Yuan Kewen Biography

Author: Wang Zhonghe
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: Yuan Kewen and Liu Meizhen's relationship was originally quite good, but he kept bringing concubines home one after another. How could one blame Liu Meizhen for getting upset? When Kewen took another concubine, Liu Meizhen cried and sought justice from Shen Shi and Jin Shi. Unbeknownst to her, Yuan Shikai heard about it and not only didn’t scold his son but said, "Only accomplished men can have three wives and four concubines. It’s wrong for women to be jealous." But then again, in those days, even ordinary families would take concubines for the sake of lineage, let alone a prominent family like the Yuan family. When Kewen first came to Shanghai, his father was still in power, and as a noble heir, he spent extravagantly, courting famous courtesans from all over the north. When he returned to the north, he was escorted by a crowd of beauties, with silken robes lining the streets, a spectacle of grandeur. Later, he took many concubines in both Beijing and Tianjin. How many concubines did Yuan Kewen have in the end? No one could count them all.
Yuan Kewen (1890-1931), styled Han Yun and Bao Cen, was from Xiangcheng, Henan. He was born in Seoul, Korea, and was the second son of Yuan Shikai. His mother was Jin Shi, a noblewoman from Korea. After the First Sino-Japanese War, he returned to China with his mother and began studying Confucian classics at the age of seven, literature at ten, and poetry and prose at fifteen. At eighteen, he was appointed as a staff officer in the Ministry of Justice through hereditary privilege. He was skilled in poetry, prose, calligraphy, and had an extensive collection of antiques, including jade, ceramics, ancient coins, and works by famous calligraphers and painters.
In 1913, the Song Incident occurred, and he was suspected of being the mastermind behind the assassination of Song Jiaoren. He then returned north and devoted himself to Kunqu opera and landscape painting, ignoring external affairs. In 1914, he became a compiler at the Qing History Commission. In August, the Preparation Society was established to promote the restoration of monarchy. In October, Yuan Shikai appointed him as the chief inspector of the Imperial Army and Navy.
In 1916, Yuan Shikai died, and his mother also passed away. In 1917, he began writing Xinbing Mishi to record his father’s return to power during the Xinhai Revolution and his subsequent declaration of emperorship. He authored works such as Han Yun Poetry Collection and Xinbing Mishi. The main content of this book includes: two kinds of motherly teachings, hasty marriages, the Xinhai Revolution, private envoys, indifferent politics, and efforts to dissuade the restoration of monarchy.