"Ask her to receive her inheritance."
In 1969, an airmail from the United States flew into the home of Song Qingling, who had long been reclusive, and the sender claimed that he was the American lawyer of Song Qingling's most beloved little brother Song Zi'an, informed her of Song Zi'an's sudden death in Hong Kong, and asked her to receive the Song family inheritance belonging to her managed by Song Zi'an.
In the "four major families" of the Republic of China, Kong Song, Jiang Chenzhong, the three sisters of the Song family painted a bright and magnificent color for this family and that era that passed, while the remaining three men in their family were slightly dimmer than the sisters' brilliance.
Even the most famous Song Ziwen cannot be compared, not to mention the Song family's farthest and most indisputable little brother Song Zi'an.
Song Zi'an and his sister Song Qingling have a strong relationship, but in their later years, they have never been able to see each other, and finally, Song Zi'an suddenly died in Hong Kong, leaving his sister Song Qingling with only the news of his painful death and a notice of receipt of an inheritance that has been preserved for many years for his sister.
Long-lost airmail
Urgent
To: Attorney Peter S. Sommer
625, Market St., San Francisco, USA
Just received your airmail. Please convey to Mrs. Song Zi'an the great shock and deep sorrow of my bereavement. I would like to give up any of my inheritances and leave them to Zi'an's children.
Song Qingling
Mrs. Sun Yat-sen
April 5, 1969
It had been a long time, Song Qingling had not received a letter from her family, and she herself had not written anything to her distant family, six sisters and brothers, across the shallow bay and the vast ocean, silently thinking about each other.
The Song family has a total of six children, three men and three women, but divided into two factions, which is also well known to outsiders: the eldest sister Song Xiaoling, the younger sister Song Qingling, the second brother Song Ziliang are a faction, the second sister Song Qingling, the eldest brother Song Ziwen, and the younger brother Song Zi'an are a faction.
The contradictions between the two factions are not small, mostly due to political reasons, even the younger brother Song Zi'an, who is far away from politics, is often injured by mistake.
Song Qingling has deep feelings for his two younger brothers, especially the youngest Song Zi'an, who is 14 years younger than Song Qingling, has a gentle personality, has no interest in politics, and only hopes for family unity and harmony.
Song Zi'an is young, after his mother died, he was taken by his sisters, when Song Qingling went overseas for further study, Song Zi'an followed, he was a good temper in the family, the contradictions of the sisters and brothers were all caused by him as a peacemaker, his wife complained a little, he was always running around for his brothers and sisters.
Even Song Qingling's Berlin friends observed that Song Qingling's feelings for Song Ziwen and Song Zi'an were relatively deep, and the three of them always talked and often traveled together.
Song Qingling is very eager to see her mother and two younger brothers every day, but between them, the reunion is short-lived, and the separation and longing are long-lasting.
Gathering less and leaving more is the norm for Song Qingling and his younger brother Song Zi'an, and both the sisters and brothers who love this big family are very sad about it, but between the state and individuals, Song Qingling will only choose the former, and the sadness of gathering less and leaving more has become the grief of never seeing each other again.
In 1948, Song Zi'an went to Hong Kong, and a year later settled in San Francisco, usa, while Song Qingling stayed alone in the mainland of the motherland, and the two brothers and sisters who were deeply in love and righteousness could only look across the sea from then on.
Song Ziwen and Song Zi'an were in the United States, so the brothers often got together, and under the arrangement of Song Zi'an, Song Ziwen went to Taiwan to meet the third sister Song Meiling, in addition to Song Qingling, the sisters and brothers of the Song family still had occasional contacts outside the mainland of the motherland, which made Song Qingling's loneliness even more aggravated.
After Song Zian settled in the United States, he still held the position of chairman of the Bank of Guangdong, so he often returned to Hong Kong, but the distance was so close that the sisters and brothers never met once and said a word.
Zheng Tieru, who was working as a manager at the Hong Kong branch of the Bank of China at the time, often returned to the mainland after liberation, and every time he went to see Song Qingling, Song Qingling always had to ask him about Song Zi'an's recent situation.
If Zheng Tie is as general as he says, Song Qingling will ask him to try to understand more details after he returns to Hong Kong, and then tell her. She once asked Zheng Tieru to bring a message to her brother Song Zi'an: "His second sister misses him very much and hopes to meet him once in her lifetime." ”
This affectionate and poignant wish was lost on February 25, 1969, and Song Zi'an died suddenly at the age of 62 on the day of the opening of the Guangdong Bank in Hong Kong to attend the opening of the Guangdong Bank.
The two sisters, Song Xiaoling and Song Meiling, both went to San Francisco to attend Song Zi'an's funeral, but Song Qingling, who loved her younger brother the most, failed to show up.
Song Qingling saw the news of the death of her brother Song Zi'an in foreign newspapers, and soon after, the American lawyer sent an airmail asking her to accept the property that belonged to her, and she was really convinced that her brother Zi'an was no longer alive.
Due to the tension between China and the United States at that time, Song Qingling could not even contact Song Zi'an's widow, let alone go to San Francisco to send his brother on his last journey, but could only send letters to lawyers, leaving his own inheritance to Song Zi'an's children, and the eternal thoughts remained in his heart.
There is nowhere to say bleak
Dear Mrs. Sun,
Recently learned that you want a photo of Zi An and his family. Allow me to take this opportunity to thank you for the cordial telegram you sent after Zi'an's death in 1969.
……
I wish you health and happiness
salute
Tingting
September 5, 1979
Ten years of life and death are vague, do not think, unforgettable, after learning the news of her brother's death, those sweet past events poured back into Song Qingling's heart, making her unstoppable sorrow.
Her younger brother went into exile with her family in Japan at the age of seven, and she met with numerous objections when she married Sun Yat-sen, but both brothers gave her a lot of comfort.
After Sun Yat-sen's death, she was deeply saddened, and there were many rumors in the society that attacked and framed her reputation, and the only comfort was that Song Zi'an was admitted to Harvard University for a master's degree in economics.
She even proudly told her American friends in the letter that his little brother was going to study at Harvard University in the fall, and she herself was ready to accompany her, but there were still things in China, and she was ready to accompany her brother after she was done...
After her sister Song Meiling married her most despised Chiang Kai-shek, Soong Ching Ling lived in Europe, and the younger brother Song Zi'an also took a detour to visit her in Germany when he returned to China from the United States, accompanying her and ruining the beautiful scenery of European countries, giving her too much comfort and warmth.
When Song Zi'an left, he learned that his sister was living a hard life in Germany, and he gave all his remaining money to his sister's friend, asking him to help take care of it more, and if he encountered difficulties in the future, he would send a letter to him, and he would definitely help solve it...
The two of them are the most unusual two in this big family, one is not in league with Jiang, the other is far from right and wrong, and they know each other best.
Song Qingling once wanted to bury her parents after death, and when her parents were buried together in 1932, she and her brother still left a group photo in front of the tomb, and now her brother is lying in a foreign country forever, and she is desolate as a sister.
For ten years, Song Qingling has been inquiring about the news of her brother's family, in February 1971, she wrote to Liao Mengxing, and then mentioned her brother, saying that her dearest little brother, the body has always been so healthy, how can she suddenly die in Hong Kong, she has doubts about the cause of death, and she does not want to believe that her brother left her like this.
In 1979, Song Qingling wrote to Yang Mengdong that he had recently heard an old friend in Shanghai say that Song Zi'an's widow was married to an Egyptian, and she had not yet met two nephews.
Ten years after Song Zi'an's death, Song Qingling finally contacted Song Zi'an's widow.
Tingting (Song Zi'an's widow) finally sent me Zi'an's photo. I can't believe he's left us! He was my great brother, and he never hurt anyone. For his sudden death, I could not stop shedding tears. Now that I see a picture of Tingting herself, I can understand why she married the Egyptian. ”
The photos sent by Song Zi'an's widow Hu Qiying are mostly photos of Song Zi'an when he lived and worked in San Francisco, a year before Song Zi'an's death, his son Song Boxiong had just graduated from college, and the family had a photo, and the photo of Song Zi'an was still so energetic, but left a lifelong regret for his sister Song Qingling a year later.
Song Qingling is reluctant to put down the photo of her brother, has been carrying it with her, she is also very concerned about the situation of the two nephews, Hu Qiying told her in the letter, saying that their eldest son works in New York, the younger son runs a business in California, life is very stable, please rest assured that the second sister.
Song Qingling left her own inheritance to her brother Song Zi'an's two sons, and this inheritance of about 600,000 US dollars can be said to be quite large at the time, and it was distributed to her by the Song family when her mother died.
Due to the political position of his sisters and brothers at that time, Song Qingling did not accept this inheritance, even if he lacked money and had urgent use, he only "borrowed" it, but still did not accept it, and the money was placed in Song Zi'an for safekeeping.
Song Zi'an settled in the United States and brought this inheritance to the United States, although the sisters and brothers had not communicated for twenty years, he did not use a single piece of the inheritance belonging to his sister, and instructed the lawyer to write in the will that the money was to be returned to his sister.
When Song Zi'an died, Song Qingling's life in China was extremely frugal, and she was not short of money, but she was worried about the lives of her nephews overseas, so she did not take anything, all left to her two nephews.
When the brother's photo was sent, Song Qingling's physical condition was already quite bad, and the disease tortured her to death.
She could only look at her brother's photos to find some comfort and spiritual support, and when she was critically ill, she always read the names of Zi'an and Meimei, and more than a year later, Song Qingling died of illness and missing her relatives in Beijing.
Song Qingling has a lofty position in China's modern and modern history and is revered as the "Mother of the Nation", but at the same time she is also the second sister of the six brothers and sisters of the Song family, and she longs for the warmth of her relatives like an ordinary person.
It's just that she is different from other siblings, and even the most distant from politics and the most beloved little brother is different from her choice, she chose the country, and can only keep the regrets to herself.
Under the big era, the eminent Song family still has so much helplessness and regret, and the sadness and joy of the little people are even more severe.