Poet He Zhendai and his descendants

He Zhendai (1867-1952)

In Fuzhou, there is a literati who is often mentioned- He Zhendai. "He Zhendai was a literary hero in Fuzhou from the end of the Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China", "He Zhendai's poetry and paintings are all called a unique time", "The ten talented women cultivated by He Zhendai are extraordinary", "He Zhendai is a righteous and upright literati"... The collection market occasionally saw the authentic works of Zhendai calligraphy and paintings, and as soon as they appeared, they were bought by the discerners at a high price.

The former residence of He Zhendai, the "cultural relics protection unit" awarded by the Fuzhou Municipal People's Government, is in the big light of Wenrufang, just a few steps away from the "Former Residence of Chen Yan". He Zhendai's former residence is a courtyard-style Fuzhou residence. In the former residence, there is no longer any grandeur and literary relics of this talented literati who was the mainstay, and due to its disrepair, it appears dilapidated and chaotic. Ms. He Yongjing, the granddaughter of He Zhendai, still lives here. The retired agricultural researcher, the third-generation descendant of He Zhendai, pointed to a few old photos hanging in the corridor and enthusiastically introduced: "This is my grandfather, this is my grandmother." "He Zhendai's eyes on the photo are like a torch, the ear pinna is huge, the nasal bone is firm, the face is clear, and from the appearance, you can see some talent and straight personality, and even let people imagine the strict master style bone when he cultivated the 10 talented women. He Zhendai loved plum blossoms before his death, also known as "Mei Shuo". It turned out that there were two plum blossoms in the courtyard, one red plum and one white plum, both of which were He Zhendai's favorites. It is said that when He Zhendai's wife, Zheng Lanping, died in 1943, Hongmei died soon after. After He Zhendai died in 1952, not long after, Bai Mei also died. Now in the courtyard is a clump of green bamboo. The breeze blows, the branches dance, and the green leaves make a sound, which seems to tell the extraordinary life of this high-ranking talent.

Talented streets with sound

Originally from Fuqing, He Zhendai was born in December 1867. His father was a talented man who served as a staff member of the county government, but his family was poor. He Zhendai was intelligent and loved to read when he was young, but because his family was poor, his father could not let him go to school, so he asked him to go to the store as an apprentice. At an early age, He Zhendai was eager to learn, did not follow his father's orders, and his mother re-studied, preferring to be a female red and provide for his son to go to school, so he finally strived to qualify for private school. The clever He Zhendai, at the age of twelve or thirteen, was able to recite the Five Classics, the Records of History, and the Book of Han, exporting them into chapters, writing them into texts, and making a thousand words very appreciated. In 1897, He Zhendai was the fourth person to be named in the examination. However, after winning the lift, because he did not follow the eight strands of text, he did not pass the entrance examination in 1898, 1903, and 1904 for three consecutive years. Soon after, the imperial examination system was abolished, and this talented man who did not meet with talent was also shattered by the dream of the Middle Jinshi.

He Zhendai's literary talent has become famous wherever he goes. In 1887, He Zhendai was not yet qualified to enter the Zhiyi Academy, one of the four major colleges in Fuzhou at that time, but he often did schoolwork for his friends who were already in the middle school and qualified to study in the academy, and all those he did on his behalf were ranked high and received "anointing" (similar to the current scholarship). After he was lifted, he was able to enter the academy in a justifiable way, and every time he wrote, he always "passed on the recitation in the city". In 1909, when He Zhendai went to Shanghai, a friend asked He To fan noodles, and He Zhendai conveniently excerpted several poems from Yongxi Lake that he had written. Unexpectedly, the celebrities in Shanghai saw it and all praised it. At that time, Shanghai newspapers and magazines had a column entitled "Wenyuan" to select works by famous artists at home and abroad, and He Zhendai's works were often selected, thus expanding the influence of his poetry throughout the country. In 1923, when the political situation in Fujian was turbulent, He Zhendai moved his family to Beijing to work as a tutor for a family. Chen Baochen, who had been the prince of the Guangxu Emperor at that time, was in the capital and was considered to be the "commander of the article". Dignitaries and nobles or vassals are elegant, or red and white, always ask them to write articles and sentences, the pen and ink business is very prosperous, and the articles are expensive. However, at this time, Chen Baochen was already 80 years old, and his twilight strength was declining, and he was not able to cope with it properly. When he heard that He Zhendai was also in Kyoto, he was overjoyed, so he asked He Zhendai to ink for his ghostwriting. He Zhendai can get a reward because of this, and he is happy to do it. Any of Chen Baochen's words, as long as they were ghostwritten by He Zhendai, he was very relieved and appreciative. Chen Baochen once added a note to the text written by He Zhendai: "The masterpiece is clear and gentle, and the corners of the mouth are fragrant", "the masterpiece is plain and firm, and the repetition is repeated, and there is no increase or damage." Every time He Zhendai wrote an article, Chen Baochen paid him a hundred yuan, so that from the time He Zhendai entered Beijing to the time when Chen Baochen died in 1935, this kind of pen and ink income became He Zhendai's main source of income. Therefore, He Zhendai was able to send his second son He Zhiping to study in France.

He Zhendai wrote a lot of works in his lifetime, in addition to majoring in "West Lake Chronicle", the main monographs are "Juelu Poetry Grass", "My Spring Room Poetry Collection", "Heart Free Poetry Collection", "Shouchun SheZi Copy", etc., in addition to the various prefaces, poems, inscriptions, paintings and so on scattered in the folk. The most easily seen poem of He Zhendai now is the third collection of "Fujian Poetry" published by Fujian Education Publishing House in 1991. There are 11 Zhendai poems. Here's a poem for the reader:

Waves and sand

The first 6th of July Old work

The eyebrow moon shines in autumn, and the shadow falls on the silver pond. Hibiscus blank cuts off the intestines. That has a lotus thread to the end? Forget it after opening.

Dull old red clothes, dreams smoky. Ah who this diary pot covets? The unique idle gull pities the old water, and thinks in the cold.

After tasting the taste of a ding, it can be seen that He Zhendai's poems are indeed well written.

In 1936, He Zhendai returned to Fuzhou from Beijing and expressed his worries about the country, the nation and his life by reading and writing poetry. At this time, Ye Kexi, Wang Deying, and Liu Yun, three women, studied under He Zhendai and learned poetry and painting. Later, these three disciples successively introduced He Zhendai as their teachers, they were Wang Zhen, Wang Xian, Xue Nianjuan, Shi Bingzhuang, Zhang Huantong, Hong Shouzhen, plus He Zhendai's daughter He Dunliang (He Xi), a total of 10 people. These 10 women were all talented and later known as the "Ten Talented Women". Their collection of poems is still occasionally available from book stalls. For example, Hong Shouzhen's "Qin Xiangshe Ci copied", Ye Kexi's "Bamboo Rhymes xuanzi", Liu Yun's "Hui Yin Yin Poetry Collection", Wang Xian's "Wei Xian Lou Poetry Collection" and so on. Centenarian Liu Yun, "Family Grand View" was reported on May 9, 1998 with the title of "Gento Fujian Xinjiang Deliang". Liu Died in July 1998. Wang Xian died in December 1999. At this point, all 10 talented women have bid farewell to the world.

He Zhendai is not only extremely admired for his poetry, but also can write and paint well, and his paintings, whether landscapes, flowers and birds, are extremely clear and miserable, steaming, and beautiful; the calligraphy he has made, he has seen Qingxiong's toughness and strength, which is very admired by the world. This is the reason why in the cultural market, as soon as He Zhendai's authentic works appeared, they were treasured by treasures.

Temperament is strong and love hate is clear

He Zhendai had close contacts with the high society at that time. Chen Yan, Chen Baochen, Xie Xinchain, Shen Yuqing, Ke Hongnian, Zheng Xiaoxu, and other well-known people who were on the side of power and exercise all had friends with them. However, He Zhendai has his own independent standard of conduct, and is not ambiguous and clear in the face of major right and wrong. After the Japanese invasion of China, Fuzhou fell twice, and He Zhendai's career of selling literature was interrupted, when he was suffering from a stomach disease and was poor, but he never begged for mercy on anyone.

When the Japanese invaders occupied Fuzhou, they had admired the people and planned to hire He Zhendai as an adviser. Regarding this kind of traitorous activity, He Zhendai angrily rebuked the case and sternly refused, and his attitude was very clear. Zheng Xiaoxu and others became traitors, and He Yuan had befriended them, but at this time, the "feelings" of the state overwhelmed the private "feelings", and in a fit of rage, all the letters and poems exchanged with them were burned to show that the line was drawn. After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the National Government issued a circular order to all provinces and municipalities to request that the deeds of celebrities who did not want to rebel during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression be reported and that they be commended. At that time, the Fuzhou Municipal Government planned to report He Zhendai as the object of commendation, send a form to ask him to fill in the deeds, He Zhendai regarded this as a flash, did not buy his account, and ignored it. When Chiang Kai-shek was sixty years old, Liu Jianxu, chairman of the Fujian Provincial Government, planned to ask He Zhendai to write a congratulatory article on his behalf, sending a pen of 3,000 yuan, and He Zhendai, who was in urgent need of "nourishment", preferred to be poor rather than flattered, and insisted on not doing anything.

He Zhendai is related to Guo Baochang, a major collector in Beijing and a former butler of Yuan Shikai. Guo Baochang's daughter became the daughter-in-law of He Zhendai's youngest son. This Guo Baochang can be described as a city of furniture, a rich party, I don't know how many rare treasures my family has. According to newspapers and periodicals, Guo Baochang's son Guo Zhaojun once mortgaged the rare treasure "Boyuan Ti" to an overseas bank. After liberation, under the instructions of Premier Zhou Enlai, the state spent a lot of money to buy this treasure back, and now it is treasured in the Palace Museum. And He Zhendai's family, as well as his son and daughter-in-law, do not seem to have received some will from the rich man. This has a lot to do with He Zhendai's upright character and family style of not being divided into two fortunes.

Fuzhou was liberated on August 17, 1949. On the 10th day thereafter, Zhang Dingcheng, who was then the governor of Fujian Province, took a jeep to the mouth of Wenrufang Lane in Nanhou Street, and then walked to He Zhendai's home in Daguangli to visit He Zhendai. At that time, Zhang Dingcheng had two retinues beside him. Because He Zhendai did not know them, he refused to see them. Later, Zhang Dingcheng said, "It was your old student He Sui who asked him to visit his mentor", at which time, He Zhendai gladly received Zhang Dingcheng. Then He Zhendai knew that the original person was Zhang Dingcheng, a senior leader of the Communist Party, and hurriedly said: "Corporal Li Xian, the chief, is disrespectful, disrespectful." Expressed his apologies for his original refusal. Zhang Dingcheng's intention was to ask He Zhendai to be the director of the Fujian Museum of Culture and History, but He Zhendai said: "I am 83 years old this year, I am powerless, thank you for the care of the Communist Party, I hope to ask another Gao Ming." Later, He Zhendai became the honorary curator of the Fujian Museum of Culture and History, and the monthly carriage and horse fare was 300 kilograms of rice. He Zhendai held this honorary position until his death in December 1952.

The ancient way is kind and charitable

Oppose foot binding

He Zhendai has five sons and one daughter, but he never prefers sons to daughters. The story of him not letting his daughter tie her feet was widely circulated for a while. In the society at that time, girls who did not wrap their feet would be considered a kind of debauchery. Friends warned him: "If the daughter does not wrap her feet, it will damage the door style, and she will not be able to marry in the future." He Zhendai said: "Feet are used for walking, and foot wrapping is a mutilation of feet." My mother and my wife are wrapped around their feet, and you see how inconvenient and beautiful they are. The body must go with the flow! In this way, He Zhendai's daughter did not have her feet tied. At that time, it was very rare for the daughters of a person of high status like him not to tie their feet.

Adoption of abandoned babies

One day, He Zhendai, together with his two female disciples, Ye Kexi and Liu Heng, found an abandoned baby girl in a large stone mortar at Qingcheng Temple in Fuzhou. He saw that he was very sympathetic, and ordered the servant to take the abandoned baby home and feed it. Later, the neighbors of Wenrufang spread the news, and some people rushed to him to "have a good heart" and directly placed the abandoned baby in front of He Zhendai's house. At that time, the society had a serious idea of son preference over daughters, and the abandoned ones were all female babies. Whenever I hear a family member say, "There's another (baby girl) at the door." He Zhendai instructed one by one to put it away first, be sure not to let him be hungry, and then send it to the "door-to-door nursing mother" in Minhou County to feed. Every month, these "home-to-door nurses" hold these babies and collect feeding fees from He Zhendai. Over time, He Zhendai adopted a total of six or seven abandoned babies and named them one by one. He Zhendai always said to his disciples: "As soon as a person lands, he is an elf, and he is the same as a man and a woman." The act of abandoning the baby is inhumane. He also hoped that in the future, which disciple would have the ability to set up a welfare home specifically to house those innocent and abandoned children who were suffering from their lives.

Release old cows

Once, When He Zhendai and his students went out through the gate of the Ximen Slaughterhouse in Fuzhou, they saw an old farmer leading an old cow, and the old cow was staggering and full of tears. He Zhendai asked the old farmer, "Why did you bring such a tired cow here?" The old farmer said, "It is old and cannot be cultivated, so send it to kill." He Zhendai was shocked, suddenly felt compassion, and said to the old farmer: "This cow has worked hard all his life, and now he is exhausted and unable to cultivate, he should be old-age. So he took out some money and handed it to the old farmer and said, "I bought this cow." He Zhendai asked the students to lead the old cow to the Xichan Temple and hand it over to the abbot for release. After that, He Zhendai also sent students to send grass and water money to the Xichan Temple every month until the old cow naturally died. In this regard, He Zhendai said to the students: "Livestock like cattle have paid hard blood and sweat for human beings, and when they are old, they should also be rewarded and cannot be killed." ”

Heirs have their own karma

He Zhendai's wife, Zheng Lanping, was the granddaughter of Lin Zexu's third daughter, Lin Yuting (her husband Zheng Baozhong). He and Zheng have five sons and one daughter. The general situation is as follows:

The eldest son, He Dunzhuo (1895-1970), worked as a traditional Chinese medicine physician in Beijing, wrote ancient poems, and wrote "Chunming Collection" and "Bamboo Head Collection", and returned to Rong from Beijing in his later years and died in Fuzhou.

The eldest daughter, He Dunliang (He Xi), (1897-1982), was a librarian at the Fujian Provincial Museum of Culture and History.

The second son, He Dunmin (He Zhiping) (1901-1995), studied in France, studied economics, and was in the same window as Li Fuchun. His wife Wang Xian (1906-1999) was one of the ten talented women trained by He Zhendai, a Chinese painter and a librarian of the Fujian Provincial Museum of Culture and History.

The third son, He Dunjing (1903-1987), served as the secretary of the Fujian Provincial Bank before liberation, and was idle after liberation.

The fourth son, He Duncheng (1905-1986), was an aide-de-camp to Wu Shi, a former Kuomintang official in Fujian Province and a member of the underground Communist Party of China, who accompanied Wu Shi to Taiwan on the eve of liberation. In 1952, Wu Shi was killed by Chiang Kai-shek, and He Duncheng was arrested in the same year and imprisoned in Taiwan. In his later years, he was released on bail and died in Taipei in 1986.

The fifth son, He Dunren (1910-1981), a Chinese painter, served as a special connoisseur of the Fujian Provincial Museum after liberation, a director of the Fujian Branch of the China Artists Association, and the author of "Jing Yu Lou Guan Painting Catalogue" and "Jing Yu Lou Poetry Collection", and his wife Guo Zhaohua, a Chinese painter, was the third daughter of Guo Baochang.

He Zhendai has 21 grandchildren, 9 in Beijing, 1 in Shanghai, 3 in Taiwan, 7 in Fuzhou and 1 in the United States. Most of them are engaged in scientific and technological cultural undertakings.

Among the grandchildren of Fuzhou, there is a cultural man named He Yun (son of He Dunren), who was originally engaged in writing and directing in the unit of the Provincial Department of Culture. He once directed the TV series "Panda Girl", which made him famous in one fell swoop, and the film was translated into Japanese and broadcast in Japan, which became popular. After that, he devoted himself to cultural enterprises and ran his own company. The third-generation descendant of He Zhendai, who has achieved success in his career, told reporters that he intends to collect As much as possible He Zhendai's relics, authentic works, and relevant historical materials among his relatives and friends, and intends to repair the "Former Residence of He Zhendai," a municipal cultural relics protection unit, with the permission of the government, and strive to set up a He Zhendai showroom so that more people can understand this ancestor who once had an impact on Fuzhou's humanities.

(The main reference materials of this article are: "Modern and Contemporary Fuzhou Celebrities", "Fuzhou Historical Figures", "Fujian Literature and History Materials 19 Series", involving the original authors: Lin Gongwu, Lin Yi, Lin Enyan, Wu Jiaqiong, etc., I would like to express my gratitude to them.) The photos in this article are provided by Mr. He Yun, and we would like to express our gratitude. ———Author)