"Marrying a woman at a high door, marrying a woman at a low door" has always been an ancient marriage tradition in China. In the feudal era, the status of women was relatively low, and the society was mainly dominated by men, in this case, women married low, and the confidence brought by the mother's family was obviously the opposite of the social atmosphere. And the woman married into the high gate, in the face of the in-laws obviously do not have so much confidence, can only obey the rules of the in-laws, of course, her living conditions will also be improved to a certain extent, between gain and loss, in a sense, can also achieve balance, but also conducive to the stability and harmony of the family.
However, ancient marriage did not fully follow this custom, and in 1888, Li Hongzhang, a minister at the end of the Qing Dynasty, married his daughter low. You know, at that time, Li Hongzhang, who was more than a year old, was already a high-powered Zhongtang, a heavy minister that Cixi had to rely on, and the son-in-law he chose had no wealth and no power, and was even nearly 20 years older than his daughter.
22-year-old "old girl"
Up to now, at the age of 22, many people are still on campus and have not graduated from college. In 1888, a girl of this age was undoubtedly an out-and-out "old girl", and Li Jurong was such an "old girl".
As a figure who was prominent in the official arena at the end of the Qing Dynasty, Li Hongzhang's thinking was not conservative, he was not bound by the concept of "a woman without talent is morality", he did not restrict his daughter from reading, and even specially asked the teacher to teach his daughter to read sensibly.
Li Ju lotus, who grew up in such an environment, became a well-known talented woman in the local area. Li Jurong, who is well-read and talented, can be described as an outstanding presence among her peers.
Li Juling's father is a high-ranking official who has been deeply trusted and used by the rulers, and his own conditions are also very good, which can be said to be a veritable show of everyone, such a girl is naturally the object of everyone's marriage, but somehow, until Li Jurong was 22 years old, she did not get married. When she was 22 years old, Li Hongzhang married her to Zhang Peilun, 40.
An "old man" who has married his daughter-in-law twice
For Li Juling, Zhang Peilun may not be the best marriage partner, after all, she is only 22 years old, although she is not married, but she is not worried about marriage, as far as the time is concerned, her conditions are very excellent. At that time, 40-year-old Zhang Peilun, two wives have passed away, he himself has just experienced exile, was promoted by Li Hongzhang, and then returned to the capital and became Li Hongzhang's clerk.
To be fair, as a famous courtier in the late Qing Dynasty, although Zhang Peilun's career was not smooth, his upright and upright and straight and patriotic personality made Li Hongzhang very appreciative. And he himself knew that if he became Li Hongzhang's son-in-law, it would inevitably lead to an even more unsuccessful career, and many people at that time did not understand this marriage very much, and even slandered it and made sarcastic remarks. For example, the late Qing Dynasty literary scholar Liang Dingfen wrote the poem "Shu Zhai Xue Shu did not learn to fight, defeated and went to the cave house", and Liu Tiren, the son of Liu Bingzhang, the governor of Sichuan, wrote such a verse as "Zhang Peilun is not a thing" in the "Different Dictionary".
The husband and wife of Qinse and Ming
Although the world does not understand the marriage of two people, but Zhang Peilun and Li Jurong's married life is very comfortable and comfortable, Li Julian will not stick to the world's vision, although the age difference between the two people is relatively large, but the two people have similar interests.
Li Juling is a local famous talented woman, and Zhang Peilun is a young and famous talent, so the couple gambled chess and played the piano, chatted to have fun, and the daily life between husband and wife was recorded by Zhang Peilun in the "Jian Yu Diary".
Perhaps the marriage of the two people began with politics, which is a kind of political investment of Li Hongzhang for Zhang Peilun, but the daily life after marriage undoubtedly proves that their lives are still very happy.
A household name for female writers
In 1903, Zhang Peilun died of illness in Nanjing, leaving Li Jurong with his seven-year-old young son Zhang Zhiyi and his two-year-old daughter Zhang Maoyuan. Zhang Zhiyi is the famous Chinese female writer Zhang Ailing.
For Zhang Ailing, everyone should be familiar with it, her early childhood experience is quite bumpy, her mother divorced early because of her father's absurd behavior, but no matter what, the birth of a famous family allowed her to receive a good education, in 1932, Zhang Ailing published "Unfortunate Her" in the Shanghai Santa Maria Girls' School Annual Magazine "Fengzao", officially opened her own creative road, leaving a magnificent trace in the history of Chinese literature.
Zhang Ailing's achievements in literature are needless to say, but the road to feelings is quite bumpy, perhaps it is the bumpy experience of a lifetime, Zhang Ailing's article will reveal a kind of loneliness and desolation, and this has become Zhang Ailing's characteristics.
epilogue
When people talk about Zhang Ailing, they don't think of her family lineage, few people can think that he is the granddaughter of Zhang Peilun, a famous minister in the late Qing Dynasty, and even less will they think that Zhang Ailing is still a descendant of Li Hongzhang, and her achievements are enough to make people forget her ancestors, and her own life is wonderful enough.