Weng Wenhao in Chongqing in the 1940s.
Please, it can be regarded as a chronic disease with a long history and tradition. The Xinhai Revolution, the establishment of the Republic of China, advocated civil rights, and opposed feudalism, so under the party-state system, government officials also had the words "to swear not to cite private individuals, to swear not to vainly spend public funds..." However, those who have studied the history of the Republic of China know that one of the main reasons for the defeat of the Kuomintang was political corruption, and the most prominent manifestation of this was the prevalence of "nepotism" and "asking for support" in the official arena, which was deeply repugnant. However, what kind of existence the atmosphere of the Republic of China's officialdom is, in the past, it seems that more of it was seen in film and television works. In the historical archives on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, there are a large number of letters and telegrams exchanged between Weng Wenhao, an important official of the Nanjing government, and various parties, many of which involve mutual requests.
<h3>Be a scientist in charge</h3>
Weng Wenhao (1889-1971), a native of Ningbo, Zhejiang, was originally a famous geologist and one of the founders of modern Chinese geology and modern geography. The famous scientist Zhu Kezhen commented that he was "the first Chinese scholar to win the world's honors." Cai Yuanpei also praised the China Geological Survey, of which he was the director: "Since its establishment, it has made remarkable achievements in surveying minerals, that is, in terms of academic research, it can especially be invented by many institutes of Geology in China, and it is almost comparable to the geological institutions of various countries." This private statement of non-Yuan Pei and so on is actually recognized by Chinese and foreign experts. ”
After the "918" incident, the national crisis intensified unprecedentedly, and Weng Wenhao was first appreciated for giving a lecture to Chiang Kai-shek at Lushan Mountain, so he held the determination that "even if China temporarily dies, we will leave a little achievement in our work", accepted Chiang Kai-shek's invitation, abandoned his studies and entered politics, and began to intervene in the construction of the national defense industry of the Nanjing government. In 1938, he was sworn in in Chongqing as the minister of economic affairs of the National Government, and Wu Zhihui, the overseer, spoke on the spot: "When the country is important, it is necessary to be loyal and upright, Weng Jun is the first talent of the times to learn morality, and has always concentrated on studying. It can be seen that this self-proclaimed "toothless" party-state elder also has great respect for Weng Wenhao. Weng Wenhao was not only the minister of economy, but also the chairman of the resource committee in charge of state-owned enterprises and the director of the industrial and mining adjustment department responsible for assisting private enterprises; in 1944, he was also the director of the wartime production bureau responsible for cooperation with the United States, and soon became vice president of the Executive Yuan, and in 1948 he was appointed as the first president of the "Constitutional Cabinet". The importance of his responsibilities, the great power he holds, and the abundance of resources available in his hands are undoubtedly the most ideal "trustees" in the official field of the Republic of China.
Although the Resources Committee of the state-run industrial and mining authority has been in charge for more than ten years and has more than 100 state-owned central enterprises under its jurisdiction, under the auspices of Weng Wenhao and Qian Changzhao (deputy directors of the Resources Committee), the Resources Committee has established an effective system of talent absorption, training, selection, and incentive. If someone is applying for a job, the personnel department will register first, and if there is an appropriate opportunity, it will be evaluated and hired.
At the beginning of his term as Minister of Economy, Weng Wenhao specially published the "Letter to the Ministry of Economy Fandom", which particularly emphasized: "The ancients had said that the defeat of the country was caused by officials and evils, and the so-called official evils were especially abusing their powers, making private profits, guarding and stealing, knowingly committing crimes, and never tolerated them in accordance with the law. Second, the careful selection of the virtuous is indeed the most important task of the official, so that the cause has good talents, and then a solid foundation is obtained, and do not do things for others and consume public funds, this righteousness should not only be kept by oneself, but also should never be despised, that is, for the work done by others, it is not allowed to abuse the face and recommend private people. The success of all undertakings depends only on the attainment of people, and whether they are available or not depends on whether they are competent or not, without asking whether they have selfless friendships. The loss of a thought is often a lifetime of tiredness, and the thought is here, and it is easy to have it. He also confessed to the precept of "swearing not to quote private individuals, and swearing not to vainly pay public funds": "I really regard him as a conscientious order, and I will never regard him as an official article." In a letter to his daughter, he also mentioned: "For many people who have written to become officials, I advise them to work hard, it is better than recruiting too many people to crowd in the gate and not really working." ”
Weng Wenhao adhered to the concept of shusheng's political career and his clean and self-disciplined style of conduct, which was generally recognized by public opinion at that time. When he became chief executive in 1948, Chu Anping, a well-known pro-democracy figure and editor-in-chief of The Observation magazine, who had always been ruthless in criticizing the Kuomintang, also admitted in an article entitled "Commenting on Weng Wenhao's Cabinet": "Weng Wenhao's honesty is no problem, and his past style is relatively simple. However, the honest cadres of the party and the state recognized by public opinion still cannot escape the "curse" of asking for help.
<h3>Whoever does not ask for anyone in front of him</h3>
According to what I have seen, Weng Wenhao's correspondence and telegrams, the people who have called and written to ask for help, from Chiang Ching-kuo to the township security chief, from grass-roots cadres to party-state elders, generals and ministers, and all kinds of people, are all prepared, and the content of the request for help, from inscriptions and plaques, to job hunting and promotion, can be described as various and varied.
At the beginning of 1944, Chiang Ching-kuo established the Central Cadre School of the Three Youth Leagues to train "young cadres of the founding of the country" and serve as the chief education officer. After a year of training, graduates also face the problem of a way out. Therefore, on February 18, 1945, Chiang Ching-kuo "paid homage to Mr. Yong Ni" and introduced that the school "was approved at the beginning of the previous year, and first set up a research department to recruit graduates from domestic and foreign universities, and to be strictly trained in spirit, most of whom were professionals in finance, economics and science and engineering traffic management, and had served the organs under the central ministries." Now that the research period has expired and they are about to graduate, they are still volunteering to participate in the actual work of nation-building, so that they can use their studies." Among them, "there are twenty trainees in the economic sector, who are willing to serve in your ministry and production bureau or resource committee." Mr. Su Yang rewarded the young people, spared no effort, and forgave Bi Le to praise and encourage, in order to fulfill his aspirations, whether he could approve them according to the degree, as appropriate, in order to repay the results."
This is not the first time Chiang Ching-kuo has asked for it; as early as chiang ching-kuo's tenure as inspector of the fourth administrative region in Gannan Province, Chiang Ching-kuo, who claimed to be a junior, had asked the "Minister of Culture and Hao" to be "allocated by the Senior Management Committee to donate 20,000 yuan of national currency" to assist in the three-year construction plan for the new Gannan that "lacks both manpower and financial resources." Some people even said in his memoirs that because the Resources Committee had an organization specializing in tungsten ore in Gannan Province, Chiang Ching-kuo wrote to "Lord Yong ni Shibo" whenever he was short of money for the construction of Gannan Province. Weng Wenhao could not completely refuse this time, and on February 28, he personally wrote a letter replying to "Brother Jingguo", still saying that "at present, the organs are following the orders of the court to seek a ruling and ... As a result, it is not easy to resent the new recruits, but there is also room for escape: "I would like to implore Huiyun to first compare the grades of the five authors with the names, resumes, and training results, so that they can try to borrow weight as appropriate." ”
In Weng Wenhao's correspondence, there was even a request involving a well-known secret agent of the CCP. On April 23, 1941, Zhu Jiahua, then head of the Organization Department of the Kuomintang Central Committee, wrote a letter to Weng Wenhao on behalf of Shen Zhenmin, who was then the secretary of the Xi'an Branch of the Three Youth Leagues, for going abroad at his own expense: "Comrade Shen Zhenmin graduated from Peking Normal University, participated in party affairs work for many years, and is currently the secretary of the Xijing Branch of the Youth League. When he came to Chongqing to attend the Youth League Congress this time, he was extremely capable, deeply knowledgeable to the president, summoned by Di Meng, and encouraged. "Now Shen Zhenmin wants to go abroad for further study at his own expense, but according to government regulations, the passport to go abroad must be dispatched by the government for official business." Therefore, Zhu Jiahua wanted to ask Weng Wenhao to give Shen Zhenmin a quota from the Ministry of Economy to send a public office to the country, "to fulfill his ambitions." Weng Wenhao replied on April 28 that Zhu Jiahua expressed embarrassment, on the grounds that the Ministry of Economic Affairs "and its subordinate organs sent personnel to the United States have made a statement (pre-) and signed a foreign official business with the approval of the committee." Recently, it has been stipulated that it is necessary to go to the party and government class for training before they can set off, and the procedures have become more arduous. At present, there are not many round-trip aircraft between China and the United States, and non-official personnel have more corners. Is shen jun's going abroad immediately required? Shang Xi turned to business again for consideration. As a result, Shen Zhenmin's desire to go abroad for further study was also in vain. Of course, neither Zhu Jiahua nor Weng Wenhao could have imagined that this Shen Zhenmin was actually an agent of our party lurking in the Kuomintang, and was later hailed as one of the "three masters" in the history of the CCP's hidden front struggle, and served as the ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Cuba, the ambassador to India, and the deputy director of the International Liaison Department of the CPC Central Committee in the name of Shen Jian.
Among the letters of entrustment received by Weng Wenhao, especially the most seeking official jobs. In particular, after the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the acceptance work in the occupied areas became a wealthy and poor in the eyes of many people, and Weng Wenhao, who was also the chairman of the "National Undertaking Reception Committee," naturally received many such requests to actively "contribute" to the acceptance work.
Zou Lu (Haibin), an elder of the Kuomintang and a representative figure of the Xishan Conference Faction, sent a letter to Weng Wenhao on January 24, 1946: "I hereby have a friend Zhang Junhanliang, who has studied chemistry for ten years, has a doctorate, has been teaching for more than ten years after returning to China, has handled several chemical plants in Pingyi, is currently the director of the Department of Chemistry of Sichuan University, and is extremely interested in industry, and is specially introduced to the deacons. Near such as Pingjin, Qingdao to receive chemical factories, need to be handled, will be able to be competent and pleasant also. However, to his surprise, Weng Wenhao's reply turned out to be the standard procedure of the Resources Committee: "I am very welcome to introduce Zhang Junhanliang, and I have submitted it to the Resources Committee for registration, and I will try to negotiate it when necessary." ”
On May 10, 1948, Yu Jishi, the head of the guard who had followed Chairman Jiang for many years, wrote a handwritten letter to Weng Wenhao, then chairman of the Resources Committee: "Zhou Junfulin, the son of Commander Zhou of the Sixth Appeasement District, graduated from the Central Technical College, was admitted to the Department of Chemical Engineering of the Central University, graduated at the end of last year, and volunteered to study in factories in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and other places. This talent, also wanted to be needed by the dignitary office and the factory to which it belongs, is used as a letter, and still asks for the placement of huizhi, so that he can learn what he has learned and work hard. ”
When Commander Zhou Kun's son graduated from university and wanted to find a job in the central enterprise affiliated to the Resources Committee to find a post that "he had learned," Lieutenant General Yu Jishi, chairman of Chairman Jiang's bodyguard, asked him to be entrusted to the chairman of the Resources Committee of the competent department of the state-owned enterprise. However, it is also an unexpected reply, and it is very ironic: "The Association is currently running various undertakings in the northeast, and due to the impact of the war, the evacuated employees urgently need to be installed, and it is difficult to extend it for a while." The section on the work requested by Zhou Jun is hereby kept in mind, allowing for appropriate opportunities, and then extending the work. "The general's son can't find a job, and the generals have to blame for losing the battle."
<h3>Private affairs and private affairs</h3>
In these cases, due to material limitations, our interest in the subsequent development of many requests is often not met. For example, are Weng Wenhao's replies such as "registered" and "have the opportunity to negotiate first" pure prevarication or are there indeed hidden secrets? What is the follow-up direction of the story, will it really be "used first", if it is used but the trustee is not satisfied with the arrangement, will there be a second wave or a third wave of requests? Or after being prevaricated, what will the trustee do to deal with it, whether to walk away with interest or to chase after it? Fortunately, there is also a case of such a story in the historical records.
On February 12, 1946, Jiang Menglin, the former president of Peking University, who was then secretary general of the Executive Yuan, wrote to Weng Wenhao: Yesterday, a clerk named Zhang Zhong told him in person that Zhang Hongqing, his son who graduated from the metallurgical group of the Department of Mining and Metallurgy of the Northwest Institute of Technology, had previously applied for a job with Weng Wenhao through a "letter", but had not received a reply. Zhang Zhong asked Jiang Menglin to ask Weng Wenhao, "I begged for a blessing." Weng Wenhao replied to Jiang Menglin on March 15: "Because most of the factories and mines in the rear of the Association have been engaged in austerity since the end of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the remaining personnel have been transferred to the recovery area, and there are still many personnel to be transferred. Regarding Zhang Jun's work, in addition to having been registered by the competent office and extended as soon as possible in case of opportunity, I would like to reply to the letter and please check it. Please know his father, Mr. Zhang Zhong, as a lotus. ”
Most of the requests we've seen so far come to an abrupt end in this first round. Whether Zhang Hongqing can really achieve employment, or join the unemployment team with empty joy, we have no way of knowing. Fortunately, we have seen the second letter from Secretary General Jiang on April 11: "Brother Wen arrived in Chongqing yesterday, apologizing for being too busy with official business and not leaving the house. In the preceding section, he pleaded for the son of a certain prince, an employee of the state government. Knowing that his name was Zhang Zhong and that his son was Hongqing, he hereby attached his resume to him and asked his brother to try to do something about it. Every time my brother met him in the palace, he was surrounded and begged, which really made me cry out for suffering. ”
Indeed, as Jiang Menglin said, Weng Wenhao, as vice president of the Executive Yuan, flew to Shanghai in April to attend a seminar on economic demobilization held at the Shanghai office of the Executive Yuan, and had just returned to Chongqing, where he was busy with post-war economic demobilization, the smoothing of the sources of rice, the distribution of relief materials, the elimination of the tide of work, economic unemployment, the resumption of work and production, and the negotiation of economic cooperation in Northeast China with the Soviet Union. However, in the face of the siege and pleading of Zhang Zhong, an employee of the state government, jiang Menglin was also entangled and helpless, and had to plead with Brother Yongni again to "try for it". Perhaps out of sympathy for the bitterness of his old friend, or out of pity for Zhang Zhong, the father, Weng Wenhao immediately replied on the same day: "Regarding the desire for work by the son of Zhang Zhongjun, an employee of the state government, he is now trying to do something practical, and once there is certainty, he will be heard again." Sure enough, in less than ten days, it was done. Weng Wenhao told Jiang Menglin on April 20: "Regarding the request for work by the son of Zhang Zhongjun, an employee of the state government, the competent office has now written to the society to work in the electrochemical smelter, and has written to Zhang Jun himself to contact him. "The Resources Committee Electrochemical Smelter, the most technologically advanced state-owned enterprise in China's metallurgical community at that time, for Zhang Hongqing, who graduated from the Department of Mining and Metallurgy majoring in metallurgy, what better position than this?"
The phrase "earnestly try" not only shows Weng Wenhao's action, but also shows to a certain extent that in fact, many things he asked for help were not impossible, but also did not do it. This raises another question: Why does Jiang Menglin, secretary general of the Executive Yuan, who is a special official of the State Council, not even be able to handle the work of a university graduate, and ask for support from vice president Weng at a higher level? At least from this incident, we can't see that Secretary General Jiang deliberately did not act because of his resistance to the bad habit of asking for help, and it is true that he cannot. Although you are the secretary general of the Executive Yuan, the resources he has and available to him are probably quite limited. This also seems to explain the doubts in our hearts, why many high-ranking officials and generals of the state government will directly seek out high-ranking officials such as Weng Wenhao for the sake of their children's employment.
Weng Wenhao's Correspondence and Telegrams 1909-1949, edited by Li Xuetong, Unity Publishing House, 2020.
Lei Zhen sent a letter to Weng Wenhao.
<h3>Business cannot be done</h3>
Weng Wenhao's records are not all "ideal trustees", and they also inevitably play the role of trustees.
On May 5, 1948, he drafted a letter of entrustment signed with Hu Shi, president of Peking University, and submitted it to Zhang Qun, the chief executive dean:
Formerly, the American scholar Philip, who has been in China since the Republic of China for nine years, served as a professor at Peking University and the chief technician of paleontology of the Institute of Geological Survey, and has cultivated talents and studied academically, with excellent results and is known in the world. After his death, he was praised by the special order of the Junyuan and awarded a pension. However, the late professor left behind a female secretary of German nationality, who served and supported the professor when he was born, and was so effective that he was currently poor and helpless, because of the negotiations between Peking University and the Geological Survey Institute, he planned to jointly fund and give him 600 US dollars, and asked him to return to China by boat and seek his own livelihood. It is proposed to approve the purchase of 600 US dollars from the central bank by the national currency used by the school at the listed exchange rate to make use of this. Special letter to Chen. If the lotus allows permission, it is deeply fortunate.
Professor Gripp's tomb is still not far from the west gate of Yanyuan. Volange, the German female secretary used by the professor, wanted to return home after Greep's death in 1946, but did not have a pension or even travel expenses home. So Weng Wenhao and Hu Shi discussed that both sides would give 300 US dollars each and send him back to Germany. It was at the height of foreign exchange controls, normal applications were hard to approve, and black market prices were ridiculously high. Reluctantly, Weng Wenhao had no choice but to personally ask the chief executive to ask the president Zhang Qun for approval, and the Peking University and geological survey would purchase 600 US dollars of foreign exchange from the central bank according to the government's listing price and give it to the professor's female secretary.
Among the materials I saw, there were two pieces of Weng Wenhao's request for private affairs in the family. One is that on February 7, 1946, at the beginning of the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Weng Wenhao wrote to Zhou Zhirou, director of the Aviation Commission: "The second son, Xinhan, was formerly in the Air Force, due to the Anti-Japanese War in Northern Gansu, died in a plane crash in Sansui, and his legacy is now on the south bank of Chongqing. Our house is deeply looking forward to being buried in the Air Force Martyrs Cemetery near Nanjing, and dares to ask your excellency to always help, transfer it, and join the public burial to honor the will of the deceased. How Zhou Zhirou and the Navigation Committee arranged for the martyrs to be relocated to Nanjing is unknown, but we see that Weng Wenhao had to write to Lu Zuofu, the owner of the Minsheng Steamship Company, on June 16 of the following year: "The coffin of the deceased son Xinhan, the former Chenghui Yun, was transported to Beijing on behalf of Yu Yun on his behalf. Director Shi Ying of Zijie Dai approached the front. "The widow of the air force martyr Weng Xinhan still needs to be privately entrusted by his family to be moved to the Nanjing Aviation Martyrs' Tomb to rest in peace, which also shows the roughness of the official compensation work for the martyrs of the war."
When the term "entrustment" first appeared, it meant that it specifically referred to the private behavior of the officialdom, especially when selecting officials, to privately take the door and joints, that is, those in power accepted the private requests of the trustees, and used the public power and resources in their hands to seek private interests for the trustees, that is, "private affairs". However, in the case of Entrustment related to Weng Wenhao, we can also see that this is not the entire content of the Official Request of the Republic of China shown in Weng Wenhao's correspondence and telegrams, and although a large number of requests are private requests, they are not all for private interests, and a considerable amount of the content is "public affairs and private affairs". This shows that normal public affairs can no longer be achieved through normal channels, and official affairs cannot be done publicly, and can only be achieved by relying on the lubrication of personal relations and feelings. This may be the real horror of political corruption during the Republican period.
Li Xuetong