Noblewoman Liu Qingxia

Author: Zheng Wangsheng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-02-02
Features: Liu Qingxia was born in 1877 in Jiangcun, Anyang, Henan, into a prominent official family. Her father, Ma Piyao, once held the position of Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, achieving notable political accomplishments. Her older brother, Ma Jizhuang, served as a Compiler in the Hanlin Academy, the Governor of Hubei, the Secretary of Yuan Shikai's Presidential Palace, and the Secretary of the Presidential Palace of the Beiyang Government. In 1894, at the age of seventeen, Liu Qingxia married Liu Yaode, a wealthy landowner in Weishiyuan County, Kaifeng, known as "Half County Liu." The Liu family was one of the wealthiest in Central China, owning over 300,000 mu of land. Their gate proudly displayed a large black plaque reading "Double Thousand Qian," and they operated over 150 money exchange houses, pawn shops, and businesses from Nanjing to Beijing, with assets amounting to millions. Despite being a woman, Liu Qingxia possessed a masculine spirit; though wealthy, she refused to be a money hoarder; though confined to a small region, she harbored a vision for the world. In 1906, Liu Qingxia accompanied her brother Ma Jizhuang to study in Japan.