At the moment of the survival of the modern country, many talents have emerged in China. Among them, whether in military or administrative affairs, or in literature and reform, there are innumerable capable people. When it comes to this modern literary celebrity, Liang Qichao is definitely a quite famous one.
In his overall appraisal of Liang Qichao, Guo Zhanbo said in "The History of Chinese Thought in the Past Thirty Years": "Liang's contribution to the history of Chinese thought is not as great as his contribution to the history of Chinese thought, and his contribution to the history of thought is not as great as that of Kang Youwei, and his destruction is not as great as that of Tan Sitong, and his ideas are mostly from Kang and Tan Ershi, so his thinking is not profound, inconsistent, shifted at any time, and inconsistent, but its influence is very large, because of its vivid writing and great propaganda power." ”
However, the story to be told in this article is not about Liang Qichao's achievements and influences in literature or reform, but about his emotional journey. Liang Qichao took the initiative to write to his wife: I am in love with someone else. However, his wife's reply actually made his back cold! What's going on here? Let's take a look.
The woman Liang Qichao fell in love with earlier mentioned is named He Huizhen. She was the daughter of a famous overseas Chinese businessman. He received a Western education from an early age and became a school teacher at the age of 16. When Liang Qichao was invited by Kang Youwei to carry out propaganda work in Honolulu, the United States, it was this time that he and He Huizhen began a love story of "sending love and stopping at reason".
It all started in 1899. At that time, Liang Qichao was invited by Kang Youwei to go to Honolulu in the United States to handle royalist affairs. After the guests and hosts sat down, He Huizhen, as Liang Qichao's translator, sat down next to Liang Qichao. During the banquet, He Huizhen was quite active, and her extensive knowledge and extraordinary conversation, as well as her familiarity with Liang Qichao's writings, surprised everyone present. The whole banquet almost became a conversation between Miss He and Liang Qichao, and the two of them were like friends who had known each other for many years.
When she was about to leave the table, He Huizhen took the original manuscript of her defense of Liang Qichao in the newspaper and said: "This is the English-Chinese translation drafted by my husband on behalf of Mr. Zhan Zhan, please ask Mr. Save and give advice." ”
When he took over the manuscript, Liang Qichao was really surprised. When Liang Qichao first arrived in Honolulu, he was running around giving speeches. The Qing court, on the other hand, bought a newspaper and constantly attacked Liang Qichao. Although Liang Qichao was dissatisfied in his heart, he suffered from not knowing English and had to ignore it.
However, in another newspaper, there was a series of articles defending Liang, whose clear text and incisive arguments amazed Liang Qichao, but did not sign the author's name. Later, Liang Qichao learned that the original articles were actually written by this overseas Chinese lady.
At the end of the conversation between the two, He Huizhen said to Liang Qichao: "I love Mr. Liang very much, I may not meet in this life, I wish for the next life, but I have to give Mr. Liang a small statue, that is, I will fulfill my wish." A few days later, Liang Qichao gave her the photo, and He Huizhen also gave her two small fans that she had woven by hand. At this time, Liang Qichao has fallen in love and is almost obsessed.
During this time, some friends saw that Liang Qichao and He Huizhen had a good feeling for each other, so they persuaded Liang Qichao to marry her, but Liang Qichao replied: "I respect her and love her, and I miss her very much, but Liang already has a wife, and in the past I used to set up the 'Monogamous World Society' with Tan Si tongjun, and I can't renege on my word."
Later, for He Huizhen's show of love, although Liang Qichao restrained himself intellectually, his deep feelings could not deceive himself.
Liang Qichao did not want to avoid his wife, so he wrote a family letter on May 24, 1900, informing his wife Li Huixian of his adventures in Tandao. In the letter, Liang Qichao recounted his attitude towards He Huizhen, saying that he had endured pain before making the decision that "everything is impossible".
And Li Huixian read Liang Qichao's letter, and she was angry, but she did not lose her temper, but wrote a reply to Liang Qichao, saying: You are not a woman, you don't have to end up from the beginning, if you really like He Huizhen, I will tell my father to be the master for you and fulfill you; if it is really as you said in your letter, put it aside, don't hang on to your heart, and take care of your body.
Seeing a sentence in the letter sent by Li Huixian, Liang Qichao felt cold behind his back, and that sentence was that Li Huixian said that if Liang Qichao intended to marry a concubine, then she would inform Liang's father. It should be known that Liang's father would never agree to Liang Qichao's concubine. And Li Huixian's move made Liang Qichao panic, at that time Liang's father was still suffering from illness, Liang Qichao really did not dare to provoke his father, so he hurriedly replied to the letter, repeatedly confessed to his wife, and said that he had "made up his mind for a word and regarded it as a sister" for He Huizhen.
So when the matter was finished, Liang Qichao hurriedly left Tandao. Later, during Liang Qichao's tenure as attorney general, He Huizhen went to Beijing to look for Liang Qichao. And Liang Qichao was good at business in the living room and entertained her, and He Huizhen also obviously felt that kind of polite attitude, and had to return with pity.
After Li Huixian's death, He Huizhen came from Tandao, but Liang Qichao still politely resigned. He Huizhen did not marry in her life after returning to the United States, and died without illness at the age of ninety.
What do you think about that?
Reference: A History of Chinese Thought in the Past Thirty Years