In 1922, Su Xuelin was recuperating in Dulon on the shores of Lake Leman. The scenery along Lake Leman is pleasant. French European-style buildings are embedded in the blue sea and sky. Men and women in love are chasing each other on the street. There is a romantic flavor in the air. Balzac said it is simply "love." Synonyms".
The emotional Su Xuelin was awakened by such an environment to have romantic cells. She began to imagine that she had a beautiful love, so she agreed to communicate with her family and her fiancé, whom she had never met, in order to better understand each other.
Zhang Baoling was currently studying science courses at MIT . Su Xuelin received Zhang Baoling's first reply and saw Zhang Baoling's beautiful words and concise writing style, and she suddenly felt good about it. Su Xuelin continued to communicate with him, but slowly discovered a problem. If Zhang Baoling was cautious at first because he was not familiar with her, but after several letters, Zhang Baoling's enthusiasm could not be seen. Su Xuelin talked to him about dancing, tea parties, movies... He was not interested in anything. She invited him to visit France, but he actually said frankly that he was not interested in traveling.
Su Xuelin, who longed for passion and romance, was poured cold water on her. She began to suspect that Zhang Baoling had another sweetheart. But when he heard that Zhang Baoling was loyal and upright, and that someone was pursuing him, he carried Su Xuelin's photo with him and bluntly said that this was his fiancée.
Only then did Su Xuelin know that Zhang Baoling, a science student, had such a temperament. He grew up in a feudal family. He had no romantic elements in him and only accepted death. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to live with him, and she was afraid that she would die of suffocation.
Su Xuelin wanted to refuse this marriage, but how could a marriage in a feudal family be changed at will? The seriously ill mother begged her daughter not to break off the engagement. Her mother loved Su Xuelin very much. She was able to go to school thanks to her mother's help, so she always loved her mother the most. At her mother's request, she married Zhang Baoling.
The two actually got along harmoniously for a period of time after their marriage. Su Xuelin felt a brief love during this beautiful time. Therefore, she also wrote a book called "Green Sky" with sweet feelings, describing the beauty of love.
But the essential differences in their personalities will not disappear over time, but will only become more and more obvious. Zhang Baoling grew up in a traditional male-dominated family. She has obvious male chauvinist ideas, does not understand romance, and will not accept weakness. She hopes that her wife will be virtuous and virtuous. But Su Xuelin pursues advanced ideas too much, longs for love, refuses to be a housewife, and is not even willing to learn to make a bowl of soup.
’s daily conversations between the two are also very interesting, very much like today’s “straight men chatting” jokes. When Su Xuelin said that flowers are beautiful, straight man Zhang Baoling would respond inappropriately: "Flowers are just the reproductive organs of plants." Su Xuelin said that the moon is round, and he said that the circle he drew with a compass is even rounder. You can imagine the helplessness of the talented Su Xuelin at that time.
In the end, the relationship between the two broke up. Su Xuelin did not divorce because of her face, but just separated from her husband. For the next few decades, Su Xuelin lived with her sisters. Su Xuelin, who originally pursued romance, may be miserable for the rest of her life. This led to her extreme thoughts, praising the literati she liked as having no shortcomings, and denying everything about the people she disliked. She once scolded Lu Xun for most of her life.
Zhang Baoling actually loved Su Xuelin. Before he died, he still remembered to say to Su Xuelin: "I'm sorry, it was my fault at first." However, the temperaments of the two were really very different, and tragedy was doomed.
Su Xuelin’s marriage, which has been separated for half a century, still has enlightenment for us today: marriage really needs to be a match, not just the status of the two families, but the most important thing is the equality of the three views of both men and women. Even if there were sparks between the two people with different personalities, they would not be able to withstand the passage of time. For the rest of your life, you should have an interesting soul by your side.
