Song Ailing, as one of the three famous Song sisters during the Republic of China, her life is full of legends. And her marriage to Kong Xiangxi, the "richest man in Shanxi", is a historical story that is embarrassing.
Song Ailing was born in a famous family and received a good education since childhood. In 1915, she married Kong Xiangxi, and the two started a new chapter in their lives together. Kong Xiangxi was born in a family of businessmen, and with his outstanding business talents, he quickly rose to prominence in the political and business circles. After marriage, Song Ailing and her husband cooperated with each other, taking advantage of Kong Xiangxi's position as Minister of Finance to amass wealth and become one of the most prominent magnates in the Republic of China.
Sadly, however, the couple failed in educating their children. Their four children are all willful and reckless, and their married life has many twists and turns.
The eldest daughter, Kong Lingyi, insisted on eloping to the United States despite the opposition of her parents and married her lover Chen Jien. However, the marriage ended in divorce, which is regrettable.
The eldest son, Kong Lingkan, is even more greedy for money, lustful, and morally corrupt. He did not hesitate to dig into the corners of the wall and married a white orchid. However, perhaps because of all kinds of evil deeds, there is no male under his knees, which is embarrassing.
The second daughter, Kong Lingwei, behaves dissolutely and is a well-known lesbian. In that conservative era, her actions were undoubtedly a challenge to traditional ethics. She never married, which became another "heart disease" of Kong and Song.
The youngest son, Kong Lingjie, although he is quite successful in his career, his married life is not very satisfactory. His son, Kong Deji, is the only grandchild of Kong and Song, but he has American citizenship, which has severed the roots of the family to a certain extent.
Throughout the lives of Kong and Song, their unscrupulous behavior to accumulate wealth may be the reason why they ultimately failed in their children's education and family happiness. In the traditional view of cause and effect, everyone pays a price for their actions. The retribution of Kong and Song may be that there is no successor to them, and the marriage of their children is not happy.
The story also reflects a common philosophy of life: fate will somehow take back what it has given it. Power and money are fleeting, and only virtue and upbringing are the foundation of a family's inheritance.
The story of Kong and Song is a microcosm of the Republic of China period. In that turbulent era, many prominent families eventually could not escape the fate of decline. This is both a tragedy of the times and a tragedy of the individual.
Today, we look back on this period of history, not to judge the merits, but to draw lessons from it. Everyone should understand that the true prosperity of the family does not lie in power and money, but in the virtue and upbringing of children and grandchildren. Only by virtue and morality can a family truly achieve long-term peace and stability.
The story of Kong and Song left a profound warning for future generations. It tells us that the rise and fall of a family is never accidental. Every seemingly trivial decision, every seemingly ordinary behavior, can become the key to affecting the fate of the family.
In today's society, we are also faced with various temptations and challenges. The abundance of material life brings more opportunities and more confusion. How to stick to one's moral integrity and maintain inner clarity in the complicated worldly life is a topic that everyone must face.
History is the best textbook. The experience of Kong and Song is a microcosm of an era and a microcosm of a family. It warns us that we must learn from history and put morality first, so that we can find the right direction in life in this complex and changeable world.