In 1928, on a cruise ship from Hong Kong to Shanghai, the woman looked haggard and looked dull in the guest room, picked up the pen and wrote:
"In the next life, you should be a pure woman, so that you can find true freedom and love. ”
Shortly after writing the suicide note, the woman jumped into the deep sea without hesitation.
She is Yu Meiyan, known as the "No. 1 Desire Girl of the Republic of China", she was only 28 years old and committed suicide by jumping into the sea trapped by love.
After Yu's death, a book about her was published, Modern Love Letters, in which Yu Meiyan personally described her physical relationships with 3,000 men.
"Modern Love Letters" aka "Romantic Love Letters"
Although she is only in love with most people, and she never sees each other again after a night of pleasure, it seems that she has always wanted to find her true love among these men.
In that chaotic era, why did Yu Meiyan deliberately abuse herself, abandon her innocence, and ignore the strange eyes of the people around her.
Is she really just looking for her own freedom and true love? How should this "No. 1 Desire Girl of the Republic of China" be evaluated in this life?
Yu Meiyan is really beautiful
In the 20s of the last century, Guangdong, Hong Kong and other places had unprecedented economic prosperity due to their open-mindedness and convenient shipping, and various trendy ideas and the old party of the times collided fiercely here.
As a result of the economic prosperity, various entertainment venues for the wealthy came into being.
Ballrooms and nightclubs fill the streets, and the city that never sleeps attracts all kinds of men and women to sing and sing every night, and as long as you have money, there will be young girls who will pounce on you.
And Yu Meiyan is the most colorful and dazzling of many flowers.
Poster of the singer of the Republic of China
She appeared for the first time in a dance hall in Guangzhou, and her beautiful face, graceful dancing, charming smile and delicate figure quickly captured the hearts of all the men present.
Countless men came up to her to talk to her, and she didn't refuse to come.
She didn't resist the man's moves, but just smiled and took out a small tip from the men's wallets.
After having enough of drinking, Yu Meiyan picked a man who looked the most pleasing to the eye and left.
Since then, Yu Meiyan's footprints have spread all over the major entertainment venues in Guangzhou and Hong Kong, dance halls, casinos, nightclubs, as long as there are men, Yu Meiyan is there.
Although Yu Meiyan behaves debauched, not all men can kiss Fangze, she chooses a man to look at her eyes, and the man she likes can take her away for a night of pleasure with a glass of wine, and she can't look at the man she doesn't like even if he spills thousands of family wealth.
Yu Meiyan's peculiar style has made her more famous in Guangzhou and other places, and countless people want to see her face with their own eyes.
At the end of every time she is with a man, she will also think:
"Is this what you really want? Is the love between a man and a woman important mentally or physically?"
In fact, when Yu Meiyan didn't come to Guangzhou, she was no different from an ordinary rich woman, she had enlightened parents.
Nurtured by her parents, she is proficient in English, embraces emerging ideas, and hopes to have a free relationship.
In 1918, Yu Meiyan met a son surnamed Tan under the introduction of her parents, Tan Gongzi was handsome, gentle, and polite, Yu Meiyan was very satisfied with Tan Gongzi, and the two soon reached the stage of talking about marriage.
But the good times didn't last long, and Tan Gongzi, who didn't have a long time of sweetness, was appointed by his family to go abroad to take care of business, which also stumped Tan Gongzi:
"On the one hand, it is a beautiful girl, and on the other hand, it is the family's industry, how to choose?"
After some consideration, Tan Gongzi still decided to go abroad, and the Tan family did not agree with Tan Gongzi to take Yu Meiyan abroad.
Yu Meiyan was very angry, the two had a big quarrel, and finally Tan Gongzi went to the United States, and Yu Meiyan came to Guangzhou angrily.
Yu Meiyan couldn't figure out whether the love between men and women was spiritually or physically, so she decided to practice it herself.
She kept wandering around all kinds of places and mingling with all kinds of men, just to find an answer.
She thought she loved Tan Gongzi very much, but now that Tan Gongzi was thousands of miles away from her, her fiery body and mind also needed someone to help calm down.
Yu Meiyan was wearing the most gorgeous dress, like a proud peony, and countless men worshipped under her pomegranate skirt just to get her favor, just like the ancient empress.
But she also understands that these men just want their bodies, and their spirits don't have the slightest resonance to speak of.
She understands that she will eventually grow old, and her good age is only a few years away, and it is time to find a home for herself.
After Yu Meiyan went to Guangzhou, the Tan family dissolved the marriage contract between the two, so Yu Meiyan has been free all these years. In these days in Guangzhou, many men want to marry her home, but Yu Meiyan doesn't agree?
Until Yu Meiyan met a middle-aged Hong Kong businessman, this Hong Kong businessman was very wealthy and admired Yu Meiyan, Yu Meiyan married a Hong Kong businessman as a second house, and was raised by a wealthy businessman at home.
Who knew that it didn't take long for Hong Kong businessmen to sweep Yu Meiyan out of the house on the grounds that she spent too much money, and Yu Meiyan was abandoned like this.
Immediately afterwards, Yu Meiyan met the son of a county magistrate, and the son of the county magistrate was very infatuated with Yu Meiyan, and when Yu Meiyan imagined that she could become an official's wife, she was strongly opposed by the county magistrate's family.
Because of her fame, everyone in the entire coastal area of Guangdong knows about it, and in the end, this relationship will be over.
After many setbacks, she remembered her first husband, Tan Gongzi.
So she came to the United States to renew her relationship with Tan Gongzi, but Tan Gongzi was indifferent to her, which hurt her very much.
It turned out that Tan Gongzi, who was far overseas, also heard about Yu Meiyan's absurdity, how could the conservative Tan Gongzi endure it, even in the modern era of open-mindedness, it is difficult to imagine having a relationship with 3,000 people, and it is difficult to reunite with a lover who was once extremely affectionate.
The continuous blows made Yu Meiyan disheartened, and she decided to escape into the empty door and become a nun.
Who knew that it didn't take long for the county magistrate's son to find out and entangle her again, and the abbot of the nunnery thought that Yu Meiyan had not cut off the red dust and swept her out.
Yu Meiyan was already insane at this time, and she was crazy and kept thinking:
"Do what you want, did you do something wrong?"
In 1928, 28-year-old Yu Meiyan committed suicide by jumping into the sea on a boat from Hong Kong to Shanghai.
In 1934, the "Modern Love Letter" she entrusted to the publishing house was also officially published, which described the affairs of Yu Meiyan and 3,000 men over the years, and everything was very explicit.
Yu Meiyan spent 28 years looking for an answer, but she did not find an answer that satisfied her.
Yu Meiyan's style can also be called jaw-dropping in modern society, let alone in the still conservative Republic of China era.
Maybe what she lacks is not freedom, but the right guidance. If someone could tell her what to do, maybe she would have ended up differently.