Chapter 2 2. The ups and downs of Xiong Xiling, a talented Phoenix scholar

One side of the landscape supports one side of people. Hunan women have been affectionate since ancient times, and Hunan is also famous for producing talented scholars.However, the emergence of talented scholars in Hunan is generally a phenomenon in modern times, and this is mainly related to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement. After the Taiping Army rebelled in 1851, the world was corrupted. Fortunately, Zeng Guofan came out of Hunan. First. It was under such a background that Hunan talented Xiong Xiling stepped onto the political stage in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China.Xiong Xiling's hometown is in Phoenix City in western Hunan. Mr. Shen Congwen described in his novel: the ancient city tower is surrounded by mountains and rivers, and the crystal-clear Tuojiang River passes through the city. wooden bridge.The good news is that Xiong Xiling and Shen Congwen walked out of the wooden bridge, two talented people and authentic fellow villagers.

To say that Fenghuang City is old, it is actually not that old, because it is located in the west of Hunan, and the folk customs have always been simple and wild, and the education is not very developed. After the "return to the flow" policy, a military preparation road was established here to deter the chieftain forces.Today's Phoenix City Tower was probably built during this period, originally out of military considerations.After decades of indoctrination, the place was changed to Phoenix Hall, but it still retains some military characteristics, such as military households, and Xiong Xiling was born in such a family.

When Xiong Xiling's father, Xiong Zhaoxiang, joined the army, it was when Zeng Guofan led the children of the Hunan Army to fight everywhere.The generals of the Hunan Army are different from ordinary warriors. Most of them were born as scholars.Xiong Xiling's father admires Zeng Guofan very much, but he is a martial artist himself. It seems impossible to become a figure like Zeng Guofan and Zuo Zongtang. Therefore, his wish is pinned on his eldest son Xiong Xiling, hoping that he can become a success in education since childhood. , In the future, he will become an official through the imperial examination, and he will shine in the court.

Under his father's earnest expectations, Xiong Xiling is indeed very upbeat.At a very young age, Xiong Xiling showed a disposition different from ordinary children. It is said that when he was enlightened at the age of six, he could not forget what the teacher taught him, and he could memorize it fluently in just three or four days. He is a "child prodigy" The reputation spread like wildfire.With such an advanced memory and a bright mind, Xiong Xiling was selected as a scholar at the age of 14. This is very rare for the Xiong family who have been in the army for generations. Even in Xiangxi, where the savage wind was still unabated at that time, it was rare.

Yuanzhou, where the Phoenix Hall belongs, has had a weak academic atmosphere for decades, and has always been on the list in the provincial or general examinations, and the villagers are ashamed of it.Fortunately, Zhu Qiyi, the prefect of Yuanzhou, attached great importance to education. He founded the Yuanshui school scripture hall and personally guided it. Xiong Xiling was called into it.The teaching in the scripture hall of Yuanshui School is not limited to scientific examinations, but also covers everything from classics and history, poems, land, agricultural administration, river canals, military strategy, etc.Here, Xiong Xiling's vision was broadened, his studies improved by leaps and bounds, and he ranked 19th in the high school in the rural examination at the age of 21. The examiner's comment to him was: "Bian Chu is barren, unprecedented, and the talent is high, but Sanxiang A man of promise." As a result, Xiong Xiling, who was only a weak crown, became famous in one fell swoop and was well-known in Sanxiang.

The following year, Xiong Xiling went to Beijing to take part in the imperial examination and passed it successfully. However, just as he was expecting to pass the imperial examination, he was sent back to practice because his calligraphy did not meet the requirements of the imperial examination. One said that the examiners were jealous of his youthful talents, and picked on the ink stains on his examination papers).It was not until 1894 that the 25-year-old Xiong Xiling made a comeback. He was a second-class Jinshi in high school and was handpicked as a scholar of the Imperial Academy.This time, a "Phoenix Bear" really flew out of Xiangxi. As the name suggests, it is famous all over the world.

People are refreshed on happy events, and good things come in pairs, one after another.Xiong Xiling, who was named on the gold list, returned to her hometown to get married. The bride was none other than Zhu Qihui, the half-sister of Zhu Qiyi, the prefect of Yuanzhou.Don't get me wrong, this is not an arranged marriage. When it comes to the acquaintance of Xiong Xiling and Zhu Qihui, it is quite charming.It is said that Zhu Qiyi once intentionally asked his younger sister Zhu Qihui to choose a gifted scholar in the academy to marry him, so Zhu Qihui came to a bibliography to recruit relatives. All students answered correctly.In the end, Xiong Xiling won Zhu Qihui's heart by "cutting a pool of water to see the fullness of the world". The two hit it off and became attached.After getting married, his wife Zhu Qihui was indeed very virtuous, which was of great benefit to Xiong Xiling's career in his life.

In terms of his personal imperial examination achievements, Xiong Xiling is certainly proud of his success and is destined to have a good future, but the year he became a Jinshi was unfortunately the time of his disastrous defeat in the Sino-Japanese War.The small oriental Japan, which has always been despised by the Chinese, defeated the great old Chinese empire in one fell swoop. This undoubtedly dropped an atomic bomb among scholars like Xiong Xiling, which made them feel extremely shocked and burst into incomparable anger.After learning that the Qing court was about to sign the "Treaty of Shimonoseki" with Japan, which was humiliating and humiliating, Xiong Xiling, even though he was a new official with a low profile, still wrote to oppose the peace treaty many times. Resigned from Beijing and returned to his hometown in Hunan.

In the face of the tragic failure, Xiong Xiling was not the only one who fell into confusion and contemplation.At the same time, the Chinese-style Kang Youwei and his disciple Liang Qichao were all clamoring for reform and self-improvement. At that time, there were such a group of people in Hunan who also embarked on the same path. In 1895, Chen Baozhen, a well-known Qing school official, was appointed governor of Hunan. Jiang Biao, an editor of the Imperial Academy who had studied foreign affairs in Tongwenguan, presided over Hunan's academic politics, and Huang Zunxian, who had served as a counselor in embassies abroad, served as Hunan's inspector. Under the leadership of the new officials, the atmosphere in Hunan has become one of the new ones.

After leaving Beijing, Xiong Xiling was initially recruited by Zhang Zhidong to join the Lianghu Camp Office. After the Hunan New Deal began, Xiong Xiling resigned from the post of the Camp Office General Office in order to serve his hometown, and devoted himself wholeheartedly to Hunan’s reform movement. .At that time, Changsha had already gathered a group of reformers, including Tan Sitong, Tang Caichang, and even Liang Qichao, a famous disciple of Kang Youwei and a famous figure in the public opinion circle at that time, also joined the local current affairs school, and the prime minister of the current affairs school was Xiong Xiling.

During this period of time, Xiong Xiling has been tirelessly busy. Apart from taking care of the current affairs school and Nanxue Academy, he has put more energy on "Xiang Bao". "Xiang Bao" is the first newspaper founded in Hunan. In Xiong Xiling's eyes, this is the best weapon to open up people's wisdom.To this end, Xiong Xiling ran up and down, planning in every possible way, from ordering machines and printing movable type, to formulating regulations, and inviting collections to write articles, all of which he devoted his painstaking efforts to. In late November 1897, the printing machine that Xiong Xiling ordered in Shanghai through Wang Kangnian was finally transported back to Changsha, and the main contributors were preliminarily selected: Tang Caichang was the chief writer, Li Weige was the Western translator, Liang Qichao, Tan Sitong, He Lai Bao, Dai Decheng, Fan Zhui and others also agreed to write articles for "Xiang Bao".In addition, officials, gentry and celebrities in Hunan, such as Chen Baozhen, Huang Zunxian, Pi Xirui, etc., and even some current affairs school students also published articles in "Xiang Bao", which shows Xiong Xiling's unremitting efforts and appeal. As Hunan's first newspaper, "Xiang Bao" was finally officially launched on March 7, 1898, and thus became the main public opinion position of Hunan reformers.At the beginning of its publication, "Xiang Bao" successively published articles such as Fan Zhui's "Fa Gu Pian", "Open Sincere Piece" and Yi Nai's "China Should Turn Weakness into Strength", in which it directly proposed that "only Western is imitated", "All systems follow Western", no doubt, this is the harbinger of advocating "total Westernization". The public opinion momentum of the "Xiang Bao" caused great panic among the conservatives. They wrote letters to the governor of Huguang, Zhang Zhidong, and the governor of Hunan, Chen Baozhen, and other high-ranking officials, attacking Xiong Xiling and others for "changing summer with barbarians" and "shaking the foundation of the country." , committed the crime of beheading.Chen Baozhen, who originally supported the reform, couldn't help but turn pale with shock after reading these articles. He immediately told Xiong Xiling to withdraw his correction.Because Xiong Xiling refused to do so, Chen Baozhen stopped publishing the 200 taels of silver allocated to "Xiang Bao" every month, which made it fall into the predicament of insufficient funds.The source of income was cut off, so Xiong Xiling had no choice but to leave the "Xiang Bao". One month later, the "1898 Coup" broke out, Emperor Guangxu was placed under house arrest by the Empress Dowager Cixi, and reformers Tan Sitong and others were bloody on the streets.As a prominent figure in the Hunan New Deal, Xiong Xiling will inevitably be held accountable. Fortunately, during this period of time, he suffered from dysentery due to careless diet, and he just returned to his hometown to recuperate for a period of time. Otherwise, with his personality, he could not handle it well. Just hit the muzzle.However, capital crimes can be avoided, but living crimes cannot be escaped. Yu Shi Huang Guijun immediately participated in his book as a "Kangliang party member", and Xiong Xiling was finally punished by "dismissed from office and never released, and handed over to local officials for strict control".Xiong Xiling felt very fortunate about this result, as he later said to others, "Xiang Fei has a disease, and he should live the same fate as the six gentlemen to become the seven sages!" After encountering this setback, Xiong Xiling disappeared to Hengyang, Yuanzhou and other places to study behind closed doors, and behaved with his tail between his legs.A few years later, those stubborn old-fashioned factions fell apart due to catastrophe in the Year of Gengzi. In order to restore the hearts of the people, the Empress Dowager Cixi had to take over the banner of the reformist faction to carry out the New Deal, and Xiong Xiling was also liberated invisibly. In 1902, Zhu Qiyi, the teacher commander and uncle of Lang, came to take charge of Changde Mansion, and then he asked Xiong Xiling to go out to run the West Road Normal School, which was "the best in the province", which attracted the attention of Hunan Governor Zhao Erxun.Zhao Erxun appreciated Xiong Xiling's talent very much. He appealed to the court at the end of 1903, imploring Xiong Xiling to be "exempted from strict control", and solved Xiong Xiling's political problems in one fell swoop.Soon, Zhao Erxun was promoted to Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, and Duanfang, who succeeded Hunan governor, reassigned Xiong Xiling to manage the industry, which made Hunan's silk and porcelain manufacturing industries lead the country for a time, with remarkable achievements. In 1905, Zhao Erxun was appointed General of Shengjing. The first thing he did before he took office was to transfer Xiong Xiling to the court; at this time, the Qing government organized a constitutional government investigation team to go to Europe and the United States to investigate constitutional government. Duanfang was also listed among the five ministers, and he also asked Xiong Xiling to be the accompanying counselor of the delegation.Now, Xiong Xiling has become the sweet pastry that everyone is vying for, and he can't separate two people. In the end, because the investigation of the constitutional government is a big matter, Zhao Erxun had to give up, but he put forward a condition, that is, Xiong Xiling must be in a foreign country. At the same time, inspect the industry and reuse it after returning to China. At the end of that year, Xiong Xiling accompanied Duan Fang and others to study abroad, visiting Japan, the United States, Britain, France, Germany and other countries.During this trip, Xiong Xiling had the most arduous task, because not only did he have to inspect the constitutional and industrial conditions of various countries, but he was also in charge of the entire inspection team's arrangements, memorials, and even the final inspection report. In order to complete this important task, Xiong Xiling returned to China before the delegation after inspecting Germany to complete the inspection report handed over to the imperial court.It is said that Xiong Xiling approached Yang Du and Liang Qichao who were in Japan at the time before going abroad, and asked them to help complete this constitutional report. The three of Xiong Xiling worked together, especially the theory and planning of constitutionalism, thanks to the assistance of Yang Du and Liang Qichao. After returning to China, Zhao Erxun immediately transferred Xiong Xiling to Fengtian, and appointed him as the director of Fengtian Agriculture, Industry and Commerce Bureau, and took on the important task of developing industries in the three eastern provinces.The following year, Zhao Erxun was transferred to the governor of Sichuan. Xiong Xiling decided not to follow Zhao Erxun into Sichuan because he had settled down in Shanghai.After the news came out, Governor of Jiangsu Chen Qitai (also a fellow from Hunan), Duan Fang, Governor of Liangjiang, and Minister Zaize of Du Branch (one of the five ministers who went abroad for inspection) invited Xiong Xiling one after another. This was very popular in the official circles of the late Qing Dynasty at that time , was a smash hit. Being able to win the favor of many senior officials, Xiong Xiling's talent is really not something to boast about, he does have some ability.In the following years, Xiong Xiling successively served as the general office of the Agriculture, Industry and Commerce Bureau of the three northeastern provinces, the supervisory officer of the cleanup and finance of the three northeastern provinces, the director of mint, and the Fengtian Salt Transport Envoy. Due to his outstanding performance, he naturally rose step by step. , Xiong Xiling has been promoted to a second-rank official, and became one of the few currency experts and financial experts at that time.It is a pity that just when Xiong Xiling was about to make great achievements, the Qing Dynasty had already collapsed. At the beginning of the Republic of China, Xiong Xiling once joined Tang Shaoyi's cabinet as the chief financial officer. Later, Tang Shaoyi fell out with Yuan Shikai and left with the crown. Xiong Xiling had to resign together. After the "Second Revolution", Yuan Shikai nominated Xiong Xiling to form a cabinet. Xiong Xiling also believed that this was a good opportunity to display his life ambitions, so he readily accepted. As everyone knows, Yuan Shikai used him to form a cabinet for another purpose, that is, although the revolutionary party in the south was suppressed, the Kuomintang (this is the Kuomintang formed by Song Jiaoren in the early years of the Republic of China, not the Kuomintang reorganized by Sun Yat-sen in 1920) ) is still the largest party in the Congress, which makes Yuan Shikai very headache.Fortunately, Xiong Xiling also organized a progressive party with celebrities such as Liang Qichao, Zhang Jian, and Wang Daxie, which could barely compete with the Kuomintang. Therefore, Yuan Shikai decided to let Xiong Xiling come forward to try to bring the Kuomintang down. Xiong Xiling didn't know what to do, thinking that Yuan Shikai wanted to reuse him, and then happily formed his own cabinet. Among them, Xiong Xiling himself was the Prime Minister, Sun Baoqi was the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Zhu Qiqian was the Chief of Internal Affairs, Duan Qirui was the Chief of the Army, and Zhang Jian was the Chief of Industry and Commerce. , Zhou Ziqi was appointed as the Chief of Communications, Liang Qichao was appointed as the Chief of Justice, Wang Daxie was appointed as the Chief of Education, and Liu Guanxiong was appointed as the Chief of the Navy.Because the cabinet members are all celebrities from all walks of life and have a luxurious lineup, the Xiong cabinet is also known as the "celebrity cabinet" or "first-class" talent cabinet. However, Yuan Shikai did not let Xiong Xiling go to do big things. He did have a "big thing" in his hand to be handed over to Xiong Xiling. "Secession of the country" as an excuse to get Premier Xiong Xiling to sign and seal the order to dissolve the Kuomintang. After Xiong Xiling received this difficult task, she also felt a little bit sad.It is true that the Kuomintang and the Progressive Party are rivals, but after all, the two parties are fighting among political parties and civilizations under the law. If the Kuomintang is disbanded today, who can guarantee that the Progressive Party will not be disbanded tomorrow? Xiong Xiling refused to submit, Yuan Shikai had his own way.It turned out that when Xiong Xiling resigned as the previous chief financial officer, Yuan Shikai appointed him as the governor of Rehe to show his win over.Rehe was the summer resort of the former Qing emperors. After Xiong Xiling took office, he moved the government office into the Chengde Mountain Resort.However, working in this former emperor's palace, where there are too many treasures and have not been cleaned up, it is unavoidable to be suspected of being under the sun.It is said that once Yuan Shikai's confidant Jiang Guiti came to visit, Xiong Xiling secretly gave Jiang Guiti a folding fan of Emperor Qianlong as a personal gift to connect with each other.Unexpectedly, Jiang Guiti, a vulgar man who didn't know good from bad, actually gave this folding fan to President Yuan in order to flatter Yuan Shikai.Yuan Shikai was puzzled, and then sent someone to investigate secretly. It turned out that many treasures had been stolen from the Summer Resort, and Xiong Xiling made a note on Yuan Shikai's black account. Yuan Shikai did not openly coerce Xiong Xiling to sign the order to disband the Kuomintang, but instead sent people to secretly spread the word about the robbery case in the Jehol Palace in the newspapers, and put some pressure on Xiong Xiling first to get him to know each other.A few days later, Yuan Shikai summoned Xiong Xiling to the presidential palace to discuss matters, and asked his subordinates to show Xiong Xiling the files on the investigation and investigation of the treasure theft case in the Jehol Palace.Xiong Xiling was shocked when he saw it, so he had to obediently sign the order to disqualify the Kuomintang members and disband the Kuomintang.If this person is captured, it will be really difficult. With the KMT disbanded, the Congress cannot be opened because the remaining members of Congress cannot reach the quorum.Since the Congress cannot be convened, how can the country support the remaining congressmen in vain? Well, even the Congress was dissolved.It was too late for Xiong Xiling and the Progressive Party members to regret falling into this situation, but they had no power to fight back under Yuan Shikai's machinations.After dissolving the National Assembly, Yuan Shikai still had more to say, and ordered the dissolution of the local councils as well.At this time, Xiong Xiling couldn't bear it anymore, and he resigned after signing the order to dissolve the local council. Yuan Shikai saw that Xiong Xiling's task had basically been completed, so he approved it. It never occurred to Xiong Xiling that in less than half a year since he had been appointed as a chancellor, he would not have accomplished anything other than being a spearman for Lao Yuan.That's not counting, I'm still ruined, I really ruined my reputation, and I'm in a mess.After suffering such a serious setback, Xiong Xiling bid farewell to the political arena, never wading through this muddy water again. Although Xiong Xiling has given up his official career, the traditional scholars' concern for the country and the people has not diminished. In the autumn of 1917, a catastrophic flood occurred in Gyeonggi and Hebei. The flood flooded villages and swallowed fields, and the number of victims reached more than 6 million.Xiong Xiling couldn't bear it after witnessing the displacement, hunger and cold of the victims. He then went to Beijing to plead for the people and asked for proper resettlement of the victims.Unexpectedly, the cabinet members of the Beijing government discussed it and finally agreed that unless Xiong Xiling personally presided over the disaster relief, the problem of resettling the victims could be resolved.The fate of the country is difficult and the livelihood of the people is extremely difficult. Xiong Xiling, who is already in the opposition, has already determined not to be in politics, but under the torture of conscience and morality, he can only do his part and shoulder this heavy burden. After accepting the appointment of "supervising the aftermath of the flood and river work in the Gyeonggi area", Xiong Xiling sent people to investigate the disaster situation, and at the same time tried to get food from various places, and asked the government to release the disaster relief funds as soon as possible.However, the Beijing government at that time had no money, and the disaster relief fund they allocated was less than one-tenth of the budget. Fortunately, Xiong Xiling still had a certain appeal at the time. He united local gentry and non-governmental charities to jointly establish the "Gyeonggi Flood Disaster Fundraising Federation" to hold large-scale disaster relief for the victims.In order to mobilize more people to contribute to the disaster victims, Xiong Xiling not only took the lead in donating money, but also personally sewed the old clothes in his home into 100 sets of cotton clothes and donated them to the disaster victims. Thanks to the hard work of Xiong Xiling, this disaster relief activity achieved unprecedented success.According to the records in the newspaper at that time, all walks of life raised nearly 150,000 cotton-padded clothes and trousers, more than 80,000 sheets and underwear in more than 10 days, and donated more than 2 million yuan.In addition, Kailuan and Jingxing coal mines donated 3,400 tons of coal, which saved the victims from freezing.Later, Xiong Xiling took measures such as "relief with work" and protecting spring plowing, which finally helped more than 5 million victims of the disaster to tide over the difficulties. After the disaster, Xiong Xiling and his wife Zhu Qihui founded the Xiangshan Kindergarten to house the homeless children.At the opening ceremony, Xiong Xiling said emotionally: "Since I opened the flood and this sales home, I have come to know that the society of the poor is very poor. I have experienced everything in the world. I always feel pessimistic It goes without saying that politics is evil. As for business, I feel that managers don’t have conscience against shareholders, so I am also discouraged. As for society, I have done relief work for several years, and I feel that I really do things with conscience. There are few people, and even a few well-to-do gentlemen are not clean. I have built several roads for work relief in Beijing, about 300 miles long. One was jointly organized with foreign philanthropists, and it was repaired and handed over to the local officials. To take over. At that time, the newspapers in Tianjin suddenly said that I was selling out to outsiders. Do you think social affairs can still be done? So I was very pessimistic. I only narrowed down the scope and set up my nursery. These children are sincerely loving Me, treat me as their parents, I treat them as my children, and establish our big family. This is my lifelong wish!" In his later years, Xiong Xiling devoted himself to the Fragrant Hills Kindergarten.In 1931, after his original wife Zhu Qihui died of illness, Xiong Xiling generously donated all his family property (equivalent to nearly 280,000 yuan in the ocean, and more than 60,000 taels of silver) to social charity in memory of his deceased wife.This feat is undoubtedly the most colorful movement in Xiong Xiling's life. A few years later, Xiong Xiling once again became a popular news figure, but this time because of a new marriage.It turned out that after his wife Zhu Qihui died of illness, Xiong Xiling was distraught for a time. He grew a long beard and held a cane to show that he was single and never married.By chance, an enthusiastic person introduced Mao Yanwen, a well-known woman in the Republic of China (the bitter love object of the great talent Wu Mi), to Xiong Xiling, and the two had a good relationship. At the request of Ms. Mao, Xiong Xiling shaves and discards the stick, and becomes a groom again.Since the age gap between the two parties nearly doubled, the public opinion circles made it a joke for a while, and it was hyped up a lot.On the night of festivities and candles in Xiong Xiling's bridal chamber, many celebrities came to congratulate them, and they also left many congratulatory poem couplets, such as Shen Yinmo's congratulatory couplet: "Let's give up the fish and take the bear, the eldest lady understands Mencius; don't be picky, the old man respects you." Be a bridegroom." Liu Chengyu, a member of the old alliance, also wrote a doggerel to congratulate: "Girls should cherish the first flying pendant, Yan Wan's new word Lao Fengxiong, don't need your husband's beard and hair, and don't have a long mane to say Yuanfeng." The funniest thing is a friend who usually calls Mao Yanwen a sister and Xiong Xiling an uncle. Now that Xiong and Mao are married, they congratulated him by coincidence: "An old classmate becomes a new aunt, and an old uncle becomes a big brother-in-law." A newspaper even Just make fun of the ages of the two: "The old husband is six or six, the new wife is three or three, the old husband and new wife are ninety-nine; both white hair, beautiful women right, white hair and beautiful eyebrows." Apart from the great joy, Xiong Xiling also composed a song "Congratulations to the Bridegroom": "Looking back on the world's affairs, I feel that year after year, I have suffered from sorrows and illnesses, and I am sick and thin. I want to seek a new life, and I can only struggle spiritually. Gradually, the spring will return to wither. Together. Qiu Huang's music score is played with a new voice, dare to praise the cloud, Lao Lai Bei Guo, hidden plowing dustpan.We grow old together in education and career, and the young are the young of others.Not only that, the family is strong.Five hundred babies are diligently caring, and all the cradles are in need of loving mothers.A match made in heaven makes a good spouse. " At the end of 1937, Xiong Xiling and his wife died of a sudden cerebral hemorrhage due to overwork while passing through Hong Kong. The National Government at that time held a state funeral ceremony for him.When Xiong Xiling founded the "Xiangshan Kindergarten" in Xiangshan Jingyi Garden, he also built a private villa on the ruins of Songwu Yunzhuang next to it, named "Shuangqing Villa".On the eve of liberation, Mao Zedong stayed here when he moved from Xibaipo Village, Pingshan County, Hebei Province to Beiping.Mao Zedong commented on Xiong Xiling's life in this way: "A person who does good deeds for the people will never be forgotten by the people. Xiong Xiling has done many good deeds." It is not difficult for a person to do good deeds, but it is difficult to do good deeds for a lifetime. Xiong Xiling should be considered relatively close.