Su Xuelin (Crown of Thorns)

Author: Fang Weibao
Publisher:
Publishing Date: Not available
Features: Su Xuelin's father, named Xu Jue, styled Shaoqing, and styled Ding San Yi Shengyang, was born on the 19th day of the 12th month in the Jiaxi year of the Tongzhi era. There were seven brothers and sisters, and he was the eldest. Su Jue and his brothers were once deeply devoted to the imperial examinations, even kneelingly before the Kui Xing statue, praying for success in their studies. However, despite their fervent devotion, their academic progress was limited, and they only achieved the status of a Xiucai (a scholar who had passed the county level examination). When Su Xuelin was very young, her father and brothers had already given up on the imperial examinations and had discarded all the examination papers. Su Jinxia, her father's elder brother, who had gained some success in his studies, helped them each obtain official positions through donations. Su Jue was appointed as a Dao Yuan (a rank of official) and assigned as a candidate for appointment in Shandong. Su Jue had three sons and two daughters, and Su Xuelin was his fourth child. When he was a candidate for appointment in Shandong, he took his second and third children, Shaozhang and Shao Lan, and his wife Du, but left his eldest son Shaoji, his eldest daughter Shumeng, and his youngest daughter Su Xuelin with their grandparents. Su Jue never received a substantive position in Shandong, but he was frequently assigned to various duties. Later, because his superior, who had once highly appreciated him, was transferred to another post, he was not valued by the new superior and returned to Zhejiang. After returning, he still did not give up and insisted on traveling to Yunnan, partly because Yunnan was a remote province with less competition in the official circles, and partly because the then Governor of Yunnan, Li Jingxi, was from Anhui and was expected to show favor to his fellow compatriots. However, he did not stay there for long before the Xinhai Revolution broke out, and he fled back in a hurry. While her father was away seeking official positions, Su Xuelin did not spend much time with him before she grew up. Under these circumstances, her mother Du Waoqing became the closest person to her. Besides her father, her second uncle and fourth uncle had a significant influence on Su Xuelin. Her second uncle, Xu Xinen, styled Junping, had once passed the county level examination. Due to his so-called "inherent fate of causing the death of his wife," he tried to become a monk but failed. He then went to Japan for studies in law and politics. Later, he participated in the anti-Japanese movement among the overseas students and was sent back to China. After returning, he actively promoted revolutionary ideas and participated in raising funds to establish Shanghai Chinese University, mobilizing the Su family to invest in it. Hu Shi later graduated from this school, and Su Xuelin therefore believed that she had a "connection" with Hu Shi. Because her second uncle often discussed the theory of "expelling the Manchus" with his brothers, cousins, and nephews at home, Su Xuelin was exposed to revolutionary ideas from a young age. Her fourth uncle, Su Xigui, also studied at Shanghai Chinese University. He was intelligent and skilled in poetry and literature, and he was Su Xuelin's earliest teacher and the one who nurtured her love for literature. After the Su family moved to Shanghai, due to the large population and the lack of income, they could not sustain themselves financially, and they stayed there for three years. Su Jinxia, her grandfather, gave up the idea of living as a hermit in Shanghai and led the family back to their hometown, Taiping. At this time, Su Jue could no longer hold an official position, but he was unwilling to give up. Later, thanks to the recommendation of a fellow clansman in Beijing, he became a small civil servant.，，；，。，。，，，、。，，“”，，。，。19988，，1200，，；11，3000。。，19146。