Yan Youyun said: "Everything I have experienced is a teacher of longevity."
Wearing a long dress, light makeup, and high heels, the 100-year-old attended the celebration of his alma mater, Fudan University, and slowly told the "secret" of self-made longevity.
Yan Youyun not only lived to be 112 years old herself, but her husband also lived to be in his nineties under her care.
She used to be the "school flower" of Fudan University, and although the years have covered her face with wrinkles, she can still see the style of the year.
What's going on? What exactly is this secret?
In addition to "advanced age" and "longevity", there are countless legendary titles hanging on Yan Youyun.
She is "the first female student of Fudan University", "the last eldest lady of Shanghai", "the last celebrity in China", and "the first person in the diplomatic history of the Republic of China".
Such a legendary identity is inseparable from her own background.
In the 20s and 30s of the twentieth century, under the exchange of Chinese and foreign cultures and the replacement of the old and new eras, the concept of "celebrity" was introduced to China.
At this time, Yan Youyun had just entered Fudan University, and as a "celebrity" in Shanghai, she was active in various high-end occasions and was very famous.
Yan Youyun is a native of Ningbo, Zhejiang, and her father and grandfather are both well-known businessmen in Zhejiang.
Later, his father Yan Zijun came to Tianjin with his family, and Yan Youyun was also born at this time.
Yan Zijun has a total of 12 children under his knees, Yan Youyun is the youngest, and he was loved by his parents and brothers and sisters.
Born in the family of Zhong Ming Dingshi, it is natural to receive a strict education, and Yan Zijun, who has always attached importance to education, invited teachers for the children early to teach them Chinese and English.
When Yan Youyun was four years old, she received Chinese and English tutoring from her tutor, and in addition to learning painting, piano, singing and other courses.
Because of her excellent family background since she was a child, Yan Youyun's quality of life is very high, and she can buy her favorite fat powder jewelry at will, and has sufficient conditions to cultivate her hobbies.
In the thirties of the twentieth century, China was experiencing a complex intertwining of forces and social turmoil.
In such a historical background, Yan Zijun moved his family twice to avoid the limelight, and the children of the Yan family had a stable and worry-free childhood under the protection of their elders.
Yan Youyun grew up like this, with an elegant temperament and rich knowledge, she often said: "How happy people are to live, I really hope to live a long life."
In July 1925, Yan Youyun, who had just turned 20, came to Shanghai University to study.
Two years later, with excellent results, she entered Fudan University for further study.
At that time, college students were very rare, and female college students were even rarer. Most of the girls who can study are in girls' schools, and only a few are in comprehensive universities.
At that time, Fudan University had just begun to recruit female students, and Yan Youyun became the first batch of female students to enter Fudan University.
She began to study business and decided to do business like her father.
Yan Youyun studied hard and had good grades, coupled with the "aristocratic education" she received since she was a child, which made her different from the "noble" of other girls, and she deservedly became the "school flower" of Fudan.
There were few women on campus, and this beautiful, fashionably dressed female student quickly became the focus of attention on campus.
With such an identity, Yan Youyun naturally has no shortage of suitors around her, but Yan Youyun did not accept any of them.
Although she is pampered, she was born in a big family and sees many things very clearly: most of these suitors don't really love her, but love the status she can bring behind her.
Therefore, she remained single until she met Yang Guanglu.
Yang Guanglu is the son of a large silk merchant in Huzhou, Zhejiang, and his family is well-off, and he got a diploma from Tsinghua University when he was 20 years old.
After that, he went to the United States, obtained a doctorate from Princeton University, and was invited by the Chinese Embassy in the United States to serve as a diplomatic adviser to participate in diplomatic work with the United States as a "representative of China."
The two fell in love at first sight at a dance party and have been in a relationship ever since.
On September 6, 1929, Yan Youyun and Yang Guanglu held a wedding in the Shanghai Majestic Hotel and became husband and wife.
The Yan family organized this wedding very solemnly, invited countless celebrities and gentlemen from the business and political circles, and many Shanghai media reported on the wedding.
Since then, Yan Youyun has become one of the most beautiful "celebrities" in Shanghai.
However, she is not an embroidered pillow, but a patriotic youth who has received a new education.
In order to catch up with her husband's pace, Yan Youyun studied hard, got the graduation certificate of Fudan University as quickly as possible, followed her husband to London, and started a new life as a "diplomat's wife".
In 1930, her husband Yang Guanglu went to Europe to work, and Yan Youyun also followed.
In Europe, Yan Youyun met the famous diplomat Gu Weijun, who once refused to sign the "21 Articles", attended the Paris Peace Conference, and was the first Chinese to sign the UN Charter.
At that time, the state was in a low position, suffered a lot of cynicism on the world stage, and diplomats could be said to have suffered a lot.
It is precisely because of their rhetoric and iron backbone that China won the victory in the international diplomatic arena at that time, and this is a group worthy of our respect.
As the wife of a diplomat, Yan Youyun gave full play to her advantages, was sociable, hospitable, and helped her husband entertain many compatriots and foreign guests.
As the wife of a Chinese diplomat, "it is very necessary to entertain dignitaries and the families of diplomats from other countries."
This pampered "eldest lady" has shown extraordinary bearing and ability in the face of international diplomacy, not only providing support for her husband's work, but also greatly improving her communication skills.
In 1938, Yang Guanglu was appointed as the consul general of the Chinese Consulate in Manila, the capital of the Philippines.
At that time, Manila was in turmoil, China was also being invaded by Japan, many soldiers and civilians were rising up to resist, and the situation at home and abroad was very anxious.
Yang Guanglu and Yan Youyun carried out a series of anti-Japanese propaganda activities in Manila, and also called on overseas Chinese in the Philippines to raise funds in an attempt to help China's anti-Japanese fighters.
Yan Youyun became the honorary chairman of the Chinese Women's Association of Self-Defense and Anti-Japanese War Soldiers.
She did not only care about her own safety, but led a group of overseas Chinese compatriots to wander the streets and alleys, organizing and leading Chinese in the Philippines to participate in various anti-Japanese movements.
Later, they donated all the money they raised to the country and used it for the soldiers who went to the front.
The situation is chaotic, and the smoke of war is blowing up around us at any time.
On December 7, 1941, Japanese troops attacked Pearl Harbor in the United States, and Manila, the capital of the Philippines, was at a stalemate.
As the consul general of the Manila consulate, Yang Guanglu refused to leave the war alone, but stayed on the battlefield with his wife Yan Youyun to face the crisis with the overseas Chinese compatriots in the Philippines.
On January 2, 1942, the Japanese occupied Manila, and they captured seven diplomats from the consulate, including Yang Guanglu.
The diplomats refused to confess the hiding places of other overseas Chinese, and were subjected to the brutal and inhumane persecution methods of the Japanese army, and in the end, all seven of them died heroically.
Yang Guanglu was only 42 years old when he died, and Yan Youyun was only 37 years old, and the two had three daughters, the youngest was only 2 years old.
The pillar of the family fell, Yan Youyun suffered the biggest blow in her life, she looked at the three young girls, and then looked around at the war-torn environment, and once thought that life was hopeless.
At this time, Shanghai in China had already fallen, and the situation of the Yan family was not much better, the huge family in the past had been torn apart, and the "rich daughters" and "celebrities of Shanghai" had lost almost everything in the change of fate.
But after all, she is still the wife of the consul general, and under the sensitive situation, there is no room for unnecessary sorrow and sadness.
Yan Youyun led the families of the other 6 martyrs to escape to a small building and was forced to start a "new life".
They grow their own vegetables, make clothes, make shoes, make soap, and endure a lot of hardships, although their living standards are very different from before, but they can still live a stable life.
Overseas Chinese women in the Philippines organized an anti-Japanese rescue meeting, and Yan Youyun, as the honorary chairman, actively promoted the concept of resisting Japan and saving the country, and also called on everyone to donate money to support the anti-Japanese war.
She is a delicate lady from a big family, and she is a Chinese woman who has received patriotic education since she was a child.
She knows very well that the rise and fall of the country is the responsibility of the husband, as long as the country is still there, there is a home, and everything is possible.
Until 1945, when the international situation began to gradually stabilize, Yan Youyun took her three daughters and settled in New York, USA.
At the age of 40, she had been offered a job as a protocol officer at the United Nations, thanks to her excellent interpersonal skills and many years of diplomatic experience.
As one of the first Chinese to work at the United Nations, Yan Youyun had a strong work ability and never went wrong, which became a calling card for China at the United Nations at that time.
In October 1958, 58-year-old Yan Youyun retired, and with the help of her children, she and her old friend Gu Weijun became husband and wife and spent the second half of their lives together.
When he married Yan Youyun, Gu Weijun was already 70 years old, and years of diplomatic work caused a lot of pressure on his body.
Therefore, after marriage, Yan Youyun took care of her husband's body as the top priority of her life.
She prepares nutritious meals for her husband every day, especially in the morning and evening, and when she has free time, she also takes Gu Weijun out to exercise, and goes to various restaurants to enjoy food.
"Take a walk, don't eat snacks", this is an important reason for Gu Weijun to reveal that he maintains his health.
Under her careful care, Gu Weijun did not pass away until he was 98 years old, which is considered a very long life.
After Gu Weijun's death, Yan Youyun was not immersed in grief all day. She has experienced too many lives and deaths in her life, and she is used to continuing to live forward.
As before, Yan Youyun still maintains the habit of applying makeup every day, she seems to be always exquisite, no matter before or after, she is always smiling.
The children think that she is getting older and let her eat less sweets and greasy food, but Yan Youyun thinks that maintaining a good attitude is the most important thing, the more deliberately she avoids food, the easier it is to mind in her heart, and in the end it backfires.
She likes to eat fatty meats and sweets, eats according to her mood every day, and always has her favorite dishes on the table.
Eat more when you're happy, eat less when you're calm, and do everything to keep you in a good mood.
She never cared about her age, when she was more than a hundred years old, she still wore high heels, wore perfume, wore exquisite makeup, went out to chat with young people, and there was never a shortage of friends around her.
Even if the children have grown up and are not by her side, she can still make her old age very nourishing.
In addition to focusing on her body, she also fell in love with "philanthropy":
In 1990, she donated more than 100 precious relics of her husband Gu Weijun to the Jiading Museum in Shanghai, and donated $100,000 in cash.
She also donated a sum of money to Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, to build a primary school in a remote rural area, hoping that children in peacetime could get an education.
"No matter what happens in the future, you have to be optimistic", is the "secret to longevity" she once revealed to her daughters.
On May 25, 2017, this old lady who had a life full of legends passed away at home at the age of 112.
Her life can be described as a lot of ups and downs, she has been a carefree girl, a family member of a tough and brave diplomat, experienced the ruthless baptism of war, and felt countless life and death.
In this situation, to live a long life of 112 years old, Yan Youyun's "secret of longevity" is indeed magical.
In all circumstances, it is often more important than anything else to do your best to maintain a happy mood.
In the face of all the ups and downs of life, you can still maintain yourself, and this precious mentality is the secret of true longevity.