"I am willing to give up any inheritance given to me and leave them to Zi'an's children. ”
This passage is taken from a memorial telegram written by Soong Ching-ling after learning of the death of his younger brother Song Zi'an, which was written on April 5, 1969.
At this time, more than a month has passed since Song Zi'an's unexpected death.
It is quite worth noting that the "inheritance given to me" mentioned by Song Qingling here is actually the part she received when the Song family divided the property before, and Song Zi'an has always kept this property for her sister. For various reasons, before he died, he had already explained to his lawyer about the inheritance, and it was obvious that Song Zi'an wanted to return these inheritances to his sister.
But her sister Song Qingling gave up her property after her brother's death and chose to leave them all to Song Zi'an's children. According to later historical records, Song Qingling gave his younger brother and children an inheritance of more than 600,000 US dollars.
Undoubtedly, this inheritance was a huge amount of money in those days.
Compared with those brothers and sisters who hurt their emotions for money, Song Zi'an and Song Qingling's actions at that time were extremely moving, and they were not able to do this because they were rich enough, in fact, Song Qingling, who was in an important position in the mainland at that time, was very financially poor.
They invariably chose to give each other the money because: they both value this sibling relationship very much.
Song Zi'an's decision before his death undoubtedly warmed the lonely Song Qingling. Because of politics, she became a traitorous existence of the Song family, her eldest sister Song Ailing, eldest brother Song Ziwen, younger sister Song Meiling, and second brother Song Ziliang all chose Chiang Kai-shek, but she chose the Communist Party. This choice is destined to become the loneliest one in the Song family.
Song Qingling's family photo (Song Qingling's next person is Song Zi'an)
The more lonely she is, the more precious the warmth that Song Zi'an, the only one in the Song family who has not been involved in politics, gives her sister.
Among the six siblings of the Song family, Song Zi'an is the youngest, and he is 13 years younger than the second sister Song Qingling. But the huge age difference did not affect the relationship between the two sisters and brothers, and when they were young, Song Zi'an had a deeper affection for the second sister.
An important reason why Song Zi'an is particularly good with the second sister is that the second sister is more tolerant of him than other brothers and sisters.
Song Zi'an didn't particularly like to read, but because the second sister liked to read, he often sat next to her while the second sister was reading. A few times, when Song Qingling closed the book and was about to get up, he found that Song Zi'an on the side had fallen asleep on the book.
Every now and then, Song Qingling always tiptoed over to carefully examine his brother's little face. She likes her "little tail" so much, he is so cute but so quiet, how can she not be pitiful.
In Song Zi'an's heart, his second sister is almost like an angel, she never scolds him like other brothers and sisters, every time he makes a mistake, she always comforts him for the first time and says, "It's okay, it's okay, there is a second sister here."
In 1913, the year that Soong Ching-ling graduated from Wesleyan Women's University in the United States, Sun Yat-sen's "Second Revolution" failed, and the Song family went into exile in Japan to escape the persecution of Yuan Shikai. It was in this year that Song Qingling succeeded his sister Song Ailing and became Sun Yat-sen's secretary.
In the year that the Song family went into exile, Song Zi'an was only 7 years old. Therefore, this kind of day undoubtedly has a great impact on him, and after that, he is already introverted.
Perhaps because he saw through the ups and downs of politics, at a young age, Song Zian was very disgusted with politics.
In 1915, Song Qingling resolutely married Sun Yat-sen, who was 27 years older than him, despite the opposition of his parents. Regarding the marriage of the second sister, Song Zi'an is a rare supporter of the Song family, and in the eyes of Zi'an, who is only 9 years old: There is nothing wrong with my sister marrying someone she likes.
Soong Ching Ling and Sun Yat-sen
In May 1918, Song Yaoru, who suffered from kidney disease due to the suffering of exile, died of illness in Shanghai. This year, Song Zi'an was only 12 years old.
The early death of his father changed Song Zi'an's life, he understood the impermanence of life through his father's death, and because he understood impermanence, he attached more and more importance to family affection.
After Song Zi'an went to middle school, the Song family became more and more deserted, because his brothers and sisters always had various things to do. Every time they go home, the happiest person must be his younger brother Song Zi'an. He always reminded his mother: prepare this, prepare that.
Every time his brothers and sisters come back, Song Zian always rushes out to greet him as soon as possible, he likes the excitement of the family together. Even in his twilight years, Song Zi'an's lively temperament has not changed at all.
Like his brothers and sisters, Song Zi'an doesn't need his mother Ni Guizhen to worry about his studies. No matter where he studied, he always got excellent grades. Before graduating from high school, he was admitted to St. John's University in Shanghai.
In Soong's final year at St. John's University, his dearest second sister suffered the biggest setback of her life: her husband, Sun Yat-sen, died of illness. This year, Song Qingling was only 32 years old.
On April 21 of that year, Song Zi'an stopped his studies and accompanied his second sister to Nanjing to investigate the tomb of Sun Yat-sen. He didn't know how to comfort his second sister who was in pain, but he knew that even if he didn't speak, he could give her strength. Therefore, he accompanied her every step of the way.
In 1926, when it was confirmed that there was no big problem with his sister, Song Zi'an, who was admitted to Harvard University in the United States, wanted to study in the United States. After learning that his younger brother was admitted to the highest university, Song Qingling was happier than anyone else.
Before Song Zi'an went abroad, Song Qingling wrote a letter to a close friend in the United States, in which she said:
"Song Zi'an, our little brother, will be attending Harvard University this fall. He will travel to the United States in August. At first I planned to go with him, but then I decided that it would be better to wait because there was a lot to do in the country this year. ”
Song Qingling was full of worries when she sent her younger brother abroad, but when Song Zi'an said goodbye to her sister, why wasn't it. He was more worried about his sister's situation than anyone else, after all, of all the siblings, she was the little brother who knew her best.
It turns out that Song Zi'an's worries about his sister are not superfluous. In 1927, just a year after he left China, relations within the Song family had changed dramatically because of politics.
Dissatisfied with Chiang Kai-shek's separation, Soong Ching-ling and Mao Zedong and 40 other people jointly published "Asking Chiang Kai-shek to Electric", after which she and Chiang Kai-shek completely broke up. Since then, Soong Ching-ling has been on the opposite side of the Song family, which supported Chiang Kai-shek.
In August of that year, Soong Qingling secretly set off for exile in the Soviet Union. A few months later, her sister Soong Meiling married her most shameless Chiang Kai-shek.
Song Qingling with her mother
In the first half of 1928, Soong Ziwen was inaugurated as Minister of Finance of the Nanjing Government, Chiang Kai-shek was appointed Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Kuomintang and Commander-in-Chief of the National Revolutionary Army, and Kong Xiangxi was appointed Minister of Industry and Commerce.
At this time, Song Qingling was like a detached wild goose, looking extremely lonely. Fortunately, when the rest of the Song family had a delicate relationship with him, Song Zi'an did not change in the slightest for his second sister. He is still busy writing letters to his sister to report, and in the letters, he will also confide in his thoughts about his sister.
In late June 1929, at the age of 23, Song Zi'an obtained a master's degree in economics from Harvard University. But he did not return to China as soon as possible, but chose to take a detour abroad to visit his second sister who was in exile alone.
People say that the most beautiful thing is "meeting old acquaintances in a foreign country", Song Qingling, who is in Germany, is not to mention how happy she is when she sees her younger brother Song Zi'an.
After his younger brother arrived in Germany, Song Qingling took him to visit the places of interest in Berlin, and after that, the two of them went to the Alps and other places together.
Family portrait of the Song family
Along the way, Soong Ching Ling asked her younger brother about his studies in the United States, and she also told him about the situation at home. Of course, more often than not, the two are enjoying a rare leisure time together.
In the past month or so, Song Qingling still often talks about it in his later years. At that time, although Song Zi'an was an adult, he was still not childish, and when he went out to play with Song Qingling, he would occasionally trick his sister a little.
It was also through this trip with his sister that Song Zi'an noticed her sister's financial embarrassment. So, before leaving for China, he secretly left all the remaining money behind his second sister's back.
When Song Zi'an returned to China, his heart was full of worries about his second sister, because he found that his sister's situation was even worse than he imagined. When leaving, he repeatedly told Zhang Ke, who was next to his second sister, to take good care of his second sister's life. But after telling him, Song Zian also said to him:
"If my second sister is in difficulty, you must write to me, and I will find a way to raise money for her. ”
In fact, Song Zi'an, who did not have a job at the time, simply could not afford to support his sister. The "find a way" in his mouth is nothing more than to "borrow" from his other brothers and sisters.
Sure enough, after returning to China, Song Zi'an immediately reported the situation of his sister Song Qingling in Germany to his brothers and sisters, and he said with grievances: "Every day at noon, I go to a Chinese restaurant to eat a fast food, each with a mark plus 20 cents." This kind of food will damage her body. ”
Song Ailing and Song Meiling are Song Qingling's sisters after all, and they don't feel good in their hearts after hearing this. But apparently, they did not give her any actual help, and in fact, Soong Ching-ling, who was so strong, would not accept any funding from Chiang Kai-shek's side.
In 1929, the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum was completed, and Sun Yat-sen's state funeral was about to be held. In March, Song Zi'an went to Germany as a representative to welcome Song Qingling back to China to participate in Sun Yat-sen's Feng'an ceremony.
Song Qingling at the Feng'an ceremony
Throughout the Feng'an ceremony, Song Zi'an always accompanied his sister, just like when Sun Yat-sen passed away. After the Feng'an ceremony, Song Qingling returned to Germany again. Before the separation, Song Zian was still full of worries about her sister.
Soon after, Song Zi'an followed Song Ziwen to participate in the salt tax reform, and he even served as the deputy envoy of Songjiang Salt Transportation and the director of the Suzhou Salt Anti-Smuggling Bureau.
During this period, although Song Zian was also a little linked to politics, he was still in his own economic field from beginning to end, and he did not really have much to do with politics.
In July 1931, Ni Guizhen died of illness, and Song Qingling hurriedly returned to Shanghai from Germany. This time, the siblings were finally together again, but this time, their parents were gone.
The following year, the Song brothers and sisters reunited to build a joint burial tomb for their parents. Before the joint burial tomb, after cleaning the grave of his father Song Yaoru, Song Qingling and Song Zi'an left a group photo in front of their father's tomb holding hands.
Song Qingling took a group photo with his younger brother at the grave
After this group photo, Song Qingling wrote a line of small words: "The tree grows for thousands of generations, and the leaves return to the roots." She and her younger brother agreed that they would return to their parents' cemetery to accompany them after a hundred years.
This photo of the sister and brother has always been treasured by Song Qingling, and every time she misses her brother, she always takes it out to see. Only when thinking of Zi'an will Song Qingling's feelings for the Song family be free from those complicated emotions.
For many years, Song Zi'an, who does not understand politics, has always wanted to reconcile the second sister and the other brothers and sisters of the Song family. No matter what the other brothers and sisters said, he always insisted on contacting the second sister. When he is free, Song Zi'an will also visit his sister in person.
In 1937, the full-scale war of resistance broke out, and at this time, the Kuomintang and the Communist Party cooperated again. On March 31, 1940, at the invitation of Soong Meiling, Soong Ching-ling and Soong Oi-ling arrived in Chongqing from Hong Kong, and they also visited the bombed area and air defense facilities together.
Song Zi'an saw the picture of the three Song sisters holding hands on the front page of the newspaper the next day, on the screen: the eldest sister Song Ailing walked in front, holding the hands of the two younger sisters, and Song Qingling continued to follow the eldest sister and the younger sister in a reserved and restrained manner.
The three sisters who reunited
After seeing this picture, Song Zi'an couldn't mention how happy he was, and he even began to fantasize about the warm scene of the six sisters and brothers gathering together.
Just a few months after that, the Kuomintang diehards launched a surprise attack on the military headquarters of the New Fourth Army in central China, which was the beginning of the "Southern Anhui Incident," which also marked the climax of the Kuomintang's second anti-communist movement. Naturally, Soong Ching-ling and Chiang Kai-shek once again stood on opposite sides.
After that, Song Meiling "cared for" the other brothers and sisters of the Song family, and did not tell Zi'an anything, in case he said it to Song Qingling. Song Zi'an couldn't be angry when he found out, so he turned around and told his sister Song Qingling. Every time he came to visit his sister, he would always tell her everything he knew.
Of course, on the other hand, Song Zi'an would also tell the other Song family brothers and sisters anything he knew from Song Qingling. In his eyes, why should the family hide it?
Song Zi'an always has an ideal of "reunion", and he wants the Song family to be as harmonious as before. It is precisely because of this ideal that he can't see the internal division of the Song family.
In 1943, Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Ziwen had a heated argument over their different views of Stilwell, and after the conflict between the two escalated, Chiang Kai-shek refused to meet with Soong Ziwen from then on.
Song Zi'an was caught between the two after knowing it, and he was deeply worried about the estrangement between Uncle Lang. So, on November 6, not long after the two broke up, Song Zi'an broke into Chiang Kai-shek's office directly, and after entering the door, he said: "Why don't you see him (Song Ziwen), you have to see him speak clearly, otherwise, he will be in his heart." ”
After hearing this, Chiang Kai-shek looked at Song Ziwen with a serious face and felt that he was "ridiculous and ridiculous".
Song Ziwen and Song Zi'an
Obviously, Chiang Kai-shek "scolded" Song Zi'an without dirty words in his diary. can be scolded and scolded, in the face of such a brother-in-law, he has no choice. After all, he is the only one who is serious about family affection in the political arena.
Unlike everyone else in the Song family, Song Zi'an had no interest in politics, and all he cared about most was the unity and harmony of the family. Therefore, he was saddened by the division of the family due to politics.
In 1949, Song Ziwen withdrew from the political scene and settled in the United States, and in the same year, Song Zi'an, who had always followed his brother's example, also settled in San Francisco, USA.
After settling in the United States, Soong often traveled to Taiwan to visit his sister Soong Meiling and brother-in-law Chiang Kai-shek. According to records, from 1954 to 1966 alone, he visited Song Meiling and his wife eleven times. Many of them, he took his wife and two sons with him.
Later, with his efforts, Song Ziwen and Chiang Kai-shek, who had been dead and dead, also shook hands again in 1963. This year, under Song Zi'an's "walking", Song Ziwen took his family to Taiwan to have a small reunion with Chiang Kai-shek and Song Meiling.
This gathering was Song Zi'an's favorite thing, and throughout the whole process, Song Ziwen and Chiang Kai-shek, who were not politically involved, talked and laughed happily, and this gathering was undoubtedly very pleasant. Song Ziwen's family stayed in Taiwan for more than a month.
What made Song Zi'an distressed was that although he was able to promote the "reconciliation" between Song Ziwen and Chiang Kai-shek, he was no longer able to facilitate the exchanges between his second sister Song Qingling and other members of the Song family. Because, in the United States, he couldn't contact his second sister for a long time.
Since settling in the United States, Song Zian has never seen his beloved second sister again. He couldn't even find out the exact news of her, and in desperation, Song Zi'an could only rely on occasionally flipping photos to miss his second sister.
In the years when Song Zi'an missed his sister, Song Qingling also talked about Song Zi'an in the mainland.
After learning that his younger brother An would occasionally go to Hong Kong, Soong Ching-ling frequently asked people who came to Hong Kong for news of his younger brother. Zheng Tieru, the former manager of the Hong Kong branch of the Bank of China, would be asked by her every time she saw Song Qingling.
Song Qingling even asked Zheng Tieru to bring a message to Zi'an: "I miss him very much, and I hope to meet him again in my lifetime." ”
It is unknown whether this message Zheng Tieru was delivered, and the world only knows that on February 24, 1969, shortly after that, Song Zian died of a sudden cerebral hemorrhage when he went to Hong Kong to attend the opening of the Bank of Guangzhou. He was only 63 years old when he died.
Song Zi'an with his wife and son
Not long after, Song Qingling saw the news of the death of his younger brother Song Zi'an when he happened to flip through foreign magazines. Soon, her lawyer's airmail to her confirmed Song Zi'an's death. In this airmail, the content of Song Zi'an's will before his death was: "Please ask her to receive the inheritance that belongs to her."
After learning the bad news, Song Qingling was grief-stricken. That day, she locked herself in her bedroom alone and refused to come out for a long time. She touched the photo with her brother in front of her parents' grave and called Zi'an's name over and over again......
That day, at dusk, Song Qingling personally drafted a telegram and handed it to the English secretary Zhang Yu. Because China and the United States did not establish diplomatic relations at that time, and because Chinese politics was tense at this time, before sending a telegram, Song Qingling informed Zhou Enlai and Deng Yingchao of the incident.
This telegram is the telegram of condolence mentioned at the beginning of the article. In this telegram, Soong Ching-ling wrote: "Please convey to Mrs. Soong Zi'an my shock and deep sorrow for the bereavement. I am willing to give up any inheritance given to me and leave them to Zi'an's children. ”
After sending the telegram, Song Qingling still held on to a glimmer of hope, hoping to receive a call back from the other side of the ocean. For her at this time, as long as it is a reply related to her brother, it will be a great comfort.
Regrettably, at a time when China and the United States had not yet established diplomatic relations, it was impossible for Soong Ching-ling to have any contact with his younger brother's family in the United States.
The only thing to be thankful for is that Song Zi'an's wife Hu Qiying finally received a telegram from her sister Song Qingling. After receiving this precious telegram of condolence, Hu Qiying had mixed feelings.
As soon as she received the telegram, Hu Qiying took the telegram to her husband's Guanshan Cemetery in California, USA, and on that day, she murmured to her husband: "Your sister who has talked to me countless times has sent you a telegram of condolences, and you have finally got in touch, but ......."
That day, the wind in the cemetery was particularly strong, and Hu Qiying faintly felt that it was Zi'an telling himself that "he knows everything".
Who would have thought that the affectionate siblings would not see each other for decades, and who would have thought that when they finally got in touch, they were separated by yin and yang. Song Zi'an and Song Qingling did not expect these.
In 1971, two years after Song Zi'an's death, Song Qingling, who still could not accept the news of his brother's death, wrote in a letter to a friend: "My dear little brother, who was in good health, died violently in Hong Kong, and the cause of death is still unknown. ”
The words in the letter are full of Song Qingling's nostalgia for his younger brother......
When missing a person to the bone, the person who misses him will always collect information related to him in various ways, and Song Qingling is like this to his younger brother Song Zi'an. After her brother's death, she has been trying to gather information about him, trying to figure out the cause of his death, and trying to get in touch with his family in the United States.
In 1979, after the catastrophe passed, China and the United States established diplomatic relations. Song Qingling finally got the news of Song Zi'an's family, but what she got was not good news, she heard: Zi'an's wife remarried, and she was still married to an Egyptian.
Song Zi's safe family portrait
After learning the news, Song Qingling was very surprised, and she muttered: "They gave birth to two sons, but they got married in the United States, and I have never seen her." ”
After getting the news of Hu Qiying, Song Qingling contacted the brother-in-law with a try-and-see attitude. In a letter to her brother-in-law, Song Qingling begged her almost humbly: "Please give me some photos of Zi'an."
On September 5 of that year, Hu Qiying, who received the letter, sent a reply letter to Soong Qingling through the Chinese People's Friendship Association, along with several photos of Soong Zi'an and her family that she had selected.
So, ten years after Song Zi'an passed away, Song Qingling, who was suffering from longing, finally got a few photos of his younger brother. That day, Song Qingling, who was holding the photo, kept wiping her tears.
Because she knew the deep friendship between Song Qingling and Song Zi'an, Hu Qiying was very understanding and told Song Qingling about their family's situation in the letter, and she also noted the time on the back of each photo.
Song Qingling was very happy that day, she looked at her brother in the photo and muttered: "My poor brother, well, why is it gone?"
The staff around Song Qingling were all worried when they saw this, but none of them dared to come forward to disturb, they knew that this was her and her brother's alone time.
On May 29, 1981, more than a year after Song Qingling received Song Zi'an's photo, she said goodbye. When he was dying, Song Qingling, who was delirious due to high fever, kept muttering "Meiling" and "Zi'an......
Before his death, Song Qingling left a will: he would not be buried with Sun Yat-sen, but would be buried in the cemetery where his parents were buried. This is also the agreement she made with Song Zi'an in the past, but unfortunately, in the end, due to various reasons, she was the only one who fulfilled the contract!