Kang Youwei, who was in his sixties, married Zhang Acui, a young girl in her prime, as his sixth concubine (some say seventh concubine), and became the talk of the town's teahouses and restaurants in Hangzhou. In May of that year, the wedding was held at the Kang Mansion on Yuyuan Road in Shanghai, and dignitaries, celebrities and tycoons came to congratulate them.
A person will not be reborn as another creature just because he is labeled with the word "history". He may have shone for a while, but don't expect him to become the sun.
In the summer of 1916, after Yuan Shikai's death, Zhejiang Governor Lu Gongwang and Police Chief Xia Chao invited Kang Youwei to spend the summer in the West Lake and live in Liuzhuang. He brought his daughter Kang Tongbi and his son-in-law with him. It was this summer that gave him the idea of ??building a cozy home in Hangzhou. With the help of local dignitaries and warlords, Kang Youwei bought more than 30 acres of land in the Dingjiashan area of ??West Lake in 1917. It took four years and 40,000 to 50,000 taels of silver to build a garden in 1921. Hangzhou people used to call it Kangzhuang. Just beside the West Lake. He liked it very much and lived here almost every spring and autumn. He also prepared a boat of his own and often went boating on the West Lake in his free time, talking about poetry and essays, and enjoying the beautiful scenery of the lake, mountains and the world.
One day in the late spring of 1919, he saw a beautiful boat girl near Qixialing. She had a healthy and youthful beauty, and he wanted to take her as his own. He found out that the girl's surname was Zhang and her nickname was Atui. She was only 19 years old, had no husband-in-law, and her father died young. He asked someone to talk to him, but he couldn't do it once. He asked someone to talk to him again. With perseverance, generous gifts and promises, Zhang Atui's mother was finally moved. She put forward a condition: if she wanted to marry Atui, she must arrange it. Her two brothers went to the Kang family as errands. In this way, Kang Youwei's marriage between old and young was completed in his later years. It is said that Kang Youwei gave Atui a nickname, Zhang Guang, with the courtesy name Mingyi. I am afraid that such elegant writing is not something that a boatman can afford.
Kang Youwei, who was in his sixties, married Zhang Acui, a young girl in her prime, as his sixth concubine (some say seventh concubine), and became the talk of the town's teahouses and restaurants in Hangzhou. In May of that year, the wedding was held at the Kang Mansion on Yuyuan Road in Shanghai. dignitaries, celebrities and tycoons came to congratulate one after another. Shanghai caused a sensation and was reported by many newspapers.
It is said that A Cui, who was named Zhang Guang, and Kang Youwei, as the other wives and concubines called him, were all ministers. What he never forgot was the Qing court's favor to him and the flower feathers he wore on his head, so he actively participated in Zhang Xun's work. Restoration, and the newly born Republic of China, all walks of life thought of his contribution to promoting the reform and reform to the nation, and gave him enough tolerance.
In his later years, Kang Youwei's favorite was the illiterate At Cui. Not only did he ask a tutor to teach her how to read and write, the first-class calligrapher also taught her to write in person. Every time he was drunk and wanted to write, Atui was always by his side.
In 1927, 70-year-old Kang Youwei died in Qingdao, and Kangzhuang in Hangzhou gradually declined. Young Zhang Acui became a widow, and her finances gradually became tight. Since then, a large number of Kang Youwei's handwritings have appeared on stalls at various scenic spots in West Lake, including couplets, nave and horizontal drapes, and banners, with couplets priced at 50 yuan. According to the stall owner, not long before Kang Youwei died, considering A Cui's life after death, he closed the door and wrote 2,000 pieces of calligraphy for her, saying: I have no money to support you in your old age. These 2,000 pieces are disguised pure gold, which will be enough for you to use for a lifetime. .
As time passed, Kang Youwei's original paintings continued to be produced by the West Lake. Some people suspected that a manufacturer specializing in Kang Youwei's original paintings was secretly supplying them. By the mid-1930s, the price of a couplet had dropped to 5 yuan. It turns out that these so-called authentic calligraphy were written by the nephew of Xu Qin, a disciple of Kang Wanmu Thatched Cottage. In his later years, Kang Youwei was often around him, studying ink, laying paper and sealing, and practiced calligraphy diligently. He could imitate Kang Youwei and it was almost as if he were authentic. The so-called calligraphy works sold at West Lake stalls Most of Kang's authentic works are his handwriting, only the seal is authentic.
This Xu and his wife reached a gentleman's agreement. He would write, Atui would seal it, and the proceeds from selling the letters would be divided equally between them. A Cui was reluctant to sell Kang Youwei's authentic works. Whenever she thought of her dead husband, she would open the box and take a look at the authentic works left behind. It is said that the reason for A Cui's death in 1945 was that this secret was discovered and the box of Kang Youwei's authentic works was stolen. A Cui was so worried that she eventually passed away. ("Shiwen Expo")