"His life is really a simple faith, there are only four big words, one is love, one is freedom, and the other is beauty."
- Hu Shi
Teenagers get their way
Xu Zhimo was born on January 15, 1897, to a wealthy family in the town of Jiaoshi in present-day Haining County, Zhejiang Province. His father, Xu Shenru, inherited his ancestral business in his early years, ran and founded many industries such as qianzhuang, power plants, and feng sauce garden, and was a famous industrialist in modern times. The solid family wealth allowed Xu Zhimo, who was the eldest grandson of the eldest son, to enter the local famous private school at an early age, and as a result, he received a good traditional education. The care and care of his parents and elders in the family makes him not have to worry about food and clothing for life, so that he can devote himself to the life of private school.
In 1908, under the arrangement of his father, he officially entered the Kaizhi Academy and studied the Four Books and Five Classics under Mr. Zhang Shusen. Soon, under the care of his teacher, the talented and intelligent Little Shima completed the enlightenment study of his early childhood with the first excellent result in the class. By 1910, Xu Zhimo, a young man, first went out of his hometown and was admitted to the Hangzhou Fu Middle School under the introduction of his cousin Shen Junru, where he first showed his literary talent, began to publish various articles, and gradually attracted attention. At this time, Xu Zhimo was not only dashing and uninhibited, but also different from the brothers of ordinary rich and noble families, he began to have a strong interest in various new studies, and gradually became influenced by new ideas and new cultures.
Tragic marriage
The time came to 1915, this year Xu Zhimo graduated from Zhejiang No. 1 Middle School and was admitted to Shanghai Baptist College. In October, 18-year-old Xu Zhimo married Zhang Youyi, the daughter of Zhang Runzhi, a wealthy man in Baoshan County, Shanghai, in an arranged marriage arranged by his parents, and it is worth noting that his bride was only 15 years old at this time. Unlike the joy shown by his parents, feudal marriage made Xu Zhimo, who had been exposed to the idea of free love, feel deeply desperate. From the bottom of his heart, he deeply felt that the young wife with mediocre appearance and mediocre wisdom did not meet his criteria for choosing a wife in every way, and perhaps it was precisely because of this idea that the tragic end of the marriage had been doomed from this time on.
In order to break free from the desperate marriage, Xu Zhimo decisively left Shanghai in 1916 and went to Beiyang University and Peking University in Tianjin to study law, Japanese, French and political science. Because of his talent, wealthy family, and good friends, he soon became a social celebrity in the high society at that time, and this life also made Xu Zhimo feel deeply happy and relieved.
Unfortunately, the good times did not last long, and in 1917, at the strong request of Xu's parents, Zhang Youyi, his wife who was far away in Shanghai, came to Beiping. The following year, that is, in 1918, Xu Zhimo's eldest son was born, unlike other fathers, Xu Zhimo was very indifferent to the birth of his son, at this moment he not only did not have the freshness of a new father, but felt that the shackles brought to him by this marriage were getting tighter and tighter, and finally, in order to avoid his wife and children, he decided to run away again.
British love - Lin Weiyin
In 1920, Xu Zhimo, who received a master's degree in literature in the United States, came to England, the center of the industrial revolution, to study, and it was here that Xu Zhimo finally met the love of his life, Lin Weiyin.
Perhaps Xu himself never thought that 17-year-old Lin Weiyin was so charming and moving! She was beautiful, gentle and gentle, with just the right smile and a high education for new ideas, just like herself. Everything about her quickly fascinated Xu Zhimo. So much so that he even forgot that he was already a husband, and That Lin Weiyin had already been engaged to liang Sicheng, the son of his teacher Liang Qichao.
He desperately came into contact with Lin Weiyin and told him about his suffering and misfortune in the marriage. And Lin also expressed to Xu the gentleness and understanding that are characteristic of women. This quickly heated up the relationship between the two people. At least in Xu Zhimo's opinion, they were in love at that time. The surging feelings not only washed xu's mind, but also urged out poems as hot and vivid as fire, such as "Listening to the Piano on the Night of the Moon", "The Breeze Blows Off the Dream of Spring Dynasty", "The Kangqiao I Know" and other works expressing love appeared one after another in this period.
Unfortunately, reality is always not as romantic as poetry, and a few months later, Xu Zhimo, who was in love, received the news that Zhang Youyi was going to bring her son to England. He stood still on the spot like five thunderbolts, and later, according to Zhang Youyi's recollection, "he was the only one among the people who picked up the boats and showed an expression that he didn't want to be there."
In 1921, Xu Zhimo finally filed for divorce from his wife, and Zhang Youyi had just been pregnant with her second child for more than two months. But even so, Zhang's strong character did not allow her to wag her tail and beg for pity in the face of her husband's indifference and despair. She agreed to the divorce, traveled to Germany alone, and gave birth to a son the following year. At this time, Xu also came to Germany, but he did not come to visit orphans and widows, but to handle the relevant divorce procedures, before this, he had already proposed to Lin Weiyin.
Perhaps to punish Xu Zhimo for abandoning his wife and son, when he returned to England from Germany, Xu found that Lin Wei had followed her father back to the motherland. Furious, he immediately returned to China to save this love that he regarded as important as his life. And the final result is known to everyone, Xu Zhimo lost his love, and Lin Weiyin also decided to marry Liang Sicheng.
Love Cultivation - Lu Xiaoman
The best way to end one relationship is to start another, which Xu Zhimo did.
After Xu returned to Beiping, where his courtship was rejected, he began to frequently attend various gatherings of friends, and with the help of social and alcohol-induced paralysis, he did not have to face the failure of love all the time. At this moment, another celebrity, Lu Xiaoman, quickly appeared in his line of sight.
Compared with other cognitive women, Lu Xiaoman, who has a straightforward and spicy personality, brings Xu Zhimo an alternative sense of stimulation. The poet's talent and constant companionship also made Lu Xiaoman indulge in romance and warmth. This time, Xu Zhimo quickly fell under the hem of Lu Xiaoman's skirt.
In 1926, Lu Xiaoman first filed for divorce like her husband Wang Geng, and finally obtained the consent of the other party. Then Xu Zhimo mentioned this matter to his parents, which was opposed by the Xu family's entire family! They think that the son abandons his wife and abandons his son first, and then chases after the woman who has been engaged to someone, and now he wants to intervene in other people's marriages like a third party, which is simply an insult to the family style, and it is a great shame for the Xu family! But even this opposition did not sway Xu Zhimo, who went his own way, and at his repeated insistence, they finally held a wedding in October.
After marriage, Xu Zhimo thought that he had finally achieved what he wanted in love, but the reality was surprising. First of all, Lu Xiaoman's lavish and spending money has brought a serious economic crisis to the newlywed family, in order to solve the economic burden, Xu lectured at three universities, in addition, he also had to write various articles and poems to earn contributions. Secondly, Lu Xiaoman's daily dancing and playing cards, watching plays and drinking nightlife also made Xu feel helpless, and soon after, she also contracted the habit of smoking opium, which made Xu Zhimo, a literati, feel more tired and powerless. In this case, he again chose to flee in 1928, and the place of escape was Britain.
No one knows why Xu chose to go to England, perhaps there are too many memories of him here. When he witnessed the city and streets that he once had, he recalled his life, and Xu Zhimo, who was full of emotions, wrote his most famous "Farewell to Kang Bridge".
Died in an air crash
On November 18, 1931, after being devastated by his love marriage, he saw Lu Xiaoman smoking a cigarette again, and this time, the two had a fierce quarrel. In this mood, he happened to learn the news that Lin Weiyin was going to give a lecture in Beiping. This gave him the idea of flying to Peiping to meet her.
On the 19th, Xu took an Air China postal plane from Nanjing to Beiping at 8:00 a.m., and before boarding, Xu Zhimo wrote a letter with his wife, which said: Headache does not want to leave, want to return to Shanghai.
However, he never had the opportunity to return to Shanghai as written in the letter, nor was he able to see Lin Weiyin and Lu Xiaoman again. The plane crashed into Jinan Kaishan in the fog, and Xu Zhimo, who was only 34 years old, died of the air crash!
After his death, Lu Xiaoman was inexplicably saddened, not only quit opium, but also wrote works such as "Selected Poems of Xu Zhimo" and "Shima Diary" to pay tribute to her husband.
Looking back at Xu Zhimo's life, the praise and criticism are mixed and controversial. His attitude toward love and the way he had his talent and even his death all explained the life of such a simple and enthusiastic man who had lived in this world.
Perhaps as he wrote in his own poem:
Quietly I left,
As I came quietly;
I waved my sleeve,
Don't take away a cloud.