Jiang Dongxiu: A semi-illiterate girl with little feet, why should the Lord of the Republic of China serve the four virtues?

Hu Shi, a master of the Republic of China, and his wife Jiang Dongxiu are well-known arranged marriages.

Hu Shi in a suit and tie and Jiang Dongxiu with little feet strolled together, which was once the most unique and strange scenery on the campus of Peking University.

Seeing this scene, some people admire Hu Shi's wife for not abandoning dross, some people despise his cowardice and not resisting, and more people doubt how long their marriage can last.

However, shoes don't fit, only the wearer knows, and so does marriage.

This couple, who are not well matched to outsiders, walked hand in hand for half a century and became a perfect example of arranged marriage in the Republic of China.

"Three Obediences and Four Virtues" was originally a code of conduct used by feudal society to restrain women, but Hu Shi, who has always been humorous, changed it into a male version, that is, "the wife should obey when she goes out, the wife should obey when she gives orders, and the wife should blindly follow when she says something wrong; The wife has to wait for makeup, remember her birthday, endure her beating, and be willing to spend money. "

Then, Jiang Dongxiu, a semi-literate woman with little feet, why should she make the master of the Republic of China obedient and virtuous?

It is impossible to say that the marriage between Jiang Dongxiu and Hu Shi has no twists and turns.

At their wedding, Hu Shi fell in love with another woman at first sight.

She was the younger sister of Hu Shi's third sister-in-law and the maid-in-waiting of Cao at that time.

A few years later, Hu Shi was recuperating in Hangzhou, and Cao also studied in Hangzhou. He also specially wrote to Cao to take care of Hu Shi.

At that time, Cao had just freed himself from an unfortunate marriage, and Hu Shi was distressed by his melancholy breath.

He accompanied Cao to travel, drink tea and play chess, talk about poetry and prose, and his two hearts gradually approached.

Although their affair didn't get out, many people in the literary circle got the news, such as Wang Jingzhi and Xu Zhimo.

Xu Zhimo was so happy that he promised to clear the way for Hu Shiming after returning to Beijing.

He told the news to Lu Xiaoman first, and then almost all the people in Peiping cultural circle knew it, and Jiang Dongxiu naturally got the news.

I don't know how she felt at that time, sad? Anger? Or despair? Maybe both.

So when Hu Shi returned to Peiping and formally asked her for a divorce, she would angrily pick up the paper knife on the table and throw it at Hu Shi.

Then I went into the kitchen, took out a kitchen knife, dragged my two sons and said, "Since you don't want us, I'll kill my two sons first and then commit suicide!" "

Hu Shi has always been the most amiable person. Has he ever seen such a way?

There is no choice but to surrender.

In this way, Jiang Dongxiu maintained her marriage with a kitchen knife.

Suffering from humiliation and resignation is almost a common problem of many old-fashioned women in the Republic of China. They are the original partners and "gifts". When they get married or divorce, they have little choice, just like marionettes.

Jiang Dongxiu knew that these intellectuals were the proudest, so she dared to throw caution to the wind and finally won the marriage war.

Of course, it is enough to use the trick of "crying twice and hanging up three times". If you use it too much, it will inevitably be boring. And Jiang Dongxiu's savage and provocative disregard for face is just this once. At other times, she is a considerate and virtuous wife.

As the saying goes, "If you want to catch a man's heart, you must first catch his stomach", and Jiang Dongxiu clearly knows this.

She has a good cooking skill, especially her specialty "Yipin Pot", which not only conquered Hu Shi's stomach, but also became a necessary dish for Hu family banquet, and all her friends who had eaten it were full of praise.

Liang Shiqiu, another famous writer, never forgot to eat this dish, and later wrote an article to commemorate it. "A large iron pot, two or three feet in diameter, is hot, and it is still boiling ... delicious ..."

Later, Hu Shi went to the United States, and Jiang Dongxiu on the other side of the ocean was worried that he would catch cold, so he sent a cotton-padded jacket from afar.

When Hu Shi was trying it on, he suddenly found something in his pocket. He took it out and saw that it was seven pairs of ivory ear scoops.

Hu Shi was not excited when he received the cotton-padded clothes, but when he saw these seven pairs of ear scoops, his heart could not be calm for a long time. He wrote back a letter with deep affection: Only Dong Xiucai would think of these things.

If Hu Shi is afraid of her provocative refusal and dare not make mistakes, then her gentleness and virtue are like a big net, so that Hu Shi can no longer break free and even be imprisoned by her willingly.

Shortly after Hu Shi and Jiang Dongxiu got engaged, they went to other places to study. As Hu Shi's academic qualifications are getting higher and higher, rumors follow. The content is nothing more than that Jiang Dongxiu is not worthy of such a great talent. Hu Shi has a congenial and talented girlfriend outside.

Hearing such rumors, Jiang Dongxiu could not be indifferent and feel inferior and worried, but she never wanted to give up.

So when she received a letter from Hu Shi, she made two demands on her, one was to let go of her hands and feet, and the other was to study, and she did it without hesitation.

Although the time of "foot-binding" is too long to recover, the courage of "letting go" is much stronger than that of many conservative women.

In addition, she also tried to read and write, and even if she couldn't keep up with Hu Shi, she tried to get close to him.

Once Hu Shi was ill, Jiang Dongxiu wrote him a letter when he heard about it. "... you are not as good as before. Today, I was heartbroken to hear him say that you are not cruel (very good) today. "

After receiving it, Hu Shi wrote a poem, "She got her book when she was ill, and it was less than eight lines, so it doesn't matter, which made me happy."

Hu Shi has read many beautiful words, but Jiang Dongxiu's letter is full of mistakes, which still makes him happy. Why?

I think there are two reasons. First, although the language of this letter is simple, it makes Hu Shi feel her heartfelt concern; Second, this letter also made Hu Shi see her efforts.

At that time, Lu Xun made a similar request to Zhu An, but she didn't do it. I think this is also the root of their different fates.

Because Jiang Dongxiu has been trying to get close to Hu Shi, Zhu An gave up the opportunity to get close to Lu Xun from the beginning.

Jiang Dongxiu has two hobbies, one is playing mahjong, and the other is reading martial arts novels, especially Mr. Jin Yong's works, which can be said to be a few treasures.

Moreover, her generous personality is quite like the Jianghu children in martial arts novels.

Many people often say that there are as many masters in the Republic of China as there are love rat.

Maybe they have made remarkable achievements in a certain field, but they are really bad emotionally, such as Xu Zhimo, Huang Kan, Zhang Daqian and so on.

What Jiang Dongxiu dislikes most at ordinary times is that these intellectuals who abandoned their wives tend to be wronged.

The most typical one is that Professor Liang of Peking University has a new love and wants to divorce his wife.

After learning about this, he not only received He's family, but even became He's defender when Liang went to court. In the end, losing the lawsuit and losing a lot of money became a beautiful talk for a while.

And her battle righteousness does not stop there. During the Anti-Japanese War, Hu Shi was in the United States, and his family raised two children alone, making life difficult.

However, every time Hu Shi sends money back, he will give it to relatives and friends who have the same hard life, and even donate a part to the school.

When Hu Shi learned about it, he wrote a letter to praise her righteous act. "It's rare for you to remember the poor people at home and give them money in times of difficulty. I am very grateful to you. "

To outsiders, one is a famous writer and the other is an old lady with little feet, and they don't match at all. However, in the end, they walked hand in hand for half a century. Although there are twists and turns, it is still satisfactory.

Even Zhang Ailing, who has always been vicious, has to admit that "they are rare examples of happiness in old-fashioned marriage".

Be gentle when you should be gentle, never back down when you should be tough, and strive to be a better person. This is an inspiration from Jiang Dongxiu.

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