In 1959, 77-year-old Yan Xishan suddenly felt angina and was diagnosed with severe coronary heart disease by the hospital.
On May 20, 1960, Yan Xishan's condition worsened and he entered a state of dying.
After Receiving the news, Yan Xishan's wife Xu Zhuqing, accompanied by her nephew Xu Baoshou, went to the hospital to see Yan Xishan for the last time.
Xu Zhuqing glanced at Yan Xishan at the bedside, no tears, no wailing, and a calm face.
After reading it, Xu Zhuqing asked Xu Baoshou to accompany her back to the new store.
As soon as he arrived home, Xu Zhuqing asked his nephew to hire a truck to go to yangmingshan's "Seed Energy Cave" to clean up Yan Xishan's relics.
All the relics were piled up in Xu Zhuqing's new store, and two safes were placed in Xu Zhuqing's room.
Yan Xishan explained that the two properties were left to Xu Zhuqing, and his children could not get any inheritance.
Pictured| Chiang Kai-shek's funeral at Yan Xishan
The news of Yan Xishan's death soon spread abroad, and the fourth son, Yan Zhimin, quickly rushed back to Taiwan, while the fifth son, Yan Zhihui, could not return to China to see his father for the last time, because the family really had no money.
Therefore, the only one who came back to send Yan Xishan was Yan Zhimin's son.
The Taiwan authorities held a solemn funeral for him, which was presided over by He Yingqin, and Chiang Kai-shek himself was present to pay tribute, saying to Yan Zhimin: "If you have any needs, come to me." ”
Chiang Kai-shek also presented a plaque with the inscription "Compassion for the Elderly."
Yan Xishan made very careful arrangements for his funeral before his death, and his will is as follows:
First, everything is simple, not luxurious;
2. Collect the tie and do not collect the tie;
3. Flowers and trees for flowers and trees before the spirit;
Fourth, it is better to go out of the funeral early, do not stop for a long time;
Fifth, do not be too sad, cry loudly;
6. The tombstone inscribes paragraphs 100 and 128 of his thought diary;
Read his "Replenishing the Mind" every morning and evening for seven days.
The 100 paragraphs of his thought diary are his own summaries of "etiquette, righteousness, humility, and faith", while the 128 paragraphs seem to be a passage of truth about how to behave in the world, but they are hinting at the reasons and unwillingness of his "forced" to live in seclusion.
Pictured| Yan Xishan
Yan Xishan also made advance plans for the layout of his spiritual hall, wrote a link for himself, and even thought about where to paste it.
One of the couplets pasted in the courtyard is the most true portrayal of the heart:
When there is a great need, it can only become a great cause; if you go without great certainty, it will be difficult to have a great opportunity.
He was lamenting the calculation of this life, and finally had to wait for Ai Ai's helplessness to grow old...
On April 24, 1949, the People's Liberation Army launched a general offensive against Taiyuan, and taiyuan was officially liberated four hours later.
Yan Xishan had spent most of his life in Shanxi, and had been the Emperor of Tu for 38 years, and now he had to flee in ashes.
On October 23, Yan Xishan delivered a speech to the masses of Shanxi in his capacity as the "chief executive" of the National Government. He said, "As long as I'm in a day, I won't forget you for a moment." ”
Yan Xishan was not reconciled, and always thought of making a comeback. However, now he has no possibility of going back.
At Chengdu's Xinjin Airport on December 9, the last group of Kuomintang government officials were about to leave for Taiwan, including Yan Xishan.
Yan Xishan looked strange in the crowd, sitting on top of one of his suitcases and the other in his hand. He was in a trance, not saying a word, and his body shook left and right with the car.
The people accompanying yan xishan sensed the abnormality of Yan Xishan, and many people thought that Yan Xishan was depressed and frustrated when he left the mainland.
In fact, Yan Xishan was worried about the two suitcases around him, which were full of gold.
The day before, Yan Xishan, Chen Lifu, Zhu Jiahua, Hang Liwu, Guan Jiyu, Wan Hongtu, and fourteen other people had already fled by plane once.
Unexpectedly, at the junction of Sichuan and Hubei, the plane encountered a cold current, and both wings were covered with thick ice, and there was no way to continue forward, only to return to land.
Chen Lifu immediately tensed up, he opened the small suitcase he was carrying, and took out a pistol. He suspected that the pilot or someone on the plane had been plotted against by the Communists, and he watched Yan Xishan's every move, and once he found that Yan Xishan was about to surrender, he killed Yan Xishan first and then committed suicide.
Tu | returned to Yan Xishan in Taiyuan after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War
After the plane returned to Chengdu, Chen Lifu asked the pilot why he had to return to the plane, and the pilot helplessly said: "Dean Yan brought too many things, and there were several boxes of gold bars, which was too dangerous." ”
Chen Lifu knew that because of Yan Xishan's gold bars, he almost died.
Chen Lifu found Yan Xishan, and regardless of Yan Xishan's high rank, he unceremoniously said to him: "You are the head of the 'government', and you must give up the small and seek the big, and remove part of the materials on the plane." ”
Chen Lifu persuaded for half a day, and Yan Xishan did not say a word. Later, after a fierce ideological struggle, Yan Xishan gave up some of his cronies, but still had to bring all the gold and silver treasures.
At this time, when he came to Xinjin Airport again, Yan Xishan was actually nervous, and he was also afraid that the plane was too heavy, and he lost his life.
At this moment, Zhang Daqian rushed into the airport by car, he brought 78 Dunhuang copy murals, and requested to be evacuated with these paintings.
Hang Liwu was well aware of the value of these paintings, and at this time, the plane could not hold large luggage, let alone bring a person.
Pictured | Yan Xishan family portrait
It was suggested that Yan Xishan could be persuaded to drop some of the gold.
For Yan Xishan, it was even more difficult for him to leave the gold now than to ask for his life. Zhu Jiahua and Hang Liwu persuaded Yan Xishan, after going to Taiwan, to ask Chiang Kai-shek to compensate for the same amount of gold. Yan Xishan did not believe in the cunning and sinister Chiang Kai-shek at all, nor did he absolutely agree to discard gold.
He said to a group of anxious people with a cold face: "My property cannot be brought out in Shanxi, and now there is only such a little savings left, and the family members and servants who follow me, as well as relatives who have already arrived in Taiwan, and the old subordinates in the past, will have to live on this in the future." ”
In fact, as early as April, Yan Xishan's office in Beijing had just moved from Nanjing to Shanghai, and he let his confidants transport a large amount of gold and silver from Shanghai to Taipei, and then let Peng Shihong send it to Japan on the grounds of doing business.
At that time, Miao Peicheng, a CC member from Shanxi, and others heard that Yan Xishan had transported a large amount of gold and silver, and he distributed leaflets on the streets of Taipei, counting Yan Xishan's wanton expropriations, exploitation of the people, and enrichment of his own pockets. He threatened Yan Xishan to put them in the newspapers if they did not meet their "reasonable demands."
Yan Xishan had no choice but to take out dozens of gold bars and give them to Miao Peicheng and others, and finally suppressed the matter.
Yan Xishan had already paved the way for himself, and it was interesting that Zhang Zengqing, the medical officer next to him, recalled this:
"Yan Xishan had long been prepared to die in Taiyuan, arranged 500 bottles of the highly toxic potassium cyanide, and once the city was destroyed, he was ready to 'kill himself' with the deployment."
"Above: Yan Xishan, dressed in military uniform, sitting at a desk with a picture of Chennault and General Marshall of the Flying Tigers, poured a box of potassium cyanide poison on the table with his left hand, vowing to coexist and die with Taiyuan."
Zhang Daqian and the painting had to be taken, and Hang Liwu unloaded all three of his own luggage, as well as all his savings of 20 taels of gold.
Chen Lifu, who had been watching coldly from the sidelines, came with the "task" given by Chiang Kai-shek, the purpose of which was to keep an eye on Yan Xishan and use "extraordinary means" to deal with Yan Xishan when necessary.
The plane finally took off, and everyone on board had their own thoughts.
On this thrilling flight, Chen Lifu held his breath and waited to go to Taiwan to complain to Chiang Kai-shek, and he felt that a person as greedy for money as Yan Xishan could not entrust him with a heavy responsibility at all.
Yan Xishan's judgment of Chiang Kai-shek was indeed accurate, and he had just arrived on his front foot, and Chiang Kai-shek was already considering how to remove him from his post.
At that time, Chiang Kai-shek had already stepped down from the "president" post, but "acting president" Li Zongren is now in the United States. According to the laws of the Kuomintang, the "chief executive" Yan Xishan should now act in his place. On the same day of his arrival in Taiwan, Yan Xishan held a press conference in his apartment and officially announced that the "National Government" would move to Taipei from now on.
At this time, Yan Xishan was quite confident in returning to the mainland, and kept holding press conferences to give propaganda, and also clearly pointed out the fatal weakness within the KMT -- not stressing honesty and unity, expounding in detail the reasons and lessons of the KMT's defeat on the mainland, scolding the KMT officials for their corruption and incompetence, and pulling together gangs.
How could Chiang Kai-shek tolerate him acting so high-profile against himself; over the years, Yan Xishan had stood against the old Chiang Kai-shek several times, and Chiang Kai-shek had always suppressed his dissatisfaction with him, and now Yan Xishan's repeated provocations made him intolerable.
Chiang Kai-shek ignored the Kuomintang's "Constitution" and still held power at his sole discretion, and the large and small events of the Executive Yuan were under his control, and Yan Xishan had his heart empty, but he had no ability to resist.
Just after New Year's Day in 1950, Chiang Kai-shek called Yan Xishan to his office and "discussed" with him the reorganization of the Executive Yuan. It seems to respect Yan Xishan's opinion, but in fact, Yan Xishan has no right to decide on the personnel arrangements of the Executive Yuan, and he simply listens to the "notice" in person.
Pictured| Yan Xishan's later years
Not long after, Yan Xishan was forced to resign from the post of "Defense Minister" and was concurrently appointed by Gu Zhutong, the chief of staff.
Not only that, the original Yan Xishan personnel in the Executive Yuan were replaced by Chiang Kai-shek with his own people.
When Yan Xishan was frustrated, he was also forced to accept the dissatisfaction of all parties on behalf of Chiang Kai-shek. One night, Yan Xishan was walking in the courtyard when a Sichuanese "legislator" broke into Yan Xishan's home and questioned why Yan Xishan's reorganization had not allowed a Sichuanese to "enter the cabinet."
At that time, Yan Xishan still occupied the false title of "chief executive", let alone a balanced Sichuan, and many of his own subordinates were excluded.
The days of being suppressed by Chiang Kai-shek for a long time were not good, and Yan Xishan suffered too much dumb losses, and he also had the idea of stepping down. Especially after Chiang Kai-shek's formal reinstatement in Taipei in early 1950, Yan Xishan knew it was time to leave.
On March 1, 1950, the moment Yan Xishan handed over his resignation to Chiang Kai-shek, Chiang Kai-shek finally breathed a sigh of relief and pretended to be polite and reserved a few words. The next day, Chiang Kai-shek also made a special trip to Yan Xishan's office in the Executive Yuan to appease him.
Figure| Yan Xishan in his later years
Five days later, Chen Cheng succeeded him as chief executive.
The Executive Yuan held a farewell party to send off Yan Xishan, and the little nine-nine in everyone's heart, Yan Xishan could actually see clearly.
Someone gave Two famous sayings of Lao Tzu, "Therefore the Holy One Abandons Knowledge, and the Great Thief Ceases" to Yan Xishan, and Yan Xishan replied with two sentences:
"To fight for jewelry without jewelry is not to argue, it is to have nothing to argue; to have jewelry without dispute is to have no jewelry in one's own heart, which is enough to be strange." Man does not insult you, does not argue with others, is not indisputable, is indisputable; man insults you, you do not argue with others, only then is there no dispute. ”
From single-mindedly looking forward to a comeback to a lonely exit, Yan Xishan only experienced a short period of 3 months.
After leaving the Executive Yuan, Yan Xishan was packing his bags and moving to Lishui Street in the middle of Taipei the next day.
From then on, Yan Xishan lived in seclusion at home and wrote books and lectures. Half a year later, Yan Xishan simply moved to Jingshan, Yangmingshan, a suburb of Taipei, with more than 40 subordinates and family members living in seclusion with him.
The picture | early photos of Jingshan Caolu
It was a rather desolate farm, and to get into town, you had to walk 30 minutes to see the road. There were no electric lights, no telephones, no running water, only spring water to drink, and the place where you looked was overgrown.
Since Yan Xishan had found such a place, he had completely expressed his determination to "live in seclusion."
The climate of Taiwan and Shanxi is very different, the summer is hot and humid, and when it encounters a typhoon, the grass huts of YanXishan cannot be supported at all.
Yan Xishan misses the cave dwellings in his hometown in Shanxi and wants to build one in Taiwan to withstand the sweltering heat and typhoons. But the local farmer told him that the land in Taiwan is wet, the mountains are not suitable for digging holes, and Taiwan often has earthquakes, and living in the cave will be in danger of being hit.
However, Yan Xishan's heart to build the cave is very resolute, in order to overcome the characteristics of Taiwan's humid and hot, Yan Xishan personally designed, pasted cement on the inside of the cave to prevent moisture, and also opened a window in front of and behind the cave, which solved the problem of air circulation.
Yan Xishan named the cave "Seed Energy Cave", and he personally wrote these three words and hung them on the lintel.
Figure | inside the energy hole
"Seed energy" means that the root of all things in this world is the seed, and the energy of the seed is infinite, representing Yan Xishan's world view. In addition, when Yan Xishan first came to Taiwan and frequently held press conferences, he once called for the organization and training of so-called "revolutionary cadres", but in just 3 months, this plan was simply too late to be implemented.
The walls of the hole are thick, the windows are very small, and the inside of the cave is very dim. The cave is not large, only the living room, bedroom and study, and the usable area is only 60 square meters. It should be known that the old mansion in Shanxi of Yanxi Mountain has more than 30,000 square meters, 27 yards of large and small sizes, and nearly a thousand rooms.
Outside Yan Xishan's cave dwelling, there is also an air raid shelter with walls up to 40 centimeters thick, which is a protective building built by important members of the Nationalist government after they arrive in Taiwan.
The wall at the entrance to the cave is inlaid with an irregular stone slab inscribed with an inscription written by Yan Xishan after the completion of the Zhongneng Cave. A couplet is posted on the door of the Zhongneng Cave, the upper link is "Frequent annual relocation of foreign lands, the most unforgettable three Jin Dynasty, the six dynasties of the city", the lower link is "today's happy festival, and come to see the spring water of the Tamjiang River, Henghai Lou Boat".
Having fallen into such a situation, he still has not forgotten Shanxi.
Yan Xishan rented a large piece of land nearby and built a "seed energy farm". He personally went to the ground, planted a lot of citrus and pine trees, and went to serve these crops when he was tired of writing.
Pictured| the eighth day of the first month of September 1954, Yan Xishan's 72nd birthday with relatives and friends
His men also followed in the mountains to reclaim wasteland and raise chickens and pigs. They also often get together for meetings, and make minutes for each meeting.
Yan Xishan's children are all in the United States, and many relatives have come to Japan. Yan Xishan, who was in an embarrassing situation, also thought about leaving Taiwan and settling overseas, but Chiang Kai-shek never trusted him. Only when Yan Xishan lived so well under Chiang Kai-shek's eyes, did not ask about political affairs, and only wrote books, Chiang Kai-shek could rest assured.
Soong Mei-ling also went to visit Yan Xishan at the behest of Chiang Kai-shek, and Yan Xishan understood the purpose of Soong Mei-ling's visit this time, not to mention political affairs, but only to exchange experience in writing books, a feeling of detachment from the world.
Song Meiling's visit this time is not all without benefits, she asked for a military phone for Yan Xishan. Later, Chennault and his wife Chen Xiangmei came to visit and sent a small generator to Yan Xishan. However, in order to save gasoline, Yan Xishan rarely used this generator, and used candles to illuminate it before powering on.
Tu | Yan Xishan in his later years, devoting all his energy to writing
Except for Chen Cheng, who politely visited Yan Xishan when he first succeeded him as "chief executive," other important Kuomintang officials basically did not come to see him, or did not dare to come to see him at all. The only regular visitors to the "Seed Energy Cave" were Yan Xishan's nephew Yan Zhizhao.
Yan Xishan's life in the Zhongneng Cave is very regular, getting up every morning, walking and eating breakfast, writing from 8 o'clock in the morning to noon, or talking with guests. After lunch, Yan Xishan took a break and continued writing from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. From 5 to 6 o'clock, listen to reports on important news papers, books and magazines. Eat dinner on time at 6 p.m., still writing from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., and go to bed at 10 p.m.
Yan Xishan lived in Zhongneng Cave for ten years, did not go out of the mountain, did not watch movies, did not gamble, did not smoke, did not drink, did not participate in ribbon cutting, marriage testimony, etc., without very important activities, he would never enter the city.
His life in his later years was very monotonous, and listening to Peking Opera was his only entertainment pastime, but he never went to the theater again, just "listened". The guards and secretaries around me have a tacit understanding, go out to watch a play or watch a movie, and will not talk about it when they come back.
Yan Xishan said that this was "a judgment in speech, a broken mind, but a cultivation of language learning."
Figure | kind of energy hole layout
Was Yan Xishan really obsessed with scholarship in his later years? In fact, this is more like a kind of psychological comfort, Yan Xishan has not found his true self from academia at all in the past ten years.
Jia Jingde, who once served as secretary general of Yan Xishan's Executive Yuan, recalled that yan Xishan, in addition to seeing Chiang Kai-shek, rarely spoke and devoted almost all his energy to writing.
There were not many of Yan Xishan's subordinates in Taiwan, and those Kuomintang dignitaries would not visit him on a special trip. Most of the guests Yan Xishan received were newspaper and radio reporters, hoping to dig up more historical truths from Yan Xishan's mouth.
The philosophical articles written by Yan Xishan on the mountain will also be brought down by these reporters and published in the press, which is also a rare comfort in Yan Xishan's later life.
In 1959, a reporter from Hong Kong's "Truth" reporter Yan Xishan, when talking about "counter-attacking the mainland", he went crazy and said:
"Once we can cooperate with the international situation, Wang Shi will cross the sea and go north and directly attack the Yellow Dragon, without any problem." Don't look at Yan Xishan is already old, really a counter-offensive trumpet, look, I still have to ask to lead Jian Er to fight a few more victorious battles for the people of the country to see, I have confidence. Born from Taiyuan, my old bones will still return to Taiyuan alive. ”
Yuan Futing, the secretary of Yan Xishan, who has been following yan Xishan, said of Yan Xishan's old age that there is no scenery in his heart. His heart was barren and had nothing to rely on.
Once, Yan Xishan was preparing to eat dinner, Yuan Futing stood up and prepared to leave, Yan Xishan left his secretary behind, while eating and talking to Yuan Futing. An adjutant brought a bowl of noodles and placed it on the table, and Yan Xishan said to the adjutant, "Why did you give me two noodles?" ”
Picture | Yan Xishan is eating
The secretary took a closer look, yan Xishan chopsticks sandwiched two bean sprouts, the guard explained: "You are holding bean sprouts, noodles are underneath." ”
Yuan Futing secretly lamented in his heart, Yan Xishan, this is really not the taste of food, seeing that the mountain is not a mountain, seeing that the water is not water.
In 1959, because he was diagnosed with heart disease, Yan Xishan stayed in the hospital for more than a month. He was still thinking about the unfinished "Three Hundred Years of China" all the time, and he hurried back to the seed energy cave without being completely cured.
In 1960, when "Three Hundred Years of China" was finally finished, Yan Xishan could not take care of his deteriorating body and planned to study the Twenty-Five Histories and the Thirteen Classics.
At this time, Yan Xishan was 78 years old, and as soon as the weather became hot, there were constant problems.
On May 2, Yan Xishan suddenly had diarrhea and puffiness in his legs. After being treated by a doctor, there was a slight relief, but after a few days it began to breathe again.
Because of a small cold, Yan Xishan's heart disease deteriorated sharply, and his condition was already very serious.
On the occasion of his death, Yan Xishan said sadly, "I cannot go back to the mainland with Jiang Gong, and this is something I deeply regret." ”
Picture | Feng Yuxiang, Chiang Kai-shek, Yan Xishan
Yan Xishan, who has lived in seclusion behind closed doors for so many years, seems to have seen through politics and stayed away from the hustle and bustle. In fact, he still had a desire for power in his heart, and he was still full of unwillingness until the moment of death.
On May 23, Yan Xishan was sent to the hospital for rescue and died soon after.
In the ten years in Taiwan, Yan Xishan would revise his will on the first day of the New Year every year, and even write his own elegy.
According to Yan Xishan's will, he was eventually buried near the Zhongneng Cave, with only a commonly used pen and scissors to trim his beard.
In his later years, Chen Lifu wrote such a sentence in his memoirs, which seemed to express a trace of pity for Yan Xishan:
"Later, I heard that when President Yan left Shanxi and came out, he brought many cadres who relied on him to help, so the gold bars were a must for him. But our lives were almost ruined by gold bars, and what an irony, how contradictory. ”
However, if it were not for this gold, would Yan Xishan still be able to live for 10 years without worrying about eating and drinking in the Seed Energy Cave and being self-sufficient? Greed for money is on the one hand, and distrust and defense against Chiang Kai-shek is the most fundamental reason.