The most virtuous wife, the most talented woman: the biography of Yang Jiang

Chapter 2 Thoughts of Innocence·Scholarly Haunted Childhood (1)
Born in a Hansu family
The morning sun shines on the window, and the light and shadow of the branches sway on the window sill. The time is good and the wind is also good. The magpies on the tree have finished building their nests, and a few cubs open their mouths in the nest, screaming immaturely. The magpies, who are only parents, are flying around happily, and a centenarian is watching and thinking ecstatically. Where has the time gone?

The beginning and withering of life are like a circle, and a person's life is walking along this circle, following a reincarnation, looking for the first footprint of life.With a pious posture, we explored the old man's life, admired the scenery along the way that belonged to her, did not dare to stay greedy, and only hoped that the years would treat her tenderly and everything would be well.

Yang Jiang was born in Wuxi, Jiangsu, a place with picturesque scenery in all seasons. She is a girl from the south of the Yangtze River, and she is naturally graceful.At that time, Yang Jiang's family was regarded as an intellectual family, and she said it was a "poor family".

Yang Jiang's father was Yang Yinhang, whose name was Butang, also known as Hutou, and whose pen name was Laopu. He was a very famous lawyer at that time. Master, founded Wuxi Inspirational Society and Shanghai Lawyers Association.He once served as the editor of Shanghai "Shenbao", and he has served as the director of the Higher Judgment Office of Jiangsu Province and the Director of the Higher Judgment Office of Zhejiang Province.

Father Yang had two famous works in his life--"Ming Xue" and "Logic Science", which have been handed down to later generations.A few years ago, someone talked to Yang Jiang about the prevalence of corruption in today's society. She took out an article "Speaking of Frugality" written by her father, Mr. Yang Yinhang in [-]. The spirit of the republic strives to be frugal. "Montesquieu's three salutes on the morality of the people of the republic are frugality, which is not a cliché." It must not be "a high standard of living but a low personality"! The social atmosphere is extravagant, which will directly Exacerbate corruption and abuse of power for personal gain!" The article written decades ago is still awe-inspiring to read today.

Yang Yinhang was an upright intellectual in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China all his life.In Yang Jiang's book recalling her father, she described her father as "Bao Gong" who has always adhered to her creed in life, and persisted for her belief to the end.

My father was admitted to Beiyang University in [-]. He studied very hard, but was dismissed midway. It was not because he did anything out of line, but because some students at that time caused a student riot and were suppressed by the "foreigners" at that time. A leading Cantonese was expelled from the school.

This incident frightened other participants, and everyone backed away. Yang Yinhang looked at these people and shrank their heads in fright, stood up and said, "There is still me", and they were all removed from the list, but in fact Yang Yinhang did not participate He just couldn't see the way everyone was scared by "foreigners".

At that time, Yang Yinhang's father passed away, and his mother supported her life alone. The Beiyang University that she entered at that time was a public school, which was very rare for this family.Later, he transferred to Nanyang Public School, and was selected to study in Japan because of his outstanding performance in all aspects.Overcoming language barriers, Yang Yinhang and several students studying in Japan jointly founded the first magazine "Yishu Anhui" run by students studying in Japan, which specialized in translating European and American political and legal works at that time. There was a big reaction inside.

In the end, Yang Yinhang obtained a bachelor's degree in law from Waseda University in Japan, and then studied at the University of Pennsylvania in the United States. His thesis was also included in the first series of "University of Pennsylvania Law Series".Although my father never mentioned this matter, he was discovered by his careful son-in-law Qian Zhongshu and told Yang Jiang that later Yang Jiang asked a friend to search for the book at the University of Pennsylvania, and she found it and photocopied it for collection. .

The broad vision and constant travel gave Yang Yinhang new consciousness and ideas, and the Western social concepts he came into contact with gave him his own "constitutional dream" about China at that time. However, the social background at that time made this The dream was broken early, but he did not give up his life direction.

The orders of parents and the words of matchmakers are the symbols of that era.Yang Yinhang and Miss Tang's engagement was naturally very early, when the two were only 12 years old.

My mother, Tang Xulai, is also from Wuxi. She attended Shanghai Women's High School Wuben Girls' High School. She was a rare intellectual woman at that time. She has all the advantages of traditional Chinese women. She is virtuous and virtuous, and she is also very beautiful. A southern woman with fair skin and a gentle personality, she is steady in everything she does and never impatient.After getting married, she quietly took care of her husband and raised her children at home, rarely going out.

When she has free time, her mother also reads books. She likes to read "Bai Qiu" and laughs happily when she sees joy.I also like to read classic novels such as "Story of the Stone" and "Strange Tales from a Liaozhai Studio", as well as some contemporary novels, and generally like them all.Once, she accidentally saw "Green Sky" written by Ms. Luyi, and said to Yang Jiang: "This person also imitated Su Mei's melody." At that time, the author used a pen name, but she could read it out. Yang Jiang admired the rhyme.Also, after reading Bing Xin's works, she commented: She is a famous female writer, but not as good as so-and-so...Yang Jiang felt that many of her mother's views on literature were very appropriate.

In Yang Jiang's memory, those childhood songs were all taught by her mother, and the soft and slow words became the vague but warm tunes in the memory.The mother always has a lot of housework to do and seems to have endless things to do, so she seldom coaxes the children to play together.

With such a family background, Yang Jiang came to this world on July [-], [-]. She was born in Beijing in a rented yard, the fourth eldest, and her original name was Yang Jikang.Everyone in the family dotes on this little girl. She also has a nickname called Aji, and Yang Jiang is her pen name. After the works signed with this pen name came out, the name Yang Jiang seemed to become her real name. Everyone knows.

Parents are of the same age, and they are both knowledgeable and cultivated. In Yang Jiang’s memory, the two have never quarreled. The environment in which she grew up was commendable in that era, and the way her parents got along undoubtedly became a role model in Yang Jiang's mind.

The relationship between Yang Jiang's parents is very harmonious, which directly affects the character development of the children in the family.There are eight children in the Yang family, Yang Jiang is the fourth, three older sisters, two younger brothers and two younger sisters.The Yang family's education method is relatively successful. Yang Yinhang did not restrict the individuality of the children too much, and every child came out very well.Ye Shengtao once said: "The four talented women of the Zhang family in Jiuruxiang, whoever marries them will be happy for a lifetime." (The Zhang family in Jiuruxiang, Suzhou is a wealthy family. No. [-] in the Huai Army.) Yang Jiang said, all of us sisters are very kind to their husbands, but we are not as meticulous and patient as my mother was to my father.

My mother has a habit of keeping accounts every night, but she can't always remember how to spend something, so my father takes the pen and writes "confused accounts", not allowing her to bother.But according to my father, although my mother couldn't remember the small accounts, she sent them back to the big family in Wuxi every month, and never missed a day in her life.

Yang Jiang is Yang Yinhang's first child after returning from studying in the United States, and he has become his darling.Yang Yinhang likes to eat ice cream. When Yang Jiang was born, he bought a bucket of ice cream that he could make himself. On the day she was born, his father made a bucket of ice cream and put a little dot on her small lips. The family recalled that the small mouth It's all purple from the cold, but I still smack the taste vigorously, the fragrance is intoxicating!

My father always laughed at Yang Jiang as "a cat with short legs and short body is good".Because Yang Jiang was a small one when he was born, and he needed his hands to be very close to hold him well. When he grows up, he is also the shortest among the sisters and the one that is most pleasing to adults.

When Yang Jiang was born, he caught up with the famous [-] Revolution, and great changes were brewing in China.At that time, his father, Yang Yinhang, was the director of the Higher Judgment Office of Jiangsu Province. Later, he was transferred to the Judgment Office of Zhejiang Province and lived in Hangzhou.Because of his upright way of working, he offended Qu Yingguang, the governor at the time, who "played a book" in front of Yuan Shikai.Coincidentally, Zhang Yilin, Yuan Shikai's confidential secretary at that time, was a good friend of Yang Yinhang when he was studying abroad. He strongly recommended Yang Yinhang in front of Yuan Shikai. Beijing.

This time in Beijing, the four-year-old Yang Jiang saw Manchu people for the first time, as well as Manchu clothing and hair accessories, because at that time the whole family lived in Dongcheng, Beijing, and the landlord was a Manchu.

The landlord is a Manchu woman with a "bantou" comb, a cheongsam, and high-soled shoes on her feet.Before, she had only seen Shanghai women's high-heeled shoes. Their heels were on the heels, while the landlord's heels were in the center of the soles. These shoes were also called "flower pot bottom" shoes or "horseshoe bottom" shoes.The wooden bottom in the middle can be as thick as it is, usually about 20 centimeters, and more than [-] centimeters.The Manchu woman wearing this kind of shoes walks swayingly, and is much taller. Yang Jiang has never worn them and is full of curiosity.Once, his father asked Yang Jiang: "Do you want to wear this kind of high-soled shoes when you grow up?" Yang Jiang thought about it carefully for a while and said, "Yes!"
After many trips, the eldest and second sisters stayed in Shanghai to go to school, and the third sister was in Wuxi's hometown. Yang Jiang became the only child living with his parents.When she was five years old, Yang Jiang entered the school, and her third aunt Yang Yinyu also worked in this school.Because Yang Jiang is smart and smart, many people like her. At the gathering of the students of the Women's High School, they also asked Yang Jiang to play the flower god, with flowers on her body and face. She also smiled so happily like a brilliant flower. , the laughter drifted far and far.

In "Recalling My Aunt", Yang Jiang recalled: "I am still the child she likes. I remember that once our elementary school students were eating in the dining hall, and she brought a few guests into the dining hall for a visit. Suddenly the whole dining hall Majestic, everyone concentrates on eating. I sat with my back to the door, and a lot of rice grains fell in front of the rice bowl. The third aunt walked by and whispered to me, and I quickly picked up the rice grains in my mouth and ate them. Later I heard the third aunt at home My father described our group of little girls, who looked like me from behind, with a white neck and two short braids; they saw me picking up rice grains, and picked up the rice grains that fell on the table one by one. Eat it. When she was talking, she dimpled from laughter, as if she liked our group of elementary school students. At that time, the third aunt was not weird at all."
Growing up in such a family, Yang Jiang has always received a good education.She successively studied in the Primary School Attached to Beijing Women's High School, Shanghai Qiming Girls' School, and Suzhou Zhenhua Girls' Middle School, all with excellent grades.However, when she was a child, she was quite restless when she started studying, and she liked to be naughty in class. She liked to play a game of blowing pompoms, but she laughed while blowing. The teacher was very angry when she saw it, so she asked her to stand. I got up to answer the text, but she was able to answer all the answers accurately. The teacher was very surprised and had nothing to say, so she had to sit down and continue listening to the class.

The stable life did not last long.In May [-], Xu Shiying, director of the Ministry of Communications, was suspected of embezzling huge sums of money.At that time, Yang Yinhang, the chief prosecutor of Beijing Normal University, summoned the chief of the Ministry of Communications, and at the same time, prosecutors went to Xu's residence to search for evidence.Yang Yinhang arrested and detained the chief executive who embezzled huge sums of money for one night.That night, the Yang family's phone rang and rang, and it was all from the superiors.However, no matter how many senior officials intervene in this matter, the ruthless Yang Yinhang will not allow bail.As a result, the next day, Yang Yinhang was suspended without pay.Because his father's salary was the family's source of income, the family's life began to become tense, but another incident happened at this time, which strengthened Yang Yinhang's determination to return to the south.

Yang Jiang's eldest sister and second sister have been studying in Shanghai and did not follow them to Beijing.At that time, they were only fifteen or sixteen years old. The second sister caught a cold at school and was admitted to the hospital.The family members were very anxious when they heard the news, especially the mother, who wished to fly to her daughter.But at that time, because of the flood in Tianjin, the train had been interrupted, so we had to switch to a steamer to continue our journey.

The poor child, when he was waiting for his mother, his eyes were already blurred, he couldn't see his mother's face clearly, and he was very helpless.She just held her mother's hand tightly and kept crying and crying until her mother's heart was broken.Among the elder sisters, Yang Jiang's favorite is this second sister, and only the second sister could coax her when she was young.In the end, God took the angel away, leaving the family with the deepest pain.

After experiencing these changes, Yang Yinhang decided to resign and leave Beijing.This city brought him too many gray memories.

farewell to life and death
Childhood is a mysterious painting, dyed with unique colors by the melodious years, hanging in the corridor of memory, waiting for aftertaste.Even if we forget the details of the story when we look back, we will always remember the jumping and cheerful colors.

Traveling back in time to [-], Yang Jiang's life boat was loaded with eight years of life memories, and she was even more innocent at this time.At this time, her peaceful life is quietly changing.One day she was picking walnuts on the edge of the yard and had a great time.At this time, the third sister came over, a little depressed, and said to her: "Don't pick it up, we are going back to the south." Although the third sister is not very old, she seems to understand that "going back to the south" is not a happy thing.She felt something from the third sister's emotions.

Yang Jiang once wrote an article for the third sister, titled "The third sister is my "enlightenment teacher of life"", which mentioned that the first one to tell Yang Jiang what "death" is is the third sister, "three My sister told me one day: "There is a terrible, terrible thing, you know? "She went on to say that everyone has to die; death, do you know? Of course I don't know, and I was very scared when I heard it. The third sister comforted me and said that a person dies only when he is old! Old age, sickness, and death, I I understand roughly."
During that time, many changes were happening at home.My mother, who doesn't usually go out, went to many famous scenic spots in Beijing in one go, and bought a lot of Beijing specialties for preparation.And my father, who is usually busy, stopped going to work, and went to the mountain to collect specimens with a friend, and he went there for a week.Yang Jiang recalled that her father's face was tanned purple that time.

Yang Yinhang is very interested in these flowers and plants, and he is quite patient in doing it.He'd tidy it up, label it carefully, and store it away, with a serious, serious expression on his face, obviously enjoying it.It seemed that the suspended director was a passer-by, and he didn't even know him.In this way, after a period of time, finally, my father took the whole family on the journey back to the south.Yang Jiang vaguely remembered that there were a lot of people who came to the train station to see him off. Maybe everyone was reluctant to leave such a "good official". After all, the turbulent situation made people feel very insecure. The little Yang Jiang didn't understand why so many came She is a human being, but she is very proud, because the man everyone supports is her father, and the glory of her father is her pride, and she can also feel the reluctance in people's eyes.

The whistle of the train sounded, and the whole family started a rushing journey, taking them to the future.The six children, under the care of their parents, got off the train and boarded the ship again. The destination seemed so far away, but they would always feel at ease with the company of their families. The family sat on the temporary bed on the tugboat, shaking Shaking, like the moon in the water.The laughter continued, and the road seemed to be like a journey. The children were laughed by their father, and the mother sat quietly watching, she was always so quiet.

After floating on the boat for a long time, everyone felt uncomfortable with seasickness, but the children were not disappointed by it. The third sister said that she had never seen the sunrise at sea, and asked Yang Jiang to wake her up to see it.But in the end it was Yang Jiang who was woken up by the third sister, so that they saw the first sunrise at sea in their lives.As the sun slowly rises above the horizon, nothing seems to be able to stop it from glowing and glowing, and no matter what life encounters, the sun will rise as usual and still warm everything.The light of sunrise gently spread on their immature cheeks, making the two little sisters burst into joy.

Back in their hometown in Wuxi, the family was exhausted, and the bumpy sea made everyone want to settle down as soon as possible.Father decided not to return to the old house at home, but to find a new place to settle down.

Sometimes, fate just goes around and around, and you are still here.When they were looking for a house, a relative introduced a house, and their parents took Yang Jiang alone to see it.No one else lived in that house at the time, it was Yang Jiang's husband Qian Zhongshu's family.The two families didn't know each other at that time, and the two children naturally didn't know each other. In the later conversation, the two discovered that they had rubbed shoulders many years ago.

(End of this chapter)