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Zhang Ailing once said:

People in troubled times live day by day and have no real home. However, I have a sense of eternity for my aunt's home.

Aunt Zhang Maoyuan gave Zhang Ailing motherly protection and provided her with a safe home in troubled times.

He strongly supported her in her writing, gave her advice on her relationships, and taught her by words and deeds to make Zhang Ailing a strong and independent girl.

It can be said that if there was no aunt, there would be no independent and self-reliant Eileen Chang, who was famous in Shanghai for her literary talent.

A truly outstanding woman fulfills herself while also fulfilling the one she loves.

Zhang Maoyuan is a true descendant of a famous family. His father is Zhang Peilun, a famous official in the late Qing Dynasty, and his maternal grandfather is the famous Li Hongzhang.

Zhang Maoyuan once commented on Li Hongzhang:

What a fool this old man is! Of his two daughters, one married a man 20 years older than her as a concubine, and the other married a man six years younger than her, and he always complained about her being old.

Among them, the daughter who married Zhang Maoyuan as a concubine was more than 20 years older than him. Li Juou was elegant and talented in writing, and after marriage, she often enjoyed writing poems with Zhang Peilun.

Zhang Peilun recorded in his diary: I had a drink with Juou with home-brewed wine. The moon was clear and round, the flowers were fragrant, and I was slightly tipsy.

Zhang Ailing also mentioned in "Comparison Notes":

My grandmother's marriage was considered a happy one. She built a large garden in Nanjing and lived in seclusion, enjoying poetry and wine...

However, the good times did not last long. When Li Juou was 35 years old, Zhang Peilun passed away, leaving behind his beloved wife and one son and one daughter.

Li Juou placed all his hopes in life on his son, urging him to study hard, hoping that he would revive the family someday.

However, he was spoiled to the extreme in life, letting his son wear girls' clothes and embroidered shoes, which made him cowardly and lack the ability to survive independently. He lived on the inheritance, took pleasure in smoking opium, and spent his days in a muddle-headed state.

Compared with her daughter Zhang Maoyuan, her mother wanted her to be strong and independent, so she made her wear men's clothes and called her "young master".

As a result, Zhang Maoyuan developed an independent personality and became proficient in English and music in his twenties.

Later, when her mother passed away, her two brothers conspired to claim her inheritance. She bravely took up the weapon of law and got what she deserved through litigation.

However, she didn't care even though she lost all her inheritance due to poor stock investments.

She put on a suit and high heels, went in and out of banks and futures markets, and became a workplace expert with a generous salary.

Later, he switched to a German radio station to read editorials and teased Zhang Ailing:

I can get tens of thousands of dollars in salary by talking about boring things for half an hour every day, but you talk about interesting things all day long but don't get a penny.

A woman's self-confidence comes from her ability. She has the ability to support herself. No matter what situation she encounters, she will not panic and will have the confidence to hold her head high at all times.

An independent woman is not only financially independent, but more importantly, spiritually independent.

Zhang Maoyuan was undoubtedly a person with a distinct personality and was independent and self-reliant. Her self-reliant and self-reliant personality infected Zhang Ailing, who lived with her for many years.

Li Bihua once made a very wonderful comment on Zhang Ailing's photos:

What impressed me most was that most of Zhang's images were always of her looking up, with the camera shooting from a low angle, and she unconsciously slightly raised her head, looking far into the distance, and disdainfully overlooking the world.

Because this expression appears constantly, it gives people a strong feeling of being "a crane standing out from the crowd of chickens". A person's small movements often introduce themselves and also betray themselves. Even if they say nothing, they say a lot.

Zhang Ailing was not born to stand out from the crowd. She had no self-confidence in the past, and she lost the warmth of home when her parents divorced.

When her mother Huang Yifan came back from abroad, Eileen stayed there for a few days. When she returned to her father's house, she was greeted by a heavy slap from her stepmother. Eileen raised her hand to stop her, but her stepmother cried and said that Eileen hit her.

Without any reason, her father beat Ailing severely with punches and kicks, and even put her in solitary confinement.

Zhang Maoyuan went to plead for his niece and suggested that Ailing be allowed to study abroad.

The stepmother fanned the flames, and the enraged brother raised the opium pipe in his hand and beat Zhang Maoyuan on the head.

Zhang Maoyuan's face was covered in blood and her glasses were knocked to the ground and broken. From then on, she had no contact with her brother's family until her death.

Eileen Chang ran away from her father's home and went to live with her mother, but her mother despised her as a burden and they could never get along.

It was Zhang Maoyuan who took in the homeless Eileen Chang. From 1937 to 1952 when Eileen Chang left, she was protected by her aunt for more than ten years.

Zhang Maoyuan discovered Zhang Ailing's writing talent and encouraged her to submit articles to magazines, and she was soon appreciated by a well-known writer in Shanghai.

In order to express his gratitude for his kindness, Zhang Maoyuan invited the writer to his home and prepared exquisite Western pastries, cheese and black tea for his niece to entertain the guests.

Zhang Ailing was not good at communication, and it was Zhang Maoyuan who always chatted with guests about their favorite gardening, paving the way for Ailing's writing.

Later, Zhang Ailing achieved great success in writing, and only then did we see the confident, beautiful and outstanding Zhang Ailing in the photo.

Later, Zhang Ailing mentioned this aunt many times in her works, especially the self-deprecating quotes by her aunt, "I am proficient in both civil and military affairs. I can write letters and sew shoe soles." A witty, humorous and confident woman comes to life before our eyes.

Only a woman with independent thinking can find the direction of life, do what she is best at, become the person she most wants to be, not fear the future, not fear the present, and walk steadily through life step by step.

A self-reliant woman will never be humble to the dust. She must bloom the flower of grievance and be brave enough to be herself, which is the most beautiful.

Someone once said: The best love in the world is that when I look back, you are behind me.

This statement could not be more appropriate when applied to Li Kaidi, whom Zhang Maoyuan had been in love with for 52 years.

In 1925, Zhang Maoyuan, 23 years old, went to the Royal Academy of Music in the UK to study piano, and she was accompanied by Eileen's mother Huang Yifan.

The two elegant ladies were so miserable from seasickness caused by the rough sea conditions that they vomited violently on the deck.

A handsome young man handed them hot towels and brewed Longjing tea, which made the two sisters-in-law very grateful.

After Zhang Maoyuan had adjusted to the bumpy ride in the afternoon, she looked at the sparkling sea in the sunset. Li Kaidi put a coat on her with concern and recited Byron's poem in English:

All tragedies end in death, all comedies end in marriage.

During the conversation along the way, Li Kaidi completely conquered Zhang Maoyuan's girlish heart.

However, they ultimately failed to get together, and there are two versions.

One reason was that the radical-minded Li Kaidi, after learning that Zhang Maoyuan’s maternal grandfather was the "traitor" Li Hongzhang, could not accept her background and thus broke off relations with her.

Another theory is that Li Kaidi already had an engagement with Xia Yuzhi, a girl from a wealthy family in Minhang.

It doesn’t matter which one it is. What matters is that after returning to China, Li Kaidi and Xia Yuzhi held a grand wedding at the Dahua Hotel.

On the eve of their wedding, Li Kaidi said, "Don't wait for me anymore. We are not meant to be together in this life."

Zhang Maoyuan said very firmly: "I will always wait for you. If I can't wait for you in this life, I will wait for you in the next life."

She said it and did it, and the wait lasted for 52 years.

She did it: one flower, one world; one leaf, one pursuit; one song, one sigh; one life, one person.

Li Kaidi invited Zhang Maoyuan to be the bridesmaid. Zhang Maoyuan generously accepted the invitation and gave her sincere blessings.

In this heartbreak, Zhang Maoyuan did not argue or make a fuss. She calmly accepted the reality and gave sincerely and silently to the person she truly loved.

Just like the saying goes: I want you to know that in this world, there is always someone waiting for you, no matter when, no matter where you are, you know, there is always such a person.

Zhang Maoyuan silently guarded her from her youth to her old age. When she was 64 years old, Li Kaidi's wife Xia Yuzhi was seriously ill and bedridden. Before she died, she confided in Zhang Maoyuan:

I knew long ago that you and Li Kaidi were a perfect match...but I had no idea at the time. You hid your love deep in your heart, and I didn't even notice it.

I will not live long. After I die, I hope you can marry Li Kaidi to fulfill my lifelong wish. Otherwise, I will die with regrets.

Liking is unbridled, while love is restraint. Zhang Maoyuan truly loves someone. Her love makes her lover's wife not only not regard her as a rival, but also regard her as a relative.

After Xia Yuzhi passed away, it happened to be a special period. Li Kaidi was humiliated every day, his son committed suicide, and his daughter was far away from home. The only one who stayed by his side to comfort him was Zhang Maoyuan.

In 1979, Zhang Maoyuan finally waited for Li Kaidi to be exonerated, so she wrote a letter saying:

It’s not that I don’t want to wait any longer, I’m just afraid that time will no longer wait for me.

Thus, the two elderly people, who were nearly 80 years old, finally got married with the blessings of their relatives and friends.

When Zhang Ailing received the good news in the United States, she burst into tears and said: My aunt will definitely get married, even at the age of 80.

Zhang Maoyuan later developed cancer. The man she had loved all her life gave her meticulous care, gave her daily massages, told jokes in front of her bed, made her happy, and never let her suffer any pain from the illness.

On June 9, 1991, Zhang Maoyuan’s 90th birthday, she took a bite of the cake, looked sweetly at the man she had loved all her life and said:

I'm sorry, I can't stand it anymore. It's my luck to meet you and stay with you. It has nothing to do with the length of time or the joys and sorrows of fate.

Two years and three months after falling ill, Zhang Maoyuan left the man she loved all her life without any regrets, ending her life without any regrets.

Feng Tang wrote this in his book “It Doesn’t Matter”:

In the final analysis, women still need to be strong. A body that is not prone to illness, a sufficient income, hobbies that nourish the heart, and a strong enough universe to be a bastard.

The purpose of having these is not to become a tomboy, but to build a foundation for equality.

Only when you dress warmly can you be truly warm; only when you are truly warm can you be qualified to warm others.

Life is short, but suffering is long. In the turbulent life, be an independent and strong woman.

In the face of love, no matter how much you love that person, you must not disturb or pester them. Only by being a dignified woman and loving yourself can you win true love.

May each of us meet the one we love, love each other, and be together for life.