September 16, 1915, was the birthday of Yuan Shikai, then the president of the Republic of China. According to tradition, the descendants of the Yuan family will pay tribute to Yuan Shikai on this day. During the ceremony, Yuan Shikai saw that the child, who was about one or three years old, looked very strange and asked:
"Which room is this child from? He is very handsome."
The butler beside him hurriedly bowed and replied:
"This is the new child given to you by the second master." Tian's young master Sun."
Yuan Shikai suddenly remembered that this was the child of his second son Yuan Kewen and his concubine who was born in a brothel.
Yuan Shikai has always been particular about feudal ethics, so naturally he didn't pay much attention to this child who was born as a commoner and whose mother had a bad background. This is why he didn't pay much attention to his grandson until he was three or four years old.
But Yuan Shikai never imagined that decades later, among his seventeen sons and twenty-two grandsons, the only one who really made the Yuan family's lintel shine was the child born to this famous brothel prostitute: Yuan Jialiu .
What Yuan Shikai never expected was that, unlike Yuan Kewen, who had a lot of wives and concubines, he was completely different from the romantic Yuan Kewen: his grandson had a genetic mutation, and with a lifetime of love, he performed a legendary love that shocked both China and the world.
When Yuan Shikai was observing the stars at night, he probably did not expect that there was the name of a very bright planet in the night sky. Later, because of his grandson Yuan Jialiu, he became connected with the Yuan Shikai family.
Yuan Jialiu was born in 1912, his ancestral home is Xiangcheng, Henan. His mother was Xue Liqing, a famous prostitute in Bada Hutong. Xue Liqing is Yuan Kewen's first concubine. She is like most prostitutes of her generation: beautiful but vain.
After marrying into the Yuan family of the imperial family, Xue Liqing left because she could not live the ideal luxurious life. The year Xue Liqing left, Yuan Jialiu was just born.
From then until Yuan Shikai's birthday, Yuan Jialiu lived a life without a mother. Perhaps because Yuan Shikai was in a good mood on his birthday, or perhaps because he felt guilty for not knowing his grandson until he was three or four years old, he actually turned to Yuan Kewen and said:
"Go and find his (Yuan Jialiu's) mother."
As soon as Yuan Shikai said this, Yuan Kewen immediately panicked. In this case, he absolutely could not tell the truth. You must know: once the words "the child's mother Xue Li ran away early in the morning" were spoken, what was waiting for him would be The man fell on his back.
Yuan Kewen was so worried that he finally had to go to Bada Hutong to drag his old sweetheart Xiao Taohong over to "become a mother". Since then, the famous prostitute Xiao Taohong has become Yuan Jialiu's second mother.
But just a few years later, when Yuan Jialiu was 6 years old, Xiao Taohong, like Xue Liqing, returned to the Bada Hutong. After that, Yuan Jialiu, who was abandoned twice, had to live with his aunt, Yuan Kewen's wife, Liu Meizhen.
Liu Meizhen has two sons of her own, so naturally she won't take kindly to the adopted son born to her love rival. Yuan Kewen's father, however, rarely cared about his children. His interests were always in poetry, songs and Yanliu Alley.
His father doesn't care, his grandfather doesn't care, and his mother doesn't love him. In addition, he is a commoner, so Yuan Jialiu's living environment is really not optimistic.
But the strong are never born from pleasure, but born from adversity. In the days when he had no love from his parents and was homeless, the little Yuan Jialiu gradually grew into a taciturn but extremely capable and motivated child.
html When he was 9 years old, Yuan Jialiu, who loved reading, read this sentence in an ancient book: "When heaven is about to entrust a great responsibility to this person, he must first suffer from his will." He began to understand that God's various tests on him were just blessings. So he worked harder to read and write, and soon he became the best poet among Liu Meizhen's three sons.Yuan Jialiu's outstanding performance quickly attracted the attention of his father Yuan Kewen. When he saw the poem "Yong Snow" written by his son, he couldn't help but read it along:
"At night, the cold wind rises, and the bright clouds meet the sea; There are thousands of people floating around, and the road is quiet and sparsely traveled."
Yuan Kewen, who loves poetry and has considerable attainments in literature and ink, has his eyes shining. He realizes that this child is extremely talented and is the most likely to become a talent among all his children. one.
But at this time, Yuan Kewen continued to do what he should do after being delighted. After all, "educating children" has never been his strong point. On weekdays, Yuan Kewen spends his money everywhere looking for happiness. When the money is gone, he sells antique calligraphy and paintings to continue his happiness.
Yuan Kewen
In 1931, Yuan Kewen, who lingered in Yanliu Lane all day long, died. This year he was only 41 years old, and Yuan Jialiu was 19 years old.
The year Yuan Kewen passed away, Yuan Kewen's house had been completely destroyed by him. Even the money for his funeral was actually raised by the Qinggang.
The Yuan family has no money, but Yuan Jialiu, who has excellent academic performance and is talented in radio technology, needs to study abroad. It is really sad that such embarrassment occurs to Yuan Shikai's descendants.
This is probably because Yuan Shikai's ancestral graves were well guarded in the past. Just when his grandson Yuan Jialiu was about to choose to work in Kailuan Coal Mine with his sixth uncle Yuan Kehuan, his teacher of Yenjing University Stuart Leighton appeared.
Leighton Stuart was an American, but he loved China and had been preaching and setting up education in China. Leighton Stuart admired Yuan Jialiu's talent. After learning that the student had to go around because he had no money, he quickly used his connections in the United States to apply for a scholarship for the student to study abroad at the California Institute of Technology in the United States.
Yuan Jialiu, who couldn't afford the tuition, could only imagine how he felt when he got such a distinguished person and received such preferential treatment. After receiving the good news that night, he was so excited that he couldn't sleep all night. At this time, Yuan Jialiu knew that his fate was finally going to change.
Although tuition is no longer needed, life still requires money, but at this time Yuan Kewen's family had no money.
When he boarded the ship to the United States in 1936, Yuan Jialiu only had 40 US dollars on him, and he traveled in a very simple third-class cabin. Along the way, Yuan Jialiu, who had 40 US dollars in his pocket, could only buy the cheapest salted fish on the boat to satisfy his hunger. Just this salted fish, but I have to buy too much, because it costs money everywhere after arriving in the United States.
Due to poor eating and seasickness, Yuan Jialiu had lost more than ten kilograms in weight during the 20-day voyage when he arrived at his destination. The weight loss was nothing, except that he only had $25 left.
I wonder if Yuan Kewen, who used to sell antique calligraphy and paintings and spend a lot of money on Yanliu Lane, had ever thought about how he would feel if he could see his son like this in person today?
"Suffering among hardships and being superior to others" has always been a cause-and-effect relationship. Yuan Jialiu, who has endured hardships, ushered in the life of being superior to others step by step in the midst of suffering.
One month after Yuan Jialiu entered University of California , a beauty from the south of the Yangtze River came by boat from Shanghai. What happened next well explains the role of the psychological "primacy effect" in love.
The beautiful woman who followed Yuan Jialiu to study in California is called Wu Jianxiong . The reason why a woman takes such a name is also related to her father. Wu Jianxiong's father Wu Zhongyi attached great importance to education and had advanced ideas. He advocated equal education for men and women and also founded Mingde Women's Vocational Tutorial School.
Wu Zhongyi hoped that his daughter would truly be "a woman and not a man", so he simply gave his daughter a very "manly" name. Wu Jianxiong did not disappoint her father in the end. Her grades have always been outstanding. After graduation, she planned to teach, but with her father's encouragement, she embarked on the road of studying abroad.
After Yuan Jialiu met Wu Jianxiong, he was immediately attracted to this woman with excellent appearance and temperament. In order to let her stay in the physics department of Berkeley, Yuan Jialiu tried his best. He took the initiative to ask Ying to be a guide to introduce the school to her.
In just half a day, Wu Jianxiong decided to stay in the school and become classmates with Yuan Jialiu. Firstly, it was because of the perfect and sophisticated atomic experimental equipment in the school, and secondly, it was more or less influenced by Yuan Jialiu, whom he met for the first time.
Later, because of her excellent first impression of Yuan Jialiu, Wu Jianxiong became a popular figure in the physics department of the school, but the only person she really fell in love with was Yuan Jialiu.
What is very interesting is that Yuan Jialiu is the grandson of Yuan Shikai, but Wu Jianxiong's father once held high the banner of anti-Yuan. When she told him about this, he didn't take it seriously at all and said:
"Your father is anti-Yuan. My father also rebelled against Yuan, and he was imprisoned by his grandfather for writing the anti-Yuan poem "It's a pity for the wind and rain in high places, don't go to the top of Qiong Tower." Therefore, my father rebelled against Yuan more than your father."
Wu Jianxiong listened. Wan couldn't help but laugh, and from then on she became even more fond of this royal descendant.
As mentioned earlier, Yuan Jialiu was extremely short of money when he arrived in the United States, so Wu Jianxiong often paid for his meals in advance. Slowly, while listening to classes, going to school, and eating together, the two established a profound friendship that transcended classmates.
During his studies abroad, Yuan Jialiu always missed his motherland even though he was in the United States, and the same was true for Wu Jianxiong. The difference is that Yuan Jialiu's patriotism is somewhat hidden in her heart, while Wu Jianxiong shows her patriotism without reservation.
Wu Jianxiong has always claimed that he is Chinese and wears cheongsam to school every day. This behavior makes Yuan Jialiu admire him very much. As the two got to know each other better, they fell in love.
In 1940, Yuan Jialiu, who had excellent academic performance, received his doctorate and entered the research institute of the Radio Corporation of America.
Six years after they met, on May 30, 1942, the day before Wu Jianxiong's 30th birthday, the two held a simple wedding in Pasadena, Los Angeles.. Since then, this "immortal couple" who later became the envy of the entire physics world finally achieved enlightenment.
After getting married, the two have been committed to related research in the field of physics. In the pursuit of each other, both of them soon became top talents in the field of physics. This kind of evenly matched love makes each other successful.
Even though they are evenly matched, the two have always had the same goals. These common goals include: making contributions to China.
Shortly after their marriage, Wu Jianxiong left California in order to support her husband in joining Radio Corporation of America to continue engaging in cutting-edge technology research. The reason is simply that she felt that her husband's choice was beneficial to China. She later said:
"I think RCA is large in scale and has good equipment. China will need this in the future. He should go and gain some experience."
Contributing to the country A common goal later gradually became one of the sublimations of their love.
Later, an American professor planned to donate his collection of books before retiring. Wu Jianxiong immediately took action after hearing this. In the end, through her efforts, his precious collection of books was given to Peking University.
In a love that achieves mutual success, the two people, besides chasing after each other, are always ready to sacrifice for each other.
In March 1944, because of his professional excellence, Wu Jianxiong received a top-secret "Manhattan Project" in the United States. Everyone today knows the purpose of this project: to develop an atomic bomb, and Wu Jianxiong is the only female member of this project.
After his wife received the assignment, in order to allow her to devote herself to research with peace of mind, Yuan Jialiu took on almost all the trivial matters in life: laundry, cooking, tidying up the room, and taking care of the children.
While doing this, Yuan Jialiu also engages in neutron source research at Princeton University every day. This research is also an extremely important project, and he needs to concentrate on conducting a large number of experiments every day.
But in order not to tire his wife, Yuan Jialiu always insisted on not letting his wife do housework. During that time, Yuan Jialiu was exhausted every day, and the only thing that supported him was his love and care for his wife.
It was under such circumstances that Yuan Jialiu overturned the erroneous conclusion that neutrons came from space through research and experiments.
At the same time, with the explosion of the two atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, the "Manhattan Project" in which his wife Wu Jianxiong participated also achieved success.
Chinese people today only know that the explosion of the two atomic bombs in the United States accelerated Japan's defeat, but they do not know that behind this were two Chinese people who worked so hard.
With the support of Yuan Jialiu and Wu Jianxiong's own efforts, she was promoted to Columbia University professor in 1958, and was also elected as the first female honorary doctorate in the century since the founding of Princeton University.
Wu Jianxiong took a group photo with top physicists
In the same year, she was also elected as the first Chinese-American member of the National Academy of Sciences and was included in the "Who's Who in American Science."
Yuan Jialiu himself has grown into a physicist with an international reputation. He has made outstanding achievements in the research of high-energy physics, high-energy accelerators and particle detection systems.
What is commendable is that in the nearly 20 years since arriving in the United States, Yuan Jialiu and his wife have never become American citizens. Yes, in their hearts they only identify themselves as Chinese. However, in 1954, because Yuan Jialiu's physics research involved too many U.S. state secrets, he had no choice but to become a U.S. citizen.
Even if his nationality changed, Yuan Jialiu and his wife always remembered that they were descendants of Yan and Huang. In 1956, he returned to his hometown after a long absence. At this time, Wu Jianxiong, who was personally in charge of the experiment on the possible non-conservation of symmetry in the weak interaction proposed by Yang Zhenning and Li Zhengdao , failed to make the trip.
It was the success of this experiment that allowed Yang Zhenning and others to win the Nobel Prize in Physics. However, few people know that it was Wu Jianxiong who pushed them to the Nobel podium.
It was Yuan Jialiu's return to China that made him even more obsessed with his motherland. Since then, he has been paying close attention to the development of domestic physics, and he and his wife have provided support and help to China at critical moments countless times.
In 1973, Yuan Jialiu and Wu Jianxiong returned to their hometown of China, and Premier Zhou Enlai personally received them. This time, they stayed in China for 53 days. After that, the two returned to China many times to visit and give lectures. At this time, they had already received the honorific title of "Mr. and Mrs. Curie of the East" for their outstanding contributions in the world of physics.
In 1984, with the support of her husband, Wu Jianxiong, who returned to China again, used the US$1 million he saved through frugality to establish the "Wu Zhongyi Scholarship".
On May 18, 1990, with the approval of the International Minor Planet Center, the Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences named the asteroid No. 2752 "Wu Jianxiong".
On February 16, 1997, 85-year-old Wu Jianxiong passed away due to a stroke. The year his wife passed away, Yuan Jialiu had been with her for more than half a century.
On April 6 of this year, Yuan Jialiu personally escorted Wu Jianxiong's ashes back to the motherland, regardless of the fact that he was already in his late years, and was buried next to the Ziwei Pavilion of Mingde School. His wife's tomb was designed by the famous designer I.M. Pei. The words engraved on Wu Jianxiong's tombstone are: She is an outstanding citizen of the world and an eternal Chinese.
Since then, Yuan Jialiu has been living with the memories of his wife. Six years after his wife passed away, in 2003, on the same February day that his wife passed away, Yuan Jialiu passed away in Beijing. Before his death, he asked his family to bury him next to his wife's grave.
Today, this scientific couple who have been together for 60 years rest quietly under the crape myrtle tree in Mingde Garden. They have done it before and after death: they will only be with you in this life.
Relevant bibliographies of this original article:
"Wu Jianxiong of the Yuan Family" Jiang Ye
"The Family of Yuan Shikai" Zhang Jiongjiu
"The Biography of Yuan Kewen" Wang Zhonghe
" Centennial Family : Yuan Shikai" Hou Yijie and others
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