On February 5, 2012, after two days of coma, Jiang Ying slowly opened her eyes and looked at the phalaenopsis orchid on the windowsill, and she said intermittently: "Xuesen likes this lilac orchid the most, he has been alone there for a long time, it must be very lonely, I should go to accompany him..."
It wasn't long before she died quietly.
From singing "Yan Shuangfei" together when he was a child, to accompanying him through more than 60 years of ups and downs, this life is far from enough.
Qian Xuesen and Jiang Ying
01
Qian Xuesen and Jiang Ying grew up young, his father Qian Junfu and her father Jiang Baili both served in the National Government, their fathers were close friends, and the two families had a close past.
Qian Xuesen is the only son in the family, and Jiang Ying's family has "five golden flowers", and she is the third oldest.
In addition to envy, Qian Junfu and his friend "asked" for his daughter: "Your daughter is too much, give me one!" ”
Jiang Baili and his wife were very generous: "Well, you can pick one." ”
In the "Five Golden Flowers", Qian Junfu took a fancy to 4-year-old Jiang Ying. In this way, a banquet, several tables of banquets, Jiang Ying officially passed over to the Qian family and became Qian Xuesen's sister. That year, Qian Xuesen was 12 years old.
The two children like music, once, two families party, brothers and sisters sang a song "Yan Double Fly", natural and harmonious, making the two families laugh.
Laughing and laughing, Jiang Baili suddenly woke up and said to his friend, "You want my daughter, not just a lack of a girlfriend, right?" ”
Look at Qian Xuesen again, can't hide his liking: "This child, is a genius, well cultivated, can become China's Edison!" ”
But before long, Jiang Ying was not happy, because Qian Xuesen rarely played with her, she did not like this brother, and cried to go home.
The Qian family agreed, but only if they signed a "contract": she would grow up and be his daughter-in-law.
Childhood Jiang Ying
After a few years of getting along with gan brothers and sisters, Qian Xuesen became an international student with Gengzi's indemnity and went to the United States to study, and Jiang Ying also went to Europe with her father to investigate, and in 1942, she entered the Berlin University of Music in Germany to major in vocal music.
In their respective fields, they work hard to forge ahead, and the "contract" thing naturally becomes a story.
After years of separation, we will meet again, and it will be ten years later. In 1946, Jiang Ying returned to China and held solo concerts in Shanghai and Hangzhou, which caused a sensation for a while, and the press commented: "Her excellent singing art makes people see that China has superior artistic genius, good qualifications and brilliant minds." ”
In 1947, Qian Xuesen also returned to China to visit his relatives. At that time, he was not only a world-renowned aerodynamicist, but also the youngest tenured professor at MIT.
His reputation attracted attention, many rich women wanted to fish for this golden turtle son-in-law, and when they learned that the Jiang family and the Qian family were closely related, they asked Jiang Ying's sisters to help introduce him.
The five golden flowers of the Jiang family
Very seriously, Jiang Ying and his sister arranged a blind date for Qian Xuesen, but Qian Xuesen, embarrassed to look at the girl, but when he looked at Jiang Ying, he was very generous.
The little sister of that year, now beautiful and elegant, outstanding temperament, musical achievements, since childhood love of art, where can he not be moved?
After that, Qian Xuesen began to take the initiative, under the pretext of seeing his "aunt", he often came to the Jiang family; when he held an academic lecture in Shanghai, he specially invited Jiang Ying.
After the meeting, he sent her home, and on the way, he said bluntly, "Follow me to the United States, okay?" ”
Of course, Jiang Ying understood what he meant, but she proposed that she could first communicate to understand. Qian Xuesen didn't care, only repeatedly saying, "No, just leave now." ”
Jiang Ying surrendered, she admired him, admired him, so she accepted this learned "good man".
This year, Qian Xuesen was 36 years old and Jiang Ying was 28 years old.
02
After the wedding in Shanghai, they came to Boston, the house was rented, the furnishings were very simple, and a black grand piano was particularly conspicuous, which was Qian Xuesen's wedding gift to Jiang Ying.
After marriage, the house is often full of songs and laughter. In Germany for many years, Jiang Ying's English was not good, and Qian Xuesen taught her every day, saying witty words in English and making her laugh happily.
She liked it, he liked it too, they listened to classical music together, watched art exhibitions, and life was full of art. Before that, his life was boring, except for classes, experiments, almost every day alone in the library, rarely talking to people.
Love is flourishing, Qian Xuesen is fascinated by Jiang Ying, and his mentor says that he has "changed into a person".
In a letter to a friend, he first complained about the bad weather in Boston and later said: "I am really not sure what my future will be, but perhaps, no one can know his future." ”
He prefers the warmth of California, where he has teachers and classmates, which makes him feel more at home. When Caltech threw an olive branch at him, he gladly went.
In 1949, the news of the founding of New China came, and in addition to the excitement, Qian Xuesen decided to return to China to serve. At the same time, however, the U.S. Department of Justice received an order: "It is better to shoot him than to let him leave the United States." Because his strength is "worth five divisions."
Qian Xuesen
On September 6, 1950, the U.S. Immigration Service sent someone to break into Qian Xuesen's home, and they were aggressive with pistols and handcuffs: "Is Qian Xuesen here?" ”
Jiang Ying held his two-month-old daughter in front of him, and Qian Xuesen was afraid that someone would hurt their mother and daughter, so he comforted Jiang Ying: "I will go to them and come back clearly, it's okay!"
On trumped-up charges, Qian Xuesen was arrested. Jiang Ying immediately called the California Institute of Technology to report to win the support of public opinion.
He was kept on a desolate island, and she visited him many times with her own food, through the bars, passing on her faith and hope to him.
At the same time, she managed to raise money, find a lawyer, and after an uphill struggle, bail him out in just 13 days.
That day, when he saw Qian Xuesen's weight loss suddenly, and his aphasia due to extreme physical and mental weakness, Jiang Ying's heart was like a knife.
After his release from prison, Qian Xuesen was placed under house arrest for a long time, telephones were tapped, correspondence was closely interrogated, and agents were stalked day and night around his residence.
In order to avoid harassment, in the windowless bathroom on all sides, Jiang Ying put a table and chair to let Qian Xuesen read and study with peace of mind. Whenever the agent broke in, she greeted her like a warrior, undaunted.
Years later, she recalled: "In those days, I was really like a 'chameleon', at home I was a docile little sheep, in front of the enemy, I became a fierce tigress!" ”
Born into a famous family, she quit her maid, gave up her beloved singing career, personally took the children, and did housework.
In her spare time, she sang for him and soothed him with music. The warmth of the family and the emotional resonance finally made Qian Xuesen happy again, and he wrote and completed the books "Engineering Cybernetics" and "Physical Mechanics".
Cybernetics of Engineering, photocopied on the left and first edition on the right
In order to be able to return to the motherland, Jiang Ying made unremitting efforts, and several suitcases were placed on the ground so that he could leave at any time.
The secret agent stared at it, and the US government had no intention of changing its mouth, and Jiang Ying tried every means to write a letter to her sister in Belgium, she cleverly clipped a distress letter written by Qian Xuesen to the Chinese government, and avoided the secret agent and threw it into the mailbox of the black area.
Soon, Qian Xuesen's handwritten letter was transferred to Zhou Enlai, and in the negotiations with the US side, all sectors of society launched protests, and forced by public opinion, the US government was forced to allow Qian Xuesen to leave the United States.
In September 1955, Qian Xuesen and Jiang Ying finally boarded the ship with a pair of children. Through all the obstruction and persecution, the resentment was incomparable, and he never set foot in California for the rest of his life.
The whole family is on the boat back home
03
After returning to China, Qian Xuesen was appointed to set up the Fifth Research Institute of the Ministry of National Defense and served as the first president, and since then, he has worked hard for the motherland's aerospace industry. Jiang Ying took to the podium of the Central Conservatory of Music, training students while writing books.
When developing the "two bombs and one satellite", Qian Xuesen often ran around the northwest desert for several months in a row, and his mind only had "rockets, rockets!" ”
Between returning home, Jiang Ying dragged him to the concert, so that science and art complemented each other.
Many years later, Qian Xuesen said with great affection: "It is precisely because I have been influenced by these artistic aspects that I can avoid dead eyes, avoid mechanical materialism, and think that the problem can be a little wider and live a little, so at this point, I also want to thank Jiang Ying." ”
In order to support him, Jiang Ying chose to sacrifice her career, and as the students took to the international stage, some international competitions invited her to serve as a judge. However, she politely refused, and took care of Qian Xuesen and the family as always.
"Without you, there would be no me." This is Qian Xuesen's heartfelt affirmation.
Jiang Ying
Because of years of travel, coupled with malnutrition, in his later years, Qian Xuesen's bone was severely loose, and when the pain in his waist and legs was unbearable, he could only rely on walkers to walk.
When the doctor said that he needed to stay in bed for a long time, he fell on the bed without any mental preparation, crying bitterly, and said: "I can no longer serve the people, and I want the state to pay money to take care of me.
Jiang Ying kissed away his tears, leaned on his body and gently comforted: "Xuesen, don't think so, I accompany you, I accompany you..."
With her encouragement and companionship, he regained his strength, and although he had lived in his bedroom for many years, he still read books, read newspapers, and wrote letters to discuss problems with experts and scholars, and put forward innovative insights.
In 2009, after dedicating his life to the cause of aerospace science and technology, Qian Xuesen passed away.
Just over two years later, Jiang Ying followed, and at the last moment of her life, she put her hands on her chest, looked at her relatives and students around her, and said softly: "You will always be in my heart..."
Subsequently, her gaze moved to the phalaenopsis orchid on the windowsill, which was Qian Xuesen's favorite flower.
Jiang Ying went quietly, and at the memorial service, the hall echoed with the German composer Handel's aria "Shade of Trees". In the beautiful and ethereal music, his son Qian Yonggang choked up his speech:
"My mother is a person I admire very much in my heart, as we all know, she is a woman who is famous, married to a celebrity, and has a successful career, and she truly embodies the self-reliance and self-reliance of an intellectual with her lifelong behavior." She has made outstanding contributions to the cause of music education for the country, for the people, and thus won not only women, but also the respect of men. ”
Because of love, because of struggle, her life, without rendering, shines brightly.
Qian Xuesen and his wife in their later years