After the liberation of Nanjing, Chiang Kai-shek concentrated all his efforts on quelling the civil war and consolidating the central power. However, an unexpected piece of information forced him to take extreme measures against his late old enemy, Wang Jingwei. On a cold night in January 1946, Chiang Kai-shek sent his cronies to quietly blow up Wang Jingwei's mausoleum in Meihua Mountain, Nanjing. When the coffin was opened, Wang Jingwei's body was well preserved, even his clothes were not damaged, and what was even more surprising was that a note was found in his pocket. So what's written on it?
1. Wang Jingwei followed Sun Yat-sen's ideals in his youth
In the twenty-fifth year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty, Wang Jingwei was born in a scholarly family in Feng County, Jiangsu. Influenced by his family history, he was diligent and studious since he was a child, and was familiar with the classics of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. At the age of 12, he was awarded the reputation of "Xiucai" and learned to be rich in five cars. At the age of 18, he was admitted to the government scholarship and went to Japan to study.
When he crossed to Japan, it was the time of the Xinhai Revolution. Wang Jingwei was devoted to democracy and freedom, and was full of yearning for the revolutionary cause led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen. In 1911, he joined the League and wrote the praise of "Sun Wen is the saint who saves the world", and began to follow Sun Yat-sen's struggle.
In 1915, after Wang Jingwei returned from Japan, under the arrangement of Sun Yat-sen, he successively served as the secretary of the Guangzhou Military Government, the chief of education and other important positions. Inspired by Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary ideals, Wang Jingwei, who was only 26 years old at the time, already had the ambition to change the world.
In 1923, there was often infighting between teachers and students in the immediate line for the separation of power. In order to resolve the contradictions, Sun Yat-sen put forward three major policies, namely, the United Russia, the United Communist Party, and the support of peasants and workers. Wang Jingwei, as Sun Yat-sen's most powerful assistant, became the staunchest supporter of these ideas. The following year, Wang Jingwei united with Chen Duxiu and others with outstanding political skills to defend Sun Yat-sen's authoritative position in the first KMT-CCP cooperation.
In 1924, when Sun Yat-sen was critically ill in Beijing, Wang Jingwei personally escorted him out of Beiping. After returning to Guangzhou, Sun Yat-sen praised him and personally inscribed the clothes of "the first person under Sun Wen's command". It can be said that during Sun Yat-sen's lifetime, Wang Jingwei was one of the most respected successors among the Republican Party.
However, soon after Sun Yat-sen's death, the contradictions between Wang Jingwei and Chiang Kai-shek began to be exposed, and the two embarked on a road of no return.
2. After Sun Yat-sen's death, Wang Jingwei and Chiang Kai-shek intrigued for the first time
On March 12, 1925, Dr. Sun Yat-sen passed away due to illness, leaving behind an unfinished business. Inheriting the great cause of Sun Yat-sen's revolution has become the focus of contention among various factions inside and outside the party.
With the death of Sun Yat-sen, Wang Jingwei actively promoted Sun Yat-sen's three major propositions and maintained the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, intending to let everyone see that he was the best heir of Sun Yat-sen's will. Wang Jingwei also gradually gathered a group of followers around him, such as Liao Zhongkai, Zhou Fohai and others.
At the same time, Chiang Kai-shek, who was the principal of the Whampoa Military Academy, also saw this opportunity. He controlled the National Revolutionary Army, the most powerful armed force at that time, and became an important force within the party that could not be ignored.
Chiang Kai-shek judged the situation and decided that Wang Ching-wei was the object on which he could rely politically. He took the initiative to make overtures to Wang Jingwei, and finally won Wang Jingwei's political support and was appointed commander-in-chief of the army and other important posts.
On July 1, 1925, with the support of Chiang Kai-shek's army, Wang Jingwei finally became the chairman of the Nationalist Government and became the supreme leader of Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary cause. In return, Wang Ching-wei appointed Chiang Kai-shek as the commander of the First Army, giving him further control of the military.
Just when the two were working well together, an episode occurred that brought their relationship to a freezing point. It is said that Chiang Kai-shek once asked to marry Wang Jingwei as brothers with different surnames, implying that they would work together in the future. However, this matter was resolutely opposed by Mrs. Wang. Wang Jingwei had no choice but to refuse Chiang Kai-shek's request, which made Chiang Kai-shek sad and resentful.
Since then, Chiang Kai-shek has secretly hatched a plan to oust Wang Ching-wei from power. He continued to cultivate his cronies in the army and expand his military strength.
On March 20, 1926, Chiang Kai-shek launched the "March 20 Incident" that shocked China and the rest of the world on the pretext of military training, and arrested a large number of Kuomintang figures and United Front allies. Although Wang Jingwei was furious when he learned of this, he was powerless to stop Chiang Kai-shek's military force. Subsequently, Wang Jingwei was placed under house arrest by Chiang Kai-shek and belittled. Wang Jingwei had no choice but to leave China and began a life of exile.
Chiang Kai-shek seized the opportunity to seize power in the party, government, and military, and the Kuomintang was divided into two major factions, Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist Government and Wang Chingwei's Wuhan Government, and fell into the crisis of a protracted civil war. However, at this time, Chiang Kai-shek's ideology was shaken, and in order to concentrate his forces to achieve the final victory, he later had to re-win Wang Jingwei and others, and the two sides re-cooperated to jointly deal with Japanese aggression. However, the conflict between the two has planted a bane...
3. During World War II, Wang Jingwei defected to Japan and became a traitor
On July 7, 1937, the Lugou Bridge Incident kicked off the all-out war between China and Japan. In the face of the frenzied attack of the Japanese army, the Nationalist Government was defeated in the Battle of Wuhan. In October 1938, Wuhan fell, and Nanjing fell a few months later.
At this critical juncture, Chiang Kai-shek issued an order to "survive Jingdezhen and wait until Chongqing", and the Nationalist Government had to move inland to the southwest. However, Wang Jingwei, who was in exile overseas, made a decision that brought shame on the Chinese nation.
In December 1939, on a flight from Hong Kong to Singapore, Wang Jingwei's special plane was accidentally forced to land in French Indochina. Under the coercion of the Japanese army, Wang Jingwei was detained in Hanoi and became a Japanese hostage.
In March of the following year, the Japanese army established a northern puppet regime in Nanjing, and its core members, such as Chen Bijun and Zhou Fohai, were all Wang Jingwei's cronies and subordinates during the Kuomintang period. Faced with this situation, Japan exerted tremendous pressure on Wang Jingwei in an attempt to let him return to China to "take power."
After some psychological struggle, Wang Jingwei finally chose to take refuge in Japan. On March 30, 1940, he delivered his famous "Restart" speech in Hanoi, openly embracing the "New Order of East Asia" and acknowledging the legitimacy of the puppet regime of "Imperial Nationalization".
After defecting to Japan, Wang Jingwei was soon escorted back to China by the Japanese army, and a pro-Japanese "Nationalist Government" was established in Nanjing. He did not hesitate to belittle the national character, pursue a traitorous policy, betray the interests of the motherland, and flatter Japan in order to please Japan. even called on the Chinese people to "become an emperor", claiming to be "completing Sun Yat-sen's legacy".
However, the flame of the Chinese nation's resistance against Japan in the Far East has never been extinguished. Although Wang Jingwei established power in Nanjing, he was never able to take away the status of legitimate power from Chiang Kai-shek, and was just a complete traitor. This made him resentful of Chiang Kai-shek even more in his heart, and he was determined to completely eliminate the Kuomintang with the help of Japanese strength.
In 1944, when the Pacific Theater was turning defeat into victory, Wang Jingwei realized that it was a complete mistake to defect to Japan. Privately, he even secretly hoped that the Allies would liberate China at an early date.
On August 15, 1945, Japan announced its unconditional surrender, ending World War II. Wang Jingwei saw that the general trend had turned, and had to surrender to the Nationalist Government. Eventually, however, he escaped and absconded to Japan.
After the end of World War II, Wang Jingwei was detained and interrogated, and Chiang Kai-shek strictly ordered him to be brought to justice. However, due to insufficient evidence, Wang Jingwei was never formally prosecuted and tried. A few years later, he died of illness in Japan and was buried in Meihua Mountain in Nanjing. In 1946, Chiang Kai-shek ordered someone to blow up Wang Jingwei's grave, which also kicked off.
4. After the war, Chiang Kai-shek purged Wang Jingwei and ordered the coffin to be blown up
After the end of World War II, Chiang Kai-shek, after regaining power, began a full-scale "anti-rebellion" campaign. He made up his mind to wipe out Wang Jingwei and the rest of the party to prevent future troubles.
In October 1945, the Nationalist Government announced in Nanjing that all the dignitaries of Wang's puppet "Nationalist Government" would be sentenced to death and that they would be encircled and suppressed. Dozens of traitors, including Wang Jingwei's cronies Chen Bijun and Zhou Fohai, were arrested and hanged on the spot.
At the same time, Wang Jingwei in Japan also became a wanted criminal. In November of that year, he was arrested by the Allies at a residence in Tokyo and detained for interrogation. However, what made Chiang Kai-shek extremely angry was that this "big traitor" had been at large and had not been tried and convicted.
In March 1946, Wang Jingwei died of a serious illness in Tokyo, but his body was allowed to be transported back to China by his son Wang Wenqi for burial. At that time, the Wang family could no longer control the burial ground, so they had to bury him in a secluded place in Meihua Mountain, Nanjing.
When Chiang Kai-shek learned of this news, he was determined to carry out a "complete purge" of the Wang family again. He suspected that Wang Jingwei probably hid important evidence in the tomb in order to cover up the crime. In order to thoroughly investigate this clue, Chiang Kai-shek secretly ordered his confidant He Yingqin to secretly send people to destroy Wang Jingwei's tomb.
On the night of January 20, 1946, under the cover of darkness, the national army commandos sneaked into Meihua Mountain at night, armed with heavy explosives and tools, and rushed towards Wang Jingwei's tomb. A deafening explosion rang out in the sky, and the grave was torn open.
The soldiers quickly opened the coffin and searched for it. To their surprise, Wang Jingwei's body was extremely well preserved, and even his clothes were not damaged. Someone even found a note and hurriedly handed it to Chiang Kai-shek.
After reading the note, Chiang Kai-shek was furious and ordered Wang Jingwei's body to be crushed and scattered to ashes on the spot, and the remnants of the traitors were eliminated. In a firelight, Wang Jingwei, who was once dominant, completely became the dust of history.
Chiang Kai-shek's cruel and ruthless approach to Wang Ching-wei was more due to personal grievances than political hatred. What was written on the note that made Chiang Kai-shek so angry? Where did the entanglement between the two come from? This mystery continues to this day.
5. The content of the note angered Chiang Kai-shek The two have a long-standing grudge
The conflict between Wang Jingwei and Chiang Kai-shek has been going on for a long time, but what exactly made Chiang Kai-shek so angry that he ordered the graves to be cremated? The answer is hidden in that note.
According to some historical records, the content of the note is roughly written like this: "Jiang someone, if you don't learn and have no skills, rely on power for personal gain, intrigue, and turn your back on your master, you will eventually lose." I have done my best to save my country, and I have died here. Future generations will surely revive China! ＂
These remarks were undoubtedly a blow to Chiang Kai-shek's personality and methods of doing things. In particular, words such as "no learning and no skill", "intrigue", and "turning their backs on their teachers" deeply pierced Chiang Kai-shek's self-esteem.
For a long time, Jiang and Wang have had a long-standing grudge over the struggle for power. As early as 1915, Wang Jingwei was valued by Sun Yat-sen and became one of the most powerful successors in the party. And Chiang Kai-shek was only an instructor at the Whampoa Military Academy at that time, and his status was insignificant. It was not until after the death of Sun Yat-sen that Chiang Kai-shek, who took advantage of the chaos to seize power, began to show his edge.
With the passage of time, Chiang Kai-shek repeatedly stumbled on Wang Jingwei, causing the two to be inseparable. Finally, in the "March 20 Incident" in 1926, Chiang Kai-shek personally put Wang Jingwei under house arrest, and since then it has been split into two parties and two armies.
After the outbreak of World War II, in order to expand his political influence, Wang Jingwei resolutely took refuge in Japan. This was undoubtedly the most intolerable for Chiang Kai-shek. He believed that Wang Jingwei had completely betrayed the legacy of Sun Yat-sen, the commander of the revolutionary division, and had become a traitor. Therefore, after the war, he ordered to severely punish the remnants of the Wang family.
When Wang Jingwei's tomb was opened and he saw the note full of resentment and pride, Chiang Kai-shek was furious, believing that Wang Jingwei would not repent even after his death. In order to promote the remaining integrity of China, Chiang Kai-shek ordered Wang Jingwei's body to be crushed and scattered, and finally abandoned the traditional mourning ceremony.
The note handed down from Wang Jingwei's tomb reveals the root of the grievances between the two. Wang Jingwei thought that Chiang Kai-shek was a hypocritical villain, and Chiang Kai-shek regarded Wang Jingwei as an outright traitor. It is precisely because of this mutual hatred that the final cruel scene was brewed.