She was born into a wealthy family and was well-dressed and well-fed since she was a child. She was raised like a princess by her parents. When she grew up, because she was dissatisfied with the marriage arranged by her parents, she chose a descendant of Lin Zexu who also yearned for romantic love.
However, when the passion subsides and life returns to daily necessities, the princess is willing to take off her delicate gauze skirt and wash her hands to make soup, but the prodigal son is still romantic and unwilling to return home.
Although life was not as expected, she still maintained her elegance, confidence, and tenacity, and finally lived a tragic life.
Because of the contrasting life, the world lamented that she had been miserable for half her life, but she smiled at it and faced it calmly.
She is Guo Wanying, the fourth lady of Shanghai Yongan Department Store, who is known as the last aristocrat in China.
Guo Wanying, also known as Dai Xi, was born in Sydney in 1909. She has been as beautiful and delicate as a doll since she was a child.
Guo Wanying's childhood can be said to have been spent in the palm of her family's hands, with fine food and clothing, and a carefree life. His father Guo Biao and his brothers started in the fruit bar in Australia and founded Yongan Department Store , becoming a wealthy businessman's home.
When Guo Wanying was born, Guo Biao had just established a foothold in Hong Kong and his business was booming. When Guo Wanying was 6 years old, Guo Biao returned to Shanghai to establish Yongan Department Store at the invitation of Mr. Sun Yat-sen .
Not long after its opening, Yong'an Department Store became a well-known high-consumption place in Shanghai. The mall sold all brand-name products from all over the world. All the dignitaries came in and out every day. Ordinary people could only look at it with sighs at the door.
At the same time, after returning to Shanghai, Guo Wanying had to go to a Guangdong girls' school to learn Chinese because of the language barrier. In 1920, her father sent Guo Wanying to Shanghai Chinese and Western Girls' School. This private school was once the place where the Song sisters, Zhang Ailing, studied.
Here, Guo Wanying was cultivated into a Shanghai socialite with both internal and external qualities, and her fluent English became her unique advantage. In addition, she also learned many skills such as playing the piano and fashion design.
Of course, the most important thing is that Guo Wanying was exposed to many Chinese and foreign masterpieces here, and those soul-stirring stories also left a mark on her heart.
In this period, old and new ideas alternately exist, and female consciousness is also in the process of awakening. So after graduating from a girls' school, Guo Wanying thought about studying abroad, but her father didn't want her to be too far away from home, and he didn't see the use of a girl studying abroad, so he hurriedly started looking for her husband's family.
My father chose a man named Alberd from a family of close friends. He felt that the two families were well matched and could support each other in future business, and he was even satisfied.
But it is a pity that Albert and Guo Wanying are not on the same journey after all. When he first met Guo Wanying, he gave her a pair of glass stockings that were very popular at the time, and told her that the socks were very strong and would not break down after being worn for a year.
This man who only discussed whether socks were strong completely shattered Guo Wanying's yearning for a beautiful love. She could not accept forming a family with such a person who could not resonate with her mentally, and then resolutely rejected the marriage.
Even in the face of Albert's threats, both soft and hard, Guo Wanying still firmly expressed her position, and then went to Beijing alone to continue her studies.
After that, Guo Wanying not only completed her child psychology major at Yenching University and successfully obtained her bachelor's degree, but she also met her future husband Wu Yuxiang here.
At that time, Wu Yuxiang was suave, humorous, full of knowledge, and had a strong pursuit of a romantic and idealistic life. These all coincided with Guo Wanying's fantasy love, but what she didn't know was that Wu Yuxiang learned these while studying in the United States.
Wu Yuxiang is a descendant of Lin Zexu, but by his generation, the world had declined and he had already become a scholar. Fortunately, he was talented and intelligent, and when he was nineteen years old, he was eligible to study in the United States at public expense.
Later, when he was studying in the preparatory class of Tsinghua University, he even joined in the fun and participated in the May 4th demonstration. The government sent these college students to the United States in advance because they were afraid of causing trouble.
Wu Yuxiang studied electrical engineering and business administration in the United States. Perhaps those courses were a little easier for him, so he had more spare time to attend various banquets and cocktail parties with those famous men.
Gradually, he learned the ability to be charming and suave, and was very popular among local girls. He could often make the little girls happy with just a few words. However, these are things Guo Wanying doesn't know.
After graduating and returning to Beijing, Wu Yuxiang worked as an administrator in a foreign company. This idle job also gave him more time to pursue romantic love, which happened to suit Guo Wanying's taste.
Guo Wanying's ultimate ideal of love romanticism formed a strong spiritual resonance with Wu Yuxiang. The two fell in love almost at first sight and fell in love quickly.
When she was 25 years old, Guo Wanying married Wu Yuxiang. She prepared for the wedding for more than half a year, but Wu Yuxiang barely participated. From the dress to the flowers, from the guest list to the banquet menu, Guo Wanying checked everything in detail, just to give herself a romantic wedding.
On the wedding day, Guo Wanying was like a noble princess who stepped out of a famous European painting. Her exquisite lace wedding dress wrapped her graceful figure, her elegant makeup, her noble hair, and her hand holding a bouquet of bright flowers. Everything was as beautiful as a fairy tale, but so unrealistic.
Looking at this extremely romantic wedding, many people thought that Wu Yuxiang was the one who favored Guo Wanying. However, after a century of changes and all kinds of hardships, she never admitted this.
After the lively wedding, everyone has to return to ordinary life, and Guo Wanying and Wu Yuxiang are no exception. No matter how persistent and eager they are for ideal romanticism, life still has to return to daily necessities. The princess has to roll up her sleeves and make soup even after taking off her lace gauze skirt. The only difference is that the arrogance and nobility in the princess's bones will not be buried by life.
Guo Wanying was ready to live wholeheartedly with Wu Yuxiang, but Wu Yuxiang was not like that. Her romantic nature was already engraved in her bones. Once the red rose was inserted into the vase, it would be no different from a smear of mosquito blood on the wall, while the white rose outside was still full of temptation and delicate beauty.
Not long after the two of them lived a sweet talk, Wu Yuxiang returned to his old romantic life. In addition to the ambiguities in the nightclub, Wu Yuxiang was also entangled with a widow. The woman had known Guo Wanying for many years, and she had never thought that rabbits would eat grass from the nest. When Guo Wanying had a difficult delivery of her second child and her eldest daughter was hospitalized with pneumonia, Wu Yuxiang was still lingering in the widow's house.
Faced with Wu Yuxiang like this, when the doctor suggested that Guo Wanying should ask her husband to come to the hospital, she gritted her teeth and said stubbornly, "Giving children is a woman's business, what's the use of telling him!"
Guo Wanying, who had experienced a near-death experience, was very weak after giving birth to her son, but Wu Yuxiang never showed up. Everyone felt that she was wronged and complained for her.
But Guo Wanying quietly began to recuperate her body, and followed the doctor's instructions to undergo confinement. When her son was one month old, she had already returned to the state before giving birth, with a rosy complexion and a slim figure. She could not tell that she had just given birth.
When the child was one month old, Guo Wanying gave herself an exquisite make-up, put on the most appropriate cheongsam, and came to the widow's home generously.
Even though the two of them were getting tired of each other at this time, she did not show the slightest anger or unhappiness. She only elegantly said to Wu Yuxiang, "It's time for you to go home!"
Without making a fuss or seeking death, Guo Wanying accepted their marital crisis gracefully, leaving Wu Yuxiang to follow her home speechlessly.
Although not hysterical, her husband's cheating still made Guo Wanying lose confidence in the marriage. She began to plan for her future. The education and experiences she received since childhood made her realize that women should not place their fate on a man, let alone a man who has cheated.
So, Guo Wanying found a friend and founded "Jinni New Clothes Club" together to sell clothes designed and cut by herself. Because of the novel styles and fine workmanship, the business was very good for a time.
At the same time, with the outbreak of the war, the whole country was devastated, Wu Yuxiang was also forced to lose his job, and Guo Wanying had to put more energy into the clothing store to maintain her life.
Later, the clothing store was also reduced to ruins by artillery bombardment. Guo Wanying had to work as a salesperson in an advertising company. During the most difficult period, they could not even pay the rent. Guo Wanying had to take her children back to her parents' home to live temporarily, but Wu Yuxiang could not put down her body to do any hard work.
Because of the war, Guo Wanying's family decided to move abroad. Originally, they planned to take Guo Wanying and the children with them, but she couldn't let go of Wu Yuxiang and rejected her family's suggestion. From then on, she no longer had her natal family to rely on in China.
After the war, Wu Yuxiang accidentally started to deal with medical equipment , and made a fortune in a short period of time. Later, he expanded many businesses such as wineries and milk factories. Guo Wanying also began to support her husband with her excellent foreign language skills.
With Guo Wanying's support, Wu Yuxiang's business flourished, and Guo Wanying finally lived a stable life for a few years. Like a rich lady, she went in and out of the small western-style building every day and drove a high-end imported car. However, Wu Yuxiang began to indulge in gambling and spent all night in the casino whenever she had free time.
Guo Wanying's life seems to have returned to many years ago, but this is not the most difficult thing. Soon, her life will undergo earth-shaking changes again.
With the liberation of the country, Wu Yuxiang's factories gradually began to be nationalized. At the same time, with the changes in the economic situation, other businesses also began to decline.
To make matters worse, Wu Yuxiang was labeled a "rightist" shortly after liberation. Guo Wanying didn't even have time to see him on the day he was arrested. She was only informed to drive away the imported car he left on the roadside.
Soon after, all of Guo Wanying's family property was confiscated. She stood in front of the small foreign-style building and watched them move away the furniture and collections from the house one by one. Even her jewelry and exquisite dresses were all confiscated.
Not only that, the judgment also clearly stated that Wu Yuxiang still owed the country nearly 140,000 yuan, and all these debts were borne by Guo Wanying.
In the end, she and her two children were kicked out of the spacious bungalow, and then moved into a pavilion with only 7 square meters.
Probably, Guo Wanying's life was meant to experience these hardships. Her husband was imprisoned, her family property was confiscated, and her life hit rock bottom before she had time to climb up. New hardships came again. In 1963, Guo Wanying was devolved again because she was a descendant of a capitalist. This year, she is 54 years old.
Later, she was sent to the capitalist class, where she did the heaviest physical labor, wielding a hammer with her slender arms and hands like green onions, smashing big rocks into small stones to support national construction.
Later, Guo Wanying was sent to the countryside to feed pigs, dig river mud, and clean toilets. Because she was the richest among all the descendants of capitalists, she had to undertake the most labor reform, and she had to do the most painful and tiring work.
At that time, Guo Wanying's two children had grown up. In order to save more than 20 yuan for tuition, Guo Wanying lived frugally and worked hard day and night. No one could have imagined that after more than half of her life, a rich girl would live a life of careful planning for the first time.
However, even so, she did her best to keep herself as clean and tidy as possible. Her clothes were always spotless, and her hair was straight and straight even when her hair was white. Some people laughed at her for being so fussy, but she just calmly said that this is how a person should be.
However, in the end, she did not wait for her husband to be released from prison, but instead waited for the news that he died of illness in prison. From then on, this woman, who had no support from her natal family, no longer had her husband to rely on, and even had to bear his debts and raise children. You can imagine the hard work involved.
Later, because she could speak foreign languages, Guo Wanying got a part-time job as an English teacher. Although this allowed her to reduce some physical labor, it inevitably caused mental stress. Torture, she had to give lectures to students during the day and accept criticism from teachers at night. Everyone had to find fault with her, otherwise they would be of the same faction as her. In that chaotic era, how many people simply ended their lives because they could not stand such mental torture.
But Guo Wanying didn't. She just sat there quietly, neither humble nor arrogant, neither angry nor sad. All unwarranted harm had no effect on her.
During those difficult years, she relied on her responsibility for her children and her belief in waiting for her husband to be released from prison. She survived ten years of turmoil with her perseverance and will. However, when foreign media reporters wanted to use the topic to interview her, Guo Wanying said nothing about those experiences, and even only said that the labor could help her maintain her figure.
Life finally returned to peace, and Guo Wanying also found someone with whom she could watch the sunset. She later became an English teacher, and received a certificate of honorable retirement at the age of 60. She hung the certificate in the most conspicuous place in her home, as if her life as water was engraved on it.
was born into a wealthy family. Although she was married, she was not arrogant. When faced with her husband's infidelity, she accepted and tolerated her husband's infidelity without crying or fussing. When she was sent to the countryside, she still maintained the elegance and dignity she deserved.
Probably because of these qualities and behaviors that are difficult for ordinary people to achieve, she is called "China's last true aristocrat".
Although Guo Wanying's life experience was ups and downs, she was relatively decent in her later years, always maintaining dignity and elegance, and never mentioned a word about her past experiences.
