Chapter 161 marriage

Cai Yuanpei had three marriages in his life.Cai Yuanpei's first marriage can be said to be an old-fashioned marriage that was ordered by his parents (strictly speaking, by his mother) and at the words of a matchmaker.His first wife, Wang Zhao, was chosen for him by his mother, and Cai Yuanpei never even met Wang Zhao before the wedding. In 1889, Cai Yuanpei married Wang Zhao.Wang Zhao was obsessed with cleanliness and was extremely frugal in spending money, but Cai Yuanpei was bold and unconstrained by nature, and he was even more machismo. He often asked Wang Zhao to obey him unconditionally in everything, and the two often had quarrels after they got married.In the first few years, Cai Yuanpei seemed to have difficulty accepting his wife, let alone loving her. The contract of marriage only obliged him to stay with his wife as a so-called husband.In this way, seven years passed in a flash, until Wang Zhao gave birth to two sons for him, and they slowly found the feeling of married life.Wang Zhao is a woman in the old society. In front of Cai Yuanpei, she always modestly calls him "Master".For this reason, Cai Yuanpei, who participated in the Hundred Days Restoration, also scolded her: "Don't call me 'Master' or 'Slave' anymore, how awkward does that sound?" Wang Zhao always said meekly : "Well, I'm used to being called slaves, and I can't change it." In 1900, Cai Yuanpei, who accepted new Western ideas, began to rethink the definition of women's rights. He wrote the "Marriage Convention" and readjusted his relationship with his wife Wang Zhao The couple who have been married for more than ten years gradually understand each other and repair the emotional rift.Cai Yuanpei and Wang Zhao maintained a happy marriage. Cai Yuanpei also told his friends: "The love of husband and wife is as good as the new marriage."

On November 13, 1894, the eldest son Agen was born.During Mrs. Wang Zhao's confinement period, Cai Yuanpei stayed at home in Shaoxing to take good care of her.After the full moon, Cai Yuanpei returned to Beijing.Three months later, Mrs. Wang Zhao and her son arrived in Tianjin by boat for five days, and Cai Yuanpei rushed to Tianjin to meet her.When Mrs. Wang Zhao first arrived in Beijing, she was temporarily dissatisfied with the freezing northern climate, and Agen was weak and sometimes felt unwell.Fortunately, Cai Yuanpei hired a considerate maid to take care of the housework for his wife and son. Cai Yuanpei sometimes accompanied A Gen to the hospital in his spare time. On March 30, 1898, the second son Wuji was born in Shengjiang Hutong, Beijing, adding joy to the family.

After the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War, Cai Yuanpei witnessed the corruption and incompetence of the Qing government, and the failure of Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao's reforms, so he resolutely resigned from his post and returned to Shaoxing with his family to take the road of "saving the country through education".However, for some reason, Mrs. Wang Zhao often had a low-grade fever after returning to her hometown for more than half a year. She fell asleep every day after lunch, was thirsty, and vomited after drinking water.One day, when Cai Yuanpei was in the guild hall and private school of Jiaxing, Zhejiang, he received a message from Mrs. Wang Zhao that he was seriously ill.After decocting the medicine, Mrs. Wang Zhao could only drink two or three mouthfuls of the medicine soup. She vomited after drinking too much and was still lethargic all day long. On June 5, 1900, Cai Yuanpei sent his third younger brother to invite a doctor, and he kept checking on Mrs. Wang Zhao from time to time to see if Mrs. Wang Zhao was awake.In the evening, before the doctor was invited, Cai Yuanpei called Wuji's nanny into the room to ask Mrs. Wang if she would drink boiled water?After the nurse entered the room, she responded with a call, stretched out her hand until her nose was breathless, and exclaimed: "It's not good! It's not good!" Cai Yuanpei hurried to the bedside, stroking his pulse, which was pulsating slightly.When the doctor arrived, the pulse also stopped, and there was no way to recover.

Mrs. Wang Zhao died of illness at the age of 35.Cai Yuanpei endured his grief and wrote a sacrificial rite and elegiac couplet for Mrs. Wang Zhao. He mourned deeply and praised her for her "superhuman knowledge and straightforward spirit", praised her for being indifferent to fame and wealth, and fulfilled the responsibilities of a wife and mother. Point Hanlin to be happy, not to complain about her husband resigning from office and returning to his hometown.Mrs. Wang Zhao once asked: "Where should the ghost live after death?" Cai Yuanpei wrote in the elegiac couplet: "There are two sons, and the real soul lives in them."

When Wang Zhao passed away, Cai Yuanpei had just turned 33 years old, and he was already well-known in the intellectual circles in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. People who came to his home to propose marriage broke the threshold.Facing the crowd of matchmakers, Cai Yuanpei rubbed thick ink and laid plain paper, wrote a marriage proposal and pasted it on the wall of his study.He proposed five conditions: first, women who do not bind their feet; second, literate; third, men are not allowed to marry concubines or concubines; fourth, if the husband dies first, the wife can remarry; fifth, disagreement Divorce is possible.When the news spread, the matchmakers immediately retreated one by one.

Maybe it was a fate of marriage. When Cai Yuanpei was running a school in Hangzhou, one day he saw a meticulous painting at a friend's house, with beautiful lines and excellent inscriptions.As soon as he inquired, the author was Huang Shizhen, also known as Zhongyu, the daughter of Huang Erxuan, a well-known Jiangxi scholar.Huang Zhongyu was born in a scholarly family. Not only did he not have feet bound, but he was also literate, proficient in calligraphy and painting, and respected his parents. This fully met Cai Yuanpei's criteria for choosing a spouse, so he asked friends to match him up. On New Year's Day in 1902, Cai Yuanpei held his second wedding in Hangzhou.East meets West in this wedding.Cai Yuanpei used red banners to embellish the word "Confucius" instead of the tradition of hanging three-star scrolls, and guests and friends held speeches instead of bridal chambers.The content of the speeches was to comment on the views on equality between men and women: some quoted scriptures and history to explain the theory of equality between men and women; Mr. Huang should treat Mrs. Huang as a teacher; on the contrary, if Mrs. Huang's learning and conduct are not as good as Mr. Cai, Mr. Cai should treat her as a disciple. How can we be equal?" So Cai Yuanpei compromised the two ends and said: "Just learn to do what you say. Of course there are distinctions; as far as the motto is concerned, they are always equal." Everyone applauded and agreed, and finally broke up happily.

In 1907, Cai Yuanpei, who was almost in his forties, began to study abroad for 4 years.In the 4th year of his stay in Germany, he edited "History of Chinese Ethics". Cai Yuanpei transformed from a machismo thought into a fighter seeking equal rights for women. His second wife, Huang Zhongyu, played a significant role in this.Professor Lamplessi of the University of Leipzig is an innovator in the field of historiography and has many students in the Institute of History of Civilization and World History he founded.Cai Yuanpei looked forward to Lan Plessi very much, and also praised Lan's history-telling, which paid the most attention to fine arts, especially plastic arts, such as sculptures and pictures.Mrs. Cai Yuanpei and Mrs. Huang Zhongyu visited Professor Lamplaixi together, presenting two cloisonné teacups, and Mrs. Huang presented a picture of "Three Friends of the Cold Season" drawn by herself, in which the "three friends" of pine, bamboo and plum are meticulously meticulous , The layout is novel and unique.Lan Shi was very excited when he saw this painting, and he was full of praise.

In September 1920, the Ministry of Education approved Cai Yuanpei to go to Europe and the United States to investigate education and academic research, and Jiang Menglin acted as the principal.At this time, Mrs. Huang Zhongyu's abdomen was often distended and painful. After the doctor's diagnosis and treatment, the time was good and jet lag.Cai Yuanpei was very worried about Mrs. Huang's physical condition when he considered that it would take more than half a year to go to Europe and America for inspection.Huang Zhongyu asked a doctor for diagnosis and treatment, packed his luggage, and urged Cai Yuanpei to make the trip as scheduled. On November 24, 1920, Cai Yuanpei led a Beijing education group to France from Wusongkou, Shanghai, on the French ship Galtier.On the fifth day, Cai Yuanpei sent a telegram to Jiang Menglin during the boat trip, asked about his wife's condition, and called back to inform Xiaoyu. Cai Yuanpei thought it was a word of comfort and was always worried.The ship sailed for more than 30 days and arrived in France on December 27.Cai Yuanpei called Li Shizeng to inquire about his wife's condition.Long time no return. From Paris to Geneva on January 9, 1921, I received a telegram from Jiang Menglin at the hotel, and learned that his wife Huang Zhongyu had died of illness on the 2nd of that month at the age of 45.

With great grief, Cai Yuanpei wrote an article "Sacrifice to His Dead Wife Huang Zhongyu", praising Mrs. Huang as "good at calligraphy, painting, and a genius of art", "filial to relatives, friendly to younger siblings, kind to children", "always conscientious and thrifty, To raise my integrity, to correct the habits of my children"; "Love me with virtue, in every possible way".At the same time, Cai Yuanpei promised Mrs. Huang Zhongyu to comfort Mrs. Huang Zhongyu: "Your beloved, William also. Bai Ling also... After I return to China, I will raise myself so that I can be fully educated, be a valuable person in the world, and contribute to the world. The world, I think it is a memory of your mother's teaching." "Mourning for the Dead Wife Huang Zhongyu" is full of blood and tears, full of sincerity, and was later included in middle school textbooks, becoming a model of lyrical prose.Peking University and other schools and groups held a grand "Mrs. Cai Huang Zhongyu Memorial Service".Cai Yuanpei was unable to return to China to participate, so he suppressed his grief and continued to complete the 9-month inspection mission.

When Cai Yuanpei was 54 years old, he, who was the president of Peking University at the time, decided to remarry. He once again put forward his own conditions: first, have a considerable cultural quality;On July 10, 1923, Cai Yuanpei and Ms. Zhou Jun (Yang Hao) held a wedding ceremony in Suzhou Lingering Garden, with the introduction of his close friend Mr. Xu Zhongke and his wife He Mojun.Zhou Jun was a student of the patriotic girls' school originally established by Mr. Cai Yuanpei in Shanghai. This student has always had a feeling of admiration and love for Mr. Cai Yuanpei. She was not married until she was 33 years old.At that time, there was a 24-year age difference between Cai Yuanpei and Zhou Jun.

The wedding was held in a simple, grand and warm manner in accordance with the folk customs of the Suzhou area.Cai Yuanpei, wearing a suit, gave an impromptu speech at the wedding, explaining the conditions for seeking marriage: 1. I am fifty-seven years old, and I am married for the third time. But the age must be over 30 years old; 2. I am familiar with German and a little French, but I have not learned English well, so I would like to marry a woman who is older than English; 3. I don’t believe in religion, so I don’t want to marry a religious person 4. I am fond of fine arts, and I would especially like to marry those who study fine arts; 5. I have resigned as the president of Peking University, and I will go to Belgium or Switzerland to continue my studies. Women who wish to study in Europe are welcome.Furthermore, I hope it is the original corresponding knower.Coincidentally, Ms. Zhou Jun (Yang Hao) was thirty-three years old, a former Shanghai Patriotic Girls School graduate, who had changed her name to Zhou Nuqing, had anti-Qing revolutionary ideas, had studied English for many years, was a non-religious person, and also loved art, oil paintings Have a considerable level, aspiring to study abroad.Mr. Xu Zhongke, the introducer, believed that Zhou Jun was a "lady who possessed talent, learning and knowledge". The wedding this time was completely modern and civilized. At that time, Cai Yuanpei went to the hotel where Zhou Jun was staying to meet Zhou Jun, and then the two went to Suzhou Lingering Garden to take wedding photos together.At that time, Cai Yuanpei was wearing a suit and leather shoes, and Zhou Jun was wearing a white wedding dress.Mrs. Cai Yuanpei and his wife were newly married for less than half a month. On July 20th, they took their second son Wuji, eldest daughter William, third son Bai Ling, nephews Huang Jiting and Huang Jixing to Europe on the ship Bochus at Shanghai Huangpu Wharf.Therefore, Cai Yuanpei and Mrs. Zhou Jun spent their honeymoon on a cruise ship to Europe, just as Cai Yuanpei wrote in his congratulatory poem for Mrs. Zhou's 46th birthday: "So during the honeymoon, I listened to the sound of the waves at sea", which is very interesting.During this period, authorized by the Beiyang government, Cai Yuanpei and his wife lobbied England to urge Britain to withdraw from the "Gength Fund", which was fruitful. Both Cai Yuanpei and Mrs. Zhou like to recite poems, and they often combine sentences and sing harmony. On birthdays, they will give each other congratulatory poems to express their love.Such as congratulating Mrs. Zhou Yanghao on her 50th birthday with a poem of Qilu: "Sixteen years have been dependent on each other, hard work and love of learning are still there, island dwellings hate the lack of books, and spring is a joy to see flowers and birds. Children and daughters are happy with craftsmanship, relatives and friends talk about the old heart, A bottle of Jieshou mountain yin wine, thousands of valleys and thousands of rocks are in front of you." His wife, Zhou Yanghao, is good at oil painting, and once painted Mr. Cai's whole body, which is so lifelike that it is indeed a stroke of genius.Cai Yuanpei liked it very much, and wrote a poem for it: "I move with each other every moment, and I follow others to portray different subjects. But Qing is the first to know me, and the traces of my heart will never be worn away." Mrs. Zhou also wrote and wrote, among them The sentence "The boss of Tianhuangdi doesn't grind" expresses his wish.