Qian Mu married a 27-year-old wife, accompanied by rumors for 34 years, and in her later years of blindness, she wrote millions of words for her eyes

Qian Mu and Hu Meiqi

On January 30, 1956, the 61-year-old Qian Mu and hu Meiqi, who was only 27 years old, held a wedding ceremony in the slum, and the conditions on the scene were simple, not to mention the Chinese costume band, and even the house for the wedding was rented.

The bride's 27-year-old Hu Meiqi is at the most elegant moment for a woman, she comes from a large family, her father was the governor of Jiangxi Province, and she is a proper Bai Fumei.

On the other hand, the groom, Qian Mu, is not only old and poor, but also the father of five children, and this is the third time in his life that he has become a groom official.

This "yearless love" that can be called ancient and modern caused a lot of criticism in the social circle at that time, and some people could not help but feel unfair to Hu Meiqi, but Hu Meiqi himself never said half a word of regret.

Hu Meiqi has her own definition of this marriage, she said: "The two are not romantic love, she admires Qian Mu's personality and is willing to commit to marriage." ”

Qian Mu

In fact, when they were married, Qian Mu still had another de facto marriage on him.

It was also an extremely virtuous and capable woman, his second wife, Zhang Cong.

When the young Qian Mu ran east and west for his academic career, it was Zhang who was always perfect, living alone with five children in his hometown in Suzhou, and never remarried in his life.

Qian Mu, a famous master of traditional Chinese studies who has a virtuous wife in his family but is looking for another wife, and who is respected by posterity as a "grandmaster of a generation", what is the charm of the outstanding people, so that the young and beautiful Hu Meiqi is willing to risk the world?

And why would Qian Mu, who is unswerving in academics, make such a "loss of morality" move?

All this has to start from Qian Mu's childhood encounter.

Qian Mu's hometown of Wuxi, Jiangsu, was after Qian Miao, the king of Wusu in the Wuyue state, and the Qian family was also a famous and prestigious family in the local area, and his father Qian Chengpei had passed the Xiucai examination in the late Qing Dynasty, but due to his health, he finally failed to embark on the road of Zhishi.

In addition to the difficulty, the only way to pin your life ambitions on your children.

Qian Mu was born in 1895, the second eldest, and there is an older brother named Qian Endi. Qian Mu's real name was Qian Enjin, and it was qian Mu that his brother changed to him.

Legend has it that after Qian Mu was born, he cried for three days and three nights without stopping, and Qian's father was deeply surprised, and privately told Qian Mu that this child was a noble life, but it was a pity that he was born in our family by mistake.

In any case, Qian Mu's birth seemed to have some kind of aura from the beginning. He has been brilliant since he was a child, and at the age of seven, he entered a private school, of course, there is no lack of painstaking arrangements from Qian's father.

Qian Mu's performance did not disappoint him, and he began to read literary masterpieces such as "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" at a very young age, and cherished the heroes in it.

No matter what article is in his hands, he can recite it after reading it three or four times, which can be described as having excellent memory.

Father Qian had high hopes for this son, and he vaguely felt that this child must be extraordinary in the future, and once said to people with great joy: "I have a son, like a man who increases the field by two hundred acres." ”

Unfortunately, my father died of illness. Before leaving, he still did not forget to supervise the younger son's studies, and told his brother Qian Endi to take good care of his younger brother.

The sudden change undoubtedly made it worse, and the burden of life suddenly fell on Qian Mu and her two young children, who were only 11 years old.

Qian Mu's mother, also an unusual woman, completely inherited her husband's legacy, even in the most difficult moments of family situation, she did not let her children drop out of school, and never complained much.

Qian Mu, who grew up under the influence of such a family, has a dedication and sense of mission to sinology in his bones, coupled with the words and deeds of Qian Mu's father and mother, Qian Mu has developed a personality of being diligent and studious since he was a child and not humble in his dealings with people.

After becoming an adult, Qian Mu never forgot his mother's kindness, and was deeply grateful to his mother, and in his later years, he also named the apartment "Sushulou", which originated from the former residence of his hometown to express the remembrance of his mother.

Speaking of the young Qian Mu's path to study, it was unexpectedly bumpy.

In 1907, Qian Mu was studying at changzhou fu middle school, and he had always had a conceptual conflict with the house supervisor, although he responded to everything, but after the incident was big, he was immediately attacked by the school, and Qian Mu, as the leader, angrily withdrew from school.

Fortunately, the principal at that time was a person who loved talent, and seeing that Qian Mu had nowhere to go at a young age, he took the initiative to recommend him to Nanjing Zhongying Middle School.

Shortly after leaving, the Wuchang Uprising broke out, the school stopped teaching, and Qian Mu dropped out of school again. The situation was turbulent, and Qian Mu was powerless no matter how much she had, and Qian Mu understood very well that he did not embarrass his mother. As long as there is a heart to learn, where is not learning?

Qian Mu resolutely decided to go home and angrily teach himself.

At the age of 18, Qian Mu relied on his painstakingly learned knowledge to find a position, and since then he has begun his long teaching career.

During his time as a teacher in the countryside, he strictly demanded himself, imitating Zeng Guofan when reading, first reciting the whole text, as long as there was a word error or omission, he had to start all over again, until all of them were correct, and then he replaced the next one.

The so-called "frozen three feet is not a day's cold", Qian Mu's amazing perseverance and precipitation a few years later, with the advent of the "Pre-Qin Dynasty Year", it amazed the entire academic community.

Along with the honor came an invitation letter from Beijing Yenching University, and soon Qian Mu, who only had a high school education, stepped onto the university stage.

His erudition, insight, and humor quickly allowed him to conquer the students here. Whenever he lectured, there were many people, and the students rushed to see it.

Just a year later, Qian Mu proposed to leave. The inner "I" told himself that this was not the ideal soil.

Subsequently, Qian Mu entered Peking University at the invitation of Hu Shi. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Qian Mu followed the teachers and students of the Southwest United University to the south to Yungui to teach the general history of China, which won the praise of many students and was once competed by major universities that moved inland.

According to statistics, Qian Mu has served as a vocational teacher in more than ten colleges and universities, all of which are famous schools.

In the war-torn years, he traveled from different podiums to the same job - teaching and educating people, passing on the torch.

According to statistics, Qian Mu has been displaced all his life, and he has taught in more than ten universities, and all of them are first-class.

Young looks are the same, interesting souls are one of the best, and Qian Mu, who has been cultivated in the depth of the ocean of knowledge, has a unique personality charm.

The three marriages he experienced had their own stories.

Qian Mu's wife's surname was Zou, and the two were originally respectful and respectful, and before they could compose any good story, Zou died in childbirth. Also departing in the same year was his elder brother Qian Endi.

Successive blows made Qian Mu feel the impermanence of life, and even thought that "life is not a sin", and since then he has devoted himself to the way of longevity, and began to meditate in his twenties.

Zhang consistently

The following year, the 34-year-old Qian Mujian, who was also an intellectual, married in Suzhou. The world generally believes that Qian Mu is ashamed of this wife.

After marriage, Zhang And Qian Mu gave birth to three sons and two daughters, and devoted his life's energy to Qian Mu, who studied Traditional Chinese Studies, and because of the impact of the war, he was separated from his wife many times, resulting in the two gathering less and leaving more.

Zhang, who has served as the principal of a primary school, has always understood and supported her husband's career and volunteered to take care of the family with her children in her hometown. What I didn't expect was that Zhang had always waited for a lifetime.

She could not wait for her husband's side until she died.

What is the so-called world-famous? Qian Mu in the chaotic world is like a duckweed, wandering.

Forced by the situation, Qian Mu, who had two sideburns, had to leave his hometown again and go south to Hong Kong alone to avoid disaster.

Years of wandering and reading hard, destroyed Qian Mu's body. At that time, Qian Mu was alone in a foreign land as a stranger, and he was still plagued by stomach diseases, and he had a full stomach and a full stomach, so he had to live backwards.

He and his friends founded New Asia College in Hong Kong, which is a projection of all his ideals. He has always been convinced that the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation must be based on the rise of the nation and the revival of historical and cultural traditions.

Because of the shortage of funds, there were only a few students at New Asia College, and in the most difficult times, Qian Mu went around collecting money during the day and laying on the floor at night. The weather in Hong Kong was humid, and Qian Mu had a stomach attack, so he could only curl up on the ground and endure in silence.

At this moment, a beam of light called Hu Meiqi came in.

Hu Meiqi

By chance, Qian Mu met Hu Mu, who had come to Hong Kong with his family, and the two saw each other as they were. Soon, Hu's father sent his 20-year-old daughter Hu Meiqi to the New Asia Academy, and Hu Meiqi was overwhelmed by Qian Mu's elegance and the self-confidence of the sons of Baijia Wenshi, and was full of reverence.

However, only a year later, Hu Meiqi left Hong Kong for Taiwan, and the relationship between the two stopped at teachers and students.

But the arrangement of fate is always unexpected.

In the spring of 1952, when Qian Mu was giving a speech in Taipei to collect donations, the auditorium suddenly collapsed, and a piece of cement fell down and hit the head, and he fell to the ground on the spot and almost died.

Hu Meiqi heard the bad news at home, and she couldn't sit still, so she simply went straight to the hospital. Alone in a foreign land, seriously injured and dying, fortunately, there are people who visit and comfort every day, and Qian Mu's condition has also improved.

In the beginning, the topic of the two only revolved around classroom knowledge.

Over the days, the attentive Hu Meiqi noticed Qian Mu's stomach disease, which was summarized as the result of intoxicated academic research, so she spontaneously supervised Qian Mu's eating habits and often spent dinner with him before leaving.

This makes Qian Mu, who is accustomed to wandering and lonely, feel the companionship and warmth of a long time.

After recovering from his injuries, Qian Mu returned to Hong Kong, and the two maintained contact.

Hu Meiqi graduated two years later, but where did her life go?

It is said that once the seeds of culture are sown, even if they are silent for several years, they will sprout and grow. Perhaps Hu Meiqi's love is the same.

After some thought, Hu Meiqi firmly followed her heart's desire, and she temporarily gave up the opportunity to stand on the podium and decided to follow Qian Mu to continue her studies.

While studying by Qian Mu's side, Hu Meiqi also took on the responsibility of taking care of her. Slowly, Qian Mu's career ushered in a turnaround, first new Asia College received financial support to solve the long-standing problems; then the affirmation of the Hong Kong government, making New Asia College famous, and more and more students came to study.

The career is booming, but the emotions are more entangled, Qian Mu always thinks of the distant homeland in his heart, and remembers that he is a person with a family.

It was another two years.

In 1956, Qian Mu's wish to return home was basically disappointed, and knowing that his return date was far away, he finally made up his mind to settle down, and also gave an explanation to Hu Meiqi, who was also uprooted from his hometown to take care of himself.

Qian Mu, 61, proposed to Hu Meiqi, 27. The two had a wedding ceremony in a slum on Diamond Hill, simple but ceremonial, and were attended by friends from New Asia College.

The two people held hands and laughed without anyone around, completely ignoring the criticism of the outside world, and this love between old and young people shocked the people of the world at that time.

But the two didn't care.

For Qian Mu, who has experienced the world, the happiness of the moment is the most important. On the day of the wedding, Qian Muti wrote a book into a poem to give to his beloved wife Hu Meiqi: "Jincao does not go for the wind, Wutong Xin has a phoenix to yi." ”

Hu Meiqi and Qian Mu

After marriage, although the two lived in embarrassment, they did not lose their elegant mood.

During the day, Hu Meiqi kept the two people's small homes clean and warm, so that Qian Mu could devote himself to academic compilation work without distraction. In the evening, the couple often walked hand in hand on the beach, stepped on the moon to listen to the tide, and talked about the past and the present.

She soothed his lonely spirit, gave him warmth and care, consulted the history books with him, and helped him take care of the relationship outside.

In Qian Mu's heart, Hu Meiqi is his Feng Laiyi, the lady and confidant that he has dreamed of since the heart of Gu Yashi.

In 1967, the two transferred to Taipei, and Qian Mu still tirelessly threw himself into writing books and lectures for Chinese studies, and overwork caused him to suffer from glaucoma, and his eyesight deteriorated.

What a devastating blow to a devout scholar!

But Hu Meiqi was not discouraged, she encouraged him to comfort him, and gave him substantial help. When the husband can't see clearly, she acts as the husband's eye; if the husband can't proofread, she writes for her.

Hu Meiqi read the manuscript to Qian Mu word by word, and then Qian Mu dictated and revised it, over and over again until he was satisfied.

With the intimate assistance of his beloved wife Hu Meiqi, Qian Mu wrote nearly one million words of works, including several masterpieces of his later years, such as "Zhu Zi Xinxue Case" and "History of Chinese Academic Thought".

In 1977, the 82-year-old Qian Mu suffered a stomach attack, a serious illness, and the glaucoma became more serious, and he could hardly see anything.

For her husband, Hu Meiqi quit her beloved vocational education job, while taking care of his diet and living, everything was trivial, in order to reduce the pain of the bedridden Qian Mu; at the same time, he helped him read and revise the manuscript, so that the blind Qian Mu could continue his writing career.

With the full assistance of Hu Meiqi, Qian Mu has completed important works such as "Eighty Memories of Parents" and "World Situation and Chinese Culture" in the recent years.

This is unique in academic history.

In 1900, the new president expelled Qian Mu in the name of "occupying government buildings" and deliberately embarrassed him.

At that time, the two lived in the "SushuLou" named in memory of their deceased mother. This is both a haven of their love and a testimony to their mutual affection.

The Sushu Building carries too many of their good memories and memories, and several of Qian Mu's works in his later years were completed here.

This incident hit Qian Mu so hard that he died at the age of 95 not long after he moved out of the Sushu Building.

A generation of Guoxue masters has fallen.

Once the sea was shipwrecked as water, except for the Wushan Mountain is not a cloud. Qian Mu died, but Hu Meiqi is still alive, for her, Qian Mu is "Canghai" and "Wushan". There will never be a second one.

But Hu Meiqi's life did not wither away. Instead of indulging in the grief of losing her husband, she proved her love to death in another way.

Hu Meiqi, 61, spent the rest of her life compiling the complete works for her husband and promoting and publicizing her husband's sinology cause, and in the past 22 years, her footprints have spread across the taiwan strait and three places until her death in 2012.

Hu Meiqi in his later years

She really understands him, and does not hesitate to spend her life to realize this "wind and snow moon", in which the sour, sweet and bitter experience is the wish of the heart.

Her devout dedication made her children who had complained about their fathers feel admiration. Hu Meiqi did not have children in her life, and after her death, the children of the Qian family took her back to her hometown in Wuxi and buried her with her father Qian Mu.

"Born to be the same, death to be the same cave", if Hu Meiqi had known about it, she would certainly have been happy to do so.

Tomb of Qianmu

As a world-renowned master of traditional Chinese studies, Qian Mu has left a wealth of writings for the world, as many as more than 80 kinds. He is not only a historian, but also a well-known thinker and educator at home and abroad, together with Lu Simian, Chen Yuan, Chen Yinke, known as the "Four Great Masters of Historiography", who devoted his life to the cause of cultural promotion and made far-reaching influences and contributions to the development of mainland culture.

And all these achievements, it is difficult to have nothing to do with Hu Meiqi, it can be said that without Hu Meiqi's selfless dedication, there would be no achievements in the second half of Qian Mu's life.

If there is really a fate arrangement, looking at Qian Mu and Hu Meiqi, it is more like the former carries the mission of cultural inheritance to bear this heavy life, and the latter comes to achieve the former.

The "old and young love" of the two people is placed in today's secular world, and it is difficult not to be criticized. This may be a different kind of romance.

For this wonderful love, some people understand and envy, some people cannot understand, and even shameless.

Some people say that Qian Mu's achievements are based on the loneliness of another great woman, and some people think that he owes Zhang a lot and is a scumbag who picks flowers and weeds.

What do you think?