Gu Weijun is known as the first diplomat of the Republic of China and is quite famous in the diplomatic circles. At the Paris Peace Conference, the 31-year-old Gu Weijun argued on the issue of Shandong's sovereignty, and although he was powerless to change the outcome, he resisted pressure with the Chinese delegation and refused to sign the contract, which made the Chinese people raise their eyebrows.
Who says weak countries have no diplomacy? Weak countries must also contend. Gu Weijun has personally worked hard in diplomacy to safeguard the interests of the Chinese nation and China's dignity in the international arena, and has made great achievements.
It is said that the success of a man is inseparable from the woman behind him, especially Gu Weijun, who can shine in the diplomatic world, and who can have a lot to do with the four ladies in his life, and I have to say that his vision of choosing his wife is excellent.
Of course, for these four ladies, most people in the world only know Huang Huilan, who has been married to him for more than thirty years and parted ways, and Yan Youyun, who took care of him to enjoy his old age, and most of them are not familiar with the original Zhang Run'e and the second wife Tang Mei, especially the original Zhang Run'e.
Few people know gu weijun's wife, let alone an outsider, even Gu Weijun, mentioned this original match in his huge work "Memoirs of Gu Weijun", did not even say her name, only said that she was the niece of Zhang Deaf, an old predecessor in the field of traditional Chinese medicine, and for this marriage with Zhang Run'e, Gu Weijun resisted from the beginning, although it became a marriage later, the two are also nominal.
Gu Weijun was born on January 29, 1888, the marriage of that era is still a typical parental fate matchmaker,The same is true of the Gu family, Gu Weijun's two brothers and one sister also uphold this kind of marriage, it should be said that most of the marriages at that time were like this, according to the planning of Gu Weijun's parents, Gu Weijun's marriage should also be so.
In fact, since Gu Weijun was 11 years old, his parents began to look at his daughter-in-law for him, and the matchmaker also flocked to the Gu family to propose to him, Gu Weijun's parents were relatively enlightened, at least his mother began to test Gu Weijun's views on the matter of kissing early, of course, Gu Weijun was just an eleven- or twelve-year-old child at that time, and he had no interest in marriage and did not have his own views, he really did not consider marriage events.
However, parents always think more and earlier, although Gu Weijun has no ideas, but his parents obviously attach great importance to it, and in many proposals, his parents are moved by Zhang Yun'e, Zhang Deaf's niece and granddaughter, Zhang Hengshan's only daughter.
Zhang Deaf was an authoritative figure in the field of traditional Chinese medicine at that time, Zhang Run'e's father Zhang Hengshan was also a traditional Chinese medicine doctor, the Zhang family was a veritable family of traditional Chinese medicine, Zhang Run'e was born in such a family, since childhood, she was raised according to the standards of everyone's boudoir, the door did not go out of the second door, it was really a typical example of a virtuous wife and a good mother.
Zhang Hengshan also began to choose a husband for his daughter very early, in the summer of 1900, gu Weijun from Shanghai Yinghua College after the summer vacation, suffered from malaria, every other day trembling, followed by high fever, loss of appetite, Zhang Hengshan was invited to the Gu family to see Gu Weijun.
Zhang Hengshan went to see Gu Weijun every afternoon, because of the serious condition, this disease was intermittent for 3 months, and it was also during this time that Zhang Hengshan took a fancy to Gu Weijun.
Although Zhang Hengshan is a traditional Chinese medicine doctor, there is also a certain study of the opposite side, he believes that Gu Weijun is not an ordinary person, there will be great achievements in the future, so he wants his only daughter Zhang Run'e to marry Gu Weijun, the marriage of two surnames, he went back to find a matchmaker to mention this matter, the Zhang family and the Gu family are also considered to be the door to the door, Zhang Hengshan and Gu Weijun's father Gu Qingchuan is a friend, so Gu Weijun's parents are very satisfied with this marriage, so 12-year-old Gu Weijun and 10-year-old Zhang Run'e were engaged.
According to tradition, engagement is not a trivial matter, there are established procedures and rituals, it is traditional, it is stereotypical, it is old everywhere, Gu Weijun does not like it, he does not even know what the girl who is engaged to him looks like, what personality, how knowledgeable, for her, he is completely strange, he just silently thinks in his heart: she should not wrap her feet, she should enter a new school.
But just thinking about it, marriage was still far away, and soon he continued to devote himself to study, in 1901 he was admitted to St. John's College in Shanghai, and in 1904, he went to the United States to study.
It is said that in the process of studying, Zhang Hengshan is extremely supportive of his son-in-law, this support is not only verbal support, but also financial support, when Gu Weijun graduated from Shanghai Yinghua College, Gu Qingchuan planned to let Gu Weijun study business and do some business in the future, but Zhang Hengshan felt that Gu Weijun would have great achievements in the future, so he opposed Gu Qingchuan's decision and funded Gu Weijun to enter Shanghai St. John's College, and later Zhang Hengshan sold a part of his ancestral property for Gu Weijun to study in the United States.
Of course, Gu Weijun did not mention these in his memoirs, he only said that when he went to study in the United States, it was his father Gu Qingchuan who politely refused the official fees provided by Duan Fang, the governor of Liangjiang, and he bore his son's expenses.
In any case, in August 1904, Gu Weijun, Sun Jialu and seven others went to the United States to study, and since then, the gap between Gu Weijun, who accepts Western ideas, and Zhang Run'e, who adheres to tradition, has completely widened.
Gu Weijun, who went to the United States, is like a fish entering the sea, absorbing new knowledge like a sponge, where is the heart to think about the marriage with Zhang Run'e? He studied English at Cook College in New York State and then attended Columbia University the following year.
After going to the United States to study, Gu Weijun put all his body and mind into his studies, he was very interested in the life on campus and activities outside the school, he was very busy, he never went home, and in 1908, when Gu Weijun was in his junior year, Gu Qingchuan wrote to Gu Weijun, saying that he was old, and only Gu Weijun, the five children in the family, were not yet married, urging him to go home and get married before graduation.
This letter is almost like a basin of cold water poured down, so that Gu Weijun is cold, at this time, Gu Weijun remembered that he has been engaged, but in fact, he has not thought about marriage at all, his plan is to first stand on his own, and then consider marriage after graduation, he did not expect that his father had to face up to this matter with a letter from his father.
But Gu Weijun has always had an opinion, he replied to his father's request, and then the father and son exchanged frequent letters, who could not convince anyone, into a stalemate, and then Gu Weijun's eldest brother wrote a letter to Gu Weijun as a mediator, the purpose was naturally to let Gu Weijun return to China, he told Gu Weijun about Zhang Run'e's situation, emphasizing that Zhang Run'e was beautiful and smart, very worthy of Gu Weijun, and was a good lifelong partner.
However, this did not convince Gu Weijun, Gu Weijun proposed that it was best to let Zhang Run'e put her feet and enter a new type of school to learn English and be a woman in a new era, which is not gu Weijun's expectation of Zhang Run'e's future wife, but just thinks that the women at that time should be like this, nothing more.
After communicating with his eldest brother a few letters, Gu Weijun knew that his father was very troubled by his refusal to marry, so he took a step back: he could return to China during the summer vacation, but he would not get married after returning, and only discussed the matter of marriage. After getting an agreement that Gu Qingchuan would not force him to marry, Gu Weijun returned to China in the summer of 1908.
Gu Weijun thought that he would not be forced to marry when he returned to China, but he did not know that in that era, in the eyes of parents, it was their responsibility to arrange marriage for their children, especially when they were old, they would eagerly want to fulfill this obligation and let their children get married.
Only when the children have their own families, the parents can breathe a sigh of relief and can they raise their children. As long as the children do not get married for a day, the parents will raise their hearts every day, and although Gu Weijun is knowledgeable and eloquent, he can only retreat again and again in this matter. Interestingly, when Gu Weijun returned to Shanghai from the United States through Europe, he found:
"How backward Shanghai is, how much should be done to keep the country and people up to date with the living conditions overseas, although I am glad to see my parents, brothers, and sisters, I have a feeling of disappointment, and at the same time I have the desire to devote myself to building a modern China."
Gu Weijun was thinking about his future, the future of the country, and his family was thinking about his marriage, which made Gu Weijun powerless even though he was talented.
When he returned home, his parents held talks with him about the marriage, it was obvious that the talks were very difficult, still fruitless, when they last discussed this matter, Gu Weijun was stubborn and refused to get married, and Gu Qingchuan left the room angrily.
Gu Qingchuan, who left, hid in his room, while silently weeping, while refusing to eat, he was persecuting Gu Weijun in his own way, at this time, Gu Weijun's eldest brother once again stood up as a mediator, responsible for convincing Gu Weijun, and finally Gu Weijun gave in.
So the Gu family began to prepare for the marriage with great fanfare, everything was in accordance with traditional customs, Gu Weijun did not pay attention to it, as if it was not he who was married, he visited friends and friends, went in and out of the bookstore, and went his own way.
When it came to the day of marriage, Gu Weijun still had nothing to change, even when the bride was about to be welcomed into the house, Gu Weijun was still standing on the second floor watching the welcoming team, as if he was watching others get married, watching coldly. When the wedding was about to be held, everyone found Gu Weijun, pulled Gu Weijun down from the second floor, changed him into a formal dress, and then held the wedding.
Interestingly, at the time of the wedding, when the celebrant asked the bride and groom to kowtow to each other, both stood there and refused to move, according to local customs, whoever knelt first would be subject to the other party after the marriage, so both were told in advance not to kneel in a hurry.
The bride naturally did not want to marry into the Gu family and was suppressed by her husband, and Gu Weijun was not interested in this marriage, so neither of them would give in. But the procedure always had to go on, and after the emcee shouted several times, the two bent down at the same time to complete this item.
This episode seems that no one has paid attention to it, the wedding is still the same, after all the ceremonies are completed, all the guests have left the new room one after another, ready to let the bride and groom rest, at this time, Gu Weijun left the new room with the guests, he did not leave the house, but went directly to the mother's room downstairs to sleep.
The disappearance of the groom is a big deal, the bridesmaids looked for a long time and did not find it, and finally Gu Weijun's eldest brother found Gu Weijun, but Gu Weijun refused to leave, so the original cave room became empty at night, the bride slept alone in the new room upstairs for one night, and the groom slept alone in the mother's room downstairs for one night.
It is hard to imagine how Zhang Run'e spent her first night of marrying into the Gu family that night, and did she stay up all night and lie on a strange bed tossing and turning? Have you spent the night alone in tears and staring out the window in a strange room?
And all this is not what Gu Weijun's husband will care about, he has been sleeping in his mother's room, until a few days later his mother really can't look at it, she said that she is going to use her own room, let Gu Weijun hurry back to the new room.
After Gu Weijun returned to the new room, he did not sleep in the same bed with Zhang Run'e, he slept directly on the recliner, zhang Run'e was obviously frightened, she was not unaware of Gu Weijun's dislike, but she was powerless to change anything. She asked Gu Weijun to go to bed to sleep, and Gu Weijun directly said that the big bed was prepared for Zhang Run'e alone.
What else does Zhang Run'e not understand? Her husband refused to sleep with her, she was silent for a while, and said to Gu Weijun that if Gu Weijun wanted to sleep alone, she could sleep in a recliner and give Gu Weijun a large bed.
When the two were in the same room, even the air was depressed, she was thinking about how to make her husband change his opinion of her, how to honor her in-laws, how to teach his husband and children, and he was thinking about how to return to the United States as soon as possible and leave this suffocating home.
However, what Gu Weijun did not expect was that when he wanted to return to the United States, Gu Qingchuan asked him to take Zhang Run'e with him, Gu Weijun did not expect that he would retreat again and again, but his father repeatedly forced him, but Gu Qingchuan had his own reasons, he said:
"If you leave everything alone and leave your young daughter-in-law behind soon after you get married, what should people say?" You must remember that she is the only daughter of her family, the eyeballs of her parents. You can't just leave her like that. ”
Gu Weijun compromised again, and he took Zhang Run'e to the United States. For the matter of going to the United States, Zhang Run'e is happy, she did not expect that her husband would be willing to take her, she listened to all the arrangements of Gu Weijun, as long as she can learn English, she is willing to work hard, at that time she was looking forward to the future, she wanted to catch up with Gu Weijun, hoping that the two could eventually become a real couple and accompany each other until they were old.
However, Gu Weijun obviously did not think so, he did not regard Zhang Run'e as a wife at all, but just an ordinary sister, he was willing to take care of this sister's life and study in the United States, but that was all. He placed Zhang Run'e in a family in Philadelphia, with an elderly couple and a daughter, who was very kind to Zhang Run'e and was willing to guide Zhang Run'e to learn English.
After arranging Zhang Run'e, Gu Weijun returned to New York to study. The two do not live together, or even live in the same city, but Gu Weijun did not leave Zhang Run'e, as long as possible, Gu Weijun will go to Philadelphia to visit Zhang Run'e, every holiday, he will take Zhang Run'e out to eat Chinese food or watch movies, and then go outside to relax.
Whenever this time comes, the two never talk about their marriage, but about their respective learning and future, Gu Weijun more than once enlightened Zhang Run'e, telling her: "For each of us, it is important to have a profession and do our best to serve our country and people." ”
He would also tell her to pursue happiness based on happiness based on love, rather than clinging to arranged marriages between their parents.
In fact, if you put aside the marriage relationship between the two people, Gu Weijun is still good to Zhang Run'e, but after all, they cannot be regarded as ordinary friends, they are really married couples, which makes their relationship impossible to go on peacefully.
In the autumn of 1909, Zhang Run'e had been in the United States for a year, her English had improved rapidly, she could read newspapers and simple readings, she could also have general conversations, and had adapted to life in the United States to a large extent, Gu Weijun felt that the two could no longer maintain the marriage relationship, so he proposed to end the marriage relationship.
Zhang Run'e never imagined that just after she adapted to life in the United States, her husband would make such a request, but she had become accustomed to it, and it could be said that she could not decide her own fate at all.
Before getting married, her family did not ask her opinion, so they set up a marriage for her, she knew that she was at home from her father; after marriage, she listened to all the arrangements of Gu Weijun, and she knew that she was married to her husband. No one had asked her what she really thought, she didn't know she should have other ideas, she just passively accepted everything.
So when Gu Weijun proposed to end the marriage relationship, Zhang Run'e just listened quietly, did not express approval, did not express opposition, but only passively asked: "Since we are officially married, what should we do?" ”
Gu Weijun has long consulted the relevant information, the two sides of the voluntary divorce is very simple, as long as the signing of the divorce agreement can be, in this matter, Gu Weijun showed respect for Zhang Run'e, he was in Philadelphia and Zhang Run'e said this matter, see Zhang Run'e raised a question, he not only carefully explained, after returning to New York, and then sent the relevant documents to Zhang Run'e, let Zhang Run'e look at it herself.
After a while, Zhang Run'e wrote a letter asking for an interview on this matter, so Gu Weijun went to Philadelphia again, and the two discussed the matter again, this time, Zhang Run'e asked another question, that is, what should she do in the future? She really didn't know what to do, in that era, a traditional big girl, divorced, you can imagine her confusion about the future.
In this regard, Gu Weijun naturally felt much simpler, and he had already thought about it:
If Zhang Run'e is willing to stay in the United States, he will be responsible for her study expenses; if Zhang Run'e wants to return to China, she can live in his parents' house, or she can go back to her own home, anyway, she is the only daughter in the family, even if she returns to her own home, I believe that her parents can also provide her with good financial conditions, and she can also enjoy all the things that Gu Weijun's family gave her for their engagement and marriage, and her dowry also belongs to her.
In short, in Gu Weijun's view, no matter how Zhang Run'e chooses, she does not have to worry about life, she can freely choose to work, teach or continue to study, and she can also freely choose where to live. Gu Weijun believed that his arrangement for Zhang Run'e was enough.
After he returned to New York, he wrote a draft of the agreement and then sent it to Zhang Run'e, asking Zhang Run'e to study it to see if there was anything he didn't understand, whether to modify it, etc. Zhang Run'e was silent about this.
After a few months, Gu Weijun went to Philadelphia again to discuss the matter with Zhang Run'e, and Zhang Run'e said that there was no place to modify, if Gu Weijun wanted to sign the agreement, she was also ready to sign, she knew that she could not keep Gu Weijun anyway, so she simply followed him.
But Gu Weijun did not sign the agreement directly, he was already afraid of the persecution of his parents, he had spent a lot of effort on this marriage, he did not want to have any accidents in the middle, in order to be able to divorce smoothly, not to let the parents of both parties stand up and block or not admit it, he let Zhang Run'e hand copy the agreement to prove that the divorce was completely voluntary, not Gu Weijun's persecution.
This obviously made Zhang Run'e stunned, but she was only stunned, she was used to obedience, so she copied four agreements by hand, two of them each, and both parents had one.
In 1911, Gu Weijun and Zhang Run'e signed the divorce agreement, left one copy each, and sent two copies to their parents, and in this way, the two "broke off the relationship in a very friendly way." ”
The moment he got the agreement, Gu Weijun breathed a sigh of relief, he knew that he was free, and Zhang Run'e suppressed a breath, she knew that what awaited her was actually another invisible shackle.
They all say that "one is different and two wide, and each life is happy", this is what Gu Weijun thought, he hoped that the two would pursue new happiness after divorce, he thought so, and did so.
After the divorce, Gu Weijun returned to New York to continue his studies, and in April 1912, he was recommended by Tang Shaoyi to return to China as the English secretary of Yuan Shikai, the provisional president of the Republic of China, and the secretary of Tang Shaoyi, the premier of the State Council, a job that lasted for a short time.
In June 1912, Tang Shaoyi resigned as premier and returned to Tianjin, Gu Weijun also resigned and went to Tianjin, in Tianjin for two weeks, Gu Weijun was invited to the Tang family for lunch and dinner almost every day, it was also at this time that Tang Shaoyi introduced his daughter Tang Mei to Gu Weijun, and the two had frequent dates in Tianjin.
When Gu Weijun was about to leave Tianjin and return to Shanghai Province, Tang Shaoyi told Gu Weijun one thing, that is, Tang Mei was also going to Shanghai to visit her aunt, and asked Gu Weijun to accompany Tang Mei on this trip, so the two went to Shanghai together.
After the two returned to Tianjin from Shanghai, they got engaged, and then Gu Weijun went to Beijing to work in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and in June 1913, Gu Weijun and Tang Mei married and began their happy life.
And after Zhang Run'e's divorce? She returned home soon after signing the divorce agreement. Zhang Run'e and Gu Weijun's divorce was a big blow to Zhang Hengshan, how he did not expect that this marriage actually ended in divorce, which made him worry about the future of his daughter Zhang Run'e, but also deeply aware that his daughter's divorce made him lose face, and he was worried too much, and he died soon after.
The failure of marriage, the death of her father's illness made Zhang Run'e even more unaware of how to go in the future, gossip also made her unbearable, she was not wrong, but ended up with a divorce, which made her disheartened, and finally became a nun in the Lu family Guanyin Hall, and then ignored the red dust world, and was single-mindedly accompanied by the Green Lantern Ancient Buddha.
In 1933, 22 years after Zhang Run'e and Gu Weijun divorced, Gu Weijun once again became the foreign minister of the National Government, and heard about Zhang Run'e's experience after the divorce in Shanghai, and he did not expect that the divorce would hit the Zhang family so hard, which he did not expect.
When Zhang Run'e divorced him so obediently, he had already made him feel a little guilty, and now when he heard about what happened to the Zhang family, he felt even more guilty.
He thought about it again and again, wrote a confession letter to Zhang Run'e, and attached a sum of 50,000 yuan, and sent someone to the Lujia Guanyin Hall, thinking that this would also be some compensation for Zhang Run'e, but what Gu Weijun could not imagine was that soon the letter and the money were returned unchanged.
For Zhang Run'e, the relationship between her and Gu Weijun had come to an end as early as 22 years ago, they were already strangers to each other, she had been practicing for many years, she had long since stopped caring about the red dust world, and she was unwilling to have any contact with Gu Weijun.
This may be the only time Zhang Run'e rejected Gu Weijun's arrangement, rejected Gu Weijun's compensation in a silent way, cut off any possible connection, you are you, in the red dust is enthusiastic and wanton, I am me, in the Burrow Green Lantern Ancient Buddha, one by two wide, from now on strange road.