During the ancient feudal society period, the social status of women was extremely low, and the three-inch golden lotus was the embodiment of the male superiority and female inferiority of the feudal society. The reasons for abandoning wives during the feudal society period were recognized by law alone, of which no queen was the greatest. Today I want to talk about a woman who was forced to agree to her husband's other marriage because she could not have children, and then died of a miserable illness, this person is Wang Minghua, the original wife of Peking Opera master Mei Lanfang.
In 1892, Wang Minghua was born, her father was Wang Shunfu of Danjiao, and her older brother was Wang Yulou of Wusheng. She herself is also an actress, and has been very affectionate since marrying Mei Lanfang in the second year of Qing Xuan reunification (1910). The two gave birth to a son and a daughter after marriage, and in order to accompany her husband to perform, she bravely underwent sterilization, which is also the source of her future tragedy.
When Wang Minghua accompanied Mei Lanfang, it can be said that she was comprehensive, and the women dressed as men entered the backstage of the theater to help Mei Yanfang improve her makeup, making Mei Lanfang's appearance more handsome and decent. This was a move to break the feudalism at the time, because women were not allowed to set foot in the backstage of the theater. No matter what activities Mei Lanfang participates in, Wang Minghua will accompany her.
In 1919, Mei Lanfang went to Japan as China's first Peking Opera actress, and she also went. In life, she takes care of Mei Lanfang very thoughtfully, and the performance is even more, from makeup, hairstyle to costumes, she will personally handle it. She also cares more about her own dress, she often wears the most fashionable skirts and wears various jewelry to hold banquets as the hostess of the Mei family.
The happy life did not last long, and Wang Minghua's two children died of measles at the same time. She was sad because of the death of her child, but there was a problem that had to be considered, that is, Mei Lanfang was the only son, Mei Lanfang's great uncle Mei Yutian also only gave birth to a few daughters, and Mei Lanfang was also the only son of the two rooms. At that time, it was still very feudal, no son was equivalent to breaking the incense, Wang Minghua's mother suggested that she could adopt her nephew Wang Shaolou as a son, Mei Lanfang felt that it was not possible, he was not yet thirty years old and could give birth to himself.
In desperation, Wang Minghua could only agree, and there was a suitable candidate at this time. Mei Lanfang's 16-year-old sister Fu Zhifang, beautiful And Quiet, is healthy and young, and there are only two mothers and daughters. In the tenth year of the Republic of China (1921), Fu Zhifang married Mei Lanfang as a peaceful wife. At this time, he and Mei Lanfang became Fu Zhifang, and not long after marriage, they gave birth to a son and hugged Wang Minghua, but Wang Minghua refused on the grounds that he was not in good health.
The refusal was probably because she didn't want her children to stay away from their biological mothers at a young age, and the damage brought to her by the death of two children was permanent. Fu Zhifang and Mei Lanfang had 9 children after marriage, but only four of them grew up. In fact, even if Wang Minghua has children, Mei Lanfang will still change her heart. Mei Lanfang had a relationship with Meng Xiaodong after returning from Japan in 1925.
Meng Xiaodong and Mei Lanfang can be said to be on a par, and Meng Xiaodong is from a pear garden family. Intelligent and beautiful from an early age. She was only 18 years old when she met Mei Lanfang, a young girl with a noble temperament. The two often perform on the same stage because of their work, and there is a spark of love when they come and go. Mei Lanfang has a house called "Yuxuan", and the two of them started a good life here. Until the accident of 1926 was hyped by public opinion, the two had to be separated.
Wang Minghua has been insane since the death of her child, regretting that she had performed sterilization surgery, and she had tuberculosis under depression, and she took a nurse to Tianjin in order not to let her family get sick. In early 1929, Wang Minghua fell seriously ill and died. Fu Zhifang may be the best for her, personally following Mei Yanfang to help Wang Minghua choose a cemetery, letting his three-year-old child give Wang Minghua a filial piety gift, and after Mei Yanfang's death, he also asked mei Yanfang to be buried next to Wang Minghua for a joint burial, and at the same time left a vacant space for himself next to him.
References: "Mei Lanfang originally matched Wang Minghua", "Mei Lanfang"