Wang Yuanhua and Zhang Ke
When it comes to the love of talented women in the Republic of China period, most people familiar with modern history will think of Liang Sicheng and Lin Huiyin, or Qian Zhongshu and Yang Dai, who all have admirable love stories.
However, not every talented couple's love is as pleasing as a fairy tale, and there is such a loving couple who have experienced countless pains and tortures in a marriage that has lasted for more than half a century.
The husband in the first half of his life is crazy, and the wife in the second half of his life is paralyzed, but they interpret another kind of love with the companionship of not abandoning, and the talented couple is Wang Yuanhua and Zhang Ke.
In 1938, at the age of 18, Wang Yuanhua participated as a screenwriter in the rehearsal of the Jinan University drama team at Tsinghua University, and he was mesmerized by a flexible skirt on the stage, which was the first time he met Zhang Ke.
Zhang Ke
"She is an actress in the drama team of Jinan University, with shoulder-length hair, wearing a cheongsam, rarely applying fat powder, and occasionally simply coiling her hair, which is very modern." In his later years, Wang Yuanhua wrote in his memoirs.
After that, they often discussed the script together, and with the gradual increase of contact and understanding, Wang Yuanhua's admiration for Zhang Ke became more and more intense, and Zhang Ke also appreciated Wang Yuanhua's talent and learning.
This seemingly natural love is not achieved overnight, and it is not romantic without wind and snow, but it is surprisingly plain, and even a little embarrassing.
After getting acquainted, Wang Yuanhua finally plucked up the courage to invite Zhang Ke to the park for a date, but due to nervousness, he forgot to bring money when he went out, and he did not seem to be ready to find any reason.
Wang Yuanhua
After seeing Zhang Ke, Wang Yuanhua said bluntly: "I forgot to bring money, you go and buy two tickets." ”
Zhang Ke was not angry, and smiled: "The first time I heard that a girl was asked to buy a ticket for a date, you really cut the door." ”
This is the first date between Wang Yuanhua and Zhang Ke, no wonder Wang Yuanhua chased after the beauty for ten years, Geng Zhi and Mu Ne, just like geniuses and crazy people, often just a line apart.
But it is precisely because of this "GengZhi" that Wang Yuanhua finally embraced the beauty after ten years, in Zhang Ke's view, this Gengzhi is not Mu Ne, but sincere, and precious.
Love is sometimes so simple, even if it is a talented and beautiful person, there may not be a twisted and entangled romantic story, but the plain and plain adds a little bit of true feelings to love.
In 1948, 28-year-old Wang Yuanhua and 29-year-old Zhang Ke were married at the Muertang Church in Shanghai, and after marriage, Zhang Ke gave up his career and shifted the focus of his life to the family.
Since ancient times, the more talented the literati have, the worse their ability to live, and the same is true for Wang Yuanhua, Zhang Ke has almost taken care of all the life affairs of Wang Yuanhua and is willing to be a small woman hidden behind her husband.
Even every day before Wang Yuanhua went out, he had to put some change in his pocket and joked: "If you have money in your pocket, you are not allowed to invite other women to visit the park." ”
Whenever this happened, Wang Yuanhua always smiled and nodded, "Be well." ”
There may be voices saying that the sadness of the new women in the Republic of China all begins with the family life of the husband and son, but this is only a one-sided statement, and it is everyone's right to choose what kind of life to live.
It cannot be said that life without choosing mainstream values is wrong, the husband and son can have a happy family life, we can never be others, how can we know the feelings of others?
Zhang Ke (first from left) and mother-in-law (middle)
A year after marriage, Zhang Ke gave birth to a son for Wang Yuanhua, and in the eyes of the "elites", the tragic life of xiangfu godson officially began, but for Zhang Ke, he felt very happy.
The arrival of the child adds a little fun to the happy and comfortable life of the two, if there is a template for the happiness of the family of three, they must be a standard family.
However, fate seems to be unwilling to give the couple a bland life, and after 7 years of marriage with a good full moon, a senseless disaster comes to the door.
Hu Feng
That day, Wang Yuanhua, who was preparing to sleep, was suddenly taken away by several searchers who forcibly broke into the home, leaving no reason behind, and the whole family fell into a deep panic.
The next day, Zhang Ke went to Wang Yuanhua's unit several times to inquire, only to learn that her husband had been imprisoned in a temporary prison because he had praised Hu Feng's literary and artistic theories, and was undergoing isolation and examination.
Zhang Ke is well aware of her husband's upright character, and he will definitely suffer a lot when he is in prison, and after inquiring about the place where her husband is being detained, Zhang Ke thought of a last resort.
In order to ease her husband's nervousness, Zhang Ke took his son to the courtyard wall of Wang Yuanhua's detention center, and with Zhang Ke's help, the young son staggered up the wall.
After looking for his father fruitlessly, he had to stand on the wall and shout "Daddy", and after hearing his son's shouting voice in the room, Wang Yuanhua once thought that he had auditory hallucinations.
When he saw his shaky son following the direction of the sound, tears poured out of his eyes, and Wang Yuanhua held out his hand outside the iron window and beckoned: "Daddy is here, go down quickly, it is dangerous." ”
Wang Yuanhua knew that this was his wife reporting peace to him, which reassured him, but after seeing his young son, Wang Yuanhua felt great pain and pressure.
It is true that every father who wants to be able to accompany his child through a stable and happy childhood, and now that he is wrongfully imprisoned, he has to meet his son inside and outside this high wall of imprisonment, how can he be relieved?
After this incident, Wang Yuanhua's psychology underwent a huge change, fear, resentment, chagrin, and self-blame, like waves of huge waves beating his heart.
Wang Yuanhua and Zhang Ke
In those dark days, Wang Yuanhua would draw a deep line on the wall with his fingernails every day, as if the resentment could be buried deep in the cracks in the wall and blossom into flowers that made everyone afraid.
In his later years, Wang Yuanhua, recalling this unbearable period, wrote:
"What I had cultivated for a long time, which I believed to be beautiful and even sacred, was destroyed in an instant, and I felt fear, as if I had been abandoned into the boundless wilderness."
Although Zhang Ke reported "peace" to Wang Yuanhua, as the wife of a "reactionary", how could Zhang Ke possibly survive?
In order to let Zhang Ke explain her husband's "problem", they exhausted various methods, but Zhang Ke was always silent, and she knew that any sentence at this time was a terrifying wave for her husband.
Zhang Ke (left)
Zhang Ke's silence made them fruitless again and again, and once, annoyed and angry, they even picked up a thick book and smashed it into Zhang Ke's face, and the corners of her mouth slowly flowed a line of bright red.
The sharp pain made Zhang Ke's eyes filled with tears in an instant, and it seemed that if she blinked her eyes, the pain and grievances would break the embankment, but for the sake of her husband in prison, she had to control her emotions.
No one knew her husband better than she did, and although Wang Yuanhua had a weak ability to live, his bones were very hard, and if he knew what happened to his wife, he would definitely lose his mind, which would not be good for him.
I have to say that as a woman, Zhang Ke's perseverance is really admirable, and when he has suffered a huge blow in his body and mind, he still suppresses the pain of his body with reason.
However, there is no impermeable wall in this world, and the news of Zhang Ke's beating was still known to Wang Yuanhua, just as Zhang Ke was worried, Wang Yuanhua's emotions were out of control, and even insomnia all night long.
In the days that followed, Wang Yuanhua's psychological problems became more and more serious, and the beauty of the past, the sloppiness of the present, the hopelessness of the future, and the thoughts of his wife and children gradually became entangled and twisted together.
It is said that appearance is the accumulation of emotions, and Wang Yuanhua, who is gradually deformed psychologically, has also undergone amazing changes in appearance, slowly becoming crooked in his mouth and eyes, but he himself does not know.
The boat to the bridge is naturally straight, but it is just a helpless statement of fate, who knows how far the bridge in life really is, you don't even know whether there is such a bridge.
Compared with Wang Yuanhua, who is in prison, Zhang Ke, who is tortured outside, is also under great pressure, and even more difficult, not only to take care of his young children, but also to worry about his husband in prison.
Later, Zhang Ke was forced to move out of the spacious and bright home, and had to bend down with her children in a small rental house, in order to relieve mental pressure, she would come to the church every day to pray for her husband's safety.
Faith, in the eyes of many people, is an erratic thing, but at this time, what else can Zhang Ke do except pray?
Although God can give Zhang Ke a short period of peace of mind, but in the end it has not changed the direction of the tragedy, Zhang Ke does not know that at this time her husband has suffered from severe schizophrenia.
In 1957, after nearly 2 years in captivity, Wang Yuanhua was acquitted because no "problem" was found.
The moment she saw her husband, Zhang Ke froze, looking at the man in front of her, who had a crooked mouth and a slanted eyebrow, she did not believe that this was her husband, Zhang Ke held his face and cried silently.
The son was also frightened and cried by Wang Yuanhua's appearance, and Wang Yuanhua, who did not know the reason, walked to the mirror, and the appearance in the mirror made him frightened, and he couldn't help but cover his face and sob.
Zhang Kemi hugged her husband tightly from behind, crying and saying, "It's good to come back, it's good to come back, our family is more important than anything else." ”
The once happy family of three reunited, but it was too late to enjoy the joy of reunion, and the most important thing in the family was to treat Wang Yuanhua for mental illness.
At this time, Zhang Ke did not know the severity of her husband's schizophrenia, until one day, Zhang Ke found Wang Yuanhua sitting on the sofa talking to himself.
After seeing Zhang Ke looking at himself, Wang Yuanhua also enthusiastically pulled her to introduce the "guests" present, watching her husband talk to himself in the air, Zhang Ke's heart flooded with a wave of bitterness.
She hugged her husband: "Yuanhua, there is only us here, there is no one else, you can see clearly." ”
Wang Yuanhua, who was stunned, touched the "guest" with his hand, and it was indeed empty, until this time, he realized that what he saw was only an illusion, which was really a frightening thing.
Looking at her panicked husband, Zhang Ke took his hand and said softly: "Don't be afraid, in the future, if you see anyone, first ask me if I can see it, and then talk to them." ”
In order to cure her husband's illness, Zhang Ke constantly read various materials, and after a period of research and research, Zhang Ke found a prescription and decided to try it, that is, "literature".
Zhang Ke believes that the use of drugs should vary from person to person, the right medicine, not to mention the heart disease also needs heart medicine, for Wang Yuanhua such a literary giant, his good medicine is undoubtedly the spiritual sustenance.
Wang Yuanhua, who has been devoted to literature and drama, if he can devote himself to this passionate career again, it will greatly reduce his anxiety and uneasiness.
Zhang Ke thought that her husband had been studying Shakespeare's plays before the "accident", and he thought that maybe Shakespeare was the medicine to treat her husband.
The next morning, Zhang Ke held a large stack of Shakespeare's works and passed by her husband silently, and Wang Yuanhua's eyes were indeed attracted to her.
While picking up the book in his wife's hand and flipping through it, he said: "Shakespeare's works are not good in many places, and like this one, the majesty of his description is obviously out of harmony with the theme." ”
Zhang Ke knew that his method had worked, and since then, he has accompanied her husband every day to study and translate Shakespeare's literary works, and it was during this time that Wang Yuanhua found the antidote to his soul.
Wang Yuanhua (second from left)
In the years that followed, Wang Yuanhua was full of talent and worked hard every day to write books, and Zhang Ke was responsible for copying his manuscripts onto exquisite paper and binding them into books, and the couple completed many masterpieces.
In the company of Zhang Ke, Wang Yuanhua's mental condition gradually improved, and his facial features distorted by illness also returned to their former integrity.
After 22 years of "madness", Wang Yuanhua finally completely got rid of schizophrenia, which has to be said to be a miracle.
In his later years, Wang Yuanhua once told reporters: "Translating and introducing Shakespeare is completely Zhang Ke's desire to let me come out of the shadows, I have achieved Shakespeare's status in China, but she has achieved me." ”
In fact, it is true that we cannot simply interpret this difficult time with the wife's love for her husband, and living with a schizophrenic husband for 22 years is unimaginable to ordinary people.
Nowadays, the world can say that without Zhang Ke, there would be no Wang Yuanhua, but this is only an inductive assertion as a bystander, and the eight thousand days and nights that I personally endured every day is the true meaning of love.
I thought that when it was time to clear the clouds and see the moon, fate once again made a joke with the couple, and in 1979, shortly after Wang Yuanhua recovered, Zhang Ke actually fell due to a sudden cerebral hemorrhage.
After a week of rescue, Zhang Ke was finally out of danger of life, but due to his serious illness, Zhang Ke's intelligence and coordination were seriously damaged, and he had to be paralyzed in bed for simple language communication.
After learning of his wife's condition, Wang Yuanhua cried in the corridor of the hospital for two whole days, remembering his wife's meticulous care for him in the past years, Wang Yuanhua was heartbroken.
He did not understand why fate was so unfair to them, his illness had just healed, his career had improved, and it was precisely when he let his wife enjoy happiness, but why heaven treated her like this.
The idea of "fixed number" may be nonsense, but in the face of this unpredictable life, it is difficult to believe that it is not a trick of fate, and it is too uncertain about the behind the gears of happiness and misfortune.
The only thing people can do is to face it, and after recognizing the cruel reality, Wang Yuanhua is determined to take on the burden of the family, just like his strong wife when he was deeply ill.
Therefore, Wang Yuanhua, who is nearly a year old, began to learn to cook rice and cook vegetables, freshen up and dress, and after feeding his wife every day, he would push his wife in a wheelchair to go for a walk, talk and chat with her, inseparable.
Compared with "tonggan", "common suffering" may be more able to test the color of love, once the wife's love and care for her husband, now he will redouble his return, it is not a kind of happiness.
Wang Yuanhua knows that his wife loves to be clean, and he washes and irons clothes for her every day until it is spotless and flat, and then he will put them on his wife.
Her hair was also neatly combed for her wife, and she looked very energetic even in a wheelchair.
Knowing that Zhang Ke likes to eat hoofs, but eating more of this greasy food will affect digestion, Wang Yuanhua cut the hooves into many small pieces, and every few hours, feed his wife a piece.
Once, Zhang Ke's early students heard that the teacher was seriously ill and came to visit, and when she saw the teacher with a red face and clean face, she was instantly stunned.
I had never seen a paralyzed patient so refreshed, which showed how considerate Wang Yuanhua's care for Zhang Ke was.
Patients with a disease like Zhang Ke generally only have a few years to live, but under the care of Wang Yuanhua, Zhang Ke spent 27 years unscathed.
Until 2006, the 87-year-old Zhang Ke died in his sleep without pain.
For Wang Yuanhua, after nearly 60 years of marriage with his wife, Zhang Ke has been integrated into his life, whether it is the meticulous care of himself in the first half of his life, or the companionship of the second half of his life.
Therefore, after losing his wife, Wang Yuanhua was like a puppet who had lost his soul, without the motivation to support his body, and soon fell ill.
At this time, in the face of life and death, he has long been no longer afraid and wandering, after being admitted to the hospital, he did not actively cooperate with the doctor's treatment, he once told his family that if he fell into a coma, do not rescue.
A year later, Wang Yuanhua's condition worsened, and while everyone was sweating for his physical condition, he dragged his weak body and said excitedly:
"I can't wait, my last expectation is to go there to see her."
Tombs of Wang Yuanhua and Zhang Ke
The students came to visit him, always saw him lying neatly on the hospital bed, and when asked if it was uncomfortable, he always said, "Your teacher and mother love to be clean, and I can't go to see her sloppily." ”
Finally, Wang Yuanhua got his wish, and a year after Zhang Ke left, he finally looked for his wife's footsteps cleanly and tidyly, and died safely.
Some people say that although the love between Wang Yuanhua and Zhang Ke is moving, the devastated life course is full of tragic colors and difficult to aspire to.
It is true that this love is indeed full of misfortune, but in the author's opinion, everyone is going to go through this life after all, and what awaits at the end of that life is the same endless emptiness.
Whether it is the wind and snow, a glimpse of the sky, or afflictions, in people's short lives, it is the most romantic love.