Mr. and Mrs. Fu Lei
In ancient Greece, there is a famous tragedy - "Antigone", which tells the story of the protagonist Antigone who, despite the king's prohibition, would rather sacrifice himself than collect the body of his brother Porunix.
This is similar to Jiang Xiaoyan risking death to collect Fu Lei's ashes.
However, Jiang Xiaoyan and Fu Lei and his wife were not related in any way; antigone was collecting the body of his own brother.
Why, exactly, did Jiang Xiaoyan want to collect the ashes of a strange couple?
All this has to start with the Fu Lei couple who no one dares to claim the ashes.
Fu Lei studied in France in his early years and had a solid foundation in foreign languages. In 1929, he began to work on translation, and he had some success.
Fu Lei
After returning to China, Fu Lei devoted himself to the cause of translation, and imported a large number of excellent foreign language works into China's cultural circles, such as the famous "Biography of Tolstoy" and "Biography of Beethoven". But it was precisely because of this that Fu Lei suffered unbearable torture in a special era.
As one of the first intellectuals to come into contact with Western culture, Fu Lei's practice of translating and introducing foreign masterpieces was mistaken for an act of admiring the foreign world and not paying attention to the essence of the country.
In this regard, Fu Lei was unable to defend himself, and he was powerless to resist the criticism of him at that time. However, this wave of criticism implicated not only Fu Lei himself, but also Fu Lei's wife Zhu Meifu, his son Fu Min, and his eldest son Fu Cong, who escaped the disaster because he was far away in Britain.
Where the elderly Fu Lei and his wife can withstand wave after wave of criticism, although the physical pain is tortured, they can also grit their teeth and persist in the past.
But how can that spiritual pain be able to persist in the past just by gritting your teeth?
Fu Lei, who had become famous at a young age, did not expect that he would end up like this. Relying on his pen and mouth to make a living, he did not expect that no one would be willing to listen to his suffering.
Looking at his wife's haggard face in front of him, Fu Lei made a suggestion to his wife Zhu Meifu:
"You see, we've lived long enough, so why don't we cut it off today, and save people from spending time criticizing us tomorrow.
Zhu Meifu looked at her husband with deep affection: "You have the final say in all this." "
Subsequently, the two ripped off two long strips of cloth and put them on the iron windows of their own homes. In order not to wake up the neighbors, Fu Lei deliberately laid a layer of cotton wool on the floor to prevent the stool from falling to the ground and making a sound.
After preparing everything, Fu Lei took out a pen and paper and wrote a suicide note. Subsequently, Fu Lei took his wife's hand and stepped on the bench.
The two men looked at each other and smiled, kicking away the bench at their feet.
The next day, the nanny Zhou Judi saw that the couple was delayed, so she had to go upstairs and knock on the bedroom door, only to find that Fu Lei and his wife had hanged themselves.
The police brigade that heard the news immediately sent someone to inspect it. Interestingly, after the inspection, the police directly notified the people at the crematorium to collect and cremate the body.
Fu Lei's suicide note
The body of Fu Lei, a generation of famous artists, was hastily dragged to the crematorium and was hastily cremated without the consent of his family.
After the bodies of Fu Lei and his wife were cremated, Fu Min was criticized at school at the time and felt distracted by the fact that he had come to collect the ashes of his parents.
Fu Min had to hope that the elders in the family and the friends of her parents would be able to collect the ashes of her parents and return home. However, the simple Fu Min had not yet seen the heat and cold of the world at this time.
In view of the experience of Fu Lei and his wife before their deaths, people unanimously believe that the suicide of Fu Lei and his wife at this time is a "suicide of fear of sin".
Since it is "suicide in fear of sin", if anyone rushes to collect the urn, it is contaminated with this "crime" with an inexplicable and unclear relationship.
Fu Lei and his son Fu Min
In this way, Fu Lei's friends who were widely related before his death either crossed the river in the mud - it was difficult to protect themselves, or they pretended not to know about this news, in an attempt to pass the pass in a posture of pretending to be deaf and dumb.
The urns of Mr. and Mrs. Fu Lei were parked in the crematorium for days and days.
Coincidentally, a stranger, Jiang Xiaoyan, accidentally learned the news. Determined, she ventured to the crematorium to collect the urns of the Fu Leis.
Jiang Xiaoyan, who is also a person, why did she have to risk her life to receive the urn of Fu Lei and his wife?
This Jiang Xiaoyan, born in Shanghai, came from a modest family. Although she was a woman, her enlightened parents had always encouraged Jiang Xiaoyan to pursue higher education.
When Jiang Xiaoyan entered high school, her grades were good and she had the potential and opportunity to go to college. However, near graduation, the school suddenly broke out into a student movement.
Jiang Xiaoyan
The student movement had nothing to do with Jiang Xiaoyan, and she wanted to stay in school and spend her last days in peace. But her simple wish was also ruthlessly taken away by the student movement.
It turned out that the student movement aimed the momentum of the attack at Jiang Xiaoyan's Russian teacher, Chai Huimin. In order to get more information about Chai Huimin, the student representatives approached Jiang Xiaoyan, hoping that Jiang Xiaoyan would be able to shake out some useful information.
However, the naïve Jiang Xiaoyan did not understand what information the student representative wanted her to shake out. In her heart, this Russian teacher Chai Huimin is both dedicated and loves education, which is good.
Therefore, Jiang Xiaoyan did not consider the student representative's "words in words" and directly wrote a letter of praise to the school, which was full of admiration for Teacher Chai Huimin.
The student union that received the letter scolded Jiang Xiaoyan as a fool and did not understand the current situation; on the other hand, he also wanted to take this opportunity to kill chickens and monkeys.
Poor Jiang Xiaoyan was thus pushed into the spotlight and pointed out by her classmates. Jiang Xiaoyan originally thought that this farce would end at this point, but he did not expect that the people in the student union would not give up and would have to "characterize" the matter.
Seeing that the student union was making too much trouble, the school authorities gave Jiang Xiaoyan a lenient treatment, but only commented on Jiang Xiaoyan's transcript that "the position is not quite correct", which was attached to this political character column and gave a bad evaluation.
Although the school has already dealt with Jiang Xiaoyan's "bad" behavior, this "position is not quite correct" has become the biggest stumbling block for Jiang Xiaoyan to enter the university, and even an obstacle for Jiang Xiaoyan to enter the society.
Jiang Xiaoyan's calligraphy works
In view of this evaluation of the school, none of the work units in the society at that time dared to ask Jiang Xiaoyan. Forced to be helpless, Jiang Xiaoyan had to return home to her father to do miscellaneous work, becoming the best representative of the youth at that time who "graduated and lost their jobs".
Jiang Xiaoyan can only help with some small things around her father, but she can't see the beauty and excitement of the outside world again.
She had also wondered whether her "ignorant" behavior of defending Teacher Chai Huimin was right? If it is right, why did you end up like this?
Jiang Xiaoyan's confusion was in his father's eyes. He did not resent his daughter's failure to achieve what she deserved by studying, nor did he complain that her daughter was so old and dependent on her family.
Paintings by Jiang Xiaoyan
The father only said to Jiang Xiaoyan lightly: "In this world, there are many correct things that take time to be recognized by the world. Don't be in a hurry, believe in yourself. "
Her father's words became Jiang Xiaoyan's only creed, and she firmly believed in her heart that what she had done was a righteous act and did not regret it at all.
At present, Jiang Xiaoyan has once again experienced something similar to Chai Huimin's.
Out of pessimistic predictions about the world, several of Jiang Xiaoyan's friends chose to end their lives in an extreme way, taking the opportunity to completely liberate themselves.
However, although the friends ended their enmity and resentment with the world in this way, they caused a huge psychological shadow to Jiang Xiaoyan.
Jiang Xiaoyan decided to write a letter to Premier Zhou Enlai in an attempt to reflect to Premier Zhou Enlai the psychological crisis of the lower classes.
However, Jiang Xiaoyan, who is well thought-out, believes that if he only writes about the psychological state of his friends around him, it is not enough to attract the attention of Premier Zhou Enlai.
Premier Zhou Enlai
Therefore, the clever Jiang Xiaoyan planned to search around for relevant information. During this search, we found the news that the ashes of Fu Lei and his wife had not been collected.
Jiang Xiaoyan thought about it for a moment, this Fu Lei is also a famous translator, and no one has received the urn. Jiang Xiaoyan, who carefully explored the situation, understood that Fu Lei and his friends were the same kind of people, and they were all people who were "abandoned" by society.
At the same time, when Jiang Xiaoyan was studying in high school, she also read Fu Lei's relevant translations and had a good impression of this translator.
Thinking about it, Jiang Xiaoyan decided to take a risk: go to the crematorium to collect the urn of Fu Lei and his wife.
Jiang Xiaoyan, who came to the crematorium, falsely claimed to be Fu Lei's dry daughter and received the urn in the name of her family.
However, Jiang Xiaoyan, who had calculated everything, did not expect that he would have to pay for the urn!
But she didn't have a serious social job, and where the money was paid to the crematorium!
Encountering economic difficulties, she had to inquire about the news again and found the door of Zhu Renxiu, the brother of Fu Lei's wife Zhu Meifu. In order to hide his identity, Jiang Xiaoyan specially spent money to buy a cheap mask, and only knocked on the door of Zhu Renxiu's house after putting it on.
Zhu Renxiu saw that strangers were visiting, and he couldn't help but remain vigilant and talk to Jiang Xiaoyan.
Jiang Xiaoyan claimed that his surname was Gao, and the purpose of this trip was to find a safe place for the ashes of Fu Lei and his wife.
Zhu Renxiu saw that Jiang Xiaoyan's intentions were quite abnormal, and he refused to tell him where her family lived, and he was not at ease to hand over the money to her, so he asked his servant Xiao Zhang to follow Jiang Xiaoyan to buy the urn.
After buying the urn, Jiang Xiaoyan took Xiao Zhang to the crematorium with him and laid out the ashes of Fu Lei and his wife.
In view of Mr. Fu Lei's great name, in order not to attract people's attention, Xiao Zhang specially instructed the people at the crematorium to sign Mr. Fu Lei's original name "Fu Nu'an" on the urn.
After arranging everything, Jiang Xiaoyan returned to his home with the urn and temporarily took shelter. A few days later, they met Xiao Zhang at the agreed location and sent the urns of Fu Lei and his wife to the Yong'an Cemetery.
Fu Lei's ashes were buried in Shanghai
This trip to place the ashes is quite tortuous. But Jiang Xiaoyan finally achieved a big thing again, and her heart was quite comfortable. She wrote this incident into a letter along with the story of her friend and forwarded it to Premier Zhou Enlai through the petition mailbox.
The letter, before it reached the hands of Premier Zhou Enlai, was intercepted by the security brigade. Following the clues provided in the letter, the security brigade identified Jiang Xiaoyan as a "suspect" and took measures to detain him.
The process of detention is not painful, because the initial detention and interrogation are handled by the local guild, which is not a real prison investigation.
Fu Lei with his son
Only after the first level of interrogation and characterization can it be formally filed by the police.
Jiang Xiaoyan was 27 years old at the time, and the interrogation staff defaulted to Jiang Xiaoyan as an adult, who was already capable of taking responsibility for her actions.
But who knows, Jiang Xiaoyan suddenly refuted this:
"Comrade, although I am 27 years old, I have not yet stepped into social work, and I have been staying at home since graduating from high school. So in a strict sense, I'm still a student. "
Upon hearing Jiang Xiaoyan's words, the interrogators were also confused, and he did not expect that such an "adult" was actually a student!
At that time, there was a view in society that although a person was highly educated, if he had never stepped into society, then that person was still a student of the world and should not be regarded as a social eye.
Zhu Meifu and her son
In this way, the interrogators' examination of Jiang Xiaoyan is much easier, after all, as a student, how can Jiang Xiaoyan understand the sinister struggle in society?
Jiang Xiaoyan is also very clever, and after she understands the interrogator's thoughts, she is also happy to portray herself as a naïve and unsophisticated student.
One after another, this interrogation, called "interrogation", is really a battle of wits and courage. When asked why he wanted to collect the ashes for Fu Lei, Jiang Xiaoyan replied calmly without thinking:
"Comrade, you also know that we rural people don't think too much about it, thinking that Fu Lei's ashes are not collected, and just when I have time to help collect them, there is no other meaning."
"Just like comrades, when you go out and see a brand new umbrella that has been lost, you will think about how to return the umbrella to someone." This is the traditional virtue of our Chinese peasants and workers. "
Fu Lei's memorial service
After listening to Jiang Xiaoyan's answer, the interrogator looked through Jiang Xiaoyan's basic information, and her family situation basically met her answer, so she had a clear understanding of Jiang Xiaoyan's act of collecting the ashes of Fu Lei and his wife.
The interrogator thought to himself: This little girl is probably an honest person. The heart is too good, and the brain is relatively simple, and it is easy to make mistakes that should not be made. Nian was an old and good person, and in the case of a first offender, after the union interrogation was completed, She released Jiang Xiaoyan.
Before leaving, the innocent student Jiang Xiaoyan also made a small request to the trade union: I hope that they will not record this interrogation in the archives, let alone inform the police and her rural brigade of this interrogation, otherwise Jiang Xiaoyan will not want to find a job in this life!
Although the trade union in charge of the interrogation agreed to Jiang Xiaoyan's request, Jiang Xiaoyan was still uneasy, afraid that one day his own history would be turned over.
Jiang Xiaoyan, who has spent several years in anxiety, ushered in the dark and bright moment in her life: her father died of illness, leaving Jiang Xiaoyan alone. The local brigade saw that Jiang Xiaoyan was pitiful, so they arranged for her to work in the production team.
At the age of 34, she entered society for the first time and was a little more cautious. She worked carefully while beginning her self-taught path. Through continuous efforts, Jiang Xiaoyan successfully obtained a college diploma in Chinese major.
This kind of achievement was rare in the countryside at that time. For a woman who has interrupted her studies for many years, it is extremely rare. But Jiang Xiaoyan did not stop there, she continued to work hard to win a bachelor's degree, becoming a veritable college student.
Fortunately, Jiang Xiaoyan's efforts for life over the years have not been wiped out because of that trepidation.
Because in 1982, the state publicly rehabilitated Fu Lei in the newspaper, indirectly affirming Jiang Xiaoyan's righteous behavior.
The stone that had been hanging in Jiang Xiaoyan's heart for several years finally fell, and now, she could finally have her own peaceful life.
Although she entered the university campus at the age of a middle-aged person, Jiang Xiaoyan felt wholeheartedly happy and relaxed. With a reverence and desire for knowledge, she races against time to learn knowledge, hoping to fill in the missing time of the past.
After graduation, Jiang Xiaoyan won the opportunity to work in the editorial office of Shanghai Television University with excellent results, and then transferred to the Shanghai University Academy of Fine Arts and became a teacher who taught and educated people.
School of Fine Arts, Shanghai University
All these years of ups and downs are the price paid for the fight for justice. But Jiang Xiaoyan never complained about fate, nor did she regret her original decision.
Whether it's a generous speech for a Russian-speaking teacher at the age of nineteen or an urn for the twenty-seven-year-old bravely receiving the "blacklist" of Mr. and Mrs. Fu Lei, Jiang Xiaoyan has demonstrated her basic conscience as a human being.
In this regard, she is indeed suitable to become a teacher who teaches and educates people, and she is worthy of the title of woman with a national conscience!