Hu Shi, an outstanding scholar and thinker in modern China, is known as the standard-bearer of the New Culture Movement. He is known for his academic achievements, political experiences, and emotional stories.
Among them, his extramarital affairs, especially his emotional entanglement with Cao Chengying, have always been a topic of discussion. Hu Shi's original wife Jiang Dongxiu was a baby when he was a child, and their marriage lacked the nourishment of love.
So, Hu Shi tried to find true love outside of marriage. The emotional entanglement between him and Cao Chengying is lingering and unforgettable. Cao Chengying is the sister of Hu Shi's third sister-in-law, when Hu Shi married Jiang Dongxiu, she was still a 15-year-old girl, serving as a bridesmaid for the newlyweds, and left a deep impression on Hu Shi.
Cao Chengying was forced to marry Hu Guanying from a neighboring village when he was young, and although the two entered the marriage hall in 1918, their relationship did not become harmonious.
When Cao Chengying's elder brother Cao Chengke was studying in the United States, he resolutely opposed this family business and encouraged Cao Chengying to pursue his studies. After Cao Chengying was admitted to Hangzhou Women's Normal School in 1920, her husbands Hu Guanying and Wang Jingzhi also came to Hangzhou to study.
However, Hu Guanying's mother married Hu Guanying a concubine after seeing that Cao Chengying had not given birth for three years and asked him to divorce Cao Chengying. Cao Chengying has short hair, thick eyebrows and big eyes, and her beauty and talent are amazing.
Influenced by the spirit of the May Fourth era, she became a versatile and rebellious new woman, and admired Hu Shi very much. Cao Chengying also likes to grow flowers and grasses, and often asks Hu Shi to send her flower seeds from Beijing, so the correspondence between the two is frequent.
Cao Chengying also tried to write poems and asked Hu Shi to comment, which gradually developed emotions.
In the summer of 1923, Hu Shi and Cao Chengying spent an unforgettable appointment in Hangzhou. They visited Yanxia Cave together, admired the exquisite stone carvings and beautiful scenery, and formed a deep emotional bond here.
Accompanied by Cao Chengying, Hu Shi spent the whole summer, and they watched the sunrise, the moon, the tide, and the tower together, inseparable, like a honeymoon. Although this relationship was just Hu Shi's extramarital affair, in this summer, their hearts were deeply comforted.
Eventually, Hu Shi and Cao Chengying returned to Shanghai and Hangzhou respectively, but the good times they spent together will always be remembered in their hearts.
Hu Shi experienced the deepest love in his life, and this period was called "fairy life" by him. At that time, he was full of energy, and the goddess in his heart was Cao Chengying.
For a period of time after they separated, Hu Shi received letters from Cao Chengying almost every day, sometimes even twice a day. His deep longing and attachment to Cao Chengying made him come to Hangzhou again on the 19th and spent 10 days with Cao Chengying.
At that time, Hu Shi had the idea of marrying Cao Chengying. And Cao Chengying has successfully dissolved her marriage with Hu Guanying. Therefore, Hu Shi filed for divorce from Jiang Dongxiu.
He knew that divorce would not be easy, but Jiang Dongxiu's strong response made him completely unable to deal with it.
Hu Shi's married life was in trouble for a while. Once, his friend Ishihara Gao went to his house and happened to meet his wife Jiang Dongxiu arguing with Hu Shih. Jiang Dongxiu cried and complained about how Hu Shi treated her wrongly, and found a new love, and even took scissors to stab Hu Shi.
Thanks to Ishihara's persuasion, the turmoil was calmed down. According to Wang Jingzhi, when Hu Shi mentioned divorce, Jiang Dongxiu actually took out a kitchen knife from the kitchen and threatened: "If you want a divorce, you can do it, I will kill my two sons first, and I don't want the sons I had with you!" ”
Hu Shi was so frightened that his face turned pale, cold sweat broke out, he was completely at a loss, and he didn't dare to mention divorce again in the future. Hu Shi was afraid that the incident would affect his reputation and was forced to compromise.
Although Cao Chengying was pregnant at that time, Hu Shi could only let Cao Chengying have an abortion. Although Cao Chengying failed to succeed in ascending to the throne and achieving the goal of marrying Hu Shi, he still loves Hu Shi, and the two parties are still disconnected, and they still often have trysts.
Jiang Dongxiu knew all about Hu Shi's dealings with the "little three" at this time, but as long as she didn't divorce, she endured it. But she was angry with Cao Chengying and looked for an opportunity to vent her personal anger and revenge.
He also angered Wang Mengzou, the owner of Yadong who provided convenience for Hu and Cao's tryst. After graduating from Hangzhou Female Teacher, Cao Chengying continued to study angrily, and after completing her studies at the College of Agriculture of Nanjing ** University, she was admitted to the College of Agriculture of Cornell University in the United States, where Hu Shi studied that year, and completed the agricultural science that Hu Shi did not finish that year.
She is a scholar who has returned to China after completing her studies, and has served as a professor in many famous universities such as the College of Agriculture of Anhui University, the College of Agriculture of Sichuan University, and Fudan University. Although her relatives and friends had been urging her to get married, she remained steadfast in her pursuit of her academic aspirations.
At the beginning of the Anti-Japanese War, she met Zeng and fell in love, and decided to spend her life together. However, the tricks of fate brought this beautiful relationship to an abrupt end. Zeng's relatives met Hu Shi's wife Jiang Dongxiu in Shanghai, Jiang Dongxiu was jealous of Cao Chengying, and told Zeng about Cao's past.
On the eve of Cao Chengying and Zeng's scheduled marriage, Zeng suddenly canceled the marriage contract, which hit Cao Chengying deeply. So, Cao Chengying angrily went up to Mount Emei and escaped into the empty door.
On the Qixi Festival in 1939, she sent a poem to Hu Shi, who was serving as an ambassador in the United States, on this day, expressing her deep longing for Hu Shi, and the emotions in the words were extremely sad.
Later, under the persuasion of Cao Chengying, she finally returned to the vulgar and went down the mountain with her brother. Hu Shi felt very sorry for this, but he was unable to repay this emotional debt and felt deeply guilty.
In 1949, Hu Shih left the mainland and died in Taiwan in 1962. Cao Chengying spent the eve of liberation in Shanghai, and later returned to Fudan University to teach, and later transferred to Shenyang Agricultural College, where he lived a simple life.
She died in Shanghai in 1973. Jiang Dongxiu died in Taiwan in 1975. Such an ending makes people sigh at the impermanence of the world, and it also triggers people's in-depth thinking about marriage and emotions.