At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the last emperor Puyi personally picked up the scissors and cut off his own braids with a "click", declaring that the Chinese people had to bid farewell to the "pig tail"-like braids that had been hung for more than 300 years. century! It is said that this braid is still kept in the Palace Museum for exhibition!

However, there are three most famous braids among the people. They are all master figures and have been with them throughout their lives. They are:

Wang Guowei, Liang Dingfen, and Gu Hongming!

Among them, the most famous and influential one is Gu Hongming! His life experience is so rich that someone summed it up in the following sentence:

It can be said that he is a "southeast, northwest" person!

As a descendant of Malaysia, he studied in Europe for fourteen years and mastered 9 languages ??including English, French, German, Latin, and Greek. Sitting with the Eight-Nation Allied Forces and quarreling with them would not be the same. Moreover, Gu Hongming also received 13 doctorate degrees in literature, science, philosophy, and theology.

He translated the Confucian works "The Analects of Confucius", "The Doctrine of the Mean" and "The Great Learning" into English and German, which caused a sensation abroad, and a saying spread among European literary circles:

Even the famous British novelist Maugham once visited Gu Hongming in Chongqing. Maybe he felt that he was relatively famous. Maugham wrote a note and handed it to Gu Hongming's concierge, but he was rejected!

Later, I had to write a humble letter asking for a meeting before we could meet each other. This piece of history was included in "Journey of Faith" by Mr. Lin Yutang. Interested friends can check it out by themselves!

The world may think that Gu Hongming is close to madness, but Maugham gave him a very objective evaluation:

After Gu Hongming returned to China, he grew braids and wore robes, like a maverick. A strange elf, known as the "crazy Confucian in the late Qing Dynasty"!

Gu Hongming can be said to be a conflicted David. When people criticized his braids, they even thought that he was "high on innovation." Few people know that before the beginning of the Republic of China, he had already cut off his braids. When everyone started to cut off their braids, he started to grow his braids again, and even wore fake braids, showing off everywhere.

There were many contradictions in his life. It was said that he supported the monarchy. When Yuan Shikai was restored, he cursed "son of a bitch, causing harm to the country and the people". He even joined the theater troupe and invited friends after Yuan Shikai's death. Celebrate for three days and three nights!

Even when Cixi celebrated her birthday, he cursed: "The emperor will live forever, and the people will spend money. If the emperor lives forever, the people will suffer"!

Few people analyze why this old man who has learned both Chinese and Western knowledge is so rebellious?

After returning to China, Gu Hongming concentrated on studying Chinese culture. He compared Chinese and Western cultures and felt that Eastern civilization was no less than or even higher than the West. At this time, after China's defeat in the Sino-Japanese War of 1888-1894, young people who were dissatisfied with the status quo People began to advocate "total Westernization" to save this ancient country!

Gu Hongming pointedly pointed out:

This was an important reason why he later adhered to traditional ethics. In addition to having braids, he even followed the "small feet" culture, polygamy and other feudal bad habits. An inheritance!

His criteria for choosing a mate are listed as follows:

A lady; knowledgeable and sensible; a three-inch golden lotus!

Why do you like the three-inch golden lotus? In his opinion, this and European women's "waist girdle" are both pursuit of beauty and a symbol of culture!

He is also a staunch propagandist of "polygamy". When a foreign woman questioned him, he said:

In fact, he is also a very passionate person, and he only has one partner in his life. His wife is a concubine, and she meets his three conditions. She is a woman with small feet, which makes him very fascinated.

It is said that when he was writing, he asked his wife to take off her shoes and foot wraps, write in one hand, and play with her feet with the other. Suddenly, she felt like a fountain of thoughts, and she wrote a thousand words, which is indescribable! It can be said to be the love of his life.

Regarding his concubine, it was a "cross-border love affair". Gu Hongming met the Japanese girl Sadako who was in trouble in a brothel. He suddenly felt compassion and took her home to help her find her parents.

Later, with the help of his wife Shugu, the two got married and became a good story.

After seeing the above introduction, many people may think that this is an extreme retro conservative!

In fact, to understand Gu Hongming is to understand China at that time!

At that time, the Chinese people were already facing a situation where they didn’t know where to go, and Gu Hongming was also facing the same problem. During his trip to Europe, he found that Western culture could not save this ancient country. When everyone began to learn from Europe, he He pulled back again, maybe he didn’t know where to pull, but he could only rely on himself to slow down the chariot sliding towards Western civilization.

At that time, Cai Yuanpei, the president of Peking University, asked him to become an English teacher. When talking about British culture, he put on his long pigtails to give lectures. The students at Peking University laughed loudly. He said a wise saying:

After hearing this, the students at Peking University were silent

Finally, I borrowed a quote from Gu Hongming. Only then did I know what he was protecting: