In the old society, there were many bad habits. Among them, the arranged marriage has made countless idiot men and women hate to itch their teeth! Tragedies abound under arranged marriages, and I won't mention them here.
However, the arranged marriage that I want to talk about today is not so unsatisfactory to some extent.
In 1888, a sensational event occurred in Beijing: Li Hongzhang, as a foreign minister, was about to marry his daughter.
Almost everyone is wondering, what kind of character will this high-powered Li Zhongtang marry his daughter to?
However, when the candidate for the groom's official was selected, everyone was in shock: this groom's official had no wealth and no power, and was still an "old man" who was already in his 40s and had previously married two daughters-in-law!
Li
Such a marriage, which is not very suitable from all aspects, has not less to make people in the capital mutter.
However, it is precisely because of this marriage that we have brought us a household celebrity!
Who is this "celebrity"? What about this marriage that everyone sees as a "mismatch"?
Li Hongzhang's love for talent: a 22-year-old daughter married a subordinate in her 40s
When mentioning this "mismatched" marriage, we must first understand the two parties.
The bride, Li Ju, was born to Li Hongzhang and his second wife, Zhao Xiaolian. This Li Ju coupling, not only looks dignified and beautiful, but also proficient in piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, is a famous talented woman of that era.
Zhao Xiaolian
It is precisely because of this that Li Ju coupling is very much loved by his father Li Hongzhang.
Li Hongzhang, out of his love for his daughter, couldn't help but keep her for a few more years. Until Li Jujun was in her 20s, she had not yet been given her marriage. You know, at that time, women generally married at the age of 14 or 15, and children in their 20s could play soy sauce!
Therefore, Li Jujun, who is not yet married in her 20s, can also be regarded as an old girl. And Li Hongzhang is not in much of a hurry, his vision is high! He believes that his son-in-law must be only eight buckets high, a table of talents, and full of economy in order to be worthy of his beloved daughter.
As a result, Li Hongzhang gave his daughter a carefully selected husband, but everyone was surprised!
This person is no one else, it is Zhang Peilun, an "old man" who has just returned from exile with a bad career.
Zhang Peilun
Everyone was muttering privately: Bingxue's smart, dignified and beautiful daughter, married to such an "old man" who has married his daughter-in-law twice before, Li Hongzhang should not be an old fool!
Who is this Zhang Peilun? What is so special about him that makes Li Hongzhang impressed?
From our current point of view, Zhang Peilun can also be regarded as a famous courtier of the late Qing Dynasty. When he was a teenager, Zhang Peilun was talented and intelligent, and was a famous local "prodigy". Not only that, but his articles are also very well written, and taking the name of merit is like probing for things.
When Zhang Peilun was 22 years old, he passed the jinshi examination and was a veritable young talent. After that, he served as an aide-de-camp at the imperial court and directly began to edit history books.
Historically, those who can hold this position must be talents who have learned from the five cars and learned from the past!
Of course, there are many such talents around Li Hongzhang, that is, "talents of the yuan", and Li Hongzhang has seen many of them. Therefore, this is not the point that Li Hongzhang values most.
Zhao Xiaolian and Li Ju coupled
What makes Li Hongzhang appreciate Zhang Peilun the most is actually that he is just and upright, and Geng Zhi is patriotic.
Zhang Peilun was one of the few main warring factions in the entire late Qing court. He believes that in the midst of being surrounded by foreign enemies, it is not enough to only talk about peace and not to show your fists. Only by actively resisting aggression can we bring deterrence to these Western aggressors. Otherwise, every peace talk will only make these jackals, wolves, tigers and leopards intensify!
I have to say that Zhang Peilun saw the greedy faces of those invaders very clearly.
Therefore, after the outbreak of the Sino-French War, Zhang Peilun established the main anti-war. Therefore, the Qing court sent him to lead the army to meet the French army.
However, at the critical juncture of war, the Qing government became afraid of its hands and feet. Zhang Peilun, who was on the front line, gave an order: No pre-emptive strikes should be made. This led Zhang Peilun to miss the best fighter.
Coupled with the fact that the strength of the Qing army and the French army at that time was too different, the war naturally ended in the fiasco of the Qing army.
After this battle, Zhang Peilun's reputation was discredited, and those lords and factions arrested Zhang Peilun as a blemish and frantically impeached. If someone hadn't protected him, he might have been beheaded.
In the end, Zhang Peilun escaped the death penalty and was exiled to the military platform. During the exile, Zhang Peilun's second wife unfortunately fell ill and died.
Li Hongzhang was very fond of talent, and within a few years, he transferred Zhang Peilun back to the capital and let him serve as his clerk.
After getting along, Li Hongzhang's love for Zhang Peilun intensified. In the end, Li Hongzhang decided to marry his beloved daughter Li Julun to Zhang Peilun!
At that time, Li Jujun was 22 years old, and Zhang Peilun was already in his 40s.
At first, Li Ju coupling and Zhang Peilun were not particularly confident about this marriage. After all, the age difference between the two is too big, and the identity is also very different.
But what I didn't expect was that the married life of the two was not as bad as imagined. After all, Li Ju coupling is a master of piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, And Zhang Peilun is also knowledgeable and knowledgeable, and the two can speak very well together.
Therefore, the married life of the two can also be regarded as Qinse and Ming, respecting each other as guests.
Zhang Peilun even recorded his daily life after marriage with his beloved wife Li Jujun in "Jian Yu Diary":
In the afternoon, Yu Neiren (Li Ju coupling) discussed poetry for a long time... Make tea, gamble chess, read pictures, chat for fun...
Drink in a chrysanthemum, the moon's shadow is light and round, the floral fragrance is swaying, and the wine is slightly drunk.
It can be seen that although before the marriage, both knew that it was a political marriage. But the two can talk together, and have common hobbies, and life is still very happy.
Soon, Li Ju coupling gave birth to a son for Zhang Peilun: Zhang Zhiyi, and later a daughter: Zhang Maoyuan.
Zhang Zhiyi
A well-known descendant - Zhang Ailing
In 1901, Li Hongzhang died. The death of Li Hongzhang caused a huge blow to Zhang Peilun. Because Li Hongzhang is not only his father-in-law, but also his confidant, he has a very important understanding of himself.
Therefore, just over a year after Li Hongzhang's death, Zhang Peilun also died of depression. He left his beloved wife Li Jujun and his two young children.
Since then, Li Ju coupling has broken her heart for her two children. Within a few years, he contracted lung disease. Finally, in 1912, he died tragically.
A few years later, Zhang Zhiyi, the son of Li Ju coupling and Zhang Peilun, grew up and married Huang Yifan, who was also a famous person.
Huang Yifan
In 1920, the eldest daughter of the two was born in Shanghai.
This is what became a household name after that - the writer Zhang Ailing.
Zhang Ailing, as the granddaughter of Zhang Peilun and the great-granddaughter of Li Hongzhang, is very prominent from the point of view of her birth. Moreover, Zhang Ailing's family situation at that time was also very good, enough to support her to receive the best education at that time.
This also laid a solid foundation for Zhang Ailing's writing later.
Moreover, Zhang Ailing has loved reading since she was a child. Grandfather Zhang Peilun is a former Qing jinshi, and the books in the family are definitely indispensable. Therefore, from the moment Zhang Ailing recognized the words, she began to read famous works such as "Journey to the West", "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", and "Dream of the Red Chamber".
After growing up, Zhang Ailing began her own creative road.
Zhang ailing
In 1939, Zhang Ailing went to the University of Hong Kong to study. In the same year, 19-year-old Zhang Ailing published an article in The West Wind magazine: "Genius Dream".
Among them, there is such a sentence:
"Life is a gorgeous robe covered with lice."
As soon as this sentence came out, Zhang Ailing officially stepped into the literary circle of the Republic of China.
After that, Zhang Ailing entered the peak period of literary creation. Works such as "Agarwood Crumbs", "Love in the Fallen City", "The Golden Lock", "Red Rose and White Rose" and so on have been published. After nearly a century of precipitation, it has finally become a masterpiece.
Some of the works are still the subject of much talk today. Many of these works have been adapted into film and television dramas, put on television, and have been well known ever since.
However, what is more side-playing is that most of the novels written by Zhang Ailing have prototypes, and most of these prototypes are her real-life family members.
Zhang Ailing's younger brother Zhang Zijing wrote a book in which he revealed: "The prototype of "Flower Wither" is Zhang Ailing's uncle's family; "Genesis" alludes to Li Jingpu, the sixth aunt of the family; "The Golden Lock" is more direct, writing about the li jingshu family of Li Hongzhang's second son...
This also led to Zhang Ailing's offending all the relatives of the family...
Zhang Ailing once said that what she is most afraid of is the big family. Whether there is a reason for fear of being "condemned" by the family is unknown.
Zhang Ailing's tortuous and bumpy road to love
In addition to literary talent, Zhang Ailing's most enjoyable thing is her tortuous love history.
Zhang Ailing's first husband was named Hu Lancheng. Hu Lancheng is not only Zhang Ailing's first husband, but also her first love.
Hu Lancheng
At that time, Hu Lancheng was a full 14 years older than Zhang Ailing, and had three wives and four children in front of him. However, Zhang Ailing still married Hu Lancheng without hesitation.
The phrase "Low to the dust, flowers blossom from the dust." It was Zhang Ailing who wrote it for Hu Lancheng.
But too humble love has no good results. Hu Lan cost is a playboy, obviously has no intention of "turning back" for Zhang Ailing. Soon, during their marriage, Hu Lancheng cheated on Zhang Ailing twice.
In the end, Zhang Ailing couldn't bear it and chose to divorce Hu Lancheng.
However, Zhang Ailing's choice is undoubtedly very correct. Because Hu Lancheng was not only a playboy, but later he became a traitor and was scolded.
After divorcing Hu Lancheng, Zhang Ailing still inevitably fell into sadness and entered the trough area of life.
At this time, Sang Arc appeared in Zhang Ailing's life. The two met in a film collaboration. Sang Arc is a polite gentleman who treats Zhang Ailing with great respect and love.
Mulberry arc
After a period of time together, the two secretly had a relationship. However, because both of them cherish this fate, they are cautious about each other. Therefore, Zhang Ailing and Sang Arc did not really get together in the end.
After that, Zhang Ailing went to the United States because she was forced by domestic public opinion on her.
Later, Zhang Ailing met her second husband in a writing foundation: Mr. Laiya.
Raya is a German-American playwright with a small reputation in the United States. Zhang Ailing and Lai Ya both have similar experiences: they became famous at a young age, they are well-known writers in their country, and they have also written scripts for movies.
So, although Lai Ya was exactly 29 years older than Zhang Ailing, Zhang Ailing still fell in love with him. The end of love must be marriage, and soon, Zhang Ailing decided to marry Laiya.
LaiYa and Zhang Ailing
In August 1956, Zhang Ailing and Lai Ya married. From the first meeting to the marriage, there was only a gap of half a year.
However, Zhang Ailing and Lai Ya's married life has always been relatively tight. By 1961, Raya was paralyzed by a stroke. The two had a harder time.
Poverty, disease, public opinion, worldly vision, etc., have become the tribulations in the lives of the two men. However, the two people are still very much in love. The love hidden in the depths of the soul breaks through the worldly public opinion and vision.
Unfortunately, in 1967, Zhang Ailing's second husband, Lai Ya, died.
After this, Zhang Ailing was not defeated by grief. She still works hard, "Half Life", "Dream of the Red Chamber Is Not Finished", "Comparison Notes"...
In these voluminous texts, Zhang Ailing's interpretation of her own life is revealed!
In 1995, Zhang Ailing died in an apartment in Los Angeles, USA.
In this life, although Zhang Ailing was born rich, her childhood was not happy: her father and mother divorced when she was very young, and then her father began to degenerate into a playboy, and then became infected with the vice of opium smoking.
In Zhang Ailing's childhood, the scene she saw most often was: her father and stepmother were lying in bed swallowing clouds and vomiting mist. This made the young Zhang Ailing's senses about her father very complicated.
The relationship between Zhang Ailing and her mother is even more intimate and polite. Thankfully, Zhang Ailing's mother, Huang Yifan, was a woman who was heavily influenced by new ideas. She attaches great importance to Zhang Ailing's education. And this also allows Zhang Ailing to have enough confidence to go to the literary world.
After becoming famous, Zhang Ailing basically never mentioned her prominent ancestors and origins, and she only had one identity to the outside world - the writer Zhang Ailing!
Because she clearly knows that the pen in her hand is the foundation of her standing!