Mei Lanfang (right)
It is said that behind a successful man there is always a great woman silently paying, for peking opera artist Mei Lanfang, behind him, there is not only one woman, but three women have had an important impact on him.
Mei Lanfang's three wives: Wang Minghua, Fu Zhifang, and Meng Xiaodong, some of them loved him and became obsessed, willing to give up their lives, give birth to children for him, and sterilize him, but in the end they could not escape the fate of "only seeing new people laughing, not hearing old people crying".
Some gave up the Peking Opera performances he had learned since childhood, washed his hands and made soup, filial piety to his parents, and raised children, and finally cultivated a hand with him and the consummation of growing old with his son.
But some people, after seeing his hesitation and cowardice in his feelings, chose to take the initiative to "Hugh Fu", dashing away, and from then on, they separated from each other and re-focused on Peking Opera performances and lived out their own glory.
The different choices of the three of them ultimately lead them to three different endings, either happy or sad, or enviable, or lamentable.
Mei Lanfang
On the night of Mei Lanfang's marriage to Fu Zhifang in 1921, Mei Lanfang deliberately went to Wang Minghua's room before going to Fu Zhifang's room.
The two sat quietly for a while, without saying a word, Mei Lanfang held Wang Minghua's hand with some apology, and found that Wang Minghua's hands of a pair of girls were much rougher than his.
Of course, this is because since Mei Lanfang married Wang Minghua, he no longer has to worry about three meals a day at home, laundry and cleaning, all of which are all taken care of by Wang Minghua.
Wang Minghua married Mei Lanfang in 1910, when Mei Lanfang was only 16 years old, and the marriage between the two of them was considered an arranged marriage.
At that time, Mei Lanfang temporarily bid farewell to the Peking Opera stage because of her voice falling, and Mei Lanfang's parents planned to marry a daughter-in-law for him to take care of his daily life.
Wang Minghua was also born in the Liyuan family, his father Wang Shunfu was a famous Hua Dan at that time, his brother was a famous Martial Student, the Mei family and the Wang family have been acquainted for a long time, and this family affair can be described as a one-shot agreement.
When Wang Minghua married Mei Lanfang, Mei Lanfang was not yet famous, and the family situation of the Mei family was not good, but she had no intention of being poor.
She cleaned up the family and took care of her husband Mei Lanfang's daily life, she admired her husband's talent and wholeheartedly supported his Peking Opera career.
After Mei Lanfang's downfall period slowly passed and he reappeared on the stage, Wang Minghua also gave him great support and help.
When rehearsing the costume new play "Chang'e Running Moon", the costumes and heads in Mei Lanfang's plays were all designed by Wang Minghua.
It turned out that when Wang Minghua was in the middle of the boudoir, he often made costumes, heads, and combed makeup for his father, who also sang Danjiao.
When Mei Lanfang just appeared on stage, she was not famous, often could not afford a good combing master, could not afford to rent a good costume, Wang Minghua personally made him a costume, combed his wig hair at home, let him take it to the theater, and waited until he went to the stage to go to the head set.
Mei Lanfang gradually became famous, and many foreign theaters invited him to perform, such as going to Shanghai, Japan, etc., but Wang Minghua was worried that Mei Lanfang had no one to take care of her, and she could not cope with it, so she wanted to go with Mei Lanfang.
However, at that time, the theater did not allow women to accompany him, so Wang Minghua was in a hurry, dressed up as a man, and quietly accompanied Mei Lanfang.
After Wang Minghua gave birth to a son and a daughter to Mei Lanfang, Wang Minghua thought that two children were enough, and if she became pregnant again, it would be difficult for her to dress as a man to accompany Mei Lanfang on tour everywhere.
So Wang Minghua made a bold decision, she found a doctor to sterilize herself, this matter she did not even dare to tell her in-laws, only dared to quietly tell Mei Lanfang.
Mei Lanfang understood her good intentions, he was greatly moved, took her hand, promised to sing famous, so that she and the child can live a good life.
However, the weather was unpredictable, and soon the two children both fell ill and died early, and Wang Minghua's heart suddenly sank to the bottom of the well.
The Mei family's parents also urged Wang Minghua to adjust her body and give Mei Lanfang several children, but Wang Minghua had a hard time saying that she had been sterilized in order to take better care of her husband.
In Wang Minghua's cognition, a woman's biggest mission in this life is to pass on the inheritance to her husband's family, and if the husband's family cuts off the incense because of herself, it is her biggest fault. So under the consideration of many parties, Wang Minghua agreed to Mei Lanfang to marry another room.
Fu Zhifang
And Mei Lanfang's second wife is Fu Zhifang, on the wedding night of Mei Lanfang and Wang Minghua, Wang Minghua stayed alone in the empty room, she did not expect that at this time Mei Lanfang first came to her room to look at her.
They held hands together, relatively speechless, Wang Minghua knew that Mei Lanfang had guilt in his heart, and he also knew that he was doing this to show respect for her, knowing this, Wang Minghua was already very relieved in his heart.
She let go of Mei Lanfang's hand and said, "Hurry up, or the bride will be in a hurry." Mei Lanfang then went to Fu Zhifang's room.
Fu Zhifang is a flag woman who has loved Peking Opera performance since she was a child, when the society was just civilized, and the drama class began to recruit women.
In the drama class, there was a rare situation of male and female actors forming classes separately, and the class composed of actresses was called Kun Ban, when Fu Zhifang was the top brand qingyi of Chongya SheKun Class, performing in the New World Amusement Park of Tianqiao Xiangchang.
Fu Zhifang sings gently and pleasantly, has a flexible expression and a body movement image in place, and is well-known in the local area, known as "Tianqiao Mei Lanfang".
Mei Lanfang and Fu Zhifang met at a church meeting at a Peking Opera performance, probably in 1920, when Mei Lanfang took the stage to perform "Si Fan" and "Wu Jia Po", and Fu Zhifang starred in "Zhan Pu Guan".
Mei Lanfang had already successfully made a name all over the world at that time, and everyone in the world who studied drama knew his name and took him as his example, and Fu Zhifang was no exception.
In many contacts with Fu Zhifang, Mei Lanfang felt that she was straightforward, polite to people and things, and performed well in Peking Opera.
Mei Lanfang took into account Wang Minghua's feelings and did not want to marry again, but the elders in the family rushed to persuade him to marry another family heir, and he finally explained to the elders his good feelings for Fu Zhifang.
The elders of the family were still very satisfied with Fu Zhifang, and soon arranged for Mei Lanfang to come to the door to propose to her and plan the marriage of the two.
Only one thing, the Mei family, including Mei Lanfang herself, believes that after Fu Zhifang marries into the Mei family, it is not suitable to continue to appear outside.
Although Fu Zhifang did not give up the Peking Opera stage, after all, the social trend at that time was like this, and the in-laws and the mother-in-law's family told her that the husband's career is the most important, and the woman only needs to take care of the family.
Mei Lanfang and Fu Zhifang
Fu Zhifang bid farewell to the Peking Opera stage and took care of the family, and soon she became pregnant and gave birth to a son for Mei Lanfang, and Mei's parents liked her very much and encouraged her to continue to branch out for the Mei family.
Mei Lanfang also misses Fu Zhifang's efforts, he went to perform in other places, always remember to bring some gifts to Fu Zhifang, whether it is Western-style balm, cheongsam, necklace, he remembers to buy a copy for Fu Zhifang.
When Fu Zhifang won the attention and love of the whole family, Wang Minghua was naturally snubbed, especially listening to the baby crying from Fu Zhifang's room, thinking of the two children who died early, Wang Minghua could not help but feel sad.
Later, perhaps because of the accumulation of depression, Wang Minghua suffered from tuberculosis, which could not be cured for a long time, and she decided to go to Tianjin alone to recuperate, and died in Tianjin Hospital.
Compared with Wang Minghua, Fu Zhifang's ending was much happier, she had given birth to a total of nine children for Mei Lanfang, but five of her children died prematurely due to illness, and finally only three sons and one daughter were left.
Fu Zhifang not only gave birth to mei Lanfang's children, but after Wang Minghua's death, Fu Zhifang also managed the accounts and expenses in the housekeeper, managing a large family, and was busy every day.
Fu Zhifang and Mei Lanfang
Fu Zhifang is not only Mei Lanfang's life helper, but also his spiritual confidant, Fu Zhifang can understand and fully support all the decisions made by Mei Lanfang.
For example, during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, after the Japanese occupied Peiping, they invited Mei Lanfang to perform for him, but Mei Lanfang refused in a big way, and specifically grew a beard to show his determination to refuse the performance.
Many of Mei Lanfang's colleagues have advised him to know the current affairs as Junjie, who is now the world of the Japanese, and there is no good end for a drama to rebel against the Japanese.
Mei Lanfang's family
Only Fu Zhifang fully supported Mei Lanfang's refusal to perform, she understood that this was out of Mei Lanfang's fist-and-fist patriotic heart, and in the face of the country's peril, anyone should show Chinese integrity and not yield to the obscene authority of the Japanese.
Fu Zhifang also told Mei Lanfang: "We say that refusing to perform is refusing to perform, and if something really happens, we will bear it together." ”
Mei Lanfang was also touched by Fu Zhifang's support, and he hugged Fu Zhifang and made a promise of living and dying together.
However, the feelings between Mei Lanfang and Fu Zhifang, which are stronger than Jin Jian,are not flawless, and Meng Xiaodong is inserted between them.
Mei Lanfang is an artist after all, he has rich and delicate emotions, his artistic performance needs a wealth of passion to stimulate, his deep affection with Fu Zhifang is certainly worth moving, but in the day-to-day relationship, it is inevitable to produce a little monotony.
At this moment, Meng Xiaodong suddenly appeared in Mei Lanfang's world like a warm flame, rekindling his passion.
Mei Lanfang and Meng Xiaodong met through the cooperation of Peking Opera, initially playing husband and wife in "Shilang Visiting Mother", and later playing a pair of miscreants who flirted and scolded in "Dragon Play Phoenix".
Interestingly, Mei Lanfang is famous for singing Danjiao, and Meng Xiaodong is a famous old student, the two perform on the same stage, just yin and yang are reversed, one is a male Dan Zhuangyuan, the other is a Susheng empress.
On the stage, their eyebrows are like silk, entangled, and the two people under the stage also happen to be the dark turn of autumn waves, the gradual birth of feelings, and the spring heart.
Meng Xiaodong and Mei Lanfang
Soon it came to fruition, the two naturally came together, meng Xiaodong was naturally ready to marry Mei Lanfang and be with him forever.
But Mei Lanfang has a lot of worries in her heart, he already has a wife Fu Zhifang, and Fu Zhifang is industrious to run the family, have children, filial piety to the elderly, nothing is not done well, what reason does Mei Lanfang have to marry another room?
Mei Lanfang tried Fu Zhifang's tone, she had a resolute attitude, saying that if Mei Lanfang married again, she would run away with her children, she resolutely disagreed with Mei Lanfang's remarriage, and she also cried and cried to the elders in the family, making the family really unsightly, Mei Lanfang could only give up first.
Meng Xiaodong
But he was reluctant to break up with Meng Xiaodong, so he could only hide the golden house, and he specially purchased a residence for Meng Xiaodong and himself.
He told Meng Xiaodong that when he was a child, he was adopted by his uncle and later sent back to his parents' house.
Since he is the common son of the two families, he can marry two wives, so he borrowed the name of "two rooms at the same time" and walked with Meng Xiaodong.
Mei Lanfang temporarily arranged Meng Xiaodong in a courtyard called "Yuxuan" in Dongcheng District, and Mei Lanfang invited several elders and friends to hold a simple ceremony, but hid the matter from Fu Zhifang.
Mei Lanfang and Meng Xiaodong's love affair has attracted the attention of the majority of fans, and among Mei Lanfang's fans, there are two factions: "Tingfu Faction" and "Tingmeng Faction".
The Tingfu faction supports Mei Lanfang and Fu Zhifang together, believing that Fu Zhifang has paid a lot for Mei Lanfang and worked hard, while the Tingmeng faction believes that Meng Xiaodong and Mei Lanfang are very compatible in terms of fame, strength, and status.
But the facts are often unexpected, and the fate of Mei Lanfang and Meng Xiaodong came to an abrupt end because of a bloody case.
It was one day in 1926, when Mei Lanfang was sitting in the living room of Yuyuxuan with three or five friends drinking tea and chatting, when he suddenly broke into a gunman named Wang Weichen (also known as Li Zhigang), who was a fanatical fan of Meng Xiaodong.
After Meng Xiaodong and Mei Lanfang were together, they did not perform on stage for a long time, and Wang Weichen lamented that Meng Xiaodong gave up the stage in this way, and he was full of hatred for Mei Lanfang, and after he was drunk that day, he took a gun and broke into Mei Lanfang's residence.
At that time, Wang Weichen pointed a gun at Mei Lanfang's friend Zhang Han's head and asked Mei Lanfang to take 50,000 oceans, and Mei Lanfang ran out of Yuyuxuan on the pretext of going out to raise money and reported to the police.
The police soon surrounded Yu Yuxuan on three floors outside, and watching more and more police officers gather outside the window, Wang Weichen was overly nervous, accidentally pulled the trigger, and killed Zhang Hanju.
The bloody case was on the front page of the newspaper the next day, Zhang Hanju was after all because of Mei Lanfang Meng Xiaodong's death, so the audience's overwhelming criticism of these two people swept in.
Meng Xiaodong and Mei Lanfang endured criticism and condemnation from public opinion on the one hand, and on the other hand, they could not face Zhang Hanju's family, and felt deeply guilty in their hearts. Under many pressures, Mei Lanfang temporarily moved out of Yuyuxuan and returned to Mei's house.
In 1930, Mei Lanfang's aunt died, the Mei family held a solemn funeral, on the same day Meng Xiaodong also went to mourn, but was stopped, Meng Xiaodong thought that mei Lanfang was marrying the wife, but now even the Mei family gate can not enter.
At this time, Fu Zhifang and Mei Lanfang also heard the news and rushed, Mei Lanfang originally wanted to let Meng Xiaodong in, but Fu Zhifang's attitude was tough and could not be refuted, under this pressure, Mei Lanfang chose silence.
And Meng Xiaodong was heartbroken by Mei Lanfang's cowardly attitude, and she really found that her repeated concessions could not be exchanged for the sincerity of her lover, and she could give up the promising Peking Opera performance for Mei Lanfang, but Mei Lanfang even refused to fight fu zhifang and the elders in the family for her.
Soon Meng Xiaodong issued a divorce statement with Mei Lanfang, she said: "In the future, I will either not sing, and if I want to sing, I will inevitably sing better than you Mei Lanfang, or I will not marry anyone, and if I want to marry, I will marry someone better than you Mei Lanfang." ”
At that time, in the Republic of China society, divorce was mostly proposed by men first, because men often grasped the economic rights of the family, and they also grasped the initiative in marriage, and there were not many women like Meng Xiaodong who took the initiative to propose divorce.
This also reflects that Meng Xiaodong is a person who can rely on his own ability to rely on his own ability, rather than relying on her husband to live.
After leaving Mei Lanfang, Meng Xiaodong re-performed on stage, and she did what she said: singing is no worse than Mei Lanfang, and later she and the underground emperor Du Yuesheng came together, Du Yuesheng hurt her and loved her, and knew how to cherish her more than Mei Lanfang.
Meng Xiaodong and Du Yuesheng
The three wives in Mei Lanfang's life have gone to different fates due to their different choices, and the three of them seem to represent the three images of women in the Republic of China.
Wang Minghua is a wife with no complaints and no regrets and hard work, but it is precisely because she burns herself unreservedly for Mei Lanfang, eventually consumes her own health and life, becomes the wife of the chaff and fails to keep her husband's heart.
Fu Zhifang is a qualified wife and mother, who can give up her original dream to return to the family for Mei Lanfang, but she has a bottom line than Wang Minghua, and in order to defend the family, she resolutely does not agree to Mei Lanfang's remarriage, and finally she accompanies Mei Lanfang to the end of life.
And Meng Xiaodong is an independent new woman, for love she can temporarily compromise and seek perfection, but when she found that Mei Lanfang could not pay equal love to treat her, she chose not hesitate to turn around and leave and start her new life.