As the top chaebol during the Republic of China, the Song family called for wind and rain and monopolized the political economy for nearly half a century.
With their illustrious family backgrounds and strong financial support, the Song brothers and sisters embarked on different paths.
In addition to the jaw-dropping power of wealth, the friendship between the Song sisters is also impressive.
It's just that the difference in political views eventually led to the sisters' parting of ways.
In 1971, Song Ziwen, who had emigrated to the United States for many years, died suddenly at a banquet.
Americans wanted to take advantage of Song Ziwen until they died, so at Song Ziwen's funeral, Americans wanted to invite Song Ziwen's brothers and sisters to achieve their own political goals.
However, none of the three Song sisters attended the funeral of their brother Song Ziwen.
It's not because the three Song sisters saw the conspiracy of the Americans, but they each have their own considerations.
In June 1949, after Song Ziwen moved to the United States, he lived an incognito life and did not ask about the world.
At this time, Song Ziwen no longer had any hope for politics. In addition to taking care of their own financial assets, more energy is focused on raising the next generation.
But such a man who once called for wind and rain is difficult to do if he wants to be quiet.
Although various banquets were rejected by Song Ziwen, there were some that he still couldn't avoid.
On April 25, 1971, a banquet specially prepared for Song Ziwen was held in New York.
Song Ziwen, who has not attended such a grand scene for many years, is very happy, even though he is 77 years old, he still attends ceremoniously.
This banquet involved many important figures in the political and economic fields of the United States to appear, and Song Ziwen was very happy when he pushed the cup and changed the lamp.
In addition, the banquet had hometown dishes specially prepared for him, which made Song Ziwen's interest even higher.
However, an unexpected situation also happened at this time, Song Ziwen was stuck in his trachea by a small piece of food between drinking and eating.
caused him to have severe breathlessness, even his wife Zhang Leyi and the important people at the banquet were helpless against him.
could only wait for the doctor's emergency rescue, but the bad result still happened, Song Ziwen died of heart failure due to breathing at the banquet.
The news of such a stirring figure in the United States naturally spread very quickly.
Nixon, who was still on vacation, also received it, and his first reaction was that he wanted to continue to use Song Ziwen to achieve his political goals.
This is because the United States is in a passive position in the international community at this time, and opening up exchanges with China is the best opportunity for the United States to turn over.
Therefore, holding a grand funeral for Song Ziwen and inviting Song Qingling, who is far away on the mainland, to attend the funeral, can bring relations with the mainland closer and quickly find a diplomatic breakthrough.
After all, Soong Ching-ling's position on the mainland is very high, and he can influence the mainland's foreign policy.
At the same time, in order to cover up his true purpose, Nixon also sent an invitation to the funeral of Song Meiling and Song Ailing.
In Nixon's view, the three Soong sisters should and must attend their brother's funeral for whatever purpose, after all, it was the last time they would see each other.
Chinese pay the most attention to family affection, and if this kind of occasion is absent, it is not in line with Chinese ethics.
Song Meiling, who received the news for the first time, did not hesitate and prepared to leave for New York.
Chiang Kai-shek's reaction was also in favor, so a special plane was arranged for Meiling to provide services for Soong Meiling.
However, an unexpected situation happened when Song Meiling arrived in Hawaii.
Soong Meiling, who was still on the plane, received a telegram from Chiang Kai-shek, in which she asked Soong Meiling to temporarily rest in Hawaii and not go to New York first.
From Chiang Kai-shek's mouth, Song Meiling learned that now the mainland's second sister Song Qingling will also attend the funeral of her brother Song Ziwen.
Chiang Kai-shek understood that the real intention of the Americans was not to invite themselves who were far away in Taiwan, but to care more about the mainland, so he asked Soong Meiling not to participate.
At this time, Song Meiling could only follow Chiang Kai-shek's orders, and at the same time sent a message to her sister Song Ailing, who was on Long Island, saying that she would not attend the funeral.
Although Song Ailing is 83 years old, her thinking is still as usual.
After receiving Song Meiling's telegram, she also decided not to attend Song Ziwen's funeral, after all, when Kong Xiangxi died in 1967, Song Ziwen did not come.
Just as Soong Meiling was returning to Taiwan by plane, and when Soong Ailing informed the United States not to attend the funeral, Soong Qingling was also unable to attend the U.S. funeral because she couldn't find a suitable plane.
After receiving the news, especially after receiving the result that Soong Ching-ling could not attend, Nixon deliberately postponed Soong Ziwen's funeral from the morning to the afternoon, and sent a telegram to Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Ailing again, expressing his hope that they would be able to arrive.
However, the decision not to attend was made by the other two parties.
Under such conditions, all three Song sisters were absent from Song Ziwen's funeral.
In this way, Nixon's political goals were not achieved.
The last side of the Song family was not completed after all, and Song Ziwen, the warmonger who ranked second after Chiang Kai-shek on the list of war criminals, died in a foreign land.