When it comes to talented women in the Republic of China, many people will first think of Zhang Ailing.
She was once willing to fall because of her infatuation with Hu Lancheng, thinking that she could bloom in the quagmire of love.
Then there is Lin Huiyin, a woman who loves to make tea at night and writes in a white nightgown, famous for her relationship with her married husband Xu Zhimo.
And Xiao Hong, a woman who is also talented and praised by Lu Xun as a "genius writer", is little known.
Xiao Hong, ranked among the "Four Talented Women of the Republic of China",
Known as the "literary Roselle of the 30s of the 20th century", her talent has left an indelible mark in the history of literature.
Mr. Lu Xun once spoke highly of her, believing her to be "the most promising female writer in China today".
Her life is rarely studied.
Xiao Hong, a woman who seems to be indulgent in the emotional world, is actually not as frivolous as the outside world imagines.
Her life was actually full of sorrow, both pitiful and worthy of sympathy.
She seemed to be able to foresee the future, and once wrote to a friend:
"After I die, maybe no one cares about my works, but my scandal will live on forever."
In 1911, Xiao Hong was born into a wealthy family in Harbin, Heilongjiang.
She lost her mother at an early age, her father was patriarchal, and her position in the family was not taken seriously.
Her father was violent and her stepmother was cold, and this environment laid the groundwork for her later twists and turns in the relationship between men and women.
Xiao Hong's grandfather was a ray of light in her life.
Her grandfather taught her to read, took her out into nature, and taught her to love life.
Xiao Hong mentioned in her work "The Biography of the Hulan River" that her grandfather's love made her feel the value of existence.
After her grandfather's death, she faced the world alone.
That year, her father forcibly arranged a marriage for her.
The marriage partner Wang Enjia was born in a family of eunuchs, but he was not the ideal partner in Xiao Hong's mind.
Rebelling against her father's orders, she secretly raised funds to flee to Peking to continue her studies.
Unexpectedly, on the way, she met her distant cousin Lu Zheshun, a talented student studying at Hosei University.
The two fell in love at first sight, but Brother Lu was married, and this relationship was destined to be an extraordinary road from the beginning.
In order to escape from the shackles of the family, Xiao Hong eloped with her cousin, but soon became alone, and they decided to go to Peking to start studying.
However, ideal love is always very fragile in the face of reality.
Financial pressures and family opposition led to the breakdown of their relationship, and Lu eventually returned to the family.
Xiao Hong was in pain, and she once wanted to kill herself.
After returning to Harbin, she has to endure the pain of falling out of love, and also face the cold violence of her family and the accusations of society.
She was placed under house arrest by her father and suffered more mental and physical torture.
In the end, with the help of her sister-in-law, she escaped from the house, and Xiao Hong found her former fiancé Wang Enjia.
Out of sympathy or other reasons, Wang Enjia placed her in a small hotel.
Soon, the two began to live together.
With the invasion of the Japanese army and the rejection of his family, Wang Enjia's financial source was also cut off.
After Xiao Hong became pregnant, Wang Enjia never returned, and Xiao Hong was forced into an even more desperate situation.
At that time, Xiao Hong was like the weak people who were abandoned by society as described in his novels.
In desperation, Xiao Hong asked Pei Xinyuan, the editor-in-chief of the International Association Daily, for help, and Pei Xinyuan sent Xiao Jun to interview.
Xiao Jun was fascinated by her intelligence and independence, and the two quickly fell in love.
They experienced poverty and war together, and with Xiao Jun's company, Xiao Hong's literary talent was fully displayed.
As time passes, Xiao Jun's love for her gradually turns sour, and his machismo and jealousy make the relationship twisted.
Xiao Hong once asked Xiao Jun about the philosophy of love, and his answer showed his selfishness and indifference:
"If you love, you love, if you don't love, you will throw away ......"
Such an answer is definitely not what Xiao Hong wants.
Later, under the guidance of Lu Xun, Xiao Hong published "Outcast" and "Life and Death Field".
Her creations have been recognized, but in her feelings, she has never been able to get a peace and warmth.
Xiao Hong and Xiao Jun bonded over a common literary dream, but their relationship broke down due to hardship and the death of their child.
Soon after, she learned that she was pregnant with Xiao Jun's child, but Xiao Jun had already left.
During the trough period, it was Duanmu Yuliang who came into her life and gave her support and warmth.
She eventually marries Duanki Yuliang and tries to start a new life, but fate plays a joke on her again.
She was seriously ill and her husband failed to give her the care she deserved.
Even in the most desperate moments, she never gave up control of her life.
Xiao Hong uses the pen as a weapon, trying to break the shackles that bind her.
What she has pursued all her life is freedom and love.
She longs for the warmth of love, but she is frequently betrayed and abandoned.
At the peak of her creative career in Hong Kong, her relationship with Duanmu Yuliang fluctuated, but Duanmu Yuliang always loved her deeply until she died of illness.
When Xiao Hong was seriously ill, Duanmu Yuliang specially found someone to take care of Xiao Hong, and he raised money outside to prepare medical expenses for her.
Poor Xiao Hong mistakenly thought that she had been abandoned again, and her mental condition was getting worse and worse.
When Xiao Hong died, her life was almost a replica of the suffering women she described in her literary works.
In 1942, when the Pacific War broke out and the war spread in Hong Kong, Xiao Hong's condition worsened due to tuberculosis, and Xiao Hong, who was riddled with illness, was admitted to Queen Mary Hospital in Hong Kong.
Due to the misdiagnosis of quacks, her condition took a turn for the worse, and she ran out of oil.
Just one day later, the talented female writer died.
On her deathbed, she wrote with trembling hands:
"Half of my life was treated coldly, and I died first, unwillingly, unwillingly!"
Even in the end, she refused to admit defeat.
In just 31 years, she has loved and been loved, but in the end she is still alone.
Her death surprised her friends, and her father's indifference to her was all the more poignant.
She once said that she wanted to be buried next to Lu Xun the most, but in the context of the turbulent times, her ashes were not even completely preserved, let alone where she wanted to be buried.
Eventually, Xiao Hong's ashes were placed next to her beloved sea.
Xiao Hong's life, in addition to ups and downs, is unfortunate.
Even in that patriarchal society, she tried to tear the shackles that bound her and sought a ray of light.
Although her life was short, she shone with her insistence on pursuing truth and freedom.