From 1912 to 1949, it was a particularly prominent period in China's history, when the old and the new alternated, and countless benevolent people began to rush to their own "homeland ideals".
The love between Zhang Xueliang and Zhao Yidi spanned most of the history of the Republic of China, and posterity relished their story, but few people knew how much blood and tears were behind this love.
As the only adult son of the former northeast young marshal, Zhang Lulin's life seems to confirm that sentence, under the tide of the times, we are as small as dust, passively moving forward, not knowing the way forward, not knowing the return date.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > teenagers are turbulent and leave their hometowns</h1>
In 1940, Zhang Lulin was ten years old, an age that should have been carefree and laughing at the knees of his parents, but he had long been accustomed to the turmoil and hardships of life.
Still, he, like all ten-year-olds, was convinced that his life would be better tomorrow until his mother decided to keep him in the United States and place him in foster care with the Iyags.
Ten-year-old Zhang Lulin may not understand why even her mother has to abandon herself, and the young child can no longer do more than cry and hug her mother and not let go.
And this is the first ten years of Zhang Lulin's life.
In November 1930, Zhang Lulin was born, on the one hand, he had a birth that was difficult for ordinary people to match, his father was a majestic northeast young marshal, and his mother was a talented Miss Zhao Si; on the other hand, his father was in a high position but walked on thin ice, and his mother's talent and appearance did not have a name, and he was even publicly removed from the family.
Therefore, this teenager with a good birth still has an unknown heartache even in the childhood period accompanied by his parents.
In 1936, when the Xi'an Incident broke out, Zhang Xueliang "blackmailed the Son of Heaven to order the princes" and successfully promoted the second cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, and the people of the whole country were glad that the Chinese government could finally unite with the outside world, Zhang Xueliang was secretly placed under house arrest.
And this house arrest is half a life.
At that time, Zhang Lulin was only six years old, and Zhao Yidi traveled in many ways hoping to open up contacts to rescue his lover, but it never had any effect.
The grief-stricken Miss Zhao Si wanted to be placed under house arrest with her lover at all costs, but in the end she did not give up her young son and chose to take care of her young son outside.
In this way, the gap of the times divided the family, Zhao Yidi took the young Zhang Lulin to survive outside, and Zhang Xueliang struggled to survive in the company of the original Yu Fengzhi.
Yu Fengzhi
Zhao Yidi traveled to Tianjin and Shanghai, and finally moved to Hong Kong because of the domestic turmoil, until the news of Yu Feng's critical illness came from the mainland, and she once again faced the difficult choice of lover and young son.
This time, Zhao Yidi chose a lover, and she sent Zhang Lulin, who was only ten years old, to her American friend Mr. and Mrs. Iyag, hoping that they could take care of their children instead of herself and her lover.
Perhaps under the circumstances at that time, this was the best way Zhao Yidi could think of, the domestic situation was chaotic, even if he took his son, it was just a difficult time to live, sending his son to the United States, living in anonymity may be the best care for him.
In addition, she also understood that at that time, Zhang Xueliang had no one to rely on, and if she didn't go, who could he rely on.
In this way, ten-year-old Zhang Lulin faced the departure of her mother, in addition to being dazed, she could only cry, he was only ten years old, and he already knew how to cry parting more than most people in the world.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > do not know the way, do not know the return date</h1>
Zhang Lulin, who was adopted by the Iyags, changed his name to "Kerr", in order not to let his father's enemies know his whereabouts, the Iyags followed Zhao Yidi's advice, no longer mentioned Zhang Lulin's origins, and slowly diluted his impression of his parents in life.
Until he grew up slowly, eventually the memory of his childhood began to blur and shallow, and finally completely forgotten.
He was like an ordinary adopted child, reading and learning and then growing up.
Iyag, who came to China in the 1920s, served as a quartermaster under Zhang Zuolin, whom Zhang Xueliang knew since childhood and reused it again after taking over his father's power.
Zhang Zuolin
Even after he left the field, Iyag accompanied him to european countries for military expeditions, so the relationship between Iyag and Zhang Xueliang can be said to be very deep.
This is also an important reason why Zhao Yidi chose to entrust his young son to the Iyags after being desperate, Zhang Lulin was smart since childhood, and later became interested in aviation when he was studying in the United States, and after being admitted to the University of California, he began to learn the aviation knowledge he loved.
When zhang Lulin grew up, he was almost completely "Westernized", he could not talk about Chinese, nor did he remember who his parents were, just like Zhao Yidi hoped, he was cut off from the past.
After graduating from the University of California, Zhang Lulin began to work in the aviation he loved, and he worked as a senior engineer at the American Aviation Administration, becoming a well-known expert in the field of American aviation at that time.
The Yiyags never mentioned Zhang Xueliang and Zhao Yidi to him, and they followed the instructions of their former friends for ten years and raised their only son safely.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > parents searching for relatives, Zhang Lulin returned to China to visit relatives</h1>
On the other hand, after Zhao Yidi fostered her son with the Iyags, she returned to China to accompany Zhang Xueliang and was placed under house arrest with him.
For fifteen years, the two of them could not convey any news to the outside world, until 1955, Zhang Xueliang's good friend Dong Xianguang and his wife were about to go to the United States as ambassadors, and they came to bid farewell to Zhang Xueliang and Zhao Yidi, and only then did they learn that the two had fostered their sons with the Iyags.
Dong Xianguang
Under zhang Xueliang's commission, Dong Xianguang and his wife began to search for Zhang Lulin's whereabouts after arriving in the United States, but because Zhao Yidi was also under house arrest for fifteen years after returning to China, she did not have any information about her son except for the address left by the Iyags at that time.
Dong Xianguang and his wife followed the address to the residence of the Iyag couple at that time, but found that everything had long been wrong, and signed that the residence of the Iyag couple was now a golf course, and in desperation, Dong Xianguang and his wife could only turn to the US government for help.
Eventually they found Iyag's residence, at that time, Mrs. Iyag had been dead for many years, Dong Xianguang and his wife immediately left, and a few days later, they met Zhang Lulin, who had grown up, in Los Angeles.
At this time, Zhang Lulin was 25 years old, which was also the first time he learned of his own life after becoming an adult, although Zhang Lulin had no impression of his biological parents at this time, but the family affection flowing in his blood still made him decide to return to China to visit his relatives.
In 1956, Zhang Lulin flew from the United States to Taiwan to visit relatives, where, after fifteen years, he was reunited with his parents again, however, unlike everyone's imaginary recognition scene, Zhang Lulin's recognition with her parents seemed blunt and awkward.
Because he had not studied Chinese, there was a certain obstacle to communication with his parents, and coupled with the completely different customs and habits of the United States and China, when his parents cried and cried, he could not understand the feelings.
Zhao Yidi looked at her son who had grown up in front of her, and the emotions in her heart were even more complicated and difficult to understand, she understood better than anyone that the appearance of her son now was the way she most hoped that her son would grow up fifteen years ago, however, fifteen years later, when she really witnessed such a son, she still had inexplicable pain in her heart.
The same is true of Zhang Xueliang, he and his son have been separated for a longer time, even in the years of house arrest, he has forgotten the appearance of his son, and now that the father and son are facing each other, the son has even lost his Chinese, and Zhang Xue's conscience is also sad.
However, after the recognition of relatives, the mood of the three finally calmed down, Zhang Lulin told his parents about his life for so many years in English, and Zhang Xueliang and Zhao Yidi also intermittently used Chinese to tell their sons about their thoughts.
This time to visit relatives, for various reasons, Zhang Lulin only accompanied her parents for a few days and flew back to the United States, but because of the reunion with her son, Zhang Xueliang and Zhao Yidi felt happy even if they were under house arrest.
At this time, Zhang Xue's conscience also vaguely felt that his house arrest career was coming to an end, and he silently planned in his heart, hoping that after regaining his freedom, he could accompany his son and make up for his lack of companionship in his life.
Three years later, the Taiwan government officially announced that Zhang Xueliang's house arrest was lifted, and two years later, Zhang Xueliang flew to the United States with his wife Zhao Yidi on the pretext of medical treatment, and the family of three was finally reunited.
At this time, Zhang Xueliang's life has gone for most of the way, and this half of the time accompanied him is his wife Zhao Yidi, but he always feels guilty in his heart is his son Zhang Lulin.
Some people say that the most romantic thing in the Republic of China is love, in fact, the most romantic thing in the Republic of China is not love, but walking side by side out of the darkness, the longest confession of love, is to accompany you through the half-life of the forbidden years.
After all, in that era, letters were very slow, carriages and horses were very slow, and there was only enough to love one person in a lifetime.
Zhang Xueliang and Zhao Yidi, who moved to the United States, finally lived a stable life, they were in a chaotic world, although they were imprisoned for half a lifetime, but they also experienced hardships that most people could not experience in their lives, so although the physical condition of the two in their later years was not good, it was already the best situation in their hearts to be able to reunite as a family and regain their freedom.
If there are still regrets, it may be that Zhang Xueliang has always hoped to return to China to mourn his father, Zhang Xueliang has been raised by his father since childhood, and his feelings for his father are very deep.
However, since he was placed under house arrest, he has never been able to mourn his father at his father's mausoleum, and when he is under house arrest, he will be very sad whenever he thinks of this, but when he regains his freedom, he is already out of reach, and his physical condition can no longer support him to carry out such a trip back to China.
Just when Zhang Xueliang thought that this would become his lifelong regret, his son Zhang Lulin chose to take this trip for his father, and after reuniting with his father in the United States, he saw his father's sleeplessness when he missed his grandfather.
However, out of concern for his father's body, he could only pretend to turn a blind eye, but he also understood that if this matter could not be solved, it was bound to become his father's regret for a lifetime.
Therefore, Zhang Lulin decided to return to China on her own, not only to mourn for her father in front of her grandfather's mausoleum, but also to talk about her filial piety as a grandchild, Zhang Lulin informed her father of her idea, Zhang Xueliang did not agree at first, and finally agreed to her son's idea under the persuasion of everyone.
Before leaving, he repeatedly told Zhang Lulin to see more changes in the motherland for him, and let him bring his words one by one in front of his father's mausoleum.
This year, he was 64 years old, which was the first time he returned to China after a few decades, and his first stop was the "Great Shuai Tomb" in Liaoning, northeast China.
He was going to pay homage to his grandfather, with the wishes of his father and himself, when he knelt in front of the "Great Marshal's Mausoleum", the family affection flowing in his veins awakened, Zhang Lulin seemed to feel the same as his father's heart at once, and he shouted at the middle of the mausoleum with a not-so-fluent Chinese with tears: "I come to see you on behalf of my father!" ”
Subsequently, Zhang Lulin visited the "Great Shuai Mausoleum" covering an area of 125,000 square meters, and he recorded the scenery one by one with a camera, ready to be brought back to the United States to let his father understand his lovesickness.
Zhang Lulin, who returned to the United States, washed out all the photos he took at the "Great Marshal's Mausoleum" and bound them in a photo album for his father to see, and the elderly Zhang Xueliang wore glasses and carefully read through the photos one by one.
Some of the scenery he still remembered, and some of the scenery he could not remember, but this did not prevent him from missing the first half of his life through these pictures.
On October 14, 2001, Zhang Xueliang died of illness in Honolulu, USA, at the age of 101, and his legendary life came to an end.
After Zhang Xueliang's death, Zhang Lulin also returned to China many times to visit his relatives, although he grew up overseas and received education from the West, but the blood and kinship engraved in the blood of Chinese bones and bones cannot be blocked by anything.
In 2005, the 75-year-old Zhang Lulin returned to China to visit his relatives again, this time he was not alone, but returned to the country with his wife Chen Shuzhen, and the white-haired couple not only revisited the old place, but also visited many places, and xi'an and other places in Shenyang left their footprints.
Zhang Lulin said that this is not only his wish, but also his father's wish, he hopes to understand where he was born and see the scenery of his motherland.
In addition, the relevant government departments also specially invited Zhang Lulin and his wife to visit the aviation center, and they showed the research in the field of aviation in China at that time, which also made Zhang Lulin, who specializes in art, sigh that China's progress is rapid.
Although he was born in China, he went to the United States at the age of ten, whether it was the education he received or the knowledge he learned was native to the United States, even later, everything about China learned from his parents was also printed from his parents' memories.
However, since the founding of New China, China's social outlook has undergone earth-shaking changes in just a few decades, and all of this has shocked Zhang Lulin, so on the eve of returning to China, Zhang Lulin also said that she will definitely come back to China in her lifetime.
Zhang Lulin and his wife Chen Shuzhen have two sons, the eldest son Zhang Juxin graduated from the Department of Electrical Engineering of Stanford University, not only has excellent academic performance during the school period, but also has won many awards in professional fields, and the younger son Zhang Juyang also graduated from the well-known university University of Southern California, which is also a very outstanding scholar.
Zhang Lulin also chose to spend his old age in the United States after retirement, although he was born in China, but his work and life are in the United States, so unlike his father's hopes in his later years, he chose to stay in the United States.
Nowadays, the outside world can hardly understand the news about him, but the only thing that can be determined is that Zhang Lulin's life should be harmonious and smooth, perhaps, the turmoil and uneasiness of his life have been exhausted as early as the first ten years of his life, so in the remaining days, he can go smoothly and peacefully to old age.
The Republic of China was a chaotic era, in that era, there were warlords and revolutionaries, there were feudal women wrapped in small feet, there were also new women with short hair cuts, there were literary texts, there were vernacular texts...
That era was turbulent and countless people were displaced, but it was also that era that gave birth to countless people of insight, who went forward and inherited the past, and they may have sacrificed their families, relatives and even lives in exchange for the peaceful and happy life we have today.
So, it was the worst of times and the best of times.