Xu Damao (Xu Wenshu)
Hu Qiuxia
Zhou Nan (Zhou Shuyun)
Zhang Henshui’s grandson Zhang Jizeng said, “As a descendant of Zhang Henshui , we don’t want to use secular rulers to measure which woman he loves more... His thinking is "half-new, half-old", and his masterpieces "Chunming Foreign History", "Golden Fen Family", and "Laughing Cause and Destiny" are the novels shaped Most of the protagonists are half-new and half-old-style characters. So please understand that his marriage is also half-new and half-old-style. This can only prove that his humanity is fuller and more benevolent, reflecting the gentle and kind side of his character. "
This book uses Zhang Henshui's emotions as clues to show us a true and credible Zhang Henshui in an all-round and multi-angle manner.
Xu Wenshu
The first marriage for filial piety
In the autumn of 1913, in Qianshan, northern Anhui, a woman in her early 30s walked into Huangling Village The living room of the "Lao Sanfang" house.
As soon as she sat down, the woman happily told the hostess Dai Xinlan: "Sister-in-law Xinlan, what you said a few days ago has been completed. The girl's ancestors had officials, and now Although her family background is poor now, her father is also a teacher."
"What does the girl look like?"
The guest said, "I don't know much about the Xu family archway tomorrow. I'll try to let you meet her and see for yourself."
At this time, Zhang Henshui, who was trapped in the countryside, was still dreaming of studying and had no intention of getting married to a village girl so early. But he couldn't say "no" to his widowed mother's loving face.
The next day, under the Xu family archway stage, the matchmaker's relative pointed not far away and said, "Here, that's the girl." Dai Xinlan and Zhang Henshui looked up together, and there was a lady sitting there. There is a very handsome girl.
The Zhang and Xu families quickly settled on the marriage.
In fact, the Zhang family fell into someone else’s trick. The girl in the photos of Dai Xinlan and Zhang Henshui is Xu Damao's cousin.
Soon, the Zhang family married Xu Damao in a sedan chair. In the bridal chamber, Zhang Henshui discovered that Xu Damao who appeared in front of him was a short and fat girl with curled lips, a flat nose, and he was speechless for a while while he was dreaming of a talented scholar and a beautiful lady.
After marriage, Xu Damao changed his name to Xu Wenshu. For a long time, Zhang Henshui and her did not consummate their marriage. Dai Xinlan had been getting along with his eldest daughter-in-law for several years, and as their relationship deepened, she asked her eldest son for mercy. Zhang Henshui once again did not violate his mother's wishes. Soon, Xu Wenshu gave birth to a daughter, but unfortunately she died in infancy.
In 1919, Zhang Henshui established himself in the Beijing newspaper industry. In 1926, Xu Wenshu moved to Beijing with the Zhang family to reunite with her husband. Zhang Henshui has married Hu Qiuxia in Beijing and gave birth to a daughter named Dabao. In this regard, Xu Wenshu, who is poor at words, has no complaints and gets along with Hu Qiuxia like sisters.
She had no children, so Xu Wenshu regarded Zhang Henshui's children as her biological children. In 1928, Hu Qiuxia gave birth to her eldest son, Zhang Xiaoshui. Because it was a premature birth and no midwife could be found, the fetus did not cry when it landed. Xu Wenshu immediately put the child into her arms and kept him warm for several hours before he finally cried for the first time. Zhang Xiaoshui often said in his later years: "My life was saved by my aunt."
In Beijing, Xu Wenshu spent the happiest 10 years since she became the Zhang family's daughter-in-law; on the eve of the Anti-Japanese War, she and her mother-in-law Together they returned to Qianshan and later settled in Anqing. Zhang Henshui was in a different place and insisted on sending her enough living expenses every month.
In 1958, Xu Wenshu, who was already in her sixties, fell down on the street and suffered a stroke when she went out to send a letter to Zhang Xiaoshui. Passers-by sent her to Anqing People's Hospital for emergency treatment. However, all remedies have been of no avail.
When the bad news came, Zhang Henshui was unable to stay away because Zhou Nan had to undergo surgery. He handed his eldest son Zhang Xiaoshui 700 yuan and appointed his eldest son to take care of the funeral arrangements on his behalf. Zhang Xiaoshui traveled day and night and rushed to Anqing without eating a grain of rice to bury her properly.
In 1989, descendants of the Zhang family erected a new tombstone for Xu Wenshu, which was engraved with "Tomb of Zhang's mother, Xu Laoru, Wenshu"; the descendants' names were engraved with "Nan Xiaoshui" . The cemetery is located on a green hill, beside clear water.
Hu Qiuxia
The virtuous wife inspires creative peaks
In Zhang Henshui's masterpiece "The Golden Family", the main plot is Jin Yanxi, the son of the Prime Minister of the Republic of China, and Leng Qingqiu, The love triangle between the two girls Bai Xiuzhu and the sub-line are the legendary love story between Xiao Lian, the maid of the Jin family, and Master Liu.
According to the information provided by Zhang Henshui’s daughter Zhang Zheng, the prototype of this Xiao Lian should be Zhang Henshui’s second wife Hu Qiuxia.
Hu Qiuxia, whose nickname is Zhaodi, was born in Chongqing. When she was about four or five years old, she was abducted and sold to a family in Shanghai to work as a maid. When he was about 14 years old, Zhaodi ran away from that family and went to the craft school in Shibei Hutong to learn crafts such as making paper boxes.
One day in 1923, the female foreman of the workshop gave Zhaodi several photos of men and asked her to choose one as her husband. The younger brother recruited a young scholar named Zhang Henshui with a round face and a fair complexion.
When he was admitted to the studio, his body was very thin. After Zhang Henshui picked her up, he did not get married immediately. He entrusted her to the care of an elderly couple at Qianshan Guild Hall. After a year of contact with each other, they developed feelings for each other and held a wedding. This year, she was only 17 years old.
The arrival of the beautiful and lively Zhaodi undoubtedly added endless joy to Zhang Henshui's lonely and deserted sojourn life. Zhang Henshui changed the bride's name to Hu Qiuxia (the other name is Hu Ruiying), and meaningfully hung a couplet in the new house: "The falling clouds and the solitary owl fly together, the autumn water is the same color as the sky."
Hu Qiuxia comes from a poor family and is a good support person for her husband. Zhang Henshui also deliberately created a brand new Hu Qiuxia, and spent all his efforts on cultivating her in all aspects, so that her later temperament and aspirations clearly had traces of him.
Soon, a large family from Zhang Henshui’s hometown also came to Beijing. Living in this large family of about 30 people, Hu Qiuxia has won the word "good" with her straightforwardness and enthusiasm, and her relationship with her mother-in-law and younger siblings is also relatively harmonious.
The seven years between Zhang Henshui and Hu Qiuxia's marriage to Zhou Nan entering the Zhang family were the first peak period of Zhang Henshui's creation. During this period, he not only published masterpieces such as "The Foreign History of Chunming", "The Golden Family", and "The Cause of Laughter", but also successively published more than ten masterpieces of medium-length works such as "Thorn Mountains and Rivers" and "The Social Star". In any case, without a stable rear area and a virtuous wife who fully supports him, it may be difficult for him to have the energy and mood to write and write quickly.
Unfortunately, although the wife's education level has improved after marriage, it is still on the low side, and she lacks the gentleness and coquettishness that her husband dreams of. As time goes by, she gradually develops feelings for her husband. Out of distance.
When a female middle school student named Zhou Shuyun (later renamed Zhou Nan) entered his life, he did not refuse.
Hu Qiuxia is not a resigned person. In 1931, when the relationship between Zhang Henshui and Zhou Shuyun was made public, she couldn't restrain her resentment and made a fuss, and even asked for divorce.
The ending still ended with Hu Qiuxia's surrender. She couldn't withstand the persuasion and comfort of her mother-in-law and relatives and friends, and it was even harder for her to let go of her three young children. After that, she often drank to drown her sorrows and sought solace in drunkenness.
In 1933, Hu Qiuxia gave birth to her husband's third son, Zhang Qing. Xitian Jiaoer did not bring her much joy, because before that, both of her daughters died in the scarlet fever epidemic in the summer of 1932.
During the eight years of the Anti-Japanese War, Zhang Henshui and Zhou Nan took the lead to avoid the war in Bashu; Hu Qiuxia, Zhang Xiaoshui and Zhang Qing (who died in 1939) stayed in Anhui. Because by the time they were about to set off to the west, traffic had been interrupted due to the development of the war situation.
After the Japanese surrender, Hu Qiuxia and her son were taken to Peking by Zhang Henshui. Hu Qiuxia initially lived in the staff dormitory of her husband's workplace, Xinmin Daily. After giving birth to Zhang Zheng in 1948, Zhang Henshui hired a country nanny to take care of her. Soon, in order to better take care of Hu Qiuxia, she moved to No. 36 Yanjia, Beigou, and had the same entrance and exit as Zhang Henshui and Zhou Nan.
In late May of the following year, Zhang Henshui was tutoring his second son Zhang Ershui and fourth son Zhang Quan in English at home when he suddenly became slurred in speech. The children hurriedly helped him get on the couch and lie down. Once he was lying down, he couldn't wake up. It turned out that he suffered from a cerebral hemorrhage. His family rushed him to the nearby Central Hospital for emergency treatment. Hu Qiuxia, who was breastfeeding, took care of her young daughter while taking turns with everyone in the hospital to take care of her husband. The hard and busy life caused her hair to suddenly turn gray.
When Zhang Henshui's condition improved slightly, Hu Qiuxia took Zhang Xiaoshui and Zhang Zheng out of Beigouyan Residence and moved to No. 19 Dachaye Hutong. This is a large courtyard, and the three of them live in one and a half west rooms in the middle courtyard. After Zhang Henshui left the hospital bed, he would visit them at least once a month. When he came, he would happily sit in a small restaurant with his family. At the dinner table, he ate very little, but often stretched out his hands to serve his wife and children with trembling hands.
During the three years of the natural disaster, Zhang Henshui still visited Hu Qiuxia every month. Even though he was short of money, going to restaurants was an old routine that could not be omitted. Zhang Henshui gave Hu Qiuxia full authority to order, and only then could she open her stomach and have a full meal, "I won't be polite if the old man treats you."
After Zhou Nan passed away, due to various reasons, Zhang Henshui and Hu Qiuxia still had a relationship. Not living together. Considering that Zhang Henshui's body was getting weaker and weaker, Hu Qiuxia visited him more frequently until he traveled westward in 1967.
In 1983, Hu Qiuxia also passed away.
Although Hu Qiuxia had filial children as companions in her later years, she still could not get rid of the shadow of loneliness. She often drank glasses of strong liquor alone, often stood blankly on the balcony of a high-rise building under the starry sky, and once lay on the bed, waving her helpless hands, and intermittently sang a cappella song "Su San Qi Jie". He once whispered to his daughter in the face of the rising sandalwood smoke: "That is my companion..."
Zhou Nan
Her spirituality moved him the most
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Zhou Shuyun is originally from Yunnan and has lived in Beijing with her parents since she was a child. At a entertainment party in the spring of 1931, when Zhang Henshui, an audience member, saw Zhou Shuyun singing and dancing on the stage, the graceful figure of this 16-year-old girl could never be forgotten.
After countless dates on the banks of the North Sea Embankment, under the promenade of the Summer Palace, and in the waterside pavilions of Zhongshan Park, Miss Zhou once shyly asked Zhang Henshui: "Can we be together forever?" Zhang Henshui was silent for a while and said frankly: "I am over 30 years old and have been married twice. You are so young and you should think about it carefully. "Zhou Shuyun didn't think about it again. She gave up her studies and held a wedding with Zhang Henshui that year. After the marriage, thinking of the word "Zhou Nan" in the first chapter of "The Book of Songs·Guo Feng", Zhang Henshui asked her to change her name to Zhou Nan.
Zhou Nan belongs to that kind of delicate and petite woman. Zhang Henshui's poems have vivid metaphors for her image: "Red apricot cheeks are piled with snow", "Slender waist branches are fighting for others, and the thin willow branches are blown by the wind." ”
In fact, what attracted Zhang Henshui even more was Zhou Nan’s wisdom and spirituality.
Zhou Nan graduated from the fourth grade of middle school. Later, he studied "Combined Interpretations of Ancient Tang Poems" with his husband to help sort out old poems. It took a little longer to write the manuscript, and it goes without saying that he was able to write it down. He also fully understood his writing style and poetry. According to Zhang Henshui's "Jieyu Poems Manuscript": One day he was hanging out old books and newspapers in front of the door, and Zhou Nan picked up a corner of it. There was a five-character ancient poem on the scrap paper, titled "Carefree Thoughts", but there was no signature at the bottom. Zhou Nan read it several times and said with a smile: "This looks like a poem written by you. "Zhang Henshui was overjoyed and said with a smile: "I am so happy to have such a sweetheart, and we stay together day and night. How do you know?" Zhou Nan replied: "I thought of it from the phrase 'carry a pot and drink bitter tea'. "Zhang Henshui laughed again, his face beaming with joy all day long.
Zhou Nan knew her husband's poetry style well, and "read a good book a thousand times" for his novels. For a long time, he has been reading Some people mistakenly believe that Zhang Henshui and Zhou Nan met through the novel "The Cause of Laughter" and fabricated a romance. Zhang Henshui clarified this in the preface to the first edition of "Deep Night" in Chongqing, pointing out that "Deep Night" is the source of the novel. It is Zhou Nan’s favorite. She has read this book seven or eight times and told her husband: “Opening this book is like seeing the society of Peking. I have seen characters like Mrs. Ding, Ding Erhe, and the eldest daughter of the Tian family in the book.
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Under the influence of what he heard and saw, Zhou Nan also wrote a number of poems, using the pen name "Ms. Nan", which were published in Chongqing's "Xinmin Daily".
Among the poems Zhou Nan has published , "Morning Market Miscellaneous Poems" is a longer one, and has a more life-like feel. The poem contains lines such as "Shopping for fresh meat on a good day" and "Short-haired and fluffy hair on the market", which shows that she was oppressed by the environment during the Anti-Japanese War. From a young lady who didn't know how to cook, cook, salt, sauce, and vinegar, she turned into a housewife who was burdened with housework all day long. In order to make a living, Zhou Nan not only went out to "buy meat and vegetables", but also went to the mountains to collect pine mushrooms and wild vegetables, and even planted and raised vegetables by herself. Chickens and pigs. The piglets inevitably barked and ran around. She was worried about disturbing her husband's thoughts, so she drove the pigs up the hillside at dawn every day, and then drove them back in the evening and hid them in the small house behind the house. Zhang Henshui didn't discover this until the end of the year. The fat pig was surprised to ask his wife where it came from.
The Chongqing period was also the most difficult stage of Zhang Henshui's life after he became famous. Behind the masterpieces such as "Eighty-One Dreams", "Water Margin" and "Ao Shuanghua", stood the delicate yet strong figure of Zhou Nan.
After Zhang Henshui suffered a stroke in 1949, Zhang Henshui's family became more and more famous. The family lost its main source of income. In order to treat her husband's illness and support the family, Zhou Nan sold his jewelry. Later, he negotiated with his family to sell his Beigouyan residence to a film studio and move into a building in Xisizhuanta Hutong. She lived in a small courtyard.
Zhou Nan had always been thin and sickly. In 1956, she was diagnosed with cancer. After two surgeries, she became increasingly thin and emaciated. On October 14, 1959, Zhou Nan died. On the last day of her life, she was half-lying and half-sitting on the bed with a pile of pillows behind her, fighting hopelessly against death. Zhang Henshui couldn't bear to look at Zhou Nan's painful struggle, so he walked to the bed and leaned over. He kissed her forehead affectionately and choked: "Don't worry!"
Zhou Nan was speechless. She tried to open her eyes wide, with a teardrop hanging in the corner of her eye. It was 5:55 in the evening. In the arms of his daughter Zhang Rongrong, Zhou Nan closed his eyes forever.
Zhou Nan was buried in Babaoshan Cemetery. Zhang Henshui set up a monument for his wife and asked his friend Zuo Xiaohong to write the inscription: The monument was erected by Zhang Henshui, his children, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren, a total of 16 people. He wrote nearly a hundred mourning poems for his wife, and often rode a tricycle alone to the cemetery in front of the tomb. Sitting there for several hours...
Excerpted from "Where Does Zhang Hen's Love Go to the Water", Xinhua Publishing House, December 2008