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At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, the country was in turmoil. At a critical juncture in history, Chen Duxiu used the " New Culture Movement " to awaken thousands of people and spread progressive ideas with the "May Fourth Movement".
However, everyone was saved, but the small family was implicated.
Chen Duxiu's eldest son Chen Yannian and second son Chen Qiaonian were both elected as "Central Committee Members", and "One Family and Three Central Committee Committees" were also a well-written story back then.
But in the white storm set off by the Kuomintang, Chen Yannian and Chen Qiaonian were unfortunately arrested and lost their lives forever.
, and Chen Duxiu's other children also had a rough fate, especially the young girl Chen Zimei, who died in depression for a long time, and her body was unclaimed after her death in the United States for one month.
So, why did Chen Zimei fall into a displaced life? What are the twists and turns of her fate?
died in disgrace, and his body was unclaimed. On April 14, 2004, a gray-haired old woman was lying in St. John's Hospital in Queens, New York.
Outside the window was a bustling scene, but the old woman's face was filled with sorrow and her breath became weaker.
From her appearance, the old woman is a Chinese, and her filial piety is famous all over the world, but by the old woman, she has no children to accompany her. She can only be alone and spend the last time of her life sadly.
Just like that, in the cold silence, the old woman passed away, and the hospital could not contact her family, so she had to temporarily place the body in the morgue.
One day, two days, one week, two weeks, more than a month has passed, but no one has claimed it. In desperation, the hospital had to ask the local government for help.
So, the news of "a 90-year-old woman died in regret" spread wildly and finally passed back to China on the other side of the ocean.
At this time, an old man named Li Dake noticed the news and looked at the familiar and unfamiliar photos in the newspaper, and he couldn't help but burst into tears.
Although he is over 60 years old, he is like a child, shouting "Mom".
It turns out that Li Da is Chen Duxiu's grandson, and the woman who died alone was Li Dake's mother and Chen Duxiu's daughter Chen Zimei.
At this time, it has been 37 years since Chen Zimei "disappeared strangely".
Over the years, Li Dake has started a family and started a career and has lived a happy life of three generations living together. However, the scenes of getting along with his mother in the past often echo in his mind, which has become his regret for many years.
Accompanied by his family, Li Dake rushed to the United States as soon as possible and claimed Chen Zimei's body. Afterwards, he followed his mother's last wish and held a special funeral for her.
On May 25, 2004, the farewell ceremony for Chen Zimei's body ended successfully in New York. It was not until all the funeral was completed that Li Dake returned to his motherland.
After returning to China, Li Dake was relieved of the past.
When facing the interview, he calmly said: "In my impression, my mother is a very independent and strong woman. She can take good care of her life and does not want others to disturb her."
Although that is the case, Chen Zimei's experience still aroused people's curiosity. Why did she suddenly disappear? Why do you live alone in the United States?
If you want to understand these, we might as well start with her life.
was young and lived a poor life
1911, the Revolution of 1911 broke out, the Qing Dynasty was destroyed, and the Republic of China was founded. Although Chen Duxiu was not a member of the Tongmenghui , he had always strongly supported Mr. Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary activities.
Therefore, he also won the position of Secretary-General of the Anhui Governor's Office and has since become a leader in Anhui's democratic revolution.
The next year, Chen Zimei was born. As a young girl in the family, Chen Duxiu loves her very much.
However, the revolution is not about treating guests to dinner. Whether it is Yuan Shikai or various warlords, they are all drooling at the new Republic of China regime.
In order to maintain the results of the revolution, Chen Duxiu often travels outside, and the time he can accompany Chen Zimei is quite limited.
, especially after 1925, Mr. Sun Yat-sen unfortunately passed away. The revolutionary situation became more and more complicated. He was busy with the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party and the Northern Expedition , and Chen Duxiu had fewer and fewer opportunities to go home.
Over time, Chen Zimei's mother Gao Junman and Chen Duxiu gradually became conflicted and eventually ended with divorce. Chen Zimei's displaced life began.
She and her brother left Shanghai with their mother and went to Nanjing to make a living. In troubled times, healthy men often couldn't eat, let alone single mothers with son and daughter.
Although Gao Junman worked hard to earn money, his family of three still lived a very poor life. He lived in a broken thatched house and ate cold steamed buns. Compared with the life of Shanghai without worries about food and clothing, it was a world of difference.
grew up in such an environment, and Chen Zimei learned to be independent and strong. She studied while working, but later she simply dropped out of school to provide her younger brother with her vocational school .
In order to make a living, she studied telegrams and received. Two years later, she worked hard to get into a medical school, specializing in gynecology.
With the joint efforts of Chen Zimei and her mother, the family's conditions have improved, and Chen Zimei could have looked forward to a better tomorrow.
However, what is so good about luck is that just when Chen Zimei was about to graduate from medical school, Gao Junman suddenly became seriously ill and bedridden, and passed away soon.
's mother's departure caused a heavy blow to Chen Zimei. From then on, she and her younger brother were helpless and could only barely live.
Whenever I think of my father far away, Chen Zimei's heart is always mixed. At this moment, a man broke into Chen Zimei's life and captured her heart.
First love, but was deceived
This person's name is Zhang Guoxiang, who works in supply and marketing cooperative . By chance, Chen Zimei met him.
Seeing that Zhang Guo was gentle and generous, he was much more mature and graceful than his peers, Chen Zimei couldn't help but be moved.
How can a girl who is in love resist the temptation of a mature man? So, Chen Zimei resolutely fell in love with Zhang Guoxiang despite her ten years older than her.
With a love affair, the two soon entered the palace of marriage.
In Chen Zimei's view, this is the beginning of a happy new life, but she never expected that the wishful husband in front of her was just a mere expression, and the love between the two was full of lies.
It turns out that Chen Zimei is not Zhang Guoxiang's original wife, he has a wife in the countryside.
It was not until 1935 that Chen Zimei gave birth to a son and was in a weak state that Zhang Guoxiang took a "nanny" home in the name of taking care of the child, and the matter began to be exposed.
Not long after, the nanny revealed her original identity to Chen Zimei, who was unwilling to believe it.
The nanny brought the child from the countryside again. I saw the child in his teens, with the shadow of Zhang Guoxiang in his eyes, and Chen Zimei had no room to deny it.
For this reason, she locked herself at home and cried all day long. Later, she had a big quarrel with Zhang Guoxiang. In the end, Zhang Guoxiang had to divorce his original wife Cai, and the matter came to an end.
However, once there is a crack in the relationship, how can it be easily repaired? Although Zhang Guoxiang cared for Chen Zimei in every way and was very attentive, the two became increasingly cold and their marriage could only be barely maintained.
It was at this time that Chen Zimei recalled her father's advice back then, but she had already regretted it.
It turns out that as early as 1932, when Chen Zimei and Zhang Guoxiang got married, Chen Duxiu made a pessimistic judgment on the future of the two.
At that time, Chiang Kai-shek adopted the appeasement policy against the Japanese invading China, resulting in the rapid fall of the three northeastern provinces of .
When the national crisis was in the forefront, Chen Duxiu stood up and wrote a large number of articles, sharply criticizing the absurd policy of "to calm the country before fighting foreign countries."
Chiang Kai-shek, who was resentful, fabricated the charge and arrested Chen Duxiu and sentenced him to 13 years in prison.
In order to comfort his father, Chen Zimei specially brought her newlywed husband to visit.
didn't expect it. He just glanced at Zhang Guoxiang, and Chen Duxiu said confidently: "How can you make a joke about marriage? You are young and ignorant now, and the consequences are unimaginable."
At that time, Chen Zimei was disdainful of her father's control. Times passed, and she realized his far-sightedness, but when she regretted it, Japan had launched a massive war of aggression against China.
For a moment, the mountains and rivers were broken, the people were living in poverty, and the trivialities at home were even more worth mentioning when the country was in the rise and fall.
The marriage has changed again, and I feel like I am leaving
In order to avoid the war, Chen Zimei and Zhang Guoxiang, as well as their four children, traveled to many places, from Nanjing to Chongqing, and then to Shanghai.
Wherever you go, there are traces of the Japanese army. As you travel for many years, the conflict between Chen Zimei and Zhang Guoxiang has become increasingly serious, and the marriage is finally unsustainable.
When Anti-Japanese War won in 1945, Chen Zimei and Zhang Guoxiang officially divorced.
At first, Chen Zimei asked for custody of four children, but Zhang Guoxiang left a hand and refused to pay the child support.
Chen Zimei once worked day and night, but she could not bear the burden of life of her four children. At the end of the day, she had to return the custody to Zhang Guoxiang, and she left sadly and returned to her birthplace Shanghai.
During the War of Liberation, chaos occurred frequently in the ten miles of foreign fields, and there were both wealthy people who spent a lot of money on the streets and beggars who were unclothed.
In order to make a living in this situation, Chen Zimei picked up the gynecology knowledge she learned many years ago and found a position in a small clinic.
Although life is not rich, at least he can be self-sufficient, which is a relief compared to the enduring life for many years.
1949, Chen Zimei felt the arrival of the new era more deeply. She let go of the past and met and fell in love with bulldozer driver Li Huanzhao, and gave birth to a daughter and a son within two years.
Li Huanzhao is a loyal and honest person and respects Chen Zimei as much as guests. It is just one thing that bothers him, that is, Chen Zimei never reveals her life experience.
Until the mid-1950s, his curiosity was finally satisfied.
At that time, Chen Zimei's eldest son Zhang Zhaoshan joined the army and unfortunately died. The relevant departments investigated his life experience in detail, and followed the clues and discovered the relationship between Chen Zimei and Chen Duxiu.
At this time, Chen Zimei's other child, Zhang Shude, was admitted to university, but on her admission resume, she didn't know how to fill in social relations.
Zhang Guoxiang had no choice but to reveal that Chen Duxiu was her grandfather.
When Zhang Shude visited Chen Zimei, he accidentally told the secret. After Li Huanzhao learned about it, he immediately went to the relevant departments to verify it.
In the face of two major ironclad evidence, Chen Zimei could not deny it and could only admit the father-daughter relationship with Chen Duxiu.
Li Huanzhao was originally an ordinary person who just wanted to live a peaceful life. His marriage to the daughter of a celebrity made him feel very stressed. In the end, he chose to divorce.
Chen Zimei encountered another setback in her life. She was discouraged and had the idea of traveling far away from home.
settled in the United States and had nowhere to rely on
At that time, Chen Zimei was already in her 60s, but her age did not become an obstacle to her movement.
One night, she brought her youngest son to the riverside, used 5 oil barrels to drift all the way in the cold and bone-blowing river water for 9 hours, and finally completed the smuggling and arrived in Hong Kong smoothly.
Life in Hong Kong is also extremely difficult. Chen Zimei works during the day and takes care of her children under 5 years old at night.
It is precisely because she neglected to discipline that her youngest son developed a naughty personality, which also led to the final tragedy. Not long after
, Hong Kong cracked down on smugglers, and a large number of people were sent back to the mainland. Chen Zimei did not want to sit still and waited for death, so she could only use Canada and eventually headed to the United States.
With the medical skills accumulated over the years, Chen Zimei opened a gynecological clinic in the United States, and her life gradually improved. More than 6 years later, Chen Zimei even bought an apartment in Queens, New York and established a family and business.
However, fate still joked with her. Chen Zimei had lung problems and her health was getting worse. Just when she needed someone to take care of and accompany her the most, her unfilial young son left her again and never saw her again.
During that period, Greek neighbor Prous was Chen Zimei's only support.
According to Prouss' recollection, when Chen Zimei was seriously ill, her home was stolen, and cash, jewelry and other valuables were looted.
Since then, Chen Zimei has been unable to afford the high housing management fees and was once sued to court.
Fortunately, China Overseas Friendship Association lends a helping hand in time and helps Chen Zimei pay $400 a month so that she will not be rushed to the street to sleep in the open.
After a slight recovery of health, Chen Zimei regained her confidence in life and often walked on the streets with a respirator. When
entered the millennium, she also repeatedly instructed Prous that if she died, she hoped to wear the wedding dress at the funeral.
Conclusion
Just like that, Chen Zimei's life in her later years was alone, deserted, and her stormy life soon came to an end.
On April 14, 2004, Chen Zimei died of illness. Her body was left in the hospital morgue for more than a month. It was not until the child Li Dake arrived when he heard the news that he held a decent funeral for his mother.
At the funeral, Li Dake followed Chen Zimei's last wish and put on her wedding dress of that year.
Under the gaze of everyone, Chen Zimei's coffin slowly fell down. This independent and strong woman died in a foreign land and could never return to her motherland.
As a revolutionary martyr, Chen Zimei had such a turbulent and tortuous life, which is really sad.
