In the old society, China has been in a male-dominated social environment for a long time, with high status of men and low status of women, and they are regarded as tools for "husbands and children" and have no right to speak.
Even in some families, men can marry more than one wife, while women are confined to the home and cannot go out. However, all this changed after the founding of the People's Republic of China.
There is a woman in history who, in order to gain status in the family, tried her best to "keep" her husband, and even persuaded her cousin to become a concubine, and finally became a flat wife after her cousin gave birth to 10 sons in a row.
Her story shows the determination and courage of women to fight for their rights and status.
He Dong, a rare mixed-race son, was born to a Dutch Jewish father and a Chinese Cantonese mother. Influenced by his mother and born in Amsterdam, he has always been curious about the history of the great powers of the Far East and has an adventurous heart.
However, the actions of these adventurers are based on the suffering of the Chinese nation. "Opium Wars"Later, the West opened the gates of the East and established trading ports, which brought hope to European merchants looking for new business opportunities.
Ho Tung's father, Ho Shiwen, seized this opportunity and arrived in Hong Kong in 1859. Rumor has it that he works for Jardine Matheson in Hong Kong, but he also registered his own company called"bosman＆co"。
Ho's family background prompted Ho Tung to go to Hong Kong as soon as possible, and he worked as a junior assistant and translator at Jardine Matheson, accumulating a wealth of capital and co-founding a company with his brothers.
With his wisdom and business skills, he stood out from the competition and became the richest man in Hong Kong in 1897 with a net worth of more than $2 million.
Mak Xiuying is Ho Dong's original wife, they are all mixed-race children, they have lived in Hong Kong for a long time, and many wealthy people in Hong Kong and Macao cherish their relationship with their original wives. However, as Ho Dong's strength and wealth grew, Mak Xiuying began to worry that they had no heirs.
He Dong attaches great importance to his family concept, especially for him in his old age, it is extremely dangerous to have no heirs. At that time, there was no Dink thought, so he needed more children to carry on his business empire.
However, giving birth to a child is not an easy task, and Mak Xiuying has not found the cause after many medical consultations. So, she had a bold idea: He Dong should take a concubine.
Although in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China, it was the norm for men to take concubines, but Mai Xiuying's decision was based on her deep love for He Dong, and she hoped that her husband would have children in order to continue his business empire.
When Mai Xiuying was choosing a suitable partner for Ho Dong, Zhou Qiwen was her first choice. Whether it is appearance or personality, Zhou Qiwen is very compatible with He Dong, which makes He Dong very satisfied with her.
In order for the two to establish a deep relationship, Mak so-young made the painful decision to often leave the two alone.
However, time flies, a few years have passed, and Zhou Qiwen's stomach still has not moved, which makes Mai Xiuying very anxious, is Zhou Qiwen like her, infertile?
Ho Tung has a prominent position in the business world, and if he has no heirs, even if he does not care about it, his reputation will be affected in the business and political circles, because in Hong Kong, where "family is big and business is big", children are an important symbol of family status.
For Mai Xiuying, the first wave of "bets" has been wrong, her husband already has a concubine, his heart may have been divided, and if she finds another strange concubine, it will be a serious challenge to her status.
After much deliberation, Mak decided to take a new approach to solving family problems. She took a fancy to her cousin Zhang Jingrong, who came from a well-known family of mixed Eurasian descent and was the only one who could solve the family's problems.
However, she also understands that the same problem can recur if not handled properly.
After Mai Xiuying learned about the advanced ideas of the West, although she accepted the concept of "following the customs of the locals", she was still very clear about her cousin's personality. For the sake of her husband's face, she decided to test whether her cousin agreed to become her concubine.
However, her idea was firmly opposed by her aunt, who considered it an insult to her daughter. Mak Xiuying understands that no other woman can replace her cousin, so she promises her aunt that as long as the two have children, she will make her cousin a legitimate wife.
The Ho family in Hong Kong was powerful at the time, and if they could establish a strong relationship with them, they would have peace of mind within three generations.
Hong Kong's richest man, Ho Tung, praised Zhang Jingrong's good manners, elegant speech and knowledge, and he was willing to take her as a concubine first, provided that Mak Xiuying persuaded her.
Under the persuasion of Mai Xiuying, Zhang Jingrong's mother agreed to the marriage. Zhang Jingrong initially thought that her parents would not agree, but when she learned that her mother had agreed, her face became extremely ugly.
The He family has already made a dowry, and if she does not agree, she will regret the marriage, which will damage the reputation of the He family. The Zhang family can't offend the He family, and Zhang Jingrong's mother has convinced her that in order not to embarrass her parents, she finally decided to marry a wealthy family.
As soon as He Dong saw Zhang Jingrong, he was attracted by the temperament of this lady. It didn't take long for the news of Zhang Jingrong's pregnancy to come, which made Mak Xiuying very happy.
She has been working on this matter for many years, and finally sees hope. He Dong's first child was born, a boy. With this child, He Dong doted on Zhang Jingrong even more, Mai Xiuying was not only not angry, but very happy, she felt that it didn't matter who He Dong doted on, because she and Zhang Jingrong were a family.
What made Mai Xiuying even more excited was that Zhang Jingrong later gave birth to two sons and seven daughters one after another, making the He family have ten more children at once.
The time has finally come for Cheung Ching-rong to pass on her third child to Mak Sau-ying to further strengthen her position in the Ho family. Mai Xiuying took the initiative to propose to He Dong, hoping to give half of her wife's status to Zhang Jingrong.
He Dong and Zhang Jingrong had a deep relationship, and he was surprised by the open-mindedness of his original wife, and quickly agreed to the proposal. As a result, Zhang Jingrong became He Dong's wife. "
The He family is becoming more and more prosperous, although there have been some twists and turns. For example, He Dong and Zhang Jingrong's eldest son He Shiqin died young, but the He family already had many children, and the early death of the eldest son did not have much impact on the He family.
Mai Xiuying was very satisfied with such a result, and she sacrificed her position for the prosperity of the He family. For Zhang Jingrong, everything she did at first was to follow her parents' words, and she was satisfied with others, not herself.
As a carefree little princess, she pursues love more. In the process of living with He Dong, she gradually developed deep feelings for him, but she felt that "satisfaction" was only the opinion of the outside world, and the He family only used her as a fertility tool.
The misfortune of the untimely death of her eldest son also caused a great psychological shadow to her. When people reach a certain age, they always want to find a sustenance, and Zhang Jingrong also began to believe in Buddhism. Therefore, perhaps because of her own experience, she resolutely opposes the traditional concept that "a woman is virtuous if she is not talented". She advocated for equal treatment of her daughter and son, believing that it was equally important for her to go to school and that she should not stay at home and do nothing.
In those days, foreigners were the elite of Hong Kong. Even if He Donggui is the richest man in Hong Kong, he can't be completely equal to foreigners. His daughter was unable to enter a purely foreigner aristocratic school, so Zhang Jingrong quickly found a new option for her daughter and sent them to a women's college.
Although Zhang Jingrong's choice may be correct, for her, as a "flat wife", it is an extremely unfair life. Despite her hard work all her life, she died young.
Mak Xiuying's approach may have been exemplary in that era, and her generosity opened the way for the prosperity of the He family, and even now, the He family still has a great influence. However, it is also unfair for these two women that few people care about their inner worlds other than material abundance.