The real story of the legendary heroine：Shi Jianqiao
In 2018, Chinese director Jiang Wen’s film Hidden Man was released, telling a martial arts story at the end of the Republic of China. In the movie, a heroine who has a clear love hate relationship has attracted people’s attention. Her name is Shi Jianqiao.
Vengeance
On November 13, 1935, Sun Chuanfang, a warlord, was assassinated in Tianjin.
The assassin was a woman named Shi Jianqiao. After the gunfire, the hall was in chaos. Shi Jianqiao threw the book of suiguorenshu introducing her motivation, and the photo of her Father wearing school uniform to the crowd. He announced his name and the purpose of his father’s assassination. She called the police and decided to turn herself in.
A pair of small feet
In the 31st year of Guangxu reign, Shi Congbin was the commander of the 19th standard of the infantry team of the Beiyang army. When he was in high spirits, he added another daughter, named Shi Gulan(Shi Jianqiao’s original name). The orchid in the valley is hidden in boudoir, and Shi Gulan never leaves home since childhood. Under the coercion of the times, she also entangled her feet like other ladies. As an adult, Shi Gulan showed her intention to travel far away, but her father refused: “where can I go? It’s so messy out there. You can’t run away with a pair of small feet when the aircraft and artillery hit. “
In the autumn of 1925, the northern warlord Zhang Zongchang and the lineal warlord sun Chuanfang launched a war to fight for Anhui and Jiangsu. Shi Congbin, then commander-in-chief of the second army and commander-in-chief of the former enemy, was intercepted by Zhang Zongchang. When Shi Congbin led the army to the south, sun Chuanfang sent three telegrams to Shi to cooperate with him, but Shi ignored and went deep alone. He was defeated and captured in the battle of Guzhen , and was beheaded by sun Chuanfang finally.
When news of his death came, 20-year-old Shi Gulan was determined to avenge his father.
Marriage
At that time, Shi Gulan had no difference from other usual daughter except for revenge. In order to realize her desire for revenge, Shi Gulan first begged his cousin to help her finish revenge, but she was resolutely rejected. After that, her cousin tried to persuade her to give up the idea of revenge. Shi Gulan and her cousin cut off the relationship between brother and sister.
Some people say that marriage is the carrier of women’s wishes.
Through marriage, Shi Gulan gave all her hopes and everything to a man, Shi Jinggong. Shi Jinggong clapped his chest to guarantee her revenge, and took over the business of revenge for Shi Congbin. Shi Gulan gave all his hopes to Shi Jinggong. But in the age of ambitious warlords, who could pay attention to a woman’s wish? In 1935, Shi Jinggong was promoted to brigadier, and Shi Gulan gave birth to two sons.
When Shi Gulan once again mentioned that she wanted to avenge her father, her husband refused. The enemy is Sun Chuanfang, a powerful warlord. Who can afford to provoke such figures?
Shi Gulan decisively chose to divorce and returned home with two children. In the same year, Shi Gulan was renamed Shi Jianqiao, which meaning “Look up at the moon, pull out the sword and turn towards the sky”
Metamorphosis
In 1935, Shi Jianqiao released his wrapped feet through surgery.
She understood that the road of revenge could not be completed for her by others. She did not want to be an appendage in men’s eyes, and she no longer expected anyone. After the success of the operation, Shi Jianqiao practiced his gun skill hard.
On the 10th anniversary of Shi Jianqiao’s father’s death, she went to Tianjin Guanyin temple to hold a memorial ceremony for her father. According to master fuming who was invited to visit, Sun Chuanfang was already a Buddhist nun in Tianjin.
She printed out the “letter to the accuser” and her will, which she intended to distribute after the assassination, and designated November 13 as the day of revenge for her father.
November 13 is the lecture day. Sun Chuanfang, who came to listen to the buddhist scripture, sat in the center of the Buddhist temple. Shi Jianqiao was in the back seat near the stove, far away from sun Chuanfang. She wanted to move to the front row because the fire behind her was too hot. After seeing the promise of the hall, Shi Jianqiao stood up, reached for the pistol under his skirt, and walked quickly to sun Chuanfang.
When all the residents closed their eyes and followed master fuming’s Sutra recitation, Shi Jianqiao quietly pulled out his browning pistol, fired the first bullet at Sun Chuanfang’s back of the head, and then fired another shot at his temple and waist.
Ten years later, she finally fulfilled her wish. It’s all on her own.
Is the revenge really successful?
After Shi Jianqiao succeeded in the assassination, the labels of “warlord”, “female assassin” and “revenge” attracted the public’s attention. For the people who are powerless in the face of the dire social situation, the story of a weak woman challenging the authority of the warlord is undoubtedly maddening.
The media played up exaggeration and spared no effort to portray Shi Jianqiao as a “chivalrous and courageous” image. At the same time, the nightclub and the Opera House launched a stage play based on Shi Jianqiao. With the banner of filial piety, the essence is to restate Confucianism.
With the promotion of the media, the public consciousness began to regard the female personal feelings which broke through the feudal barriers as the antithesis of modern rule of law. This revenge has been “sexualized”, which is regarded as an irrational female “unique emotion”.
