(The Woman Who Told History – Issue 1373)
She is Qiong Yao's great aunt. Saying that she is Qiong Yao's aunt is just a convenient statement, in fact, she does not have to rely on Qiong Yao's name to "gild" herself, and she has her own place in the history of China's recent and county dynasties. Because she is a legend in herself: the first female diplomat in Chinese history, this amazing talented woman, who has at least eight legends in her life, and has a high life expectancy of 102 years, which can be described as a heroine among women, and the supreme woman!
Of course, she is not out of thin air, not an isolated existence in history, like a lone ranger, can be a hero regardless of provenance. Instead, she must have a deep background, a prominent family lineage —
Her name is Yuan Xiaoyuan, born in 1901 in the first ten days of the lunar calendar in the first ten days of the fifth month of the lunar calendar, into a wealthy Yuan family in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province. The Yuan family is a well-known family in the local area, and at least five generations above her father have been officials in the dynasty. Her great-grandfather Yuan Jimao was the second rank of Daoguang's 27-year-old First Class Jinshi, successively serving as the editor of the Hanlin Academy and the chief of the Punishment Department; his grandfather Yuan Xuechang had successively served as an envoy in Quanjiao County, Chuzhou Prefecture, Anhui Province, and Tifa Envoy in Hunan; his father Yuan Liheng was known as the father of China's banking industry, and served as the first president of the Bank of Communications of the Republic of China (no. 1371 of this issue), and her uncle Yuan Lijun was a teacher to Emperor Xuantong.
Yuan Xiaoyuan is the eldest daughter in the family, her third sister Yuan Xingshu is also a talented daughter, that is, Qiong Yao's mother; the fourth sister is a famous writer, that is, Yuan Jing, the author of "The Biography of the New Children's Heroes". It can be said that there are many legendary figures in the Yuan family, and Yuan Xiaoyuan is the legend of the legends.
(1) Yuan Xiaoyuan's first legend: entering the political arena with the first place
In fact, as a woman of that era, being able to enter the political arena is a legend in itself.
Yuan Xiaoyuan, who came from a famous family, is an uncompromising talented female embryo, she has been chanting poetry at the age of three, learning to paint at the age of four, and has a strong personality and is naturally rebellious. When she was a child, she was not taken seriously by her parents at first, and her father only invited Mr. Private School for her two younger brothers, and she was just an auditor. As a result, the two mischievous brothers did not study well, but she learned the real skills; in turn, she became a counselor for the younger brothers. The auditor generates a regular student's "teacher", so willful.
Originally, as a girl, Yuan Xiaoyuan's father did not want her to go outside, and Yuan Liheng had a son who worked hard enough to support the Yuan family. However, it is the talent that you can't stop. Yuan Xiaoyuan has had great ambitions since she was a child, so she will not hide in the boudoir embroidery and tease the cat.
When the "May Fourth Movement" broke out, Yuan Xiaoyuan was 18 years old, when she finally couldn't control her impulses, she announced to her parents: "You have locked me up for 18 years, it is enough, I want to go out and join the revolution, do things that no one has done before!" The parents saw that they could not stop the daughter with strange ambitions, and said that her father Yuan Liheng was also the one who opened up, so they let Yuan Xiaoyuan go. With this walk, she spent her whole life.
What is admirable about Yuan Xiaoyuan is that she is an 18-year-old girl who dares to break into the world alone. Her first stop was Shanghai. She wants to continue her studies to "arm" herself. Good at calligraphy and painting, she entered the art school founded by the famous painter Liu Haisu. But art was not her real pursuit, and her dream at that time was to join the revolution, so she dropped out of school two months later. Her second stop is Nanjing, the central city of China.
At that time, the National Government was not long after its establishment, and various departments needed a large number of talents. Therefore, Yuan Xiaoyuan wanted to take a shortcut, directly pass the civil service examination, and enter the political circles. So she created the first legend of her life.
Yuan Xiaoyuan signed up for the examination for the secretary of the Chinese, stood out with the first place, and was hired as the Chinese secretary of He Yushu, director of the Department of Agriculture and Mining.
During her time as a secretary, she not only did a good job, but also learned to write and paint in her spare time, and her works were widely recognized in the world of painting and calligraphy. Later, in 1926, she also held a painting exhibition with the famous painter Mr. Lin Fengmian, and her works were included in the "Biography of National Calligraphers and Painters" published in Taiwan.
(2) The second legend of Yuan Xiaoyuan: 35 days to become French
Like Zhao Yuanren, a generalist in the Republic of China, the erudite Yuan Xiaoyuan is undoubtedly a linguistic genius.
After working in the secretary position for several years, Yuan Xiaoyuan was not satisfied. Although she is a government employee, is a little secretary her ambition? Moreover, when the secretary had to look at the leader's eyes all day, Yuan Xiaoyuan felt that she had seriously lost herself, so she decided to throw away this iron rice bowl that many people envied and continue to look for a way out, and she planned to go abroad for further study.
Opportunities are often reserved for those who are prepared. In 1930, a high-ranking official named Gaulu was sent to Geneva as a minister. After Yuan Xiaoyuan knew, he volunteered to find Gao Lu and said that he would be his secretary. But at that time, Yuan Xiaoyuan came out alone, others did not know much about her family background, Gao Lu thought that she was a small secretary, there was no qualifications, diplomas, no status, money, you want to be my secretary as my secretary? So I simply refused.
But Yuan Xiaoyuan has a fierce spirit of her own, she believes that this is a good opportunity to go abroad, so she pulls down her face, let go of the pride of the once everyone's bridesmaids, soft and hard bubbles on Gao Lu, and convinces the other party with her sincere attitude and three inches of uncorrupted tongue. Gao Lu believed that this woman was extraordinary, a person with ideals and ambitions, so he finally agreed to take her abroad, but asked her to pay for herself.
Take care of yourself. Miss Ben is not a poor egg, and the secretary has not done it in vain in recent years, she took out all her savings, sold some jewelry, and followed Gao Lu away to fly high. Then, Yuan Xiaoyuan realized the second legend of her life.
After all, it was the first time she had crossed the ocean, and she was really a bit overwhelmed. People who often do not take a boat, facing a 35-day journey at sea, are terrible to think about. In order to save money, she was sitting in the poor fourth class, where the smell of fish and shrimp was disgusting all day long. At first, this Miss Kuo, who grew up with a golden key, really couldn't stand it, the waves were gushing outside, the stomach was overturning the river and the sea, and she often got seasick and vomited.
But for the sake of the goal in her heart, for the other side of the ideal, Yuan Xiaoyuan endured, and she had to survive in this harsh environment. And she must not waste a little time, in the long or short 35 days at sea, she made up foreign languages, and actually learned French in dictionaries, with the help of foreigners! So fast, so efficient, it's just against the sky. When her ship arrived at the Port of Marseille in France, Yuan Xiaoyuan was able to converse with foreigners in French. Even Gao Lu, who never easily praised people, was even amazed, and admired Yuan Xiaoyuan: Sure enough, the talented woman, today I have seen it!
The 35 days at sea for Yuan Xiaoyuan were torturous and rewarding, in addition to learning French, she also had another big gain, that is, to get love. Like Jack and Ruth, Bing Xin and Wu Wenzao, she met her lover Ye Nan who had been with her for the rest of her life on this ship.
At that time, women who studied abroad were rare, and Yuan Xiaoyuan was also a talented and beautiful girl, which naturally attracted people's attention. At that time, there were a large number of students sent by the Whampoa Military Academy to study in Europe on the seaboard, and they were very dedicated to Yuan Xiaoyuan, and she was almost overwhelmed. At this time, a dashing and handsome young man acted as her flower protector. He often carried an umbrella for Yuan Xiaoyuan and followed her on the deck, and when Xiaoyuan was seasick and vomited, he served and escorted him on the side, carrying tea and water, which made Yuan Xiaoyuan feel comforted. This young man was Ye Nan, the son of Ye Chuling, then chairman of the Jiangsu Provincial Government.
Yuan Xiaoyuan did not follow Gao Lu to Geneva, disembarked at the French port of Marseille, and soon went to the University of Prussia in France to study political economy. At that time, the infatuated Ye Nan pursued Yuan Xiaoyuan bitterly, but Yuan Xiaoyuan had great ambitions and did not want to marry someone too early and fall into family bondage, so naturally he was unwilling to agree to Ye Nan's pursuit. In order to escape, Yuan Xiaoyuan moved to Brussels, the capital of Belgium, to live with his younger brother who studied there. One night, Xiaoyuan was reading a book in the house when he suddenly heard a rapid knock at the door. She opened the door and looked at it, but it was Ye Nan, whose face was full of blood. It turned out that he didn't know where to get the news of Xiao Yuan in Belgium, and in order to see Xiao Yuan, he actually rode a motorcycle to see her, and as a result, he fell and was injured on the way. Yuan Xiaoyuan could not help but be moved...
Yuan Xiaoyuan studied in France, although her life was very simple, but the money was still spent soon, she never opened her mouth to the family with a strong personality, nor did she accept Ye Nan's support, she only made a living by copying documents for the embassy.
Later, after she heard the news of her mother's death, the girl who was determined as a stone and never shed tears easily finally cried sadly. Filial piety took the lead, and she suspended her studies and resolutely returned to China.
(3) The third legend of Yuan Xiaoyuan: China's first female tax official
Yuan Xiaoyuan returned to China to complete her mother's funeral, did not return to France to continue her studies, and she was anxious to start her career journey again. At that time, the Nineteenth Route Army of Jiang Guangnai and Cai Tingkai became independent in Fujian and established a "people's revolutionary government." Yuan Xiaoyuan gladly defected. Jiang Guangnai, who was thirsty for talent, immediately appointed her as the deputy director of the Xiamen Municipal Business Taxation Bureau. Yuan Xiaoyuan became the first true female tax collector in Chinese history.
But soon after she took office, she encountered a lot of trouble. Since ancient times, tax collectors have been fat and powerful, so many relatives and friends have come to ask her to do things. In particular, many of her father's old friends even quit their bank jobs to come to her to "do tax things" here.
However, Yuan Xiaoyuan firmly believed, just like her father did Lingbi County Zhixian in the past, "iron-faced selfless", and sternly refused to those who came to her to open the back door, she said: "I am here to make taxes, just to plug the loopholes in taxes, and unclean people cannot do tax things." She not only did not agree to them, but also formulated many targeted rules and regulations to plug loopholes in response to the shortcomings of the tax bureau, so that the tax environment in Xiamen was renewed in a short period of time. Fan Wenwu, who was then the director of the Fujian Provincial Department of Finance, greatly appreciated her and praised her as a revolutionary woman.
However, she also smashed the jobs of those who made their fortunes from taxes, and those who hated Yuan Xiaoyuan to death, harassed her at every turn, and excluded her. In the end, the female tax officer was forced to resign after a year in politics and left the tax office. After giving up her secretarial job for the first time, she gave up the deputy director of the tax bureau again, which was also very dashing.
(4) The Fourth Legend of Yuan Xiaoyuan: China's First Female Diplomat
After quitting her tax job, Yuan Xiaoyuan was not discouraged, and she studied in France again in order to achieve her ambitions to go further. This time, she studied international relations.
A year and a half later, the learned Yuan Xiaoyuan returned to China, this time she was more ambitious, stayed in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for 6 months, and then was sent to the Consulate in Calcutta, India, as a deputy consul, becoming the first true female diplomat in the history of our country.
At this time, the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression broke out Yuan Xiaoyuan spared no effort to appeal for the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and persuaded overseas Chinese to raise funds for the Anti-Japanese Resistance. However, at that time, many passages were blocked by the Japanese army, and the Indian government issued various prohibitions.
Later, Yuan Xiaoyuan recalled, "At that time, the Chinese consul general in India was a typical old bureaucrat, and he was afraid of being broken when a chicken feather fell. I am a new person, in order to resist japan, I am not afraid of anything, and I am open-minded! The local government has repeatedly and unreasonably withheld arms donated by overseas Chinese, and she has visited the door again and again to distinguish between right and wrong and argue according to reason. Her fearless momentum and sharp diplomatic rhetoric often impressed the other side: "This Chinese female diplomat is too powerful." It was through Yuan Xiaoyuan's unremitting efforts that the channel for transporting arms to China was opened up again and again.
Yuan Xiaoyuan served in the consulate for 6 years, and later her husband Ye Nan was appointed to France as a military attaché. Although Yuan Xiaoyuan was reluctant to give up the diplomat, he could not withstand Ye Nanyi's further persuasion and had to follow him to France to take up his post. In France, Yuan Xiaoyuan was cordially received by General de Gaulle and was invited to enter the Arc de Triomphe with General de Gaulle.
(5) The fifth legend of Yuan Xiaoyuan: elected as a deputy to the National Assembly
In 1947, Ye Nanfeng was transferred back to China and served as the director of the Second Department of the Ministry of National Defense. Yuan Xiaoyuan was no less than her husband in a high position, and she was elected as the "Congress Delegate". From a big girl to a "national university representative", Yuan Xiaoyuan can be said to have realized the fifth legend of his life. Because at that time, there were many women in the people's congress deputies, and it was rare for women to have such honors at that time.
Later, when the Kuomintang was becoming increasingly arrogant in its anti-communism, Yuan Xiaoyuan and her husband Ye Nan jointly wrote an open letter to the Nationalist government. The letter lamented the darkness and corruption of the Kuomintang and loudly called for the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party to achieve China's reunification. This open letter undoubtedly touched the sore spot of Lao Jiang, who angrily expelled Ye Yuan and his party members on the charge of "having a basis for being a bandit" and wanted them.
This move by the old Chiang forced Yuan Xiaoyuan and her husband to break with the Kuomintang. They were forced to go to the United States via Hong Kong.
(6) The sixth legend of Yuan Xiaoyuan: entering the United Nations
Later, Yuan Xiaoyuan and her husband settled in the United States, and Yuan Xiaoyuan, who had been a diplomat, was proficient in many Chinese languages, such as Chinese, English, French, Arabic and other languages, so she had a greater goal in life. Soon after arriving in the United States, she was admitted to the United Nations Secretariat with a third-place honor. Entering the United Nations from the domestic political arena cannot but be said to be another romantic legend of Yuan Xiaoyuan.
Yuan Xiaoyuan has done an excellent job in her position at the United Nations. Once, when Singapore presented the United Nations with a statue of the 'God of Peace', Yuan Xiaoyuan gave a thank-you speech in Chinese, one of which was "May the people of the world live happily and peacefully in a quiet environment without war", which was praised by many senior United Nations officials.
(7) The seventh legend of Yuan Xiaoyuan: modern Cangjie
Since ancient times, China has had the legend of "Cangjie Making Characters". Cangjie was a historian during the reign of the Yellow Emperor of Xuanyuan, who made a significant contribution to the Chinese nation in the creation and collation of Chinese characters, and was known as the "Sage of Character Creation". And what does Yuan Xiaoyuan have to do with Cangjie?
When Yuan Xiaoyuan was a diplomat, he was in charge of expatriate education in India. That day, Yuan Xiaoyuan went to the home of an old overseas Chinese, saw a whip hanging on the wall, and asked what it was used for. The old overseas Chinese replied, "I am here to spur my children and grandchildren who do not study Chinese well and do not speak Chinese." If overseas Chinese do not learn Chinese, they cannot become a true descendant of Yan huang. Yuan Xiaoyuan was deeply touched by the words of the old overseas Chinese, and she began to think about the problem of Han culture. Compared with the Western alphabet, Chinese is indeed more difficult to learn. Since then, she has aspired to pioneer the easiest way to teach Chinese. At that time, she opened her own Chinese class, compiled her own easy-to-understand Chinese character teaching materials, and personally taught overseas Chinese Chinese.
Later, she worked in the Secretariat of United Nations Headquarters for many years, dealing with language and writing. At that time, she served as a translator for the staff of the Four Languages of the United States, France, Russia, and Spain at the same time, and with a dictionary, a pen and her thick foundation in Chinese and foreign languages, there was never a time when it could not be translated.
However, she still faces the argument that many people say that Chinese characters are too complex, and one word is a sound, unlike English, which can spell out many words with 26 letters. Hearing these arguments, Yuan Xiaoyuan always retorted to them: "Chinese characters are difficult to learn first and easy later, while foreign languages are easy before difficult, and the grammar changes greatly, it is difficult to remember and understand..."
Although Yuan Xiaoyuan always used the advantages of Chinese to refute foreigners and tried her best to maintain the dignity of Chinese characters at the United Nations, she deeply felt the disadvantages of Chinese characters compared to Western characters. In order for Chinese characters to become internationally accepted, it is necessary to carry out reforms and modernize Chinese characters. So she decided to fundamentally solve this problem, that is, to study a set of Chinese character spelling system, and later gave birth to the "Yuan's Pinyin Scheme".
After repeated analysis, comparison and induction of Chinese characters, Yuan Xiaoyuan extracted 108 pinyin Chinese letters, which were divided into basic vowels, basic vowels and mixed vowels. The principle of combining male and female sounds is used so that those who learn can "read when they see words, and can speak and write". Yuan Xiaoyuan was one of the earliest scholars in China to study Hanyu Pinyin, for which she was known as the "modern Cangjie".
Yuan Xiaoyuan's pinyin scheme was also praised and respected by Premier Zhou, and he also entrusted people to recommend the "Yuan Pinyin Scheme" to be tried in 6 universities. Yuan Xiaoyuan's "Understanding complexity and writing simplicity" pinyin scheme facilitates Cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries and the reunification of the motherland, and has been widely recognized.
(8) The Eighth Legend of Yuan Xiaoyuan: Returning to the Motherland
Maybe you have to ask, Yuan Xiaoyuan's first seven legends are worthy of the name, but what legends are there when he returns to the motherland? This matter is more, people who have settled in the United States, come back to prove that you are patriotic, and there is no fuss about not coming back. wrong! If you think about it, how many people want to go abroad today, want to get the nationality or green card of a developed country? However, yuan Xiaoyuan resolutely gave up his American citizenship many years after he joined the United States nationality, which required some courage. What others want when they break their heads, you easily give up after getting it, what kind of boldness is this, what kind of feelings? Moreover, Yuan Xiaoyuan was not returning to China to enjoy her happiness, and she had to see what she did when she returned.
Yuan Xiaoyuan has worked in the United States for many years and in the United Nations for many years, and has actually done a lot of things for China, especially in the research and dissemination of Chinese characters and Chinese culture. But her strong patriotic enthusiasm finally led to her renunciation of her American citizenship and return to China; her children were mostly in the United States, and her return to China also meant a long-term separation from her children. As an octogenarian, I am afraid that everyone knows what it means to be separated from your children and grandchildren.
At that time, when the elderly Yuan Xiaoyuan went to the US Embassy in China to consult on how to withdraw his AMERICAN citizenship, the cultural counselor of the other side was surprised, and Yuan Xiaoyuan said seriously, "I have come to retire your American nationality, I want to restore chinese nationality, and be a Chinese." ”
The counselor shrugged his shoulders and said incomprehensibly: "Other people are asking how to be an American, but you are a retired American and then Chinese, I have not encountered this kind of thing, you are the first person." ”
When asked what kind of mentality she had in making this decision, Elder Yuan said: "If China is as strong as the United States, I will not ask to go back; only because China is not as strong as the United States now, it requires each of our Chinese to work together to build our country as strong as the United States." ”
Listening to this, are some people a little blushing?
In 1985, with half a century of wind and dust, with a pure heart, full of white hair, 84-year-old Yuan Xiaoyuan resolutely left her husband, gave up the superior environment of the United States, and returned to the motherland alone...
After returning to China, Yuan Xiaoyuan donated all 60,000 US dollars in his savings. In order to fulfill her wish, she went everywhere in spite of her old age to preach love for the motherland and love for Chinese character culture. Many people advised her: "You are old, and it is time to enjoy the blessings of a peaceful old age." And she said seriously: "Everyone thinks that 60 years old is the age to retire, and even if I am 80 years old, it is still the beginning of life..."
Yuan Xiaoyuan also served as president of the Beijing International Chinese Character Research Association, president of the International Calligraphy and Painting Art Research Association, and honorary professor of six universities, and she sold her property to found the "Xiaoyuan Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital"; the International Friendship Forest she opened has now become a memorial destination for heads of state and guests to plant friendship trees. According to her proposal and donations, the famous Qinwen Taishan stone carved monument was restored at the top of Taishan Mountain.
She also founded the "Chinese Magazine", which is an authoritative authority on Chinese character culture. However, she regretted that after the Chinese Magazine was handed over to a vice director to sponsor, this person arbitrarily changed Yuan Lao's original intention of carrying out the reform of Han culture research, with the purpose of profit, contrary to the purpose of Yuan Xiaoyuan's previous publication. As a result, the level of the magazine declined, and he extracted a lot of funds from it, and the magazine was forced to stop running. The deputy director was afraid that Elder Yuan would track him down, so he went through immigration procedures with his wife and went to Canada.
Who is noble and who is despicable, who is patriotic and who is traitorous, a comparison will come out. Some people go abroad to enjoy and wish to have foreign nationality; but Yuan Xiaoyuan took the initiative to give up the favorable conditions of the United States in the old age of enjoying life, took the initiative to give up the AMERICAN nationality, and returned to China to make dedication! Is this a legend? I said, this is the greatest legend of Mr. Yuan Xiaoyuan's life!
In order to realize the wish of implementing the reform of Chinese character culture, Elder Yuan also established the "Yuan Xiaoyuan Patriotic Culture Foundation" in Nanjing to inherit and develop her unfinished business, so that young people who are interested in studying Chinese character culture can receive assistance, and some out-of-school children can return to the classroom.
On November 17, 2003, Mr. Yuan Xiaoyuan bid a peaceful farewell to his death at the age of 102 in the retention of his juniors.
Yuan Xiaoyuan, as a lady with a superior life, went out and wandered, she was the secretary of a government official, a tax official, a diplomat, entered the United Nations, and developed the "Yuan's Pinyin Scheme", etc. Her life is more than eight legends? It can be said that every step she takes is a legend! She declares the victory of a woman, explaining what patriotism is and what is dedication.
Mr. Yuan Xiaoyuan has a multi-faceted talent, and is a master of poetry, calligraphy and painting. Finally, a small poem written by Mr. Yuan on the plane flying to Beijing on a plane flying to Beijing was recorded for the benefit of the reader:
The setting sun is not necessarily inferior to the morning sun,
Fly your head high and fight the old hooves.
Spring silkworm haunts a thousand strands,
Willing to spit out the silk for the people.
(Text/Woman Who Tells History: Flowers Don't Go)
References: "Selected Works of Xiaoyuan", "The Legendary Life of Yuan Xiaoyuan", "Huainanzi Benjingxun", etc.