Dear readers, the author's income is so meager that he had to include a short 5-second ad in the text, and you can read the full text for free by watching it. I know it might be a little intimidating, but it does help me increase my income and keep writing. Your understanding is my biggest motivation, I will try my best to bring more quality content, thank you to every reader!
In the summer of 1923, Hu Shi looked through the window of the study at his wife Jiang Dongxiu, who was working hard to wash clothes in the courtyard, and hesitated to know what to do.
After repeatedly doing ideological work for himself, Hu Shi still went to the yard and called out to his daughter-in-law who was working: "Dongxiu, I have something I want to talk to you about." ”
Jiang Dongxiu looked back suspiciously, looked at Sven's husband with a tangled face, and smiled gently: "What's the matter, so serious?" ”
Hu Shi avoided his wife's gaze, and his tone was slightly hesitant: "We...... Let's get a divorce. ”
As soon as the words fell, the air around him instantly froze.
Jiang Dongxiu was stunned, the water scoop in her hand fell heavily to the ground, and the splashed water droplets wet her dress.
After a while, Jiang Dongxiu, who reacted, laughed angrily, she rushed into the kitchen and took a kitchen knife out: "Divorce? You dream! ”
After yelling, he slashed the kitchen knife on the wooden pier, leaving heavy knife marks: "I told you that the surname is Hu!" I will give birth to children for your Hu family, serve your family, and you divorce me?! ”
After shouting, he pulled out a kitchen knife and pointed it at him: "If you dare to divorce your mother, I will hack your son to death, and then commit suicide!" ”
Hu Shi's face turned pale instantly, how could Jiang Dongxiu, who was usually gentle and demure, suddenly be so spicy? He retreated again and again, for fear that the other party would be really annoyed by accident, so he raised his knife and fell ......
Hu Shi and Jiang Dongxiu
Jiang Dongxiu is a native of Jixi, Anhui Province, although her face is not outstanding, but there is a stubbornness in her eyes. river
She grew up in this village, and although her father had studied for a few years, her education was not high, and she worked at home with her mother at a very young age.
She has wrapped her feet, and she is a traditional woman in her bones, believing that "a woman's lack of talent is virtue".
When she was fourteen years old, the elders of the family made a marriage contract for her and Hu Shi, who was only thirteen years old, and Jiang Dongxiu, who had always obeyed her parents' orders, still accepted it with low eyebrows and pleasing eyes.
At that time, she did not realize that this arranged marriage would affect her for the rest of her life.
At the same time, Hu Shi was studying in United States.
He received a letter from home saying that he had been offered a marriage contract, and he was very resistant at that time. In the environment of free love in the West, Hu Shi gradually became the vanguard of the New Culture Movement, actively advocating the freedom of marriage and opposing arranged marriages.
However, at that time, he was studying in United States, and there was no chance to refuse, and the young others were soft-spoken, and the family didn't care about his wishes at all.
In the winter of 1917, Hu Shi returned to China and became a professor at Peking University.
Soon after returning to China, he was forced by his parents to meet his fiancée, Jiang Dongxiu, whom he had never met.
Before they met, he was still thinking that if Jiang Dongxiu was a woman who could be like-minded with him, he would reluctantly agree.
But when he really saw Jiang Dongxiu, Hu Shi couldn't help but "wail" in his heart.
He's not a superficial person, he doesn't care what the woman looks like, but at least he has to be able to talk to him and talk to him, right?
Jiang Dongxiu was dressed simply, and she also had her little feet entangled, and she intended to chat with her about poetry and songs, Chinese and foreign masterpieces, but the other party was always confused and didn't know what to ask.
Hu Shi's heart was full of despair, although he didn't say anything on his face, but after he went back, he expressed his dissatisfaction to his mother.
Hu Shi's mother, Feng Shundi, is a typical traditional Chinese mother who attaches great importance to the family's reputation and heirs.
She sighed at home every day: "If you don't get married, the family's incense will be broken." After speaking, there were tears in their eyes, as if they had been greatly wronged.
Although Hu Shi was reluctant, he felt sorry for his mother after all, and reluctantly agreed to his mother's arrangement.
In the end, the wedding was scheduled for Beijing in December.
On the day of the wedding, it was a cold winter day in Beijing, and the sky was covered with fine snow.
Jiang Dongxiu wore a phoenix crown and a red wedding dress, and slowly walked into the wedding scene. Her hands clenched tightly at her cuffs, her fingertips trembling slightly with nervousness;
Hu Shi stood aside, his face calm, but his eyes wandered, looking at the lobby pendulum irritably, hoping that time would pass sooner.
After marriage, the two lived in harmony, although deep down, Hu Shi still couldn't really accept Jiang Dongxiu.
The bride was meek and respectful to him, but her every move made him feel extremely out of place.
Soon after the marriage, Hu Shi returned to Peking University to continue teaching, while Jiang Dongxiu stayed at home to take care of her mother-in-law, Feng Shundi.
Jiang Dongxiu, who first arrived in Beijing, did not understand the customs of the north and often made some jokes.
However, she doesn't care about the eyes of others, she just takes care of the housework every day and takes care of the daily life of her husband and mother-in-law.
While Hu Shi was busy with academics and socializing, Jiang Dongxiu gradually adapted to life in Beijing. She began to learn how to get along with her husband's friends and how to deal with those complicated social situations.
Although she did not have a higher education, she guarded the family with a sincere heart and in the most simple way, and later the two had two children.
Even so, Hu Shi still always looks at her unpleasantly, and his thoughts and lifestyle are always not at the same frequency as Jiang Dongxiu.
Hangzhou love
In the spring of 1923, Hu Shi was bored walking in West Lake alone.
A few days ago, he had just finished his work from an academic conference in Shanghai and came to Hangzhou to live, firstly, to relax, and secondly, to hide from his wife at home.
However, this time in Hangzhou, Hu Shi accidentally met the bridesmaid at the time of marriage - Cao Chengying.
Cao Chengying is different from Jiang Dongxiu, she is a new intellectual woman, independent, confident, and has similar ideas and interests to Hu Shi.
Cao Chengying's gentleness and intellectuality overlap with the image in his memory, and are more distinct due to the precipitation of time.
The spring in Hangzhou is as beautiful as a picture, but in Hu Shi's eyes, what is even more exciting is the woman in front of him who is chatting with him.
The two have been walking together for the past few days and have walked all over the streets and alleys of Hangzhou.
Before leaving, Cao Chengying stood by the lake and sighed softly: "Suitable, you say, if we had met earlier, would everything be different?" ”
Hu Shi's heart tightened when he heard this, and he looked at the lake in the distance for a long time and did not respond. How could he not have thought so in his heart?
As the two got along more and more closely, Hu Shi's feelings for Cao Chengying became stronger and stronger.
The marriage with his wife Jiang Dongxiu made him feel depressed, and the appearance of Cao Chengying seemed to open up another world for him.
Over time, the two broke through the shackles of the world and quietly walked together.
After this time, Hu Shi began to come to Hangzhou frequently for "business trips", during which his mother wanted Jiang Dongxiu to come to Hangzhou to take care of his daily life many times, but he was rejected on the grounds that "he often lives with male colleagues outside, and it is inconvenient for Dongxiu to follow".
Neither his mother nor Jiang Dongxiu ever doubted him, and they always felt sorry for him that he often traveled too hard.
Later, after Cao Chengying and Hu Shi had a private meeting in Hangzhou, she suddenly burst into tears, and told Hu Shi with tears in her eyes that she was pregnant with his child.
Hu Shi's heart seemed to have been hit by a heavy hammer, and he was speechless for a while.
He looked at Cao Chengying and almost fainted, I am afraid that this relationship can no longer be hidden......
Coming back to his senses, Hu Shi held Cao Chengying's hand and whispered, "I will go back and deal with everything, and I will definitely give you and the child a name." ”
The other nodded, then snuggled into his arms and sobbed.
On the day he said goodbye to Hangzhou, Hu Shi was in a heavy mood.
He sat on the bow of the boat, and his heart felt like he had knocked over a five-flavor bottle.
A few days after returning to Beijing, Hu Shi's heart was still not calm.
Jiang Dongxiu, as usual, prepared meals for him and took care of his daily life, not knowing that the wind and rain were coming.
Hu Shi tried to speak several times, but eventually swallowed back.
Until one day, Hu Shi finally mustered up the courage to talk to Jiang Dongxiu: "Dongxiu, I have something important to tell you." ”
Jiang Dongxiu put down the work in his hand and asked gently: "What's the matter?" So serious. ”
Hu Shi hesitated for a moment, finally looked directly into his wife's eyes, and said, "I want to divorce you." ”
Jiang Dongxiu's face froze, then he laughed angrily, turned around and rushed to the kitchen without saying a word.
Hu Shi only had time to shout: "What are you going to do?" I saw her holding a sharp kitchen knife and rushing back violently.
"Say it again!" Jiang Dongxiu asked sharply, and the kitchen knife trembled slightly in her hand. Hu Shi was so frightened that he took a step back, he had never seen his gentle wife like this.
"Dongxiu, calm down!" Hu Shi tried to persuade him, but Jiang Dongxiu obviously didn't intend to listen to his explanation. She grabbed her two-year-old son next to her, pointed a knife at Hu Shi, and said in a hoarse voice: "You want a divorce?" If you dare to divorce, I will kill the children first, and then kill myself! ”
This scene completely made Hu Shi panic. He never expected Jiang Dongxiu to be so resolute, and he never dared to mention the divorce again.
He hurriedly waved his hand, and his voice was pleading: "Don't be impulsive! I was wrong, I'm not going to talk about it again, please put the knife down! ”
Jiang Dongxiu's eyes were like torches, staring at Hu Shi.
She slowly put down the kitchen knife, but her eyes still burned with anger.
Hu Shi's heart was beating violently, and he was crying out in his heart.
Since then, he no longer dares to touch this topic easily, and Jiang Dongxiu also used her unique "Imperial Husband Technique" to temporarily preserve this marriage.
Forever together
After that farce, no one mentioned it again, and the days of Hu Shi and Jiang Dongxiu seemed to be back on the original track.
Although I don't know how Hu Shi handled his relationship with Cao in the end, he did focus his life on his home after that, and he never made any more moths.
Hu Shi watched Jiang Dongxiu busy at home every day, and his heart was full of helplessness, but unconsciously, he lost the resistance he had before. Although Jiang Dongxiu is still the spicy woman, her concern for Hu Shi has not diminished at all.
One day, Hu Shi was working at his desk in the study, and the sound of autumn rain came from outside the window.
Jiang Dongxiu walked in with a bowl of hot ginger soup and put it in front of Hu Shi: "You have a bad cough these days, drink some ginger soup to warm up." ”
Hu Shi glanced up at Jiang Dongxiu, nodded, took the ginger soup and drank it silently.
When Jiang Dongxiu turned around to leave, Hu Shi suddenly said "thank you".
Jiang Dongxiu was stunned for a moment, and then smiled slightly: "It's all husband and wife, thank you." ”
As the days passed, Hu Shi gradually discovered that although Jiang Dongxiu was uneducated, she was not a feudal woman, she just hadn't read any books, but her personality was very resilient.
Hu Shi also began to realize that Jiang Dongxiu's position in his life was actually far more important than he once imagined.
Time is the best medicine.
In the quarrels and reconciliations again and again, Hu Shi slowly accepted Jiang Dongxiu, and he began to cherish the woman in front of him who had worked for him for many years.
Although there were still many differences between them, Hu Shi finally understood that Jiang Dongxiu was the one who would be by his side no matter the wind or rain.
In 1938, Hu Shi was appointed Chinese ambassador to the United States and went to the sea.
The night before parting, Jiang Dongxiu quietly sorted Hu Shi's luggage, she folded his clothes one by one, and carefully put a few of his favorite books into the box.
Hu Shi sat on the edge of the bed, looking at his wife's busy figure, and felt a lot of emotion in his heart.
Jiang Dongxiu suddenly stopped what he was doing, turned to Hu Shi and said, "Don't work too hard outside, take care of yourself." If you run into any trouble, don't forget to write to let me know. ”
Hu Shi nodded, a hint of tenderness appeared in his eyes. He stood up and gently patted Jiang Dongxiu's shoulder: "You also have to take care, the family affairs will be entrusted to you." ”
On the day he left Beijing, Jiang Dongxiu stood on the platform of the railway station and watched Hu Shi's train drift away.
During Hu Shi's days in United States, Jiang Dongxiu continued to take care of household chores and children.
Hu Shi's life in the United States was not easy, and foreign affairs often left him exhausted. But whenever I feel tired, I think of my wife at home in Beijing.
He often expressed his longing for Jiang Dongxiu in his letters, and wrote at the end of the letter: "You are the most important companion in my life." ”
When Hu Shi died in Taiwan in 1962, Jiang Dongxiu stayed at his bedside, holding his hand, tears falling silently.
She looked at Hu Shi's calm face, and she had mixed feelings in her heart.
This man, who once made her miserable, finally went through the journey of life with her.
"I will be with you until the end." Jiang Dongxiu muttered in a low voice, as if he was talking to Hu Shi and to himself.
Jiang Dongxiu continued to stay in Taiwan and spent the rest of his life alone.
Although Hu Shi is no longer there, she still guards their former home and guards those memories that belong to them.
epilogue
Jiang Dongxiu is not a perfect wife, but she has never followed secular standards, but has proved her worth with practical actions.
She uses her story to tell us that marriage is not only the result of love, but also a test of wisdom and courage.
In those turbulent times, she demonstrated the tenacity and determination of a woman in a unique way, ultimately protecting her family.
Resources:
CNKI "The Marriage of Hu Shi and Jiang Dongxiu"
CNKI, "New Family and New Women: A Study of "Mrs. Hu Shi" Jiang Dongxiu", Wang Ruoying
CNKI "Several Things About Jiang Dongxiu in Hu Shijia's Book" Li Zhi, Sun Shengcun