For the relatives of the last emperor Pu Yi, the world has always been extremely curious. After all, from the jewels and hoops of the Forbidden City to the street stalls, this upheaval of fate is amazing. Among these relatives, Pu Yi's sister Yun Ying is undoubtedly the most eye-catching. As the favorite princess of Prince Zaifengdun, she once lived a life of worshipping as a god, but now she has to make a living by setting up a stall. It is rumored that Ma Weidu came to her stall with a superb official kiln in his hand, wanting her to appreciate it, but unexpectedly, this "last Gege" didn't even look at it, and his arrogant expression was jaw-dropping. What kind of encounter did this princess who set up a stall go through, and she was so nostalgic for the luxury of the past? What kind of story is hidden in her indifference to that official kiln?
1. Pampered in Prince Dun's palace
During the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, when the royal minister Zaifeng served as the governor of Zhili, he married a number of beautiful concubines. Among them is Yun Ying's biological mother, a beautiful child from a poor family. In 1907, this concubine gave birth to a daughter for Zaifeng, named Yun Ying. Since the day he was born, this baby Gege has been loved by Zaifeng and is very pampered.
There are countless beauties in Prince Dun's mansion, but Yun Ying is still the one who is loved by Zaifeng. Since she was a child, she has been served by countless maids and wives, with fine clothes and food, and has never been contaminated with a trace of labor. Zaifeng has repeatedly taken time out of his daughters to take care of this beloved Gege personally.
Yun Ying has been pampered since she was a child, and other Gege girls still have to read and write poetry, but she has never been asked to learn a little. She is just Zaifeng's baby daughter, who is pampered every day and never works hard.
By the time Pu Yi was appointed as the heir by Cixi, Yun Ying was already a little girl. As the sister of the last emperor, she once again gained a special status that no one else could match. Up and down in the Forbidden City, everyone was polite to her, and they were like a cloud. has the reputation of the emperor's relatives and relatives, and can be described as a favorite baby above 10,000 people. And although she is in a high position, she is still a little princess who has never been seen in the world, and she has no understanding of this prestigious status.
2. The scenery of the Manchukuo period is unlimited
September 18, 1931, this day will forever be etched in Yun Ying's memory. At that time, Pu Yi was ordered to be restored by Japan in Changchun, and Yun Ying also went to the Northeast with her brother. With Pu Yi's support from the Banner Man Provisional Government, he was put on the hat of "ruling power" by the Japanese in Changchun, and as Pu Yi's only surviving sister, Yun Ying's status suddenly rose.
Northeast China has been reduced to Japan's large mainland, and although Pu Yi is called the ruling party, it is just a paper circus of the Japanese. However, in the eyes of the Han people and the banner people, as a "relative of the emperor", Yun Ying is still a very small number of privileged existences. In the Xinjing Palace of Manchukuo, she still has a large number of maiden guards and attendants, and her daily food and clothing and travel are obedient, and she is completely safe.
Whenever she goes out, Yun Ying always takes a sedan chair inlaid with gold carved lacquer, accompanied by 24 executioners. Hair in a high bun, layers of covers, every time you go out, it always costs more than 10,000 taels of silver to be luxurious.
When Yun Ying first arrived in Changchun, she was already in the middle of the flowering season, and soon the Japanese hired Changbai Mountain people as her husband with a high salary. This husband has a gentle personality, and he is also a noble family, and he is worthy of the majestic family background of "Gege". After marriage, Yun Ying was even more pampered by Pu Yi, and she was allowed to squander, from food, clothing, housing and transportation, to the decoration of the pot, all within her means.
At the time of Yun Ying's prosperity and wealth, the guerrillas who resisted Japanese colonial rule in the Manchurian and Mongolian regions were also growing day by day. They often harassed the invaders and did not hesitate to fight the Japanese army. After the Soviet Union entered the war in 1945, the Japanese army was completely wiped out of the northeast. However, where will the "imperial relatives" who were favored by the Japanese people go from here?
3. Life has changed dramatically, and he is forced to set up a stall to make a living
On August 15, 1945, Japan surrendered unconditionally to the Allies, ending World War II. For Yun Ying, this day also marked the complete shattering of her high-flying life.
After the reconquest of Northeast China, Pu Yi was escorted back to western Beijing to be examined by the Nationalist government. And Yun Ying and her husband, as Pu Yi's cronies, are also in jeopardy. The husband was soon detained and disappeared. As the remnants of the "traitors", Yun Ying's family was also brutally retaliated. From a former favorite minister, he became a prisoner overnight.
Manchuria collapsed, and the court ministers fled in all directions. Yun Ying was once favored in the Xinjing Imperial Palace, but now she can only leave her homeland and be displaced. Even the clothes and jewelry on his body were confiscated. She was once worshiped as a god, but now she has nothing to grow, only one breath left.
From being crowded in a sedan chair during the Manchukuo period to now being able to walk on unfamiliar streets, this change is really terrifying. Without a husband and no property, Yun Ying was once glazed and depressed. If it weren't for some of the old departments that stayed in Beijing to take care of her, I am afraid that she would have to live on the streets.
In this way, Yun Ying was arranged to live in a remote courtyard in Beijing temporarily. At first, she relied on financial support from her old ministry and generous relatives and friends. But these benefits are limited after all, and they will soon bottom out. What does a person rely on to support himself in the unfamiliar city of Beijing?
One day around 1948, when she had just exchanged her surplus money for some money, there was a sudden shouting in the courtyard. Yun Ying followed the prestige, and saw the neighbors in groups of three or five, setting up stalls to catch up with the market. Suddenly, she had a glimmer of life......
Fourth, the royal style lingers
Since then, setting up a stall has become Yun Ying's main means of making a living. She took out the treasured antiques, calligraphy and paintings in the courtyard one by one and displayed them on the stall for sale. At first, I just wanted to make a living, but I didn't expect the business to be unexpectedly booming.
At first, the neighbors were just curious, and they stepped forward to take a look at this former "Gege" who now has to make a living by setting up stalls. But when they saw the dazzling array of treasures on the stalls, they were all amazed.
Those ceramic vessels that have lost their owners have spontaneously produced traces of hundreds of years, and each one exudes a gloomy and noble atmosphere. There are also palace objects, such as golden sand glasses, carved lacquer treasure boxes, etc., which are even more eye-catching. Many people flock to it and are very interested in these "궩아문화 heritage".
Despite being dressed plainly, Yun Ying still holds her head high, straightens her waist, and puts on a dynastic style. Even when the stall owner greeted the customers, she still responded with a haughty and cold look as before. Others called her "Gege", but she wanted her booth plaque to be changed to "Princess Pavilion" with three big characters, and the gold paint was shining.
Sometimes there were too many bystanders at the stalls, and even affected the normal operation of others, so she frowned coldly and scolded them with a cold face to "don't get in the way of the old lady". The wealthy buyer wanted to bargain, so she bluntly refused, insisting that the price was one or two times higher than the others. It is her wish to live freely, but she is still so uninterested in money and treasures.
Once, the famous collector Ma Weidu passed by this place and accidentally caught a glimpse of a blue and white official kiln vase on the head of Yun Ying's stall, and it was difficult to hide his excitement. The connoisseur could tell at a glance that it was a top-notch heirloom. He stepped forward to ask for the price, but heard Yun Ying quote an astonishingly high price. Ma Weidu sincerely explained the true value of this porcelain, and even took out another piece of his own superb official kiln to administer it, in order to make her realize the aftertaste in front of her.
However, Yun Ying turned a blind eye to such "art customs", raised her eyes coldly and glanced at Ma Weidu, and resumed her shouting to sell things. Ma Weidu explained on the side for a long time, she turned a deaf ear, and her arrogance was still the same. In the past, she was served by 10,000 people, but now she has set up a stall and is indifferent to fame and fortune.
Fifth, the years are merciless, who has ever remembered that she is a princess?
In this way, Yun Ying set up a stall in Beijing for more than ten years, until the early 1960s. During this period, her stall was also moved from the alley to the sides of the street, and although the business was not as prosperous as it was at the beginning, she was still able to maintain her basic life.
However, as time passed, there were fewer and fewer treasures left in the early years to accompany the dowry. And because she is getting older, many of the treasures that she sold when she was young are now often mistaken for fakes and are no longer favored. There are even some generous buyers who simply turn a blind eye to her, a poor sour vendor.
The days are getting tighter and tighter, but Yun Ying never shows the slightest resentment. In her old age, she smiled lightly, and gradually regained her leisure and arrogance. For the broken clay pots on the stall, she was also as careful as the treasures in the palace.
She often shook her head and smiled when the guests asked about the ceramic vessels, and could say nothing about them except for trivial origins. In her opinion, it is sad that these things, which should have been hidden in a place of curiosity and for people to enjoy, have now fallen to such a state.
Time flies, except for the occasional few young and beautiful girls who come forward to ask her for trading skills, most of the time, people rarely remember the old woman standing behind the stall, who was the most favored and noble "Gege" in the Manchukuo period.
Sometimes she would sigh, revealing a bit of self-deprecation, because even she herself had almost forgotten what happened back then. In the days that followed, she simply never mentioned who she once was, as if it were just a distant and ethereal dream. Occasionally, when someone asked, she just smiled coldly, waved her hand and didn't talk more.
In this way, Yun Ying spent the next few decades safely. When she was old and no longer had the strength to set up a stall, some young people looked at her pitifully and would give some change. Until the eighties and nineties, passers-by could no longer see this kind-eyed, high-nosed and wide-mouthed stall owner.