strong, never complied. On the contrary, Wen Xiu also made a straightforward request for divorce.
In the end, Wen Xiu and Puyi confronted each other in court, and the lawyers of both sides exchanged words and swords, and finally reached a divorce agreement. According to the agreement, Puyi will give Wenxiu a one-time living allowance of 50,000 yuan, and will be disassociated from the Qing Chamber from now on. The day after the divorce, Puyi published news in newspapers in Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai:
"Lady Shufei left the garden without permission, showing that she violated the ancestral system, removed her original title, and abolished her as a commoner.
Only 19 days later, Puyi rebelled against the enemy and completely committed traitors. Very fortunately, Wen Xiu did not get on the thief ship of the puppet Manchukuo like Wanrong.
After arriving in the northeast, Wanrong saw that Puyi had become a puppet of the Japanese, living a miserable and depressed life every day. The emperor did not become a traitor, but became a traitor. WanRong was never willing to be a puppet lady, so he repeatedly entrusted others to try to help her escape from the northeast, but both escapes ended in failure.
At this moment, WanRong finally understood Wen Xiu's foresight and her determination. Since the escape was impossible, Wanrong embarked on the road of self-destruction. She smoked opium every day, making herself inhuman and ghostly. In 1935, WanRong was even more of an adulterous bodyguard and gave birth to a baby girl. Annoyed and angry, Puyi threw Wanrong into the cold palace, and Wanrong also suffered from mental illness.
After the end of World War II, Puyi and Wanrong were captured by the Soviets and later transferred to the Eighth Route Army. On the way to the battle with the troops, Wanrong unfortunately died of illness. It is said that after Puyi heard the news, he was completely indifferent.
What about literary embroidery? After she left Puyi, she lived a civilian life, giving herself a pseudonym fu Yufang and finding a job as a teacher at a private primary school in Beiping. Wen Embroidery knows how to write and writes well, so it is greatly welcomed by students.
Who knew that a year later, Wen Xiu's identity was exposed, and she could not withstand the harassment of many curious people and chose to resign. After leaving school, Wen Xiu bought a nine-room courtyard and sat in the mountains and ate every day. After the fall of Peiping, the Japanese blackmailed her in every way, and soon ran out of all their savings.
Wen Xiu, who was struggling with his life, eventually sold his house and moved to a distant cousin's house. Due to the poor family of his cousin, Wen Xiu had to engage in many tasks, such as pasting paper boxes, moving bricks, and setting up a cigarette stand on Shiqima Street.
After the fall of the Japanese Kou, Bunji joined a newspaper in 1947 as a proofreader. Under the introduction of the president, Wen Xiu met a Nationalist officer named Liu Zhendong. This person is from Henan and is a straight man, so the eldest is not small and does not marry. Liu Zhendong is humane and considerate, and warms Wen Xiu's already cold heart. Half a year later, Wen Xiu and Liu Zhendong entered the palace of marriage.
In 1948, Liu Zhendong retired from the army and started a freight trucking business. During the Battle of Pingjin, Liu Zhendong prepared to flee to Taiwan with his family and sell his car dealership and family property. Who knew that the People's Liberation Army was marching too fast, and the sea route to Taiwan was not accessible.
After liberation, Liu Zhendong's identity as a former nationalist officer was exposed and subject to government scrutiny and control. Later, the government believed that Liu Zhendong had not committed evil, so it quickly lifted the control of the two men. On the contrary, Liu Zhendong was also arranged to work as a cleaner in the Xicheng District cleaning team. In order to facilitate Liu Zhendong's work, Wen Xiu and Liu Zhendong moved their family to the west entrance of Peicai Hutong.
Just when Wen Xiu admired his new life, Wen Xiu, who was only 44 years old, died of a heart attack and died next to her husband. On her deathbed, Wen Xiu confided the truth about her identity to her husband:
"In fact, my real name is not Fu Yufang, I was the imperial concubine of the Qing Dynasty before, and my name is Erdet Wenxiu."
Liu Zhendong said frankly: "I have long known that you are an extraordinary person, you are not like an ordinary woman, I did not expect that you were really an imperial concubine." ”
In the end, Wen Xiu closed her eyes in her husband's tearful eyes, and she left no heirs of her own. Wen Xiu enjoyed a life of flowers, and bravely walked out of the siege of the unfortunate marriage, and finally found the person he truly loved. Looking back on his life, Wen Xiu has no regrets, only happiness.
After Wen Xiu's death, the Xicheng District cleaning team paid for a thin leather coffin made of 4 pieces of wood and buried Wen Xiu in the righteous field outside the Anding Gate.