She is Nie Rongzhen's original partner, who has been alone in the empty house for 76 years, insisting on not remarrying, and Nie Shuai will help every month in her later years. Behind this sentence lies a story that makes people feel infinitely emotional. Long Shengxian, an ordinary peasant girl, was married to the talented son Nie Rongzhen by her parents in the name of "Chongxi" when she was young, and since then she has entered a difficult road of fate. She was given a cold reception in her marriage, but she still wholeheartedly waited for her husband's return, and finally stayed alone in the empty house for 76 years. After Nie Rongzhen became the founding marshal, although he married a new love, he still did not forget the wife who once took care of his parents and funded her life every month. So, why did Long Shengxian wait so persistently? For what reason did Nie Rongzhen treat her so coldly? What kind of historical conflicts and contradictions are contained in this?
A tragic marriage under the shackles of tradition
On December 29, 1899, a burst of infant crying sounded in Nie's house in Wutanchang, Jiangjin (now Chongqing), Sichuan, marking the birth of Nie Rongzhen. The Nie family is an ordinary local farmer with a poor background. Nie Rongzhen has been nurtured by his parents since he was a child, and has formed a kind of philanthropic character.
In 1912, Nie Rongzhen's mother unfortunately fell seriously ill, and in view of the custom of "rushing to joy" at that time, Nie's father decided to marry a daughter-in-law for his son Nie Rongzhen in order to save his wife. Nie's father then found the Tang family girl Long Shengxian, who was a distant relative of Nie Rongzhen. At that time, Nie Rongzhen was studying in Chongqing, and after hearing about it, he resolutely opposed it, but the wedding was still held as scheduled. Long Shengxian married the Nie family and became Nie Rongzhen's wife, but the groom official never appeared.
As a girl from a poor peasant family and a traditional education, Long Shengxian is extremely satisfied with this family business. She feels lucky to be able to marry into a famous and decent family. But when she really married into the Nie family, Nie Rongzhen's cold attitude made her extremely sad. On the first night of marriage, Long Shengxian waited alone for the new house and stayed sleepless all night; The next day, she diligently took care of the housework, served her in-laws, and completely assumed the role of a daughter-in-law.
Despite this, Nie's parents also admired Long Shengxian, but Nie Rongzhen always ignored her. For this reason, Nie's father often urged his son to go home in twists and turns, and Nie's mother even lied that she was seriously ill. In the false information that his mother was critically ill, Nie Rongzhen had to ask for leave to go home, but when he came back, he found that he had been deceived.
Freely pursue the contest with the old rites
Nie Rongzhen has been influenced by many advanced cultures and progressive ideas, and has a deep understanding of the concept of freedom of marriage. After the outbreak of the Xinhai Revolution in 1911, the feudal monarchy that had ruled China for more than 2,000 years collapsed, and the call for free marriage grew louder.
Nie Rongzhen's third uncle, Tang Haitan, was deeply influenced by Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Three People's Principles and Democratic Republican Ideas during his study at the Chongqing School of Political Science and Law, and every time he returned home, he would discuss these new trends of thought with his relatives and friends. Nie Rongzhen felt the power of the revolution from the words of his third uncle, and planted the seeds of opposition to the old feudal system in his heart early on.
In Nie Rongzhen's view, a real revolution must first start with the overthrow of feudal etiquette and the establishment of a new social and political system. His refusal to recognize the identity of Long Shengxian's wife stemmed from his dissatisfaction and struggle against the feudal marriage system. After the two got married in 1912, Nie Rongzhen treated Long Shengxian coldly until he went to France to work and study in 1919, and the two were like strangers for seven years.
Even in a foreign country, Nie Rongzhen never mentioned Long Shengxian in his letters to his family, as if he had never had such a wife in his heart. And Long Shengxian has been working at home in obscurity, taking care of her parents for her husband wholeheartedly, even if she was treated so badly, she never had the idea of divorce.
In 1925, after returning from France, Nie Rongzhen immediately devoted himself to the revolutionary cause and never returned home. In the following years, he participated in the organization of the famous Nanchang Uprising, Guangzhou Uprising and other major military operations, and made outstanding contributions to the overthrow of the old system and the establishment of New China. However, at the same time, Nie Rongzhen also completely cut off the news from his family, and even whether Long Shengxian was still safe had no way of knowing.
The cruel weight of life and perseverance wait
Nie Rongzhen had been engaged in revolutionary activities abroad for a long time, and the Nie family was in the middle of the road, and soon on the verge of bankruptcy. The burden of all this fell on Long Shengxian alone.
In 1927, the Nie family was forced to sell all their property, and they could no longer afford to pay rent for the house. Long Shengxian can only take his elderly in-laws to wander around, relying on begging for food and working part-time jobs to maintain food and clothing. Sometimes a family of three can't nibble on dry goods for a few days, so they can only gnaw on tree bark to satisfy their hunger.
Although life was so difficult, Long Shengxian never thought of leaving the Nie family to seek a new way out. She always had a glimmer of hope, believing that one day Nie Rongzhen would suddenly come back, and she would be able to reunite with her husband.
In order to survive, Long Seunghyun had to beg for a living. Every day, she would carry a basket full of tatters to the villagers' homes to make marriage. At first, everyone would give some surplus food, but later life became more and more poor, and there were fewer and fewer people for Long Shengxian.
In this way, Long Shengxian and the two old men borrowed from east to west, but the days became poorer and poorer. Later, the old people passed away one after another, and Long Shengxian wandered around alone. Sometimes they live in temples, sometimes they live in the homes of relatives and friends. But no matter where she was, she never forgot to keep watch, looking forward to Nie Rongzhen's return.
During this period, Long Shengxian was persuaded by the villagers to remarry others many times, but she refused: "I am the daughter-in-law of the Nie family, how can I turn my back on the Nie family to marry someone else?" I'll have to wait for Shuangquan (Nie Rongzhen's nickname) to come back. ＂
Complex psychological struggles of love and hate
Nie Rongzhen has been engaged in revolutionary activities outside for a long time, and his life is often in danger, and Long Shengxian, as his wife, will inevitably be worried. But on the other hand, Nie Rongzhen's cold attitude towards her hurt her a lot. This complex psychology of love and hate is destined to make the relationship between the two irresolvable.
In the long wait, Long Shengxian sometimes looks forward to Nie Rongzhen, hoping that he can triumph as soon as possible; Sometimes I will be disappointed in his indifference. She once begged Nie Rongzhen in a letter: "Since you dislike me for being from a humble background, let me go, I'd rather die on the way to beg for food." ＂
Despite the difficult life situation, Long Shengxian is still doing his best to take care of the elderly of the Nie family. She regards her in-laws as her own parents, and serves the two elders with a filial attitude. However, Nie Rongzhen never showed any gratitude.
Once, Long Shengxian specially asked people to send a letter to Nie Rongzhen, hoping to let him know about the difficult situation at home. Unexpectedly, Nie Rongzhen didn't care about this, but severely condemned Long Shengxian in the letter: "As the daughter-in-law of the Nie family, your duty is to take care of your parents, and you can't look at any great thing." ＂
These words once again broke Long Shengxian's heart. She put down her needlework and ran out into the field alone and wept.
And Nie Rongzhen's attitude towards Long Shengxian also made him feel quite guilty. Later, in a letter to his family, he specially said: "Although I have long been separated from you, I will never thank you for your filial piety and kindness in taking care of my parents." ＂
A helpless choice in the cruel reality
After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Nie Rongzhen was awarded the rank of general. As the founding father of the People's Republic of China, he not only had a successful career, but also gradually improved his family life. But for Long Shengxian, Nie Rongzhen, who had been waiting for decades, still did not return to her after all.
In 1953, Nie Rongzhen married a woman named Xu Guangying in Jiangjin, Sichuan. This marriage made Long Shengxian completely lose the last trace of hope. She could only cry alone after the bad news came.
However, although Nie Rongzhen abandoned Long Shengxian, he did not completely forget her. Soon after the wedding, Nie Rongzhen ordered Long Shengxian to be taken to Chongqing, and bought a property for her, and also allocated a monthly living expenses.
Long Shengxian refused the Chongqing house and went to Chao'an County, Guangdong Province, where he rented a hut. Despite this, she would accept the money sent by Nie Rongzhen every month to make ends meet.
Although Long Shengxian has never remarried in her life, this does not mean that she has no resentment towards Nie Rongzhen. Sometimes, when she tasted this "nameless" loneliness alone, she denounced Nie Rongzhen's unkindness.
Until his death, Long Shengxian never left his hometown in Guangdong. Surrounded by several nephews, she lived alone until she was 78 years old and rested peacefully on March 18, 1997 in Kexi Village, Yongshou Town, Chao'an County.
In the months before Long Shengxian's death, Nie Rongzhen learned that her life was coming to an end, and specially entrusted his cronies to buy a cemetery for her, but Long Shengxian had no time to be buried in that world. With the death of Long Shengxian, the couple, who had 76 years of separation experience, completely parted ways.