Looking back at the life of Chen Sanli (1853-1937), when he was born, he encountered the rebellion of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and before his death, he was invaded by Japan, during which he went through several ups and downs, which can be said to be born of sorrow and died of sorrow.
In his youth, Chen Sanli was a man of temperament who was "good at feeling good and easy to complain", and he was quite conceited with his talents and learning, and he had the ambition to clarify the world. In 1889, he was appointed as the chief of the Examination Department of the Bureaucracy. Chen Sanli had the style of a famous scholar, was a lot of books and business, and was impatient with the official scene, and only two months after his arrival, he resigned from his official post on the grounds of serving his relatives.
In 1890, Chen Baozhen was appointed as an envoy to Hubei, and Chen Sanli went to Wuchang with his father. Zhang Zhidong, the governor of Huguang, heard of his talent and extended his teaching as a literary teacher at the Two Lakes Academy. Yu Hui commented on current politics with Yang Rui, Wang Kangnian, and Tan Si. In 1895, Chen Baozhen was reappointed as the inspector of Hunan, and Chen Sanli accompanied him and helped a lot. In 1896, the imperial court approved Chen Baozhen's request to set up a mining bureau in Changsha. At the beginning of the establishment of the Mining Bureau, all major and small affairs were presided over by his son Chen Sanli. So much so that Wang Minyun had a joke that "Jiangxi people (Chen Baozhen is a Jiangxi native) are good at listening to their sons".
The Chen father and son lamented the shortage of talents and thought that if they wanted to revitalize China, they had to revitalize new learning. Determined to take the Two Lakes Academy as a model, he founded the Shiwu Academy in Changsha. In the spring and summer of 1897, Chen Sanli went to Shanghai to purchase instruments for the preparation of the school and to find teaching talents. During his stay in Shanghai, he had close contacts with Liang Qichao and others, and eventually invited him to Hunan. Because of these actions in support of the restoration cause, he was able to be called the "Fourth Prince of the Restoration" together with Tan Sitong, Xu Renzhu, Tao Jucun and others.
Chen Sanli and Tan Sitong met at Lianghu Academy, because they were like-minded, and the relationship has always been harmonious and harmonious. In the spring of 1898, Tan Sitong came to Changsha, because he praised Kang Youwei and advocated radical change, which made Chen Sanli, who advocated steady change and had experience in changing the law, greatly dissatisfied, and the two became enemies from then on. In the autumn of the same year, the change of law failed, Tan Sitong was deposed from the bloody vegetable market, and the Chen father and son were also deposed. "Rely on the wind and clouds of the column to be a god-state stand-in man." After Wu Shu, the Qing court was recruited four times, and Chen Sanli resigned.
Chen Sanli, who returned to his hometown, devoted most of his energy to the education of future generations. In 1903, he opened the "Siyi School" in Nanjing, which was not only the first new-style primary school in Nanjing, but also one of the earliest new-style primary schools in China.
A month after the revolutionaries in Hubei occupied Wuchang, an armed uprising also took place outside Nanjing. At this time, Chen Sanli's family had just moved into the newly built mansion to live. After some wait-and-see, Chen Sanli took his family to live in Shanghai.
It is said that after the Xinhai Revolution, Chen Yinke, who studied abroad and had already cut off his braids, once persuaded his father to cut off the braids behind his head in a letter, and he reprimanded him. On March 5, 1912, Sun Wen, the provisional president of the Republic of China, issued the "Order on Cutting Braids", requiring those who did not cut their braids to cut their hair within a limited time. In the end, under the persuasion of his relatives, Chen Sanli reluctantly cut off the braids that symbolized the former dynasty.
Chen Sanli did not have any good feelings for the chaotic Republic of China, but he did not have any expectations for the restoration of the imperial system, believing that this was "putting the declaration of unity on the accumulation of salaries." Therefore, in his old age, the old man devoted himself to the creation of poetry. In 1923, the Indian poet Tagore visited China, when Chen Sanli was recuperating in Hangzhou, Tagore made a special trip to visit, and the meeting of two white-haired poets was a good story for a time.
It's just that how can people and things of that year be forgotten? In the winter of 1922, his former friend Liang Qichao and he were reunited in Nanjing, and Chen Sanli specially "opened fifty years of old wine" and was warmly entertained. While drinking bitterly, the two reminisced about the past, and could not help but "sigh and sigh" and were sad. Almost in unison, he sighed, "Now there is no return." Seven years later, Liang Qichao died unexpectedly. Chen Sanli initiated a public festival in Shanghai. In his heart, he must have had a lot to say to this former friend.
For the literati of the late Qing Dynasty, Japan was a country that made them feel complicated, with shock, admiration, anger, humiliation, helplessness, and hatred. Although Chen Sanli has never set foot in Japan, his poems occasionally mention this country of wolf ambitions. After the September 18 incident, Chen Sanli "went around the room all night without sleep." During the Songhu War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, it was even more "every day to look forward to the report, and if you read it, you will have deep worries." In his dream, he shouted "Kill the Japanese", and the whole family woke up.
On July 7, 1937, the Lugou Bridge Incident broke out. The old man was worried and immediately bedridden, but still struggled to support, hoping for the victory of the Chinese army. Some people said that China was not a rival to the Japanese, and the old man scolded: "Chinese, will the dog be slaughtered?"
At noon on August 8, the Japanese Kou marched into Peiping City. At that time, the old man's friend Zheng Xiaoxu had defected to Japan and assisted Puyi in establishing a puppet Manchu regime, and Chen Sanli knew it, scolded Zheng for "betraying China and seeking utilitarianism", and broke off diplomatic relations with him. After the fall of Peiping, rikou wanted to recruit Chen Sanli and lobbied in every way, but Chen Sanli always refused sternly. In the end, he went on a hunger strike for five days and died in anger!
His five sons under his knees are all masters: the eldest son, Chen Hengke, a famous painter and art educator. The second son, Chen Longke, was a famous poet. The third son, Chen Yinke, was the most prestigious historian in modern China. The fourth son, Chen Fangke, is a famous editor and poet. The youngest son, Chen Dengke, was a famous lyricist.