"Our five brothers were too young to ask Ah Tai these questions, but sometimes we would tease her and ask her some childlike words, such as asking her if her uncle Sun Yat-sen was very handsome. She always does not answer us, but she smiles with a mysterious and charming smile, as if recalling something, and then we will think that she is particularly sweet. This expression could not be seen in Madame Lu or in Song Qingling. --Sun Bida"
On February 27, 2001, Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao published for the first time a bust of a woman with the following description: "I followed Sun Yat-sen from birth to death, running everywhere for the revolution, and there are many people who know his face, but very few people know his appearance."
But the truth is likely to be that there are not many "people who know them".
Zhaozhong was neither Sun Yat-sen's original partner, Lu Muzhen, nor the "mother of the nation" Soong Ching-ling. It was a woman named "Chen Pufen".
Chen Pufen (I don't know if it is the nanyang memorial)
This bust was first displayed in the Nanyang Memorial Hall of Sun Yat-sen in Singapore, and the curator, Mr. Fung Chung-han, confessed that he was familiar with Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary cause, but he had never known about Chen Pufen.
Until he was running around to dig up historical materials for the preparation of the memorial hall, he obtained this bust photo of Chen Pufen donated by an overseas Chinese;
Similarly, Mr. Wang Gengxiong, a collector of Sun Yat-sen's literature, was puzzled when he first saw Chen's photograph: Who is this woman?
But this woman, who has almost been forgotten by history, is very familiar and accepted by Sun Yat-sen's family, including Sun Yat-sen's eldest brother Sun Mei and Sun Yat-sen's original wife Lu Muzhen.
Sun Mei treated Chen Pufen very well, and he recognized him as a member of the family and was named "Sun Wen's concubine"; Lu Muzhen and Chen Pufen were like sisters, with deep feelings, and this relationship continued until their old age; and the grandchildren respectfully called Chen Pufen "Nanyang Po".
So what contribution did Chen Pufen make to Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary cause? Why does Sun Yat-sen never seem to have made public his relationship with Chen Pufen? Why did he marry Song Qingling later? ......
Chen Pufen in the photo is no different from ordinary women, but she is born with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and her facial features are hard, exuding a masculine atmosphere. The so-called "born from the heart" is still very reasonable, and Chen Pufen is indeed a rare "husband among women" in reality.
Her ancestral home is Tong'an, Fujian Province, and she was born in Hong Kong. She was the fourth oldest in the family, known as "Four Girls" or "Chen Sigu".
It is said that Chen Pufen's father was a Chinese medicine doctor, but he died early, so her family was poor, and she did not go to school.
But she has a brave and resolute character, which can be called a patriotic new woman. She was receptive to modern things, knew how to ride horses, and could shoot guns, which was rare among women of that era.
When she met Sun Yat-sen, she was an 18-year-old young girl, and it was 1891, and Sun Yat-sen was about to graduate at the Hong Kong Western Medical College.
One day, at Tuen Mun Christ Church (American Ji Shen Society), his closest friend at school, Chen Shaobai, introduced him to a young girl. Sun Yat-sen unabashedly expressed to her that he would emulate Hong Xiuquan and Shi Dakai in overthrowing the Qing Dynasty.
The young girl's admiration for him was spontaneous, and the revolutionary fire in her heart was instantly ignited, and she also aspired to join the revolution. This young girl was Chen Pufen.
On the common road, the two soon felt sorry for each other and united as revolutionary partners. After that, he rented a house in the Red Mansion and jointly planned to oppose the corrupt Qing government.
Located in White Point, west of Castle Peak Bay in Tuen Mun, the Red House is a place of great revolutionary commemoration significance.
At that time, many revolutionary youths, such as Chen Shaobai, Feng Liberty, and Zheng Shiliang, often carried small boats at night and ran there to meet with Sun Yat-sen and Chen Pufen to discuss revolutionary matters.
Chen Pufen's assistance to Sun Yat-sen was mainly from 1892 to 1912, about twenty years before and after.
Let me briefly describe it to you in three stages:
The first stage, between 1892 and 1895: Sun Yat-sen graduated from the Western Medical College with the first place, and successively went to Macao and Guangzhou, where he propagated the revolution while "hanging pots and saving the world";
Later, he established the "Xingzhong Association" in Honolulu, and then returned to Guangzhou to launch an uprising, but unfortunately failed and died in Japan.
For more than three years, Chen Pufen accompanied Sun Yat-sen without complaint or regret, playing multiple roles such as companion, nurse, and guard.
The second stage, during Japan from 1897-1905:
The Qing government sent people to lure them down and sent spies to try to harm the revolutionaries. Chen Pufen covered sun yat-sen in the name of his wife.
In addition, she worked tirelessly to cook and wash clothes for the revolutionaries. Including Hu Hanmin, Dai Jitao, Liao Zhongkai, Chiang Kai-shek, Xu Chongzhi, Chen Jiongming, Chen Qimei, Huang Xing, cai Yi, etc., they were all cordially received and cared for by Chen Pufen.
Everyone was very touched to leave their hometown at that time and get such a homely warmth, and affectionately called Chen Pufen "Sigu".
At that time, there were many well-known people in Japanese society who had close contact with Sun Yat-sen, such as Miyazaki Yinzang and Inuyasha.
Miyazaki Hide
Miyazaki's wife once wrote a "My Memories of the Xinhai Revolution", in which she mentioned that her husband's brother Miyazaki Minzo said to her:
"The Chinese female comrade who takes care of Mr. Sun's daily life is really a female master. With her long chopsticks, her wide open eyes, and the way a man eats, the only way revolutionary women can take on big things. ”
The Huizhou Uprising of 1900 and Yokohama's use as a transit station to transport advanced weapons from the United States and Canada were all handled by Chen Pufen.
The third stage, during the period in Nanyang from 1906 to 1910:
In 1905, after the establishment of the League in Tokyo, Sun Yat-sen began to run a revolution throughout Nanyang. Chen Pufen is still not afraid of hardships and dangers, and accompanies mr. Chen. He also personally printed propaganda materials, anti-Qing texts.
Singapore Evening Sunshine Garden
During that time, they lived together in the Evening Garden at 12 Tai Tai Man Road in Singapore's North District.
The Huanggang and Zhennanguan uprisings of 1907 and the Hekou uprisings of 1908 were all completed by Sun Yat-sen in the Evening Qing Garden.
During that time, as long as Sun Yat-sen stayed in the Evening Qing Garden, it immediately became a gathering place for various revolutionary volunteers and celebrities, and Chen Pufen's busy figure was always seen.
However, such an inseparable relationship came to an end in early 1912, after Sun Yat-sen became the provisional president of the Republic of China.
In February of the same year, Chen Pufen, Lu Muzhen and her two daughters returned from Penang, Lu Muzhen's mother and daughter went to Nanjing to reunite with Sun Yat-sen, while Chen Pufen quietly went to Guangzhou.
Since then, Sun Yat-sen has never seen Chen's shadow again—they broke up.
Sun Yat-sen and Chen Pufen
why? Now that the Republic of China was founded, Sun Yat-sen was in a high position, and Chen Pufen, a woman with great merit, retired from the country.
Huang Sande, a hero of the Xinhai Revolution, pointed out in the book "History of the Hongmen Revolution" that Sun and Chen were separated in the spring and summer of 1912, speculating that in late May, the English secretary Song Yiling appeared.
However, some scholars have suggested that the two should break up earlier, because Chen Pufen is no longer present in the photos of Sun Yat-sen attending various social activities in April.
After Chen Pufen left Sun Yat-sen, he was supported by Sun Mei. She lives in her home at 4 Feng Shun Tong, Macau.
Since then, Chen Pufen no longer participates in any social activities, is at ease at home, rarely mentions the past, and keeps the "clear soup noodles" like a female student in the first year of the People's Republic, which is very simple.
In 1935, Chen Pufen (third row left) and Lu Muzhen (third row left) waited in Guangzhou
It was not until 1915 that Sun Mei died, and in September of the same year, Sun Yat-sen divorced Lu Muzhen. Chen Pufen then bid farewell to relatives and friends, went to Nanyang alone, lived in seclusion in Penang, malay peninsula, and co-operated a rubber plantation with businessman Lu Wenhui.
Although Chen Pufen served Sun Yat-sen for many years, she was unable to have children. Therefore, she adopted a baby girl named Su Huaqiao who had just given birth to a year as an adopted daughter, named Sun Zhongying, also known as Sun Rong (from the surname, it can be seen that Chen Pufen has a deep affection for Sun Yat-sen).
Later, Chen Pufen failed to operate a rubber plantation, and could only rely on the care of local overseas Chinese and members of the Lao Xingzhong Association and the League Association, and the mother and daughter were able to rely on each other.
Sun Ke, the son of Sun Yat-sen, repeatedly invited Chen Pufen to return to China to reunite with relatives and friends during that time, and the data record that she returned at least twice, once in 1917 and once in 1921.
Chen Pufen (front row, third from left) and Lu Muzhen (front row, fourth from left)
We know that in 1915, Sun Yat-sen was already married to Soong Ching Ling. Therefore, when Chen Pufen returned to China in 1917, he went to the Shimin Soil Factory in Guangzhou, where Sun Yat-sen lived, and wanted to see him, but he was "dismissed."
The scene of the day, the captain of the guard, Ma Xiangdu, saw it in his eyes, and he told this sad scene to others, which was recorded by Deng Jiayan, who was also a follower of Sun Yat-sen, in his oral autobiography:
"In the sixth year of the Republic of China, the premier returned to Guangdong to protect the Law and lived in the Shimin Earth Factory. One day, the four sisters came back, the door police were strict, they were not allowed to enter, and they stood and looked out. The Prime Minister heard the news, boarded the balcony, and waved his hand to leave. ”
In 1925, Sun Yat-sen died of illness, chen Pufen was so sad to hear the news that he set up an altar for seven days.
In 1931, Chen Pufen returned to China at the invitation of Sun Ke and later settled in Guangzhou, where Chiang Kai-shek also gave the woman who had taken care of herself in Japan 100,000 yuan (also said 30,000) yuan after the Guangzhou Incident, so that she could use it for the elderly and build a house.
But before the house was built, Guangzhou fell.
After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Chen Pufen, despite his old age, went around propagating the concept of victory in the anti-Japanese war and acting as a backup for the anti-Japanese resistance.
Even the grandson born to her adopted daughter during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression took the names of Victory, Victory, Prosperity, Achievement, Success, and Victory to show China's confidence in victory.
The grandsons' father was Sun Mei's grandson, Sun Yat-sen's nephew Sun Qian. Sun Rong's love affair with Sun Qian was actually strongly opposed by the Sun family at the beginning, especially Lu Muzhen.
Later, through the mediation of Sun Ke, sentient beings were able to finally become dependents. After marriage, Sun Rong reverted to his original surname, named Su Zhongying.
In October 1938, Guangzhou fell and Chen Pufen moved to Hong Kong for refuge. Two years later, her daughter and son-in-law returned to Hong Kong from Italy with her two sons and lived with Chen Pufen.
Su Zhongying's two sons were very filial to Chen Pufen, so Chen was able to enjoy the joy of heaven.
Chen Pufen's adopted daughter Su Zhongying wedding photo
In December 1941, the Pacific War broke out, and soon Hong Kong fell. Chen's family fled to the interior.
Sun Qian was promoted to major general of the Signal Corps of the Yu Han Conspiracy Department in the Seventh Theater of Operations, and was stationed in Shaoguan, Guangdong. Chen Pufen also lived with them in Shaoguan. After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Sun Qian served as the county magistrate of Zhongshan County, and Chen Pufen followed them to live in Shiqi, Zhongshan.
Zhongshan County is the former residence of Sun Yat-sen, and when he heard that Chen Pufen had returned to his hometown, the local fathers and elders, members of the old League, and old Kuomintang members came to see him and were proud of it.
In 1949, Chen Pufen returned to Hong Kong with her daughter's family and spent her old age in peace.
Unfortunately, Su Zhongying died of cancer in Hong Kong in January 1958 at the age of 44.
The white-haired man sent the black-haired man, and Chen Pufen, who was already old and weak, was hit hard by this, and his body became weaker, it was difficult to move, and he had to rely on a wheelchair for his steps.
In 1948, Chen Pufen and Sun Qian's family took a group photo in Shiqi, Zhongshan County
Just over two years later, on October 21, 1960, Chen Also died in Hong Kong at the age of 87. Due to various reasons, the family kept a very low-key funeral and buried the old man hastily in the Chinese Forever Cemetery in Tsuen Wan, Kowloon.
It was not until 1992 that Sun Qian, with the strong assistance of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of Zhongshan County, moved Chen Pufen to the northwest hill of the Sun Ethnic Cemetery in Cuiheng Village.
Chen has always treasured two things that Sun Yat-sen gave her: a gold pocket watch and a ring.
The gold watch was given to him in 1874 by Sun Yat-sen's British teacher when he was studying medicine in Hong Kong, Conde Li, who had saved Sun Yat-sen's life, so this watch is of great commemorative significance.
When Sun Yat-sen returned from England to Yokohama, Japan, to reunite with Chen Pufen, he gave the gold watch to Chen Pufen.
Painting by Chen Pufen and Sun Yat-sen
Chen Pufen especially cherished this watch and often showed it to people, she said: "This watch has a deep affection, and the total number of times I have made friends and friends have seen it is more than a thousand." ”
There is also a ring that Chen Pufen gave to her grandson Bisheng when she was dying, saying that it was a gift from Sun Yat-sen that year.
Regarding the sudden breakup between Sun Yat-sen and Chen Pufen that year, Chen Pufen also explained that she said this:
"I established the Republic of China with Zhongshan against the Qing Dynasty, my wish to save the country and save the people has been reached, I regard wealth as a floating cloud, and after Zhongshan suffered in London, overseas Chinese around the world regard him as the savior of the people." After becoming president, you are the head of state, the worshippers, since ancient times, the common hardships and hardships are easy to share the wealth and hardships, I know that I was born poor, limited knowledge, voluntary separation, not Zhongshan abandoned me. Therefore, Zhongshan treats me not thinly, nor does he fail me. ”
In his later years, Chen Pufen (right) was replaced by Liu Chengyu
So how did Sun Yat-sen view his "revolutionary face"?
On December 20, 1910, he wrote to his daughters Sun Jiao and Sun Wan in Egypt, in which Chen Pufen was mentioned twice, calling her and Lu Muzhen "two mothers", and the original text of the letter reads:
"Beloved Daughter, Lady Wanwan, watch: Father has reached the fourth port tonight. i.e. the Suez Canal. On another six days, we will arrive at the port. You can tell the two mothers to know it. ...... The rest of the matter will be revealed. And greetings to your two mothers and each of you. ------------------
This is the only letter from Sun Yat-sen that has been found to talk about Chen Pufen, and the original is now in the memorial hall of Sun Yat-sen's former residence in Cuiheng, Guangdong.
Sun Yat-sen wrote to his daughter on December 20, 1910
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