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Preamble:
Zhang Ailing, she is a miracle in the history of Chinese literature, and she is also a real woman in troubled times. Her experience is so rich that it is difficult for anyone to fully understand her to this day, but such a talented woman, her old age is really unpleasant.
In 1995, Zhang Ailing was found dead alone in a rented apartment, and what is puzzling is that she seemed to understand that her life was short, and left all the inheritance to her friends Song Qi and Kwong Wenmei in advance, while her younger brother Zhang Zijing in China did not have a penny. Therefore, some people say that their siblings have become strangers.
Young Zhang Ailing (left) with her younger brother
But for Zhang Zijing, it doesn't matter whether her sister leaves property for herself, in his own words: "I understand her personality and the difficulties of her later life, and I only miss her, not complain." ”
Zhang Ailing's "very beautiful" and "unambitious" younger brother
Speaking of Zhang Ailing, we have to mention her family background. Her grandfather Zhang Peilun was a famous minister in the late Qing Dynasty, and her grandmother Li Jingxuan was the biological daughter of the famous Li Hongzhang.
With such a prominent family background, if the younger generations can keep their duties, even in troubled times, life can always be smooth and comfortable. However, Zhang Ailing's father Zhang Zhiyi is a loser who spends all his time drinking and smoking a lot, which caused Zhang Ailing's childhood life to be full of ups and downs.
Zhang Ailing's father (second from left), aunt (first from right) and mother (second from right) pose for a group photo with relatives and friends
In 1915, under the management of his family, Zhang Zhiyi married Huang Yifan, the granddaughter of Li Hongzhang's subordinate Huang Yisheng. One is the young master of Zhang Yushi, and the other is the young lady of Huang Junmen, who is a newcomer to marriage in this household, and is also regarded as a golden boy and jade girl.
Five years later, Huang Yifan gave birth to a baby girl, named Zhang Ailing; The following year, another baby boy was born, named Zhang Zijing.
When they first got married, the Zhang family had not yet separated, and Zhang Zhiyi's second brother took care of all the affairs in the family. The eldest brother is the father, the eldest sister-in-law is like the mother, Zhang Zhiyi and his wife were controlled by the second brother after marriage, and they felt very restrained, so they wanted to move out to live a small family life, but they couldn't find an excuse.
On the left is Zhang Ailing's father Zhang Zhiyi, and on the right is Zhang Ailing's aunt Zhang Maoyuan
It wasn't until later that Zhang Zhiyi found a decent and not busy job at the Jinpu Railway Bureau, so he naturally separated from his second brother and moved from Shanghai to Tianjin.
That year, Zhang Zhiyi and Huang Yifan Lang were talented and beautiful, in their prime, rich and leisure, with children and daughters, and their lives were very nourishing. But Huang Yifan never dreamed that her husband, who was free from the jurisdiction of his second brother, would wander freely like a wild horse on the loose, and began to spend all day drinking, eating, drinking, prostituting and gambling.
Although Huang Yifan was born in a traditional family, she was open-minded and a progressive woman in the old society. She hated the old "men taking concubines and smoking big cigarettes" and other behaviors, and she persuaded her husband to change his mind several times, but to no avail, and finally sadly refused and studied abroad with the help of her sister-in-law.
Zhang Ailing's mother
The father was away all day, and the mother ran away from home, so the young Zhang Ailing and her younger brother Zhang Zijing could only be taken care of by the nanny at home. Although they don't worry about eating and drinking, and their clothing is ten times that of ordinary people, Zhang Ailing and Zhang Zijing lack the basic care of ordinary parents for their children.
In the case of a rift in the relationship between her parents, the young Zhang Ailing learned to observe words and emotions early, and just through the intrigue between nannies, she could feel the bad habits of patriarchy in that society.
Although Zhang Ailing and her younger brother Zhang Zijing are only one year apart, their personalities are very different.
Zhang Ailing's sister and brother's childhood photos
In the first article of her essay collection "Rumors", "Tong Yan Wuji", she described her younger brother Zhang Zijing as follows:
My brother was born beautifully, and I wasn't ...... at all. I'm a year older than him, I can talk better than him, I'm in better health than him, he can't eat what I can eat, he can't do what I can do...... One time during the holidays, everyone told me about his bad deeds, truancy, disobedience, and lack of ambition......
Later, Zhang Ailing recalled her younger brother's illness when he was a child in "Whispers":
Sick in bed, clamoring to eat pine nut candy, people added coptis juice to the sugar, so that he broke his mind, he cried, put a fist completely into his mouth, and still wanted.
Zhang Zijing's childhood
Zhang Ailing uses concise and exquisite words to vividly describe a "very beautiful" but "unambitious" younger brother.
Because of her younger brother's delicate appearance and the nanny's patriarchal thinking, Zhang Ailing was a little "jealous", and she had a sense of helplessness about "why is my younger brother so mediocre, but he can have his mother's general appearance and family preference".
Therefore, Zhang Ailing commented that she "can talk better than him, better than his body, he can't eat what I can eat, and he can't do what I can do." "She is like a child competing for favor, proving to the world that she is better than her brother.
Young Zhang Ailing
"I only miss her, I don't complain"
In 1928, Zhang Ailing and Zhang Zijing moved back to Shanghai with their father.
Zhang Ailing once used "My father's aunt and wife beat my father and broke his head with a spittoon" in "Private Words" to explain the reason for returning to Shanghai. But in fact, Zhang Zhiyi was stimulated because he lost his only "errand", so he made up his mind to drive away his aunt and move back to Shanghai.
After returning to Shanghai, Zhang Zhiyi realized that his marriage was in jeopardy, and wrote a letter asking his wife to return to China, and promised that as long as his wife returned home, he would quit smoking and no longer take concubines.
Zhang Ailing's mother
Hearing that her husband had a change of heart, Huang Yifan, who had studied abroad for a long time, also decided to return to China. But this marriage finally went their separate ways, because Zhang Zhiyi did not keep his promise and began to smoke opium again.
During this period, with the help of her mother, Zhang Ailing abandoned the way of private school teaching and entered the sixth grade of Huang's Elementary School run by the American Church. It was also during this period that Zhang Ailing opened her eyes and took the first step to become a generation of writers.
After her parents divorced, the custody of Zhang Ailing and her younger brother was in her father's name, and her mother left them again. At this time, Zhang Ailing was already very sensitive, and when she couldn't understand the split relationship between her parents, her father married them to their stepmother and grandson Yongfan in 1934.
Zhang Ailing's stepmother
As soon as Sun Yongfan entered the door, he took the initiative to grasp the economic power of the Zhang family, and was still not satisfied after changing all the nannies and subordinates he had hired before, and instigated Zhang Zhiyi to let the family move into a large villa with more than 20 rooms.
Zhang Ailing, who was already dissatisfied with her stepmother, became even more angry after moving out of the house where she grew up. In the autumn of 1937, Zhang Ailing had a big quarrel with her stepmother and was locked in her room by her father.
And her younger brother, who has always been disfavorable, has been living in the smoke of opium smoking by his father and stepmother because of his cowardly character, and has spent one spring and autumn after another.
Left: Zhang Maoyuan, Zhang Ailing's aunt; Middle: young Zhang Ailing; Right: Zhang Ailing's mother, Huang Yifan.
Although Zhang Ailing did not inherit her mother's appearance, she perfectly inherited her mother's interest and talent in art. With this, Zhang Ailing, who broke away from her family, quickly became famous at the young age of 23 and became a generation of writers.
After Zhang Ailing became famous, she cut off contact with her father and stepmother, but she always remembered her younger brother.
On the eve of liberation, Zhang Zijing was living in Shanghai with her classmates, which was very close to Zhang Ailing's place of residence, and the two sisters and brothers met from time to time. After the liberation, Zhang Ailing's career went to the next level, and Zhang Zijing rarely visited her sister for fear of disturbing her sister's writing.
Zhang ailing
In 1952, Zhang Zijing was transferred to the countryside of Pudong to teach, and the time to meet her sister Zhang Ailing became less and less. It wasn't until August of that year that he found a chance to return to the city. However, when he went to Carlton's apartment to look for his sister, he found that the building was already empty, and his aunt told him, "Your sister is gone." Zhang Zijing couldn't help crying after hearing this.
Zhang Ailing did not say goodbye to her younger brother, so she went to the United States alone and settled there.
The siblings, who are separated from each other, rarely keep in touch, not only because of the long distance, but also because the relationship between China and the United States was stiff soon after, and it was difficult for the siblings to learn from each other.
Zhang ailing
Zhang Ailing continued her creative work in the United States, while Zhang Zijing continued to live with her father and stepmother.
Due to his poor health since he was a child and his economic conditions did not allow it, Zhang Zijing was frail and sickly since he was a child, and he suspended school all the year round until he graduated from primary school at the age of fifteen. In addition, his family changed when he was young, forming his introverted personality, not very talkative, and never married in his life.
In 1989, Zhang Zijing finally contacted her sister in the United States, and Zhang Ailing replied:
"Your letter has been received, and I have been thinking about it and have not replied, I don't know how you are...... The news is blocked, and some of the words are so bizarre, it is said that I have made a fortune, and there is another saying that I am destitute. Actually, I barely got by...... I'm really ashamed that I couldn't help you, but I can only wish you well. ”
Shizuru Tsugi
This was the last letter Zhang Ailing wrote to her brother, and in 1995, she died suddenly.
From this letter, Zhang Ailing told her brother very clearly that although she is not destitute, she does not have the legendary Wanguan family wealth. And the relics she left to her friends before she died were only manuscripts, not much gold or silver.
When he learned that his only sister also died in a foreign country, Zhang Zijing was very sad, and in his later years he recalled: "I understand her personality and the difficulties of life in her later years, and I only miss her, and I have no complaints." No matter how things change in the world, she and I are classmates, siblings, and this foundation cannot be changed forever. ”
Resources:
Falling dust. "Behind the Prosperity is Desolate - The Biography of Zhang Ailing". Solidarity Press.2021-07
ZHANG Zijing,JI Ji. "My Sister Zhang Ailing". Jilin Publishing Group Co., Ltd., September 2009, 1st edition