Chapter 42 Marriage

After Chen Duxiu passed the examination as a scholar, famous and wealthy families in Anqing City asked matchmakers to inquire about Chen's birth date.Deputy General Gao Dengke of Anqing also asked a matchmaker to come to his door, intending to betroth his eldest daughter Gao Xiaolan to Chen. Gao Dengke was from Huoqiu (now Lu'an, Anhui). He was born in a poor family and was abused by his stepmother when he was young. When I was 13 years old, I lost two geese and stayed overnight in the wheat field. I didn’t dare to go home. It happened that an officer and soldier passed by and went with the army. Later, I was promoted to deputy general and became a second-rank military officer. I was rewarded by the Qing court to wear a yellow mandarin jacket because of my military achievements. , and bestowed Spyker with more than 4,000 mu of land.He married three wives, and his daughter Gao Xiaolan was born to the Zhan family.After Zhan's death, Gao Xiaolan was abused by her stepmother, and Gao Dengke took her to Anqing to raise her personally.

Gao Xiaolan was 19 years old at the time, and Chen Duxiu was 3 years old when she was older. She had delicate features and a slender figure.She dresses plainly and generously, has a docile and withdrawn disposition, is capable of doing embroidery and mending, and doing housework, without any aristocratic arrogance of a rich lady.Chen Duxiu's mother, Mrs. Cha, was very satisfied, so the marriage was settled like this. Chen Duxiu went to Nanjing to take the provincial examination, but failed, and married Gao Xiaolan after returning home.Gao Xiaolan understands the three obediences and the four virtues, and knows the ancient teachings of "Biography of Martyrs" and the ancient sayings of virtue and merit. She has a traditional feudal upbringing.

When he was newly married, Chen Duxiu was under the influence of Kang Liang theory at that time. He read his "A Brief Account of the Situation of the Yangtze River" to his wife with great interest, so as to ask for opinions and find resonance.Unexpectedly, after listening to Gao Xiaolan, she said softly: "A husband's words, as a wife, I don't understand very much. Don't be difficult for your wife. I will live with you in peace, treat my parents with all my heart, and be a good wife and have children." Girl." Chen suddenly felt as if a scoop of cold water had been poured on his head.

Chen Duxiu often persuaded his wife to be more literate, and to read more about culture and current affairs, but Gao Xiaolan dismissed her husband's advice, always saying that "the husband is outside, the wife is inside, and a woman's lack of talent is virtue".Once, Chen took a book and wanted to teach Gao Xiaolan to read it, but she was so angry that she snatched it and tore it to pieces. Pan Zanhua said that the gap between Gao Xiaolan and Chen Duxiu's thought is more than a century.Chen went to Japan to study and wanted to borrow Gao's twelve gold bracelets as hot money, but Gao firmly refused and often quarreled over it.

In 1898, Chen Yannian, the first son of Chen Duxiu and Gao Xiaolan, was born.Soon after his son was born, Chen Duxiu followed his stepfather Chen Yanshu to the northeast.At the end of the next year, Chen's mother passed away before returning to Anqing.After that, Chen Duxiu's eldest daughter Yuying (Xiaoxiu) was born. In 1901, Chen Duxiu went to Japan to study abroad. After that, Chen Duxiu and Gao Xiaolan stayed together less often. Due to his political activities, Chen Duxiu was hunted and hunted many times abroad. When he returned home, he could not get his wife's understanding and comfort. In 1910, at the beginning of the new year, Chen Duxiu and Gao Junman left Anqing. At this time, Gao Xiaolan was pregnant with her third son, Chen Songnian.

During Gao Xiaolan's 33 years of marriage to the Chen family, she gave birth to three sons and three daughters, and has never returned to her natal family since she got married.Except for visiting his seriously ill son Qiao Nian in Wuhan in 1927, he has never been out of the Chen family's door.Gao Xiaolan was depressed in her chest on September 9, 1930, that is, the second year after she learned the bad news about her two sons and one daughter. Later, she died of illness in Anqing at the age of 55.Before she died, she asked her third son, Songnian, to be buried with Chen Duxiu in the future.

Wang Yuanfang opposed arranged marriages and had a big conflict with his uncle Wang Mengzou.After Chen Duxiu in the Soviet Union heard about it, he wrote a letter to comfort his uncle and nephew: "My brother thinks that Mr. Meng Zou should recognize the freedom of marriage of Brother Yuan Fang. Brother Yuan Fang should realize that not being able to fall in love hinders the establishment of a career. The matter of men and women, However, in life, the same needs and pastimes as eating, dressing, drinking, and smoking are just, and it is wrong for the stubborn elders to regard it as a major ethical and moral issue, and to fantasize about the youth as a sacred cause."

At the end of 1909, Gao Xiaolan's half-sister Gao Junman, who was studying at the Beijing Women's Normal School, went to play at her sister's house in Anqing and met her brother-in-law Chen Duxiu. Gao Junman was in his twenties at the time, tall and slender, with trendy fashion, short hair, showing new femininity everywhere.She once studied in Beijing Women's Normal School. She has advanced thinking, extensive knowledge, and loves literature. She especially loves reading Chen Duxiu's works published in various newspapers and periodicals, and admires her brother-in-law very much.The two soon fell in love.

The love affair between Chen Duxiu and Gao Junman was firmly opposed by Chen and Gao.Chen Duxiu's stepfather Chen Yanshu even threatened to "retire"; his father-in-law Gao Dengke was furious, regretting choosing the wrong son-in-law, and using violence against Gao Junman to force him to marry another.But the two went their own way without fear. At the end of 1909, Chen Duxiu returned from Japan and announced his marriage to Gao Junman in Hangzhou.At that time, Chen was teaching history and geography at the Army Primary School in Hangzhou.Chen Duxiu made many literary friends and poetic friends. On the bank of the West Lake, he entertained with Liu Jiping, Shen Yinmo, Ma Yifu, Xie Wuliang and other Jiangnan literati and scholars.And Gao Junman won the praise of friends, Wang Mengzou once praised her as a "hero among women".Chen wrote in the poem "In front of Lingyin Temple": "Weeping willows and flying flowers are fragrant on the road in the village, and the wine flag is warm and young. The young man is crazy. The Japanese horse at the bridgehead is melancholy for Xiao Jiuniang back then."

In 1910, Chen Duxiu wrote a letter to Su Manshu who was far away in Nanyang, asking him: "Is there any adventure? Is there a beautiful sentence?" The word "mochou" for a beautiful woman, do you have a poem to congratulate me?" Gao Junman yearned for a stable and peaceful family life, but Chen Duxiu was born to look down on family life. He traveled all over the world, encountered repeated risks, and his family was also displaced. It was difficult to live a comfortable life. After teaching at Peking University, Chen Duxiu often wandered around the Eight Great Alleys and flirted with women. Gao Junman quarreled with Chen Duxiu because of this, but to no avail.Chen has a hot temper and a loose life, while Gao has been pampered since he was a child, and often had verbal quarrels, which even developed to fight each other.Gao Junman denounced Chen as a shameless person, while Chen Duxiu called Gao "capitalism".

In 1922, Gao Junman suffered from tuberculosis, often coughed up blood, and was unable to undertake housework. He often complained that Chen Duxiu did not take good care of her.When they quarreled, Wang Mengzou was always asked to mediate.Once, Wang Mengzou said to his nephew Wang Yuanfang: "Zhongweng has a really bad temper, irritable and impatient. Junman always cries and howls. In fact, Chen Zhongweng is Huangmao's fiery nature. When he gets angry, he can't control it. Let's pass it." , It’s fine again, it’s all right. Junman is also very strong, and he refuses to let go. (Chen Duxiu) came back too late last night, and couldn’t sleep well. Today I have to sleep, I’m dizzy and can’t do things.” Because the quarrel between the two had an impact on Chen Duxiu's work, and because Chen had been arrested twice before, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China decided to keep Chen alone and not tell anyone his address, including Gao Junman.So far, the two have lived apart and rarely see each other.Chen asked Wang Mengzou to pay Gao Junman's living expenses from the royalties of "Duxiu Wencun". Due to rising prices in Shanghai, the lives of Gao Junman's mother and son became increasingly difficult. They often quarreled with Chen when they met, and Wang's repeated attempts to persuade her were ineffective. In October 1925, in order to save living expenses, Gao Junman left Shanghai with his son Chen Henian and daughter Chen Zimei and lived in two dilapidated thatched houses on Dongchang Street in Nanjing. On November 13, Chen Duxiu and Gao Junman came to Yadong successively, but missed each other.Gao Junman said to Wang Mengzou: "I went to Nanjing to save a little money. ...Nanjing's living standard is low, ...how did I know that he only sent me fifty yuan a month? Didn't he force me to go to Nanjing?" Is it a dead end?...He used the money to help his loved ones and live a happy life in the sky." Wang Mengzou and Wang Yuanfang's nephew had no choice but to comfort her: "Zhongfu is too busy, there is nothing he can do. There are many affairs in the party, he I don't have time to ask about my family." This farewell became the eternal farewell between the two. After only half a year in Nanjing, Gao Junman ran out of money, so he had to turn to the Anhui Association for help, and was introduced to work as a clerk in the Machine Workshop Association on Liuye Street in Shuiximen Nei.Although she is diligent, responsible and conscientious in her work, she is still excluded.More than a year later, Gao Junman was introduced by Wang Dong of Southeast University to work as a copyist for the Disaster Relief Committee of Jewelery Lang Province.She writes in small script, neat and elegant, and responsible for her work. Although her income is low but relatively stable, she can support her children to study.A few years later, she became sick from overwork and lacked money for medical treatment, so she had to go home to recuperate. In 1930, Gao Xiaolan died of illness in her hometown in Anqing.Gao Junman took his children back to his hometown for the funeral, his health deteriorated, and he was found to be suffering from uterine cancer.The following year, she died of illness in Nanjing at the age of 45.When Gao Junman passed away, only his children were with him, and Pan Zanhua, Chen Duxiu's old friend, took care of the funeral for him, fulfilling his responsibilities as a friend, and was buried hastily on the sunny high slope of Qingliang Mountain in Nanjing. In 1992, Gao Junman's eldest granddaughter Chen Zhenxiang went to Nanjing to find her grandmother's cemetery according to her father's description. She dug up the grave the next year and asked the forensic doctor of the Jiangsu Provincial Public Security Bureau to conduct an appraisal, which confirmed that it was Gao Junman's tomb.After that, Chen moved his grandmother's remains to the Jinshan Cemetery near Yuhuatai. In the second half of 1929, Chen Duxiu moved to the front building of a Shikumen house on Xihuade Road.Here, Chen Duxiu met his third wife Pan Lanzhen. Pan Lanzhen was born in a poor peasant family in Nantong, Jiangsu Province in 1908. Chen Duxiu was 29 years old.When she was seven or eight years old, in order to reduce the burden on her family, Pan Lanzhen went to work as a private worker in a textile factory.A few years later, her father introduced her to the British American Tobacco Company where she worked as a coolie as a child laborer. When Pan Lanzhen was 17 or 18 years old, a foreman in the factory coveted her beauty, threatened and lured her, and forced Pan to live with her and give birth to a son, who died soon after. After the child died, the foreman often beat Pan Lanzhen violently for no reason. Pan couldn't bear it, so he escaped and rented a pavilion on the back floor of a Shikumen house on Xihuade Road, becoming Chen Duxiu's neighbor.The two gradually became acquainted, and Pan Lanzhen often helped Chen Duxiu cook and wash clothes.Chen taught Pan Lanzhen how to read and write when she was free.Soon, the two began living together. Pu Qingquan recalled Pan Lanzhen: "This female worker is only in her twenties. She is seven-point talent and three-point dress. She looks very modern. When they walk together, people will think they are father and daughter. We are very surprised. Marrying an old man, I am even more amazed at Chen Lieyan's skill." Chen Duxiu never told Pan Lanzhen his true identity, he lied that his surname was Li, he was from Nanjing, and he was divorced from his wife.Pan Lanzhen is honest and honest, and has no doubts.She respects Chen Duxiu very much and often calls him "Mr. Li".She never asked about Chen Duxiu's whereabouts, and took care of Chen's diet and daily life wholeheartedly.Chen has almost no income, and Pan Lanzhen doesn't care about it, and makes ends meet with her meager salary. One day, the two had a quarrel, and Pan Lanzhen, who was full of grievances, went back to her parents' home in Pudong in anger.During this period, Chen Duxiu was arrested, which became a big news in the society for a while, and Pan Lanzhen and her natal family also talked about it all day long.She even said: "Chen Duxiu is too proud, this time he will inevitably be beheaded!" On this day, Pan Lanzhen's father bought a newspaper from the street, which contained the news that Chen Duxiu had been taken to Nanjing for trial.When Pan Lanzhen saw the photo, she was stunned: "It turns out that Chen Duxiu is my husband!" After Chen Duxiu was arrested, he entrusted his old friend Gao Yuhan to solve Pan Lanzhen's matter. He decided to break up with Pan Lanzhen so that Pan could live a stable life.Afterwards, Chen Duxiu wrote to Gao Yuhan again, asking him to "persuade her not to come to see me politely".But Pan Lanzhen resolutely gave up her job and left her foster daughter with her natal family to find her husband in Nanjing.She also went to see Chen Duxiu at the military justice department where Chen Duxiu was detained. At first she claimed to be Chen's daughter. People in the prison said that I had seen Chen's daughter, but then lied that she was a student. The other party said that she had never seen you before, and finally had to Tell the truth. In the autumn of 1934, Pan Lanzhen officially moved to Nanjing.At first, she lived in Duan Xipeng's house.But because it was far away from the prison, in order to take better care of Chen Duxiu, she rented a dilapidated house near Tiger Bridge Prison, and took care of Chen Duxiu's life in the prison from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm every day.In his later years, Chen Duxiu lived in a miserable situation in Jiangjin Mountain Village, Sichuan, and he often had no rice to cook.But Pan Lanzhen has no complaints and is considerate.Really unable to get rid of the pot, Pan Lanzhen sent a leather robe from Chen Duxiu to the city and sent it to a pawn shop.Pan Lanzhen also reclaimed a piece of land beside the yard where she lived, and planted all kinds of seasonal vegetables to solve the problem of not having money to buy vegetables.Seeing that Pan was so tired, Chen also went to help a little, but Pan didn't want Chen Duxiu to do anything. Many years later, Chen Songnian, Chen Duxiu's third son, recalled affectionately: "She (referring to Pan Lanzhen) treated my father very well, and he relied on her in his later years. She usually speaks little and works diligently and neatly. We respect her very much and respect her as our mother. , My children call her grandma. She and her father will be with her for life." Chen Duxiu's last words to his wife Pan Lanzhen were: "My wife, Lanzhen, I hope that everything will be independent in the future, and I will strive to be independent in life..." After Chen's death, Pan Zun ordered that in addition to using the money transferred from the Peking University Alumni Association to hold Chen's funeral Fang's gift is generally declined.Then, she entered the farm run by Chen's friends Zhu Yunshan and Guangmingfu near Chongqing to support herself.Soon, she married a junior military officer of the Kuomintang, but her husband died of illness not long after.After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, she returned to Shanghai and found a job as a cook in a small school in Pudong. In November 1949, she suffered from uterine cancer and died in Shanghai Hospital at the age of 41.