In 1904, Li Lianying paced the palace with a sad face, and recently Empress Dowager Cixi was distraught and sullen every day. She was the old ancestor of the palace, and if she was not happy, no one in the palace would have a good life.
He pondered for half a moment and thought of a person, that is, Yu Rongling, the daughter of Yu Geng.
He quickly arranged to find Yu Geng's house and said to Lady Yu Geng: "Now that the old ancestor is very upset in his heart, is there any way to make her happy?" ”
Lady Yu Geng did not dare to respond to anything casually, she knew that Li Lianying came to her, she must have wanted their family to come up with an idea. But if this method is good, naturally everyone will be happy, but if it does not make Empress Dowager Cixi happy, her family may not have good fruit to eat.
Figure | Yu Rongling
Madame Yu Geng hurriedly said, "If you accompany the old ancestor out for a walk, maybe it will be better." ”
Li Lianying put aside Mrs. Yu Geng's words and said bluntly: "The five girls can dance, let her dance a few dances for the old ancestor." ”
The fifth girl is an alias for Yu Rongling, because she ranks fifth in the family, hence the name.
Madame Yu Geng had no choice but to ask Yu Rongling, "How have you been studying dance recently, how many dances have you danced for your ancestors?" ”
Yu Rongling understood that her mother wanted to shirk herself, so she said to Li Lianying: "I have choreographed several new dances, and chinese classical dances are interspersed with Western dance methods." But I can't perform here, I brought back a few costumes from France myself, but without music, I can't dance. ”
Pictured | Cixi
Unexpectedly, Li Lianying laughed, "Music is not a problem, the fifth girl you just have to prepare, Yuan Shikai has a Western band around him, just call them from Tianjin." ”
Yu Rongling could not, but could only agree.
Why did Li Lianying insist on letting Yu Rongling dance? That is naturally because no one knows who does not know today, and the most precious thing about Empress Dowager Cixi is Yu Rongling, although the two have no relatives and no reason, but Empress Dowager Cixi is spoiling this little girl.
As for why he is favored, it is necessary to talk about the special features of Yu Rongling.
Yu Rongling's father, Yu Geng, was an official of the Qing government, and he was no different from ordinary Qing officials, and he also liked to go out to find flowers and ask for willows.
After Yu Geng's wife died of illness, he not only immediately carried Yahuan Feng'er as a partial room, but also had to go to various wind and moon places every day. Unexpectedly, in that messy place, he actually met a person who changed his life.
At that time, the Manchu Qing government had been kicked open by the iron horses of foreigners, and it was not unusual for one or two foreign faces to walk on the street, and there were even many foreign prostitutes in the wind and moon place.
Yu Geng has always been a meat vegetarian, and will also find one or two foreign prostitutes to live happily overnight.
Among these foreign prostitutes, Yu Geng fell in love with a person named Louisa Pearson, who was of mixed blood between Americans and Qinglou women. After birth, her parents did not care about her, and she could only inherit her mother's business.
Originally, Louisa was in Shanghai, but later because she fell in love with a person, she followed her lover to Beijing and gave birth to a son.
Unfortunately, the lover's heart changed, and he abandoned her and left.
Yu Geng was extremely fond of her green eyes, and Louisa spoke Chinese, English and French very well, giving Yu Geng a completely different experience.
Over time, Yu Geng did a shocking thing, he not only welcomed this woman into the house with a bride, but also changed the name of her son and wrote it into the Yu family tree. Even for the sake of Louisa, he also changed his habit of looking for flowers and asking for willows, and even the partial room Feng'er was suspended.
Louisa thus became Yu Geng's wife, and the only lady.
Yu Geng and Luisa gave birth to two daughters and a man, and Yu Rongling was the youngest daughter.
Yu Rongling has known since she was a child that the family is very strange, her eldest brother has nothing to do with her mother, and her mother even has to force her eldest brother and sister-in-law to die. Her second brother had nothing to do with her father, but his father treated him well.
Only her brother Xinling and sister Deling can be regarded as her dearest and most beloved brothers and sisters, and she has the best relationship with her sister Deling.
For Louisa, although Yu Geng still maintained the habits of many Qing Dynasty officials, he had a large number of cameras, records of Western songs, and even learned many foreign languages.
Growing up in such a family of East and West, Yu Rongling has been familiar with Western things since childhood, and even learned French, English and many other languages.
Pictured | Yugeng's wife, Louisa Pearson
In 1895, Yu Geng was appointed minister in Japan, and he came to Japan with his family.
Yu Rongling looked at the unfamiliar environment, but there was no trepidation in her heart, the little she loved the Japanese Kabuki girls very much, liked their makeup, clothing, and preferred them to dance in kimono styles.
Yu Rongling even had the idea of learning dance, but she knew that her family would not agree, because dance was regarded as "inferior third-rate" at that time. The daughter of a senior Manchu qing official went to learn to dance, and without thinking, she knew that Yu Geng would definitely scold her.
But she really liked it, and it just so happened that the maid hired by the Hiroya family in Japan knew about it, and the maid told her that she was once a dancer at the Japanese high-end restaurant Momijikan, who could play strings and dance Japanese dance.
Yu Rongling happily hugged the maid and begged her to teach herself. The two secretly teach Japanese dance when the whole family does not know.
Yu Rongling was extremely talented, and many skills were learned thoroughly, and it didn't take long for him to jump in a similar way.
Pictured | Yu Rongling dancing
One day, the family of Mr. Togata, minister of Japan, came to visit. Lady Togata saw that Yu Rongling was very beautiful, and even persuaded Lady Yu Geng to let Yu Rongling learn Japanese dance.
Mrs. Yu Geng did not think so, and prevaricated that there would be a chance in the future.
But Yu Rongling suddenly spoke, "I already know." ”
Lady Yu Geng was furious, thinking that Yu Rongling was infected with the bad disease of opening the river, and wanted to teach her a lesson, but heard Lady Tufang let Yu Rongling jump for a while. She felt that she was being put there, and began to think quickly about what Yu Rongling should say and how not to lose face when she did not come to the stage.
But Yu Rongling completely ignored her mother's entanglement, she turned around and went to change her clothes, letting the maid accompany her. In front of the guests, they danced the extremely difficult "Crane and Turtle Dance" in Japan.
The figure, movements and even the eyes are extremely in place, and Mrs. Togata is full of praise after seeing it.
Mrs. Yu Geng sent the guests away with a smile on her face, and turned back to Yu Rongling with a straight face, furious: "The daughter of an official actually learned to dance, which is really harmful to the system and insulting!" ”
Yu Geng waved his hand, not right, he felt that since his daughter still liked this talent, then ask a teacher to learn, "Just play." ”
No one in the family thought that Yu Rongling would really become a professional dancer after that, everyone thought that this was just a small play, Yu Geng even thought to himself, there are officials who go out to learn to sing, what is wrong with their daughter learning to dance.
Yu Rongling embarked on a formal dance journey.
Pictured| Yugeng family portrait
In 1899, Yu Geng was appointed minister in France, and Yu Rongling moved again with his father and came to France.
France is an extremely romantic country, but also the country formed by ballet, and the French romantic culture is unique. Many dance artists came to France to study and perform at the time, and Isabella Duncan, known as the "mother of modern dance", was no exception.
After the Yu family came to France, Duncan also performed in Paris and even opened a school.
Someone saw that Yu Geng's two daughters were beautiful and beautiful, so they suggested that they find Duncan as teachers.
Yu Geng and his wife could not resist the requests of their two daughters, and could only take them to Duncan's mansion.
Duncan never accepted Chinese students, but when he saw the sisters Yu Deling and Yu Rongling, they made an exception, and they also became Duncan's first Chinese students.
Yu Geng and his wife sent the sisters to learn dance The idea is very simple, Yu Geng found that the cause of diplomacy is absolutely important in the future, his two daughters will speak foreign languages, if they meet some foreign dance culture, then the future will inevitably shine.
At this time, Yu Geng still wanted to train the sisters to become diplomats, but neither of them embarked on this road in the future.
Under Duncan, Yu Rongling's talent is better, and he is more valued than his sister Deling. The sister is more comfortable with the piano. The two sisters are often one playing the piano and the other dancing, which complement each other perfectly.
Pictured | Delin and Yung Ling
In her days in France, Yu Rongling is happy and comfortable, and she even found her love here.
Beginning in 1900, the Qing Dynasty sent students to study in France, and the first batch of five students studied military affairs in France. Among them were Yu Rongling's half-brother Xun Ling, and there was another named Tang Baochao.
Yu Xunling and Tang Baochao had a very good relationship, and he often took this classmate to the legation in France for banquets, because only here in France would have special Chinese dim sum.
It was here that Yu Rongling met Tang Baochao.
When he first saw it, Tang Baochao was wearing only a simple white silk shirt, and his tall and upright posture was very conspicuous in the banquet.
Yu Xunling introduced himself to his sister, "This is my classmate. ”
Tang Baochao suddenly saw Yu Rongling, shocked, a little shy and very excited, he took the initiative to introduce himself, and talked with Yu Rongling.
During the conversation, Tang Baochao mentioned that he was the first person in China to learn the knowledge of the army, and he would also learn cavalry later, and he would lead a cavalry unit in China to serve the country.
Yu Rongling was also excited, she was infected by the teenager's ambition, and also said: "I want to be a bridger between Chinese and Western cultures, if possible, I want to bring modern dance to China." ”
The two hot-blooded young men met in this way, and at the dance party of the day, they danced on the dance floor, and the hazy emotions between eye contact gradually emerged.
Not long after, the legation held a banquet again.
This time, Yu Rongling did not hear her brother say that she wanted to bring her classmates, because the school was not a holiday at this time, she was disappointed, but she did not know what she was disappointed.
Suddenly, in the corner of the banquet, Yu Rongling saw Tang Baochao in a military uniform, and his heart suddenly beat rapidly.
The heroic Tang Baochao seemed to be haunted by an aura, so that Yu Rongling could only see each other and never see anyone else again, she knew what she was disappointed, because she had fallen in love with this teenager.
Unexpectedly, Tang Baochao also had the same thoughts, just met twice, the two people fell in love and became lovers.
And this Xiang Yugeng was also very familiar with Tang Baochao, and he felt that this teenager was very similar to the person he had seen, a student named Tang Baoyi. At that time, Yu Geng was in Japan, and he was very attentive to the first batch of students studying in Japan, and even asked the Japanese minister Saienji to take care of it. And Tang Baoye is the best of the students studying in Japan.
After careful questioning, Tang Baochao and Tang Baoyi were still cousins, and his father was even Tang Shaoyi's cousin.
Yu Geng was overjoyed, the family lineage was comparable, and he and the teenager had a relationship, so he agreed to Yu Rongling and Tang Baochao's love affair, and even planned to marry the Tang family after returning to China.
Picture | Tang Baochao
In 1902, Yu Rongling had been studying under Duncan for two years, and Duncan specially arranged a dance for his students, hoping that she would be able to star.
Yu Rongling naturally agreed happily, but as the daughter of an official, it was a very unruly thing to perform on stage. Afraid that her parents would know, she bothered to hide from everyone, and the first time she performed on stage, she did not let any relatives come to watch.
However, on that day, Yu Geng and his wife received an invitation to perform by the troupe, and they sat in the box on the stage.
After the curtain was opened, Yu Geng saw that his five girls were actually dressed in dance costumes and danced on the stage, dancing gracefully, which attracted bursts of applause.
Yu Geng's face turned red, and no matter how open he was, he couldn't tolerate his daughter coming out to sell art! If this is passed back to China, he will not only become the laughing stock of his colleagues, but also may not be able to protect his official position.
When Yu Rongling was full of joy to celebrate the success of the performance, she was greeted by a scolding from her parents, and even stopped letting her learn to dance.
In order to make Yu Rongling bow her head and admit her mistake, Yu Geng also locked his daughter in the house and did not allow her to come out.
Yu Rongling loves dancing, how willing to give up, she went on a hunger strike to protest, forcing her parents to finally give in to her. But Yu Geng and his daughter also repeatedly negotiated that they could no longer learn modern dance, and if they had to learn, they would learn ballet.
In France, ballet has always been known as a court dance. Yu Geng said that he could not move his daughter, and could only think that the French royal family all learned ballet, and his daughter learned and danced, which was not too bad.
At that time, no one in China had ever learned this kind of dance, and Yu Rongling became the first person to learn ballet.
With the consent of his parents, Yu Rongling studied at the French National Opera and entered a special dance school.
In 1902, after her academic achievements, she danced in the center of the French Opera House, like a butterfly in a rose bush, and was praised by the Parisian audience as the "butterfly dance queen" of the East.
Pictured| yugeng and Luisa's four children
In the winter of 1903, Yu Geng was transferred back to China.
At this time, Empress Dowager Cixi was worried about one thing, the government and foreigners were dealing with more and more, and foreign ministers and wives would come to the palace to meet them. But few people know what to do and say in the face of these people.
Over time, Cixi thought that she had to have a few talents who understood foreign affairs, and these people were also "female officials." But where to find a woman who could speak foreign languages and could do foreign affairs, she asked her subordinates to look for them.
At this time, someone thought of Yu Geng, Yu Geng's wife is not a mixed race, and his two daughters also know some foreign languages, which is the most suitable female official candidate.
So someone found Yu Geng, and Yu Geng naturally agreed. Lady Yu Geng, Yu Deling and Yu Rongling were taken to study etiquette and prepare for the imperial court.
In April 1904, the mother and daughter were summoned to the palace, and the empress personally led them to see Empress Dowager Cixi. Cixi was very happy to see that they knew a lot of languages and knew all about foreign affairs, and immediately rewarded them with many things.
And it didn't take long for Yu Rongling and others to officially enter the palace as female officials, and they lived in the palace, very close to the empress dowager's palace.
Yu Rongling and her mother taught Empress Dowager Cixi how to face emissaries, Western etiquette at banquets, and even acted as an interpreter for Cixi. Unlike her sister Yu Deling, Yu Rongling had a heart of belonging, she did not want to have anything to do in the palace, and she had no fear of Empress Dowager Cixi's brutal means. She knew since she was a child that her mother's means in the inner house were not clean, so she didn't feel that Cixi had anything to do.
However, Yu Deling was very panicked, Cixi killed Yahuan, she had to look pale for a long time, and even walked close to the Guangxu Emperor.
Therefore, in contrast, Empress Dowager Cixi especially liked Yu Rongling, and from time to time she had to perform some dances and dance ballroom dances to relieve her boredom.
Pictured | Yu Rongling dressed in the costume of a female official in front of the imperial court
Moreover, Yu Rongling was also very willing to solve various problems for the empress.
Cixi was always worried about her white hair, and at that time, the domestic hair dye cream could dye her hair black at the same time, but also dye her scalp black, which looked unnatural.
Cixi complained to Yu Rongling, "Where is the hair dye medicine that neither hurts the hair nor dyes the scalp?" I've been looking for it, and I haven't found it yet, and I may not find it in the future. ”
Yu Rongling thought of the hair dye potion she had seen in France, so she took the initiative to tell Cixi that Cixi was very happy and immediately asked her to find it for herself.
After receiving the order, Yu Rongling asked his father to send a telegram to France to buy the best hair dye medicine to send.
However, Yu Geng reprimanded his daughter: "If this medicine is not effective after it is sent, or if it hurts the empress's hair, it will be guilty of killing the head." This time, since you have already made a promise to the empress, just forget to be careful next time. ”
Yu Rongling was shocked by her father's words, and she broke out in a cold sweat, and she waited for the potion to be sent, and she was uneasy for a while.
After about forty days, the hair dye medicine was finally sent from Paris to the palace.
Yu Rongling took the instruction manual and translated it to Empress Dowager Cixi word by word, and Cixi felt that it was feasible to hear it, so she asked the two sisters to dye their hair together.
Fortunately, the potion is really effective, not only makes the hair black and shiny, but the scalp is as white as ever, even healthier than the domestic hair dye cream, and the daily shampoo will not worry about washing out the black water.
Cixi happily rewarded a bunch of things, but Yu Rongling no longer dared to speak casually, and her companion was like a companion tiger, and she carved this sentence in her heart every day.
Therefore, when faced with Li Lianying's request, she would resign with her mother in every way, but she did not expect that Li Lianying made up her mind to let her dance.
Picture | Yu Rongling, who adapted Chinese dance
August 25, 1904, is also the middle of the lunar calendar. Cixi held a feast in the palace, and the Fujingge of the palace were invited.
Yuan Shikai's Western band was already waiting to be ready, yu Rongling was fully dressed, and he exhaled slightly. Her uneasiness and nervousness were all blown out by a brain, and only the two words of dance were still engraved in her heart.
Sister Deling helped to announce the curtain and introduce the dance performed by Yu Rongling. This was the first time that there was an official performance of Western dance in the palace, and Cixi was very interested.
Yu Rongling has danced Spanish dance, self-choreographed "Fan Dance" and "Ruyi Dance", as well as Greek classical dance.
Each time with a new dress and form, and with the theme of joy, Cixi unconsciously laughed and laughed.
Li Lianying and Lady Yu Geng looked at it below, and they were both relieved, but the protagonist Yu Rongling didn't care about all this anymore. She stepped out one by one, and suddenly remembered what she had said to her lover Tang Baochao.
She thought, I want to bring Western dance to China, not only here, but also more and farther.
At the end of the year, Yu Geng suddenly fell ill and was extremely weak, and Yu Rongling, his mother and sister were all released from the palace. After that, Cixi only let Yu Rongling return to the palace for a year.
In the winter of 1907, Yu Geng was seriously ill, and Cixi asked Yu Rongling to go home and wait, "When Yu Geng is well, you will come back again." ”
Yu Rongling hurried to hurry up and went home to take care of his father, but Yu Geng died of illness in the second year.
In the same year, the Guangxu Emperor and Empress Dowager Cixi also died. Yu Rongling, a former female official, never entered the Forbidden City again.
Pictured| Yu Rongling in his later years
After Yu Geng's death, the Yu family quickly fell lonely. Yu Deling married an American consul, while Yu Rongling married Tang Baochao as he wished.
After marriage, the husband and wife were very affectionate, and Tang Baochao even got an official position in the Beiyang government, and also let his wife go to the government as a female ceremonial official. Although life is peaceful and happy, Yu Rongling always feels that something is missing, she wants to dance, and she wants to carry forward the dance completely.
Tang Baochao was still the teenager who talked about his dreams at the banquet, he looked at the light in his wife's eyes and said connivingly: "Do what you want, I will accompany you." ”
In 1920, Yu Rongling taught ballroom dance with the support of her husband, and Tang Baochao often attended as a dance partner. Although few people jumped with Yu Rongling, many people bought tickets to see it.
Later, she also held a lecture at the Christian Church in Dengshikou, giving speeches in English and introducing the culture of the Qing Dynasty to foreigners.
Whether it is a lecture or teaching ballroom dance, it is extremely bold and trendy, and Yu Rongling has even set many historical firsts. If this had been the case, her wish to teach modern dance would have come true.
However, the cruel war interrupted all this, Yu Rongling fled in the war and struggled to survive, and she and Tang Baochao had a very hard life, and could only barely survive.
It was not until after the founding of New China that the husband and wife became the staff of the Central Research Institute of Literature and History with the help of Zhang Shizhao.
In 1962, Tang Baochao died. Yu Rongling has been carrying a picture of her husband closely, and in the photo, he is full of spirit, as the leader of the cavalry team, walking through the parade with his head held high.
This is his own knight, guarding himself for how long.
Later, Yu Rongling did not have a good life, she had to break her legs due to various factors, and she could no longer dance.
In 1973, at the age of 84, she died of illness, leaving a will, "Please scatter my ashes into the rivers, lakes and seas." ”
The life of this former female official came to an end.