Zhou Zhongyue on the "family portrait" of a politician of the Republic of China in 1948 was long mistaken for "Hu Haimen"

On the morning of May 20, 1948, Chiang Kai-shek was officially inaugurated as The President of the Republic of China of the Great Hall of the People," and was later photographed with the officials of the Imperial Household in front of the Super Building of the Presidential Palace. This photo is actually the last "family portrait" of senior officials of the Republic of China government on the mainland. The first row of this photo is the "old man" between Right Ren and He Yingqin, who has long been considered "Hu Haimen", in fact, this person should be Zhou Zhongyue.

Zhou Zhongyue zi shengfu, trumpet 寛庵, a native of Jianchuan Prefecture, Lijiang Province, Yunnan Province, Bai ethnicity, born in 1876. In November 1911, Zhou Zhongyue was appointed secretary general of the Governor's Office by Cai Yi, the military governor of Yunnan, and became an indispensable important person in the administrative affairs of the Yunnan regime, and later became Cai Yi's confidant. After Cai Yi's death, Zhou Zhongyue successively served as secretary general of the General Headquarters of the Jingguo Coalition Army, governor of Yunnan Province, and was known as the "Three Elders of Yunnan" along with Long Yun and Li Gen. In 1927, he retired due to civil war, and later became the director of the Yunnan Tongzhi Museum. In 1939, on the recommendation of Long Yun, he became the Minister of the Interior of the National Government, and in November 1944, he was transferred to the National Government and vice president of the Examination Institute. In October 1945, Long Yun was removed by Chiang Kai-shek as chairman of the Yunnan Provincial Government by force, and Zhou Zhongyue was very opposed to Chiang Kai-shek's move. In 1947, Zhou Zhongyue was elected as a delegate to the First National Assembly in Jianchuan County, Yunnan Province.

Zhou Zhongyue is quite accomplished in calligraphy and has his own style. After the "National Congress", the "National Government" was changed to "Presidential Palace", although the writers of these three words have many statements, but the most well-documented is Zhou Zhongyue, which was reported in the newspapers at that time. It is said that after the completion of the book, Chiang Kai-shek used three thousand gold coupons as "funds for polishing the pen." Zhou Zhongyue inscribed "Presidential Palace", which is enough for his political qualifications and calligraphy status. In addition, Zhou Zhongyue also took on a number of "heavy responsibilities" in the "Constitutional National Congress".

The Presidium of the "Constitutional Congress" was originally scheduled to consist of 25 members, but most of the deputies considered that the number of seats was obviously too small and insufficiently distributed and requested an increase. The Legislative Yuan increased the number of presidents of the National Assembly from 25 to 85. Zhou Zhongyue was elected in 45th place. He also served as the president of the "Presidential Election" conference on April 19, announcing the results of the presidential election.

Zhou Zhongyue not only announced Chiang Kai-shek's election as president, but also went to Chiang Kai-shek's huangpu road presidential residence with secretary general Hong Lanyou before the conclusion of the "Constitutional National Congress" to deliver the presidential certificate. According to reports at the time, Zhou Zhongyue "wore a robe and a horse coat, wore a medal of jingxing, and crossed his right shoulder with an orange-yellow ribbon" to deliver the certificate to Chiang Kai-shek. This outfit is exactly the same as the image in the "Family Portrait". Among the spectators of the Great Hall of the Nation, Zhou Zhongyue sat behind Juzheng. At the end of the presidential palace, when he stepped out of the auditorium, Zhou Zhongyue also walked behind Right Ren, Ju Zheng and others. Zhou Zhongyue sat in the first row of the "family portrait" as the vice president of the examination institute, which was completely feasible.

Many people mistake Zhou Zhongyue for Hu Haimen, a member of the National Government and leader of the Democratic Socialist Party, who is 20 years his age difference, mainly because the two are "bearded" and similar in appearance. Born in 1896, Hu Haimen was a native of Yongnian, Hebei Province, who studied in Japan in his early years, studied with Emperor Showa of Japan and Okamura Ningji, commander of the invasion of China, joined the League, later became a member of the Standing Committee of the Central Committee of the Kuomintang, and in 1922 became the director of the Printing Bureau of the Ministry of Finance. Because of his opposition to a major meeting of the Kuomintang, he announced his withdrawal from the Kuomintang. After 1933, he served as a member of the Hebei Provincial Government and director of the Construction Department, and resigned in June 1935. After 1938, Hu Haimen was opposed to the curve to save the country and opposed wang Jingwei, and no longer participated in political affairs, and lived in seclusion in Beiping. In 1947, Hu Haimen became a member of the Nationalist Government as the leader of the Democratic Socialist Party. He died in Beiping shortly after attending the Constitutional Congress in 1948 at the age of 53.

Hu Haimen was only 52 years old when the "Family Portrait" was taken, and his age obviously did not match the image in the "Family Portrait". Although Zhou and Hu are both "bearded", there is still a difference in a closer look, Hu Haimen has a shorter beard and a longer lower beard, while Zhou Zhongyue has a shorter lower beard and a longer upper beard.

Shortly after the "family portrait" was taken, Zhou Zhongyue resigned from the post of vice president of the examination institute and returned to Kunming to engage in the collation of historical materials and became a counselor for Lu Han, chairman of the Yunnan provincial government. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Zhou Zhongyue remained in Chinese mainland, was hired as a librarian at the Yunnan Provincial Museum of Culture and History in 1953, and became a member of the Second National Committee of the Chinese Political Consultative Conference in 1954, and died of illness in Kunming in 1955 at the age of 79. In his later years, Zhou Zhongyue may also be secretive about his "appearance" on the "family portrait".