During the Republic of China, Xiong Xiling was famous. Xiong Xiling was born in July 1870, with the courtesy name Bingsan, the master of Mingzhi Pavilion, Shuangqing layman, and the Buddhist name Miaotong. Xiong Xiling was born with intelligence and was hailed as the "Hunan prodigy". He was a scholar at the age of fifteen, a scholar at the age of twenty-two, a Jinshi at the age of twenty-five, and later got a degree in the Imperial Academy. In 1913, he was elected as the first democratically elected prime minister of the Republic of China. Because he opposed Yuan Shikai's restoration of the monarchy, he was soon forced to resign. After he resigned from office, he devoted himself to charity and founded the Xiangshan Salesian Hospital.
Xiong Xiling married three wives in his life. He did not take any concubines and was devoted to each of his wives. His first wife, Liao Shi, his second wife, Zhu Qihui, and his third wife, Mao Yanwen.
The first wife, Liao, was from Zhenyuan, Guizhou. After marrying Xiong Xiling, the couple were very loving. However, Liao soon contracted lung disease, and treatment failed, and she died of the disease in 1895.
Zhu Qihui, Xiong Xiling's second wife, was the sister of Zhu Qiyi, the governor of Yuanzhou Prefecture. She was both talented and beautiful, and was known as the "talented girl of Baoshan" since she was a child. She came to the academy with her brother to study. Zhu Qihui is good at poetry and poetry, which is beyond the reach of ordinary people. Zhu Qihui was twenty-eight years old at that time. His elder brother Zhu Qihui saw that there were many good-looking young men among the boys, and he suddenly wanted to choose a good son-in-law for his sister. After getting my sister's consent, they decided to plan a joint search for a husband. The first couplet they wrote was: "Raise several plates of flowers to learn about the Spring and Autumn Period."
The marriage search couplet was posted on red paper, and the whole hospital The boy was shocked. Everyone was so happy that they racked their brains to get beautiful women, but none of them made Zhu Qihui smile. Xiong Xiling originally only wanted to study in order to become a successful person, but when he saw this, he felt that it was a loss of manly dignity, so he accidentally inserted a willow and wrote the second line: "Cut a pool of water to see the fullness and void of the sky and the earth."
When Zhu Taishou saw this, he slapped the table and exclaimed: "It's so rare to have such a genius." That night he called his sister to the study and asked her what she thought?
Zhu Qihui lowered his head in embarrassment and said: " This person is extremely talented and has a bright future. "
"So it seems that my younger sister agrees?"
"My younger sister, I am young and it is my brother who will make the final decision on marriage. "
Zhu Taishou then married his sister to Xiong Xiling.
Xiong Xiling was naturally very excited when he got this beauty, so he studied harder. He passed the imperial examination the following year, went to the capital to take the examination, and became a rare Jinshi in the late Qing Dynasty. Soon he became the official and prime minister.
Xiong Xiling and Zhu Qihui have a very good relationship, respect each other as guests, and have a very harmonious family life, which is passed down as a good story by the world. However, the beauty's life was poor. After Zhu Qihui gave birth to three children for Xiong Xiling, she fell ill and died of cerebral hemorrhage soon after. Xiong Xiling lost his beloved wife. He was so sad that he was in a trance all day long. In memory of his beloved wife, he grew a long beard and held a cane to clean himself and love himself. He lived as a widower for many years and never renewed his marriage. Focus on the Salesian cause.
Xiong Xiling’s third wife, Mao Yanwen, was born in Jiangshan County, Zhejiang in 1896. Mao Yanwen graduated from the Hangzhou Women’s Normal School. Because of her excellent academic performance and good looks, she was known as the "Beauty of the Female Normal School". In 1919, Mao Yanwen was admitted to the Foreign Languages ??Department of Beijing Women's Normal University. When he transferred to Nanjing Jinling Women's University, he happened to meet Xiong Xiling's daughter, Xiong Zhi, and studied in the same class with her, and they had a close relationship with them. Mao Yanwen is good at socializing and frequently participates in social activities, and serves as the interim chairman of the Zhejiang branch of the China Feminist Movement Alliance.
Mao Yanwen’s father once betrothed her to the Fang family, a Huizhou noodle industry tycoon, as his daughter-in-law. When they got married, Mao Yanwen resisted by running away from the marriage. Faced with a deadlock, the Mao family had no choice but to compensate the Fang family for all their losses. Afterwards, Mao Yanwen got engaged to his cousin Zhu Junyi. In 1923, Zhu Junyi returned from the United States with a doctorate degree and became a professor at Southeast University in Nanjing. He was very dissatisfied with Mao Yanwen's social interactions. At the same time, he was introduced to find a new love. The two parties reached an agreement: First, cousins ??were limited to blood relationships and were not suitable for marriage. From now on, we will treat each other as normal relatives and siblings. 2. Zhu will give Mao 4,000 yuan as compensation for mental damages, to be paid in five years. 3. The previous engagement contract shall be void with immediate effect.
After being stimulated by two marriage changes, Mao Yanwen re-adjusted himself, abandoned all worries, devoted himself to studying, and got admitted to the Department of Education at the University of Michigan in the United States.
After returning to China, Mao Yanwen visited the Xiong Mansion where a charity academy was being run many times. Mao Yanwen is also friends with Zhu Xi, the niece of Xiong Xiling's wife Zhu Qihui. When she went to Xiong's house, she was warmly received by Xiong Xiling. They talked about the current situation and poetry. Mao Yanwen admired Xiong Xiling very much. Mao Yanwen was not an ordinary person. She was talented, beautiful, and intelligent. She had studied in the United States and was a university professor. Wu Mi, a scholar from the Republic of China, pursued her passionately, but she refused. In August 1931, Xiong Xiling's second wife, Zhu Qihui, died of illness. Xiong Xiling was very sad. A few years later, he wanted to remarry, so he fell in love with Mao Yanwen, but Mao Yanwen rejected Xiong Xiling's proposal due to the difference in age and status.
Xiong Xiling did not give up pursuing Mao Yanwen. He wrote nearly a hundred love poems for Mao Yanwen to express his love. His relatives and friends also came to persuade Mao Yanwen many times. Mao Yanwen considered Xiong Xiling's talent and learning. With a heart of charity, she agreed to Xiong Xiling's proposal. He just made a request to the bear before the wedding, that he must shave his head and throw away his stick. Xiong Xiling agreed immediately.
In 1935, Mao Yanwen, a 38-year-old beautiful and talented woman from the Republic of China, married Xiong Xiling. At this time, Xiong Xiling was 66 years old. At this time, Xiong Xiling was very happy and blurted out a poem:
"Looking back at the world, I feel that every year has passed. I have suffered so much that I am looking for a new life. The only thing I can do is to change my mind. The mountains and rivers outside the building are so beautiful, and there are magic needles embroidering them together.
Qiu Feng's music score is played with a new voice, and I dare to cross the clouds and hide the plowing broom. I have grown up together in my education career, and I have been caring for my family for five hundred years. The cradle needs a loving mother, and God has everything in place to get a good match. "
On the wedding day, all the celebrities in Shanghai gathered together, and friends sent couplets: "In these rare years, we will play the song of a phoenix seeking a phoenix, and it will be completed in nine or nine months. Just three or three lines are full; exploring Zhu Qihui's wisdom and seeing Mao Yanwen's writing, both of them got their wish, but Liuliu was incompetent. "
Mao Yanwen's classmate Chen Zhaoyu and Xiong Xiling's family are family friends, and Chen Zhaoyu wants to call Xiong Xiling his uncle. . He wrote an interesting couplet. The first couplet is: "Old classmates become new aunts" and the second couplet is "Old uncle becomes elder brother-in-law".
When they got married, one was over sixty years old and the other had just passed the age of "not confused". When they first got married, Mao Yanwen was too embarrassed to call Xiong Xiling by his first name, so he called him "Grandpa" along with Xiong Xiling's grandson. Xiong Xiling was not happy. He asked Mao Xiwen to call him "Bingai", while he called Mao Yanwen "Yanai" . Mao Yanwen felt that calling him "Bing'ai" was too cheesy, so he called him "Bing", and Xiong Xiling's nickname was Bingsan.
After getting married, this old husband and young wife are extremely loving. They are husband and wife in love, and they are like-minded and comrades-in-arms in career. Mao Yanwen inherited Xiong Xiling's career and assisted him in managing the work of the Salesian Home. Then he became the president of the Chinese Women's Red Cross Society. Although Xiong Xiling and Mao Yanwen respected each other as guests, they were harmonious and loving. But the age gap gave Xiong Xiling a sense of inferiority. One day, Mao Yanwen went out shopping and saw Xiong Xiling crying when she came back. She was very surprised and asked Xiong Xiling what was wrong. Xiong Xiling said with low self-esteem: "Do you think I'm old and don't want to go out with me?"
Mao Yanwen smiled and said: "You fell asleep just now, and I don't want to disturb you. I want to give you a Surprise, I'll buy you a watch as a Christmas gift." Xiong Xiling then burst into laughter.
In the three years after their marriage, they were inseparable. On Mao Yanwen's birthday and their wedding anniversary, Xiong Xiling often wrote poems and lyrics for him, showing their affection. In a photo taken after their marriage, the couple stood leaning on each other, with Mao Yanwen holding a doll in his hand and a faint smile on his face. Maybe this is the happiness Mao Yanwen pursues.
In December 1937, Shanghai and Nanjing fell one after another. Xiong Xiling and Mao Yanwen transferred to Hunan via Hong Kong and around Guangzhou to handle the relocation of Xiangshan Salesian Hospital and the establishment of two branches in Zhijiang, Hunan and Liuzhou, Guangxi. When he arrived in Hong Kong on the 18th, Xiong Xiling suffered a sudden encephalopathy and died of illness in Hong Kong on the 25th. Mao Yanwen was almost heartbroken.
Afterwards, Mao Yanwen tearfully wrote "A Brief Story of Mr. Xiong Bingsan's Portrait and Ink Remains", which introduced Xiong Xiling's life in detail.
Comrade Mao Zedong once made an evaluation of Xiong Xiling. He said: "If a person does good things for the people, the people will never forget him. Xiong Xiling has done many good things." Although Xiong Xiling's career in politics was short, he experienced and participated in the entire process of modern China's reform movement, constitutional reform, the Revolution of 1911, the move towards independence and peace, the military rule of the country, and the resistance to Japan and national salvation.
"He has been sincerely patriotic and longed for the revitalization of China throughout his life, and he has run charitable schools for half his life to educate the nation." This is a couplet on both sides of the wooden door of the main room of Xiong Xiling's former residence in Fenghuang Ancient City in western Hunan. It briefly and accurately summarizes Xiong Xiling's life.
Three years after their marriage, Xiong Xiling passed away. Three years of love has become Mao Yanwen's comfort for half a century. After Xiong Xiling passed away, the young Mao Yanwen never remarried in his life. Although Mao Yanwen had experienced the warmth and coldness of human nature, he still managed to pull himself together in grief, inherited her husband's business, took over the heavy responsibility of running the Xiangshan Salesian Home, and worked endlessly for it. Later, she hurriedly went to Taiwan amidst the turbulent times, and then moved to the United States to make a living. It was only at the age of 63 that she ended her wandering career in the United States and returned to coaching in Taiwan.
When commemorating the 100th birthday of Xiong Xiling, Mao Yanwen once described the days after Xiong Xiling's death: "In these long years, I was like a piece of duckweed. I wandered in the United States for more than ten years, and I also returned to Taiwan. It has been eight years, but she is still wandering. If Ru Bing (Xiong Xiling) knows his soul in heaven, it seems that she should pick up this piece of duckweed by his side as soon as possible. "
Mao Yanwen has mentioned her feelings for home many times. After Xiong Xiling passed away, she lived with her adopted daughter from her sister and a nanny. In order to increase the sense of security while living in a secluded place, Mao Yanwen invited Xiong's nephew and his family to live with him. In Shanghai, where prices are soaring, she maintains the family and is unwilling to give up easily. She also once said: "I love my home most in my life. Even if it is only a thatched hut, as long as it is a home, I will love it more than a palace."
During her days abroad, she visited relatives and friends, He recognized his adopted son and daughter, and after settling down in Taiwan, he invited his adopted daughter Qin Ling's family from his third sister to live with him and share the warmth of the family. However, her daughter also passed away before her. Mao Yanwen was a widow for more than 60 years, and her life as a widow was longer than that of many people. In loneliness, she passed away on October 3, 1999, at the age of 102.