Ningbo Scenic View - Tianyi Pavilion
Yan Youyun (September 27, 1905 – May 24, 2017), originally from Feishi Village, Zhuangqiao Town, Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, was born in Tianjin to a warm, harmonious and cultural family, and then moved back to Shanghai with his family. In 1925, she entered Hujiang University, and in 1927, she transferred to Fudan University and became the first female student of Fudan University. She is as beautiful as a flower, with a figure, a temperament like an orchid, and versatile, not only is she the beloved wife of Yang Guangxuan, a diplomat who sacrificed her life for the country during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, but also the late companion of Gu Weijun, the first diplomat of the Republic of China, or the famous school flower of Fudan University, and the last famous lady on the beach, legendary life, full of passion!
Beautiful as a flower - temperament like an orchid
First, the famous boudoir show, Fudan school flower
Yan Youyun's grandfather, Yan Xinhou, was an aide to Li Hongzhang, an adult in the late Qing Dynasty, and a stalwart of the Western school, a famous industrialist, calligrapher and painter. In the eleventh year of Guangxu (1885), he was appointed by Li Hongzhang as the superintendent of Changlu Salt Affairs and acting as the deputy of Tianjin Salt Affairs. In the twelfth year of Guangxu, he set up his own Tongde Salt In Tianjin, started by operating the salt industry, and accumulated a large amount of family wealth. Throughout his life, he devoted himself to the establishment of national industry and commerce and financial industry, and had many pioneering achievements. In 1897, he became the first general manager of the Commerce and Commerce Bank of China, and in 1902 he was appointed as the first premier of the Shanghai Commercial Conference Office, the first business group in Shanghai. In 1905, he participated in the establishment of China's first insurance company, Huaxing Insurance Company. 严信厚在多年金融工商活动中，把大批宁波籍商人吸引到自己周围，将"宁波帮"从一个区域性的旧式商帮转化为一个全国性的企业家群体，是早期宁波企业家公认的领袖人物。
Famous industrialist calligrapher and painter - Yan Xin Hou statue
严幼韵的父亲严子均，子承父业，在上海南京路开源吉、德源两钱庄和老九章绸缎庄，在全国各地设有13个银楼分号，堪称商场奇才，富甲一方。 He married two wives, Zhang Shi and Yang Lifen, and had a total of 12 children, who lived in Tanggu Road Lane, Zhapu Road, Hongkou District, Shanghai. The Yan family's mansion occupies almost the entire block. 二十年代初，严子均在天津物华楼经营金银珠宝，并开设老九章分店，顾客盈门，生意兴隆。 Yan Youyun was born in Tianjin in 1905. She has been very intelligent since childhood and loves to read. The Yan family invited two university teachers to teach their children to read, one teaching Mandarin and one teaching English. Subsequently, Yan Youyun and her sisters Caiyun and Lianyun successively studied at Tianjin Zhongxi Girls' School, and were collectively known as the "Three Sisters of Yan".
Yan Xin Hou Chinese Painting - "Birds Foraging"
After finishing middle school in Tianjin, Yan Youyun moved back to Shanghai with her family and was admitted to Hujiang University in 1925. In the 1920s, higher education in China was still in its infancy. In 1925, the total number of college students in the country was only more than 30,000, and the number of female students who could enter the university was even rarer. In 1927, Fudan University began to coeducate, and only girls enrolled. In the same year, Yan Youyun transferred to the Department of Business of Fudan University. Every day, she travels to school in a buick-sized car with the number 84, and occasionally drives her own car, which is particularly eye-catching. Some boys pronounced her license plate number, Englishighty Four, as "Flower of Love" in Shanghainese. Yan Youyun, who is born beautiful, wears the most fashionable cheongsam every day, fashionable and elegant, dignified and generous, which is a veritable "school flower", attracting the attention of many boys and becoming a beautiful landscape on campus.
Yan Xinhou Calligraphy - "String Pipe Lin Ting"
Second, Lang Cai's female appearance, heavenly gifts
At a dance party at Fudan University, Yan Youyun met Yang Guangxuan, who later became her first husband. Yang Guangxi (1900-1942) was the son of a great silk merchant in Huzhou, and at the age of 16 he was admitted to the Tsinghua Xuetang Higher Education Department (the predecessor of Tsinghua University). At the age of 20, he was escorted by Tsinghua Xuetang to stay in the United States, and successively studied at the University of Colorado and Princeton University, and obtained bachelor's and master's degrees. He received his Doctor of Philosophy degree in Public International Law in 1924. While in the United States, he served as third secretary of the Chinese Minister to the United States, editor-in-chief of China Student Monthly, president of the Eastern Chinese Students Association, professor of Chinese at Georgetown University, and lecturer in the history of the Far East at American University in Washington. After returning to China in 1925, he participated in the Chinese delegation as an expert and attended the International Opium Conference held in Geneva that year.
Doctor of International Law, Princeton University – Portrait of Yang Guangxin
Yang Guangxing is talented, a table of talents, and Yan Youyun fell in love at first sight, and the two soon fell in love. On September 6, 1929, Yan Youyun and Yang Guangxing, then professor at Tsinghua University and adviser to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, held a wedding ceremony at the Majestic Hotel in Shanghai. The wedding was luxurious and grand, presided over by Foreign Minister Wang Zhengting, and more than a thousand people attended the wedding. The groom is a young and promising diplomat, the bride is a Fudan school flower, a famous bridesmaid, such a typical combination of lang and talent, naturally became the object of pursuit of the media, alarming the entire Shanghai Beach. In 1930, Yang Guangfeng was sent to Europe by the Nationalist government, and later served as consul general in London, and under the guidance of Gu Weijun, he participated in the work of the Chinese delegation to the League of Nations. Yan Youyun accompanied him and began the life of a diplomat's wife.
British icon - Tower Bridge
During her time in Europe, Yan Youyun met Gu Weijun. At that time, Gu Weijun's first wife, Tang Baoyue, had died, and she newly married Huang Huilan, the daughter of Huang Zhonghan, the richest man in Southeast Asia, as her successor. At a cocktail party held by European aristocrats, Gu Weijun met Yan Youyun for the first time. Only to see her dignified face, like a flower moon; bright eyes, feminine and soft; playful nose, straight and straight; delicate small mouth, sexy and charming; snow white skin, smooth and delicate. The black and white satin cheongsam, wrapped in a bumpy figure, with buds blooming, the charm is seductive, it is simply a goddess in the sky, a special thing on earth. Gu Weijun couldn't help but think of Su Shi's praise for people's poems: "A hibiscus, opened shang yingying." From then on, even in public, Gu Weijun would often look at Yan Youyun involuntarily as if he were admiring a famous painting, like hunger and thirst, and his spirit was uncertain.
Shanghai Celebrity - Yan Youyun statue
Yan Youyun admired Gu Weijun's talent and often smiled at the strange eyes he glanced at from time to time. Because both of them had a family, their relationship at that time was only at the stage of mutual appreciation. But a woman's sixth sense is always amazing. The two made only occasional eye contact, and Gu Weijun's wife, Huang Huilan, sniffed out the crisis. She thought: the two must be isolated, and this suspicious "dangerous object" must be transferred from her husband as soon as possible. In order to maintain her marriage, Huang Huilan asked Song Meiling to transfer Yang Guangxin out of Europe. In this way, Yan Youyun will inevitably leave with her husband. Gu Weijun and Yan Youyun will have difficulty in having contact opportunities, let alone develop feelings. Soon, under the operation of Huang Huilan, Yan Youyun returned to China with Yang Guangxing. What she never dreamed of was that this move was self-defeating.
Paris – Eiffel Tower
Third, accompany the husband on an envoy, and live the rest of his life
In 1938, Yang Guangxing became the consul general of the Republic of China government in Manila as a minister. At a time when the military and civilians at home were struggling to resist the Japanese aggressors, he gave full play to his diplomatic talents and collected patriotic donations from overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia, with outstanding achievements. Yan Youyun personally designed and operated the decoration of the consul general's residence and accompanied her husband to various diplomatic activities. This housekeeper and hospitable hostess often entertained Filipino and American officials and patriotic overseas Chinese leaders at the consular residence. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Overseas Chinese Women's Circles in the Philippines initiated the organization of the Philippine Branch of the Chinese Women's Consolation and Self-Defense Anti-Japanese War Veterans Association to mobilize all overseas Chinese women in the Philippines to participate in the Anti-Japanese Salvation Movement and adopt various methods to comfort the soldiers in the front.
Yang Guangxuan Yan Youyun took a family photo
In July 1939, under the leadership of Yan Youyun, honorary chairman of the association, it went deep into factories, shops, newspapers, streets and other places to collect donations. A total of tens of thousands of pesos were raised in one month, all of which were remitted to the motherland to support the War of Resistance. After the outbreak of the Pacific War, Manila was in danger. General MacArthur, commander of the U.S. Far East Army, left a seat for Yang on the last plane as he retreated to Australia. However, in order to cover the property of the local overseas Chinese and consulates, Yang Guangfeng resolutely refused, vowing: "As a diplomat, you should bear the heavy responsibility of protecting overseas Chinese, and you will never leave your post without permission before you obey the order." He planned contingency measures while evacuating civilians. At that time, a batch of french currency printed by the United States was stranded in the customs of the manila port, and in order not to be plundered by the Japanese, he resolutely ordered it to be burned.
Commander of the U.S. Far East Army, General MacArthur
In early 1942, the Japanese captured Manila. On the same day, Japanese Vice Consul in Manila Jitaro Kihara claimed that Japan did not recognize the Chongqing government, nor did it recognize the status of Yang Guangxing and other diplomats. To blackmail Yang Guangxin into gathering the leaders of overseas Chinese in the Philippines and donating money to the Japanese army, Yang Guangxin refused on the spot and sternly reprimanded the Japanese gendarmerie commander Ota. The Japanese imprisoned Yang Guangxing and nine other diplomats. Despite all the torments, they remained unyielding. On April 17, 1942, the angry Japanese fascists secretly shot Yang Guangxi and nine other diplomats to death at Yishan, an overseas Chinese in the Philippines. The executing enemy did not hit the key point, Yang Guangxing pointed to the heart, shouting loudly, "Make up another shot!" Righteousness was awe-inspiring, and he regarded death as a homecoming, and at the time of his sacrifice, he was only 42 years old.
Monument to Philippine Independence
At that time, Yan Youyun did not know that her husband had died. After the "disappearance" of the 9 diplomats, the wives of the diplomats automatically gathered at Yan Youyun.com. At this time, Yan Youyun, who was only 37 years old, fell from heaven to hell. The consul general's residence was sealed and the supplies confiscated. In the face of the sudden change of fate, this pampered Shanghai beach celebrity who has been pampered since childhood has calmly endured all this. After Yan Youyun and her three daughters moved to an old house on a small island near Manila, she felt responsible for taking care of the wives and children of several other diplomats, so she summoned them to live with them. In this peculiar "big family", Yan Youyun, who is bold in handling things, has naturally become a "big supervisor". In order to maintain a helpless life in the war, Yan Youyun sold her jewelry to solve the problem of food and clothing for nearly 40 relatives and friends of the extended family.
Yan Youyun and her daughters
She led the women to reclaim the lawn into a vegetable garden, grow their own vegetables and shoes, raise chickens and pigs, and learn to make soy sauce and soap. Yan Youyun, who used to stretch out her hands and open her mouth to eat, not only learned to cook dishes, but also learned to use a sewing machine to make clothes for the developing children. She also often mediates the contradictions between the parties and cheers up her peers and children. In those days, even if she ate brown rice and vegetables without a little oil and water every day, Yan Youyun never complained. She always maintains an optimistic attitude, and in her free time, she often sits in front of the piano that she is reluctant to sell and plays a song. With tenacious perseverance, they broke through many difficulties in a foreign country and survived tenaciously. Afterwards, all the diplomats' wives praised Yan Youyun: "She is the lubricant, and all of us love her."
Manila Cathedral
Fourth, the hero saves the United States and continues the love affair
After Japan's surrender in 1945, Yan Youyun and eight other wives finally survived the bad news: their husbands had died three years earlier. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Gu Weijun tried every means to find Yan Youyun and sent her and her three daughters to the United States. From April to June 1945, Gu Weijun served as China's representative to the United Nations Constituent Assembly in San Francisco and acted as head of the delegation. With his help, Yan Youyun became the United Nations Protocol Officer, her first official job. The work of the Protocol Division, from receiving ambassadors to ambassadors, arranging for them to submit their credentials, to receiving heads of State attending the United Nations General Assembly, involves all official etiquette matters of the United Nations and cannot be wrong. She did a great job, becoming a brilliant female diplomat.
The second degree of the plum - the charm is still there
After all, a woman's life alone with three children is difficult. Gu Weijun always did everything possible to help Yan Youyun. Since ancient times, "heroes save the United States" is the most cheesy but most effective drama. In June 1946, Gu Weijun went to Washington to serve as ambassador to the United States. Soon the two of them relapsed in their old love and came together desperately. This twilight love is not so glorious in the eyes of the world, because although Yan Youyun is a widow, Gu Weijun still has a family. Huang Huilan described it this way in her memoirs: "Wei Jun would go to New York every week to spend the weekend, from Friday until the next Tuesday, to date his red pink confidant who served at the United Nations." Obviously, the "red pink confidant" here refers to Yan Youyun, who was serving in the United Nations at that time.
Portrait of Gu Weijun in his later years
At this time, Gu Weijun has entered old age, and the older he is, the higher the requirements for his partner. He desperately wanted to have a woman who knew the cold and the hot and had a common interest. Every day gu Weijun and Yan Youyun were together, it was like being caressed by the spring wind. He had never imagined that there was such a beautiful existence in the world as Yan Youyun. Yan Youyun is empathetic, optimistic and cheerful, and she will participate in everything gu weijun likes to do. The company of Yan Youyun made Gu Weijun deeply feel the true connotation of "young couples and old companions". Although this Fudan former school flower is "Xu Niang is half old", the charm still exists, which caused Gu Weijun to often not return home at night. Huang Huilan couldn't bear to rush to Yan Youyun's house to find a husband, but her husband refused to go home with her. Annoyed and angry, she poured a pot of tea on her husband's head, but this did not change his decision not to return home.
NEW YORK — United Nations Headquarters
Fifth, with foam, white heads and old age
In 1956, Gu Weijun stepped down as the "ambassador to the United States" of the Taiwan authorities, and he filed for divorce from Huang Huilan. Huang Huilan knew that the relationship between them had come to an end and could no longer be recovered. Soon, the two formally went through the divorce procedures. In October 1959, Yan Youyun officially retired. In the same year, the 71-year-old Gu Weijun and the 54-year-old Yan Youyun officially held a wedding, and when Gu Weijun put the diamond-encrusted ring on Yan Youyun's hand, the guests resounded with warm applause. Since then, the couple who have endured many twists and turns but have always loved each other have finally become dependents. After marriage, they settled in New York. Yan Youyun 100% played the role of "good housekeeper, good nurse, good secretary". She always takes care of the family and Gu Weijun with a delicate living style that belongs to the celebrities.
When Gu Weijun and Yan Youyun's wedding was in progress
It is said that second-married couples are prone to contradictions due to the problem of children, but there are few contradictions between Gu Weijun and Yan Youyun, who have children. This is obviously inseparable from the love between the two, because of the love of Wu and Wu, Gu Weijun regards Yan Youyun's three daughters as his own, and they also respect this stepfather; and Yan Youyun also takes good care of Gu Weijun's children. A big family with love is undoubtedly the best place for retirement. Although they are affectionate after entering old age, they do not sleep in the same room, but this does not affect Yan Youyun's careful care for her husband. She was worried that Gu Weijun's fasting time from dinner to breakfast was too long than her health, so she prepared a cup of hot milk in the early morning of each day, and after Gu Weijun woke up, Yan Youyun always stared at him and drank the milk before allowing him to continue sleeping.
New York – Chinatown
At three or four o'clock in the afternoon, Yan Youyun would let Gu Weijun drink some soup, eat some biscuits or bread, and then sleep. When he woke up, he went out for a walk, walking three or four kilometers every time. Every night before going to bed, the intimate Yan Youyun would also put a glass of Ahuatian drink and some cookies or cookies made from unprocessed natural ingredients from Switzerland in Gu Weijun's room, and turn on the electric light in the corridor to remind her. Yan Youyun's care for Gu Weijun's life is almost all-round, even the bedroom design and bedding choice, she is very careful, even if it is the choice of pillows, Yan Youyun is also quite painstaking. It is precisely because Yan Youyun cares and cares so carefully that Gu Weijun was able to complete the oral history that took 13 years at an advanced age.
Portrait of Yan Youyun in his later years
Beginning in 1960, every Monday to Friday, Gu Weijun spent hours interviewing interviews with interviewers from his alma mater, Columbia University's Oral History Program. In 1983, the autobiography of Gu Weijun's memoirs of more than 6 million words was published. This work is an important material for the study of China's modern and contemporary diplomatic history. When Gu Weijun's children talked about their stepmother Yan Youyun, they said gratefully: "If it were not for her care, the father might have lived at least 20 years less." After living with Yan Youyun for 26 years, on November 14, 1985, Gu Weijun died of illness in the bath at the age of 98. In 1990, Yan Youyun donated 155 precious relics of Gu Weijun to the Jiading Museum in Shanghai, Gu Weijun's hometown, and also donated 100,000 US dollars to the establishment of Gu Weijun's life exhibition room.
Jiading Confucius Temple Arch
In his later years, Yan Youyun was in good spirits, cooking every day, still applying lipstick, spraying perfume, wearing high heels, and refusing to go out without makeup. At the age of 98, Yan Youyun was diagnosed with colorectal cancer, and she still smiled and faced life, in turn comforting her family not to worry, and happily completed the operation. On her 100th birthday, she changed into a gorgeous purple cheongsam, put on high heels, and danced with her chief surgeon. At the age of 109, she published her autobiography One Hundred and Nine Springs– My Story. On September 25, 2015, Li Baodong, then Vice Foreign Minister of China, visited Ms. Yan Youyun in New York and congratulated her on her 110th birthday. On the evening of May 24, 2017, Yan Youyun died at her home in New York at the age of 112, and the last celebrity of Shanghai Beach died in a foreign land!
Jiading Museum - Bronze Statue of Gu Weijun