Picture 丨 Chen Cheng's old photo
preface
"Chen Cixiu is a patriot, but unfortunately he is not in good health..." Premier Zhou said this rather profound remark in 1965 when welcoming Li Zongren back to China.
For many years, Chen Cheng and Chiang Kai-shek have been consistent in their treatment of the mainland. In 1961, the United States invited Chen Cheng to visit the United States, hoping to break the relationship between Chiang Kai-shek's father and son and Chen Cheng in order to achieve its own goals. When Premier Zhou learned of this, he immediately sent a telegram to the Taiwan authorities, hoping that Chiang Kai-shek's father and son would unite with Chen Cheng and uphold the "one-China" principle. Later, Chen Cheng publicly stated:
"I'll give an account to history."
"Everything is at your disposal"
When it comes to the relationship between Chen Cheng and Chiang Kai-shek, the earliest can be traced back to Chen Cheng's period at the Whampoa Military Academy.
Chiang Kai-shek has always been nepotistic and naturally has a good feeling for people from his hometown of Zhejiang, so much so that many senior Kuomintang officials are from Zhejiang.
Chen Cheng was no exception, he was born in Zhejiang province of a family of scholars, his father's former Qing Xiucai, after the establishment of the Whampoa Military Academy, he was transferred to the military academy as a military officer.
Picture 丨 Chen Cheng's military uniform photo
Chen Cheng first entered the Whampoa Military Academy, determined to make a great career here, although he is also a native of Zhejiang, but because of his appearance, he was not valued by Chiang Kai-shek at first, until a chance, Chen Cheng became one of the three most important students of Chiang Kai-shek in the Whampoa Military Academy.
At that time, Chiang Kai-shek checked the sentry at night, and suddenly found that there was a faint light in the room, and Chiang Kai-shek thought that the students did not rest on time, and immediately pushed the door in preparation for reprimand. The scene in front of him suddenly made Chiang Kai-shek stunned, a person was reading a book by the faint candlelight, Chiang Kai-shek approached and picked up the book, found that it was the "Three People's Principles", and immediately turned from anger to joy.
Chiang Kai-shek looked up at Chen Cheng, and although he looked ordinary, he looked at ease and did not panic at all because of his sudden intrusion. Chiang Kai-shek's first impression of Chen Cheng was very good, so he asked him where he was from. Chen Cheng replied:
"I am a student Chen Cheng, a native of Zhejiang."
Chiang Kai-shek didn't say anything more after listening, but only told Chen Cheng to rest earlier, turned his head and left Chen Cheng's room. At the end of the exercise early the next morning, Chiang Kai-shek publicly announced: Because Of Chen Cheng's hard work, he was specially promoted to the rank of major artillery captain for encouragement. Chen Cheng was surprised and delighted by the sudden promotion, and since then he has walked into Chiang Kai-shek's sight.
Pictured chen cheng and Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek later had a mantra: "Zhongzheng cannot be a day without words," which fully demonstrated Chiang Kai-shek's trust in Chen Cheng. In 1931, Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Mei-ling personally acted as mediators and introduced their daughter Tan Xiang to Chen Cheng, which also made the relationship between Chen Cheng and the Chiang Kai-shek family closer and closer.
At that time, Hu Zongnan and Chen Cheng were the best among the young generals, although Hu Zongnan was slightly older, he had no marriage history, and was the primary candidate for Chiang Kai-shek and his wife, but the main reason why chen cheng was chosen in the end was that Chen Cheng had a close relationship with Deng Yanda, and in order to win over Chen Cheng, Chiang Kai-shek finally decided to introduce Tan Xiang to him.
Chiang Kai-shek and his wife first consulted Tan Xiang, who asked Chen Cheng what his position was in the army, and although Chen Cheng was only the commander of the Eleventh Division at that time, Chiang Kai-shek and his wife "built" Chen Cheng into the commander of the Eighteenth Army, the main force of the Nationalist Army.
Pictured: Chiang Kai-shek with Chen Cheng (left) and Zhou Zhirou
After Chen Cheng returned from Japan, Chiang Kai-shek and his wife officially introduced Tan Xiang to Chen Cheng and promoted this marriage, when Tan Xiang saw Chen Cheng, who was no more than one meter six tall and his appearance was not proud, he did not like it, and Song Meiling enlightened Tan Xiang and said:
"This person has a boundless future, and he will definitely get ahead in the future!"
And Chen Cheng's impression of Tan Xiang is very good, not only is the person looking down and generous, but also Chiang Kai-shek and his wife personally act as mediators, Chen Cheng is flattered, as always, raised his hand to salute Chiang Kai-shek:
"Everything is at your disposal."
After Chen Cheng and Tan Xiang got married, the husband and wife had a harmonious relationship and gave birth to six children, and the family was happy and happy. Tan Xiang has a gentle personality, never speaks harshly to people, Chen Cheng has been fighting outside for many years, Tan Xiang has become a sage in the family, keeping everything in the family in order, except for the needs of etiquette, she never shows her face.
Pictured: Chen Cheng and his family
Tan Xiang followed Chen Cheng through a long war life, and only after going to Taiwan did he live a stable life.
"Am I safe here?"
Although Chen Cheng had always been loyal to Chiang Kai-shek and had always silently carried out the decisions made by Chiang Kai-shek, Chen Cheng once had the idea of leaving Chiang Kai-shek.
After Chiang Kai-shek's rebellion and revolution in 1927, Deng Yanda, as one of the leaders of the left wing of the Kuomintang, has always insisted on opposing Chiang Kai-shek.
After Deng Yanda's arrest in Shanghai in 1931, Chen Cheng called Chiang Kai-shek from the front in the hope of sparing Deng Yanda's life, when Chiang Kai-shek replied to Chen Cheng: "Quasi-leniency." Chen Cheng was convinced of Chiang Kai-shek's words, and later Chen Cheng heard that Deng Yanda had been sentenced to death, and called Chiang Kai-shek twice, hoping that Deng Yanda would not be executed, but Chiang Kai-shek was not moved.
Picture 丨 Deng Yanda old photo
After Deng Yanda was executed, Chen Cheng openly asked Chiang Kai-shek to send someone to take over his post, and he immediately left his post, which was severely reprimanded by Chiang Kai-shek. After that, although Chen Cheng never mentioned his resignation, he still spoke highly of Deng Yanda and fiercely criticized Chiang Kai-shek.
As for the chaos within the Kuomintang, Chen Cheng often criticized by name, which aroused Chiang Kai-shek's dissatisfaction, but Chen Cheng still went his own way, and after taking over as the director of the Northeast Xingyuan in 1947, Chen Cheng was not optimistic about the current situation of the Kuomintang, and once again had the idea of leaving. At the end of the same year, Chen Cheng's old illness recurred, so he took the opportunity to resign from his post and go to Taiwan for treatment and serve as the chairman of Taiwan Province.
After Chiang Kai-shek left the field in 1949, he decided to go to Taiwan to "revitalize" the great cause of the revolution, and before leaving, Chiang Kai-shek called Chen Cheng to explain that he was about to arrive in Taiwan, but Chen Cheng did not reply within 24 hours, and Chiang Kai-shek had no choice but to change from Taipei to Kaohsiung to land. Because Kaohsiung was not under Chen Cheng's jurisdiction, Chiang Kai-shek's first words after landing on the island were to ask Sun Liren:
Chen Cheng, who was the "vice president" at the time, took a photo
Sun Liren did not think so, saying that with their protection, there was nothing unsafe.
In fact, Chen Cheng was extremely ambivalent about Chiang Kai-shek's going to Taiwan at that time, on the one hand, he was forced by the US policy toward Taiwan, and on the other hand, he also considered the friendship with Chiang Kai-shek for many years. If Chen Cheng had turned to the United States at that time and refused Chiang Kai-shek's entry into Taiwan, Taiwan's history would have been rewritten in its entirety.
In 1954, Chen Cheng was elected by Chiang Kai-shek as the second "vice president" candidate, and took office in May of the same year, three years later, Chiang Kai-shek promoted Chen Cheng to vice president of the Kuomintang, and until December 1963, Chen Cheng held the three major positions of "vice president", "president of the Executive Yuan" and "vice president of the Kuomintang".
In 1961, Chen Cheng personally presided over the "Yang Mingshan Conference" to discuss Taiwan's economic development, and in the concluding summary of the meeting, Chen Cheng condemned the CONSPIRACY of the "two Chinas" on the US side and made it clear: "We will never accept this solution." ”
In the same year, Kennedy invited Chiang Kai-shek to visit the United States many times, hoping to negotiate in person, but chiang kai-shek refused. At the repeated urging of the US side, Chiang Kai-shek decided that Chen Cheng should visit the United States on his own behalf.
Chen Cheng met with Kennedy
At that time, the United States was trying to take advantage of the opportunity to split the relationship between Chiang Kai-shek's father and son and Chen Cheng in order to achieve its own goals, and after Hearing the news of Chen Cheng's visit to the United States, Premier Zhou immediately telephoned the Taiwan authorities and expressed the Chinese communists' hope that Chiang Kai-shek's father and son and Chen Cheng would unite to break the US conspiracy.
Premier Zhou, who has worked with Chen Cheng for many years and knows him well, believes that Chen Cheng "will not be led by the nose by the United States."
After Chen Cheng arrived in the United States, he had seen the records of negotiations between China and the United States after the founding of New China, and wanted to use this to win Chen Cheng over. But After Chen Cheng read it, he said:
"The Chinese Communists' rejection of all us proposals is a great power."
On his deathbed he dictated three last words
Beginning in September 1964, Chen Cheng suddenly had continuous diarrhea and a sharp drop in weight, although after various treatments, it was still ineffective. Under the persuasion of family and friends, Chen Chengcai went to the hospital for an in-depth examination and was diagnosed with liver cancer, but the family and doctor did not tell him the result, only that he was suffering from cirrhosis.
After Chiang Kai-shek and his wife learned of this diagnosis, they confessed that they must save Chen Cheng's life at all costs, and the hospital organized and set up a special medical team to set up a family ward in Chen Cheng's home to care for Chen Cheng day and night. Chiang Kai-shek instructed Chen Cheng's children who were studying overseas to send plane tickets to return to see their father.
Chen Cheng, Chiang Kai-shek, and Soong Mei-ling (from left to right) attended the banquet together
Under the meticulous care of his wife and doctors, Chen Cheng's condition was stable for a while, his mental and physical strength improved, and he could sometimes walk in the garden and share the joy of life with his children and grandchildren. However, after entering 1965, Chen Cheng's condition began to deteriorate sharply, and due to the sudden severe cold, Chen Cheng's body was nothing less than worse.
Although the pain in Chen Cheng's liver intensified day by day, he never cried out for pain, and every time the doctor saw him in pain and frowned, he quickly gave him a painkiller injection. On February 28, Chen Cheng's condition was announced by the Taiwan authorities, announcing his true condition, and Chen Cheng realized that he would soon die, so he first wrote a will to his family:
"Chen died and was cremated on the principle of not occupying land."
Since March 3, Chen Cheng has been unable to eat, and early that morning, the family asked Chen Cheng what else to say, chen Cheng sighed and said: "The country has reached this point, what else is there to say." After a while, Chen Cheng asked the staff around him to exit the room first, and then let the eldest son
Chen Lu'an
Bring a pen and paper to your side and go alone
Dictate three last words:
"I. I hope that comrades will accomplish the great cause of the National Revolution with one heart and one virtue and under the leadership of the President;
Second, do not be passive, do not distinguish between east and west, north and south, people do not distinguish between men and women, old and young, the military and the people of the whole country, and share this suffering;
Third, the Party exists, strives for internal unity, and has a promising future. ”
Pictured: Chen Cheng inspects Taiwan's land
Chen Cheng's 66-word last words are his requirements for people, and they are also a summary of his life's experience.
That night, Chen Cheng asked his family for a pen again, as if he wanted to write something, but unfortunately, when he was dying, it was too late to soberly speak out his heart. The next day Chen Cheng's condition was already quite critical, and at noon Tan Xiang said in Chen Cheng's ear that Chiang Kai-shek and his wife would soon come to see him, and Chen Cheng did his best to reluctantly get out of bed and sit on a chair with the help of his wife. After meeting Chiang Kai-shek and his wife, Chen Cheng said sadly in a weak voice:
"President, I'm afraid my illness won't get better..."
That afternoon, Chen Cheng told his family that he was afraid that he would not be able to do it, and if others wanted to come to see him, there was no need to stop them, so that they could come to see him. In accordance with Chen Cheng's last wishes, the treatment team lifted the ban and allowed officials from all walks of life, relatives and friends to visit. The door of Chen Cheng's official residence suddenly became lively, and there was an endless stream of people who came to visit.
On the morning of March 5, the door of Chen Cheng's official residence was opened to continue to receive guests who came to talk, and senior Kuomintang officials arrived one after another.
Chiang Ching-kuo had worked under Chen Cheng's leadership for a long time, and the relationship between him and Chen Cheng was complex and delicate. Early in the morning, he came to Chen Cheng's official residence and stood silently in front of the window alone, or sat alone on the sofa. At noon, someone brought him bread, and he whispered thanks, but did not eat .
Pictured chen cheng and Chiang Ching-kuo
At four o'clock in the afternoon, Chen Cheng's attending physician came out of the ward and announced that Chen Cheng was still dying, that the person was unconscious, but his pulse was tending to normal. Two hours later, the doctor again sent out the news that although Chen Cheng's blood pressure had decreased, his pulse had returned to normal, and such a situation might last for a long time, and everyone did not have to wait any longer.
At 6:30 p.m., the door of Chen Cheng's ward was closed, and there were only Chen Cheng's wife and children and medical staff in the ward, Chen Cheng was lying on the bed, his breathing was gradually weak, and gradually everyone could not hear Chen Cheng's exhalation, and the four-star general who had been a horseman for a lifetime finally came to the end of his life. Just after seven o'clock, the door of Chen Cheng's ward was opened, and the attending physician walked out of the ward and announced to everyone:
"The vice president passed at 7:05!"
"Publication according to the original"
The Taiwan authorities attached great importance to Chen Cheng's death, and at the Kuomintang Standing Committee that night, everyone spoke highly of Chen Cheng's life. Later, after Chen Cheng's death, there was no longer a "vice president" within the Kuomintang, which shows that in the eyes of Chiang Kai-shek and the Kuomintang, no one except Chen Cheng could sit in the position of "vice president."
Pictured: Nixon attends Chen Cheng's funeral
On the same day, Chiang Kai-shek issued a "presidential decree" ordering Zhang Qun, Yan Jiagan, and 12 other people to form a funeral committee; from March 6, all organs and groups lowered their flags to half-mast for 10 days, stopping entertainment and banquets.
After a busy night, the Taipei Funeral Home, where Chen Cheng's body was placed, set up a spiritual hall before dawn on March 6, with a 50-inch portrait of Chen Cheng hanging in the center of the hall, surrounded by white silk, filled with various tributes, and a sandalwood carved god plaque in the center, which reads "The Lord of the Emperor of the Xiankao Chen Gongci Xiufu", which Chen Cheng specially explained to his family before his death, hoping to be able to provide for the family shrine in his hometown in the future.
At eleven o'clock in the morning, Chiang Kai-shek came to the funeral parlor, bowed three times in front of Chen Cheng's portrait, and then went to the makeup artist to hang Chen Cheng's remains, watching this deputy who was 11 years younger than himself go one step ahead, Chiang Kai-shek could not help but be infinitely sad and burst into tears. Chiang Ching-kuo once told this reporter in tears:
"The death of the 'vice president' is an incomparable and great loss for the party-state, and for me personally, it is the loss of a mentor who has followed him for nearly 30 years."
Picture 丨 Chen Cheng funeral ceremony scene
Before the funeral on the 10th, the funeral home rearranged the spiritual hall, and above Chen Cheng's portrait, hung the "Essence of the Party and the State" inscribed by Chiang Kai-shek himself, and on both sides there were also Chiang Kai-shek's handwritten elegances.
Chen Cheng's cemetery is only more than 400 kilometers away from his hometown in a straight line, but the vast Taiwan Strait is nothing more than an invisible wall between them, isolating Chen Cheng's cemetery and hometown on both sides of the strait.
In 1993
After consulting with his family, in accordance with his father's last wishes, Chen Cheng's remains were taken from the tomb and cremated and placed in the Lingguang Pagoda of Foguang Mountain in Kaohsiung, and the cemetery he originally occupied was handed over to the Taiwan authorities for separate handling.
After Chen Cheng's death, the three last words he left behind were published, which aroused the doubts of some people in the Kuomintang. According to the environment at that time, Chen Cheng never mentioned "anti-communism" and "counter-offensive." For this will, the Kuomintang authorities had sought the opinion of Chen Cheng's wife Tan Xiang, because of Chen Cheng's special status, the will was extremely inconsistent with the environment at that time, and it was hoped that Chen Cheng's will would be amended before publication.
Pictured: Chiang Kai-shek attends Chen Cheng's funeral
However, Tan Xiang was well aware of her husband Chen Cheng's personality, he was cautious and shrewd and thoughtful all his life, and the will he personally instructed and wrote down must have been written on paper after he had carefully considered it; although he was seriously ill at the time, his mind was sober, and chen Cheng obviously had his own views on the relationship between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. Therefore, Tan Xiang refused the request of the visitor:
"If the will of the rhetoric must be published, it can only be based on the original dictation of his lifetime. If such publication is felt to be inappropriate, it may also be disbursed. But that's all there is to it! ”
Later, Tan Xiang's opinion was reported to Chiang Kai-shek, and although Chiang Kai-shek had reservations about Chen Cheng's will, he finally approved it:
Publish the original!
Chiang Kai-shek has been trying to return to the mainland, and chen cheng's will is really intriguing.
Photo: Premier Zhou, Chen Cheng, and Ye Ting
After Premier Zhou learned of Chen Cheng's death, although he did not say it in public, when he welcomed Li Zongren, who had returned from overseas in the same year, Premier Zhou was in the airport lounge, facing the central leaders and democrats, and talked about Chen Cheng, who died a few months ago:
"Chen Cixiu is a patriotic man, he is firmly opposed to the United States creating 'two Chinas', but unfortunately he is not in good health ... When he was dying, he left a will, and the Taiwan authorities wanted to revise and publish it, but his wife objected, saying that if he wanted to move, he would not publish it, and that if he wanted to publish it, he would have to publish it in the original text. ”
Premier Zhou's remarks can be regarded as the end of their friendship in Huangpu, and at the same time, they also made the most pertinent evaluation of Chen Cheng.