The reformists at the end of the Qing Dynasty were representatives of the early days who opened their eyes to the world, and they not only saw the advanced science and technology of the West, but also saw the progressive ideas and concepts of the West. The concept of monogamous marriage and love that began in modern times in China is precisely due to the advocacy and propaganda of this group of reformers.
It stands to reason that whoever proposes who argues, as an advocate of monogamy, is natural to act by example. So, did this group of reformers really practice monogamy?
Look at the first advocate of monogamy, the modern talent Liang Qichao, in the early years, it was his sentence "Monogamous World Association, I and Liuyang Shichuangzhi, respect the public power to cut off private love, need to be a teacher behind." "Kicked off the prelude to monogamy in China. This sentence directly points out that monogamy was jointly proposed by Liang Qichao and a man named Liuyang.
Who is Liuyang? It is Tan Sitong, one of the "Six Gentlemen of Wushu", given that he has dedicated himself to changing the law and has not married a daughter-in-law, let alone practicing monogamy, I will not expand on it here.
And Liang Qichao? As we all know, his original wife was Li Huixian, a cousin of Li Duandi, a reformist minister of the Qing court. Born prominent, he is also very virtuous. After marrying the great talent Liang Qichao, he worked hard to learn Western studies and constantly improve his thinking, transforming from a feudal traditional woman into a new woman. In addition, it also vigorously supports the work of Liang Qichao and Kang Youwei in changing the law, and the entire Liang Qichao's Xiannei help.
When he married her, Liang Qichao was 19 years old, and after marriage, the two had a daughter, which was still relatively happy. Later, the change of law failed, liang Qichao fled to the United States, and the two separated. In Fang Gang's grade, Liang Qichao was wandering in a foreign country alone, how could he withstand loneliness? Soon, Liang Qichao became acquainted with He Huizhen, the daughter of a local overseas Chinese businessman.
Impressed by Liang Qichao's talent, He Huizhen fell in love with him at first sight, and Liang Qichao still failed to withstand the temptation after several pushbacks, and after thinking about it, he decided to put the concept of monogamy behind and wanted to take He Huizhen as a concubine. But his relationship with Li Huixian was still there, so he wrote to his wife for permission. Li Huixian said directly in the reply letter, if you want to marry again, you can marry, but you have to ask your father first.
The reason why Liang Qichao was able to become the main force of the restoration faction was precisely because of the promotion of Li Huixian's cousin Li Duandi, if he did something sorry for Li Huixian, let alone Li Duandi, his father could not accept it. Moreover, Liang Qichao's father was sick in bed, who could bear such anger, so Liang Qichao dismissed the idea of taking He Huizhen as a concubine.
Almost punching himself in the face of monogamy, Liang Qichao breathed a sigh of relief. Later, when the Qing court collapsed, he also returned to the motherland, and his monogamous practice eventually broke the merits.
As mentioned above, Liang Qichao and Li Huixian had a daughter, in fact, the two also had a child, that is, the later famous Liang Sicheng, Liang Sicheng gave birth to a weak body, often fever and illness. He was also afraid of his son's early death, and Liang Qichao still wanted another son. Li Huixian refused, after all, it was too hurtful to have a child. However, he could not bear to see Liang Qichao depressed, so he let his dowry, Wang Guiquan, give birth to him. Giving birth to a child always has to give people a name, so Li Huixian agreed to Liang Qichao's acceptance of Wang Guiquan as a concubine.
Wang Guiquan was also angry, and gave birth to 6 children for Liang Qichao in one breath, including 4 sons and 2 daughters. However, although Wang Guiquan nominally became Liang Qichao's concubine, she was still the nanny of the Liang family outside. After all, Liang Qichao was a progressive youth at that time, or an advocate of monogamy, and if he was punched in the face, he would definitely be disgraced.
At home, Liang Qichao also did not let the children call Wang Guiquan's mother, but "Aunt Wang". However, Wang Guiquan is more successful as a mother than Li Huixian, she is kind by nature, teaching children to have a unique set of methods, and the children have changed their mouths and called her mother. Even Li Huixian's son, Liang Sicheng, was closer to Wang Guiquan.
Therefore, Liang Qichao, who advocates monogamy and leads by example, ultimately failed to fulfill his promise. What about Kang Youwei, another representative of the Restoration? His wives and concubines are numerous, and when he was in his 60s, he also found an 18-year-old little wife, which can be said to be the body that has been trampled on by monogamy. In this comparison, Liang Qichao, who only took a concubine and was still hiding, was simply much stronger than him.