Text/Kingdom Building
She was a loyal follower of the revolutionary leader Sun Yat-sen and a pioneer of the modern women's revolution. Her husband was assassinated by the Right Wing of the Kuomintang for faithfully carrying out Sun Yat-sen's three major policies (United Russia, United Communist Party, and Auxiliary Workers and Peasants), and there is still no truth. She used her influence to make great contributions to the country and the people during the turbulent war years. This great woman, who was admired by future generations, was Ms. He Xiangning, the elder of the Kuomintang.
He Xiangning, also known as Rui Zhen. A native of Nanhai, Guangdong, he was born in Hong Kong in 1879 to a family of tea merchants. His father, Ho Binghuan, was born into a farming family and later became rich in tea and real estate in Hong Kong, so the He family's economic conditions were better.
Because of her private school education, the young He Xiangning came into contact with some modern ideas and cultures, so she resolutely resisted her mother's request to wrap her feet and left a pair of big feet that were incompatible with the style of the late Qing dynasty society. Just when the family thought that He Xiangning would not be able to marry because of her big feet, an overseas Chinese son born in the United States took the initiative to come to the door to propose to him, becoming He Xiangning's "true son". This enlightened overseas Chinese disciple was Liao Zhongkai. In 1897, He Xiangning married Liao Zhongkai. Because Liao Zhongkai's economic status is poor, the husband and wife spend the night in the attic of their relatives, while reading and living, He Xiangning affectionately called the attic that fused their sweet love as the Shuangqing Building, and called himself "Shuangqing Lou Lord" and "Shuangqing Pavilion Lord" by the elegant name.
In January 1903, Liao Zhongkai went to Japan to study. He Xiangning sold his dowry and persuaded his family to sponsor Liao Zhongkai to study abroad. The family had to agree to accompany her husband to Japan. After the couple arrived in Japan, He Xiangning successively studied at the Girls' Normal School, Tokyo Mejiro Women's University, and the Tokyo Hongo School of Fine Arts, and studied painting with the famous Japanese painter Tanaka Raizhang. In February of the same year, He Xiangning accidentally became acquainted with Sun Yat-sen and had close contacts with revolutionary youths Zhao Sheng, Qiu Jin, and Li Zhongshi. From then on, she and Liao Zhongkai began to come into contact with revolutionary ideas and worked for the revolution.
According to statistics, the total number of young Chinese women who crossed the ocean to study in Japan at that time was less than 10, and He Xiangning was among them, which was rare and valuable. She and Liao Zhongkai continued to absorb new knowledge and new ideas, and germinated a strong sense of nationality.
In June 1903, He Xiangning wrote an article in Tokyo entitled "Greetings to My Compatriots and Sisters", which was published in the fourth issue of the revolutionary magazine "Jiangsu" magazine. This article is one of the few early works to publicize women's liberation, and established He Xiangning's position in the history of the Chinese women's movement.
In 1905, the Chinese League was established in Tokyo. Sun Yat-sen personally presided over the joining ceremony, and He Xiangning became one of the earliest female members of the League. On September 1 of the same year, on the same day that Liao Zhongkai returned to Tokyo with his one-year-old daughter collecting tuition fees from Hong Kong, he was introduced by Ho Heung-ning and Lai Chung-sil and also joined the League. Since then, Mr. and Mrs. He Xiangning's Tokyo apartment has become a communication point and meeting place for revolutionaries, where Sun Yat-sen will convene several meetings every week to discuss and plan revolutionary work. Later, He Xiangning's residence was relocated several times, and the secret meeting places and liaison offices of the League were also transferred. Because he was careful and cautious in revolutionary work and very good at taking care of revolutionary comrades, everyone affectionately called He Xiangning "Obasan" (Japanese, meaning "housekeeper"). In particular, Hu Hanmin lived under the same roof with He Xiangning and his wife for a long time.
After the victory of the Xinhai Revolution, He Xiangning and Liao Zhongkai assisted Sun Yat-sen in his efforts to build the Republic of China. As Sun Yat-sen's right-hand man, Liao Zhongkai served as vice minister of finance and director of the Guangdong Department of Finance (Minister of Finance Zhang Jingjiang did not arrive, and the actual work was presided over by Liao Zhongkai), which was an important position, which can be called the "money bag of the revolution". He Xiangning mainly assisted her husband in his work at this time.
In 1922, just as Sun Yat-sen was at the critical moment of the Northern Expedition (i.e., the First Northern Expedition), Chen Jiongming, the commander-in-chief of the Cantonese Army who remained in Guangdong, suddenly defected, led his troops to capture Guangzhou, and forced Sun Yat-sen to the Yongfeng ship. The rebels did not capture Sun Yat-sen, but they captured Liao Zhongkai. In order to demonstrate to Sun Yat-sen, Chen Jiongming actually ordered Liao Zhongkai to be shot. He Xiangning heard the news and broke into Chen Jiongming's headquarters alone and questioned him: "Mr. Liao is raising funds for the revolution and doing things for the country. You were also the beneficiary at the beginning, and now you want to kill Mr. Liao, what is the reason? ”
Chen Jiong was clear that the threat did not work, so he had to release Liao Zhongkai.
In March 1925, Sun Yat-sen was critically ill. As Sun Yat-sen's most trusted revolutionary comrade, He Xiangning became one of the witnesses of his will. However, after Sun Yat-sen's death, a fierce political struggle for power within the Kuomintang sparked. Hu Hanmin (acting grand marshal) and Liao Zhongkai, who were most qualified to succeed Sun Yat-sen, attacked each other because of one extreme right and one left, and finally cheapened the centrist Wang Zhaoming (i.e., Wang Jingwei). In August of the same year, the right wing of the Kuomintang bribed the killer and assassinated Liao Zhongkai, then party representative and finance minister of the Whampoa Military Academy, at the mouth of the Kuomintang Central Party Department, causing a sensation throughout the country. After investigation, the National Government's Provisional Disposal Team only exiled Hu Hanmin and Xu Chongzhi, who were involved in the case. Therefore, when talking about the Liao case, He Xiangning said that there was only the real murderer in this case, and there was no truth.
After her husband's death, He Xiangning was ostracized by the right wing of the Kuomintang and finally had to resign from public office. However, during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, He Xiangning, together with Song Qingling and other progressives, established the Red Cross Society of the Kuomintang, mobilized the vast number of Chinese women compatriots to sew clothes, shoes and socks, and went to the front line to comfort the anti-Japanese soldiers, thus making due contributions to the final victory of China's War of Resistance Against Japan.
During the Liberation War, He Xiangning united with progressive people to support the cause of liberation, and after the founding of New China, he served as the honorary chairman of the Women's Federation and other positions.
On September 1, 1972, Ms. He Xiangning passed away in Beijing. According to his last wishes, he transported his coffin to the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in Nanjing and buried it with her husband Liao Zhongkai.