When Finny's Smile was released in major cinemas across China, the leading character's experiences struck a sentimental chord with audiences, most of whom were moved to tears. The movie is based on a true story about an Austrian woman and a Chinese man, and their 60-year marriage in China. Unfortunately, the real life protagonist of this story, Frau Gertrude Du-Wagner, passed away in Dongyang, Zhejiang Province, one day before the release of the movie.
"I Want to Marry Him!"
In January 1931, Du Chengrong, a handsome 24-year-old, was dispatched to Vienna, Austria, by the Chinese government for advanced police training. During his spare time, he liked to go roller-skating. One day, when he was practicing his unskilled moves at a skating rink, he slipped and fell to the ground. A beautiful, blonde girl near him couldn't help but laugh. This was how Du and Wagner, then 16 years of age, met for the first time.
From then on, it was common to see a Chinese man and an Austrian girl roller-skating hand in hand or taking a leisurely stroll in the parks of Vienna. It was during these outings that they fell in love with each other. Du, from a literary family, never got tired of talking about the long history and beautiful landscapes of China, which inspired Wagner's interest in the ancient country.
After finishing the training program two years later, Du reluctantly bid farewell to Wagner and returned to China. Staying behind in Austria, Wagner was tortured by lovesickness, and tried everything to persuade her parents, who resolutely disapproved of her decision to move to a country that was far from home. "I want to marry him," she decided. "He is my love and happiness."
Love Never Fades
In December 1934, 18-year-old Wagner embarked on a steamer with a one-way ticket for a reunion with her beloved Du in China. On February 24, 1935, they got married, and Wagner adopted a Chinese name, Hua Zhiping, which implies how Du and her met in the boundless world and her determination to settle in China.
Their love has survived the test of time and overcome adversities. When the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression started in 1937, the couple, together with their five children, had to leave their home and flee to a safer place. In the following decade, the family traveled around China and didn't settle down until 1949, when they returned to Zhejiang, Du's native home. From that moment, Wagner's role as a distinguished foreign guest changed to that of an ordinary, rural housewife.
Wagner had never lived in the countryside before, but to make life more comfortable for her family she made every effort to acclimatize to her new living environment by learning from the local women. In addition to doing household chores such as cooking and washing, she also raised pigs, chickens, and rabbits. Every year, she made several pairs of cloth shoes for each member of her family.
It was her husband's love and her children's dependence that allowed Wagner to cope with such tough conditions. For Chinese, rural women, lighting a fire for cooking is routine, but fearing the smoke would hurt his wife's eyes, Du Chengrong kept her away from the kitchen and did it himself. Every time they carried a bucket of water, Du covertly moved the pole to his side in order to shoulder more of the weight. Her husband and grown-up sons never let her work in the fields either. They did all the farm work themselves.
In the eyes of their fellow villagers, the family was no different from others. They would farm during the day and rest when the sun was setting. There was one thing that others really admired about the family: They lived in perfect harmony, without any quarrels. The couple walking hand in hand along the village's paths in the early evening as the sun set was an admirable scene. Besides the birthday of each member, the family also celebrated Christmas, a holiday that was unfamiliar to the villagers.
"My Home is in China!"
When Wagner left home as a young girl, she never expected it would be so hard to return to her motherland. The years of war as well as China's later political isolation left her cut off from Austria, with little chance of ever seeing her parents again.
In 1974, she was allowed to return to Austria, but when she heard that she could only go alone, she gave up the chance. "I won't go back on my own," she wrote in a letter to her younger brother. "I want to return with my husband."
In 1990, Du Chengrong died of an illness. To relieve herself from the grief, Wagner decided to return to Austria. By then, she had been away from her home country for 56 years.
Many were surprised to see her come back to China, leaving her country of origin after having regained her Austrian nationality. In her old house in Zhejiang, Wagner said in pure local dialect, "My home is in China, where my husband's tomb is and my children are."
On February 26, 2003, a rainy day, Wagner passed away at the age of 86. After 13 years of separation, she was once again reunited with her husband.
The couple's love story started at a skating rink in Vienna and ended in wide acclaim. As Vienna's mayor once said, their story "not only testifies to the friendship between the Chinese and Austrian people, but also sets a sterling example of everlasting love and family harmony."
(China Pictorial June 20, 2003)
