"The spring light shines like a fool, ashamed of my Jiangnan Unification Sharp Division." Where is the twenty-year pride? Losing and Hongfang don't know it. ”
This is a love poem written by Marshal Chen Yi, one of the Ten Marshals and the foreign minister of New China, to his wife Zhang Qian.
In an interview, a female director talked about China's diplomatic activities shortly after the founding of New China, and highly praised Vice Chairman Soong Ching Ling and Zhang Qian, the wife of Foreign Minister Chen Yi.
Who is this Zhang Qian, who makes Marshal Chen Yi so affectionate and makes the staff praise?
Picture | Chen Yi (left) and Zhang Qian (right)
Zhang Qian, formerly known as Zhang Zhangzhu, on the one hand, due to the poverty of her family, on the other hand, Zhang Qian's father was deeply affected by the concept of son preference and the corrosion of women's lack of talent under the confinement of the times, and was unwilling to pay for his daughter's schooling.
Fortunately, Zhang Qian's mother was more open-minded and understood the shackles of women in this era, so she secretly used the money she had saved to pay for Zhang Qian's tuition. Zhang Qian, who is sensible and contentious, also cherishes this hard-won learning opportunity, she studies diligently and her grades are always among the best.
On July 7, 1937, the Lugou Bridge Incident broke out, and the all-out War of Resistance broke out, and the atrocities of the Japanese army and the bravery and good fighting of the anti-Japanese fighters all reached Zhang Qian's ears.
The fall of the land and the lack of livelihood of the people, these things hit Zhang Qian's heart, and her heart has since had a new vision of life and light.
Although she was on campus, she did not sit in the classroom according to the rules, but actively threw herself into the bright fire in her heart - for the country and the people!
Figure | Lugou Bridge Incident
Outside the desk and the campus, she saw the wider road.
Zhang Qian began to frequently participate in local anti-Japanese propaganda parades. Street speeches, promotional performances, leaflets distributed, no matter how big or small, she is present at almost every event location. Of course, Zhang Qian's behavior makes the mother can't help but worry about the safety of her daughter, and the old-fashioned father feels that the girl's appearance is inappropriate, but the persuasion of the family cannot stop her from running to the light.
So Zhang Qian's parents locked her up at home, and there was a plan to let her get married and have children, which of course was strongly resisted by Zhang Qian.
Educated, she has her own independent thoughts, so how could she be willing to accept arranged marriages? She did not admit her fate, but did not want to argue with her parents, so she pretended to agree, let her parents relax their vigilance, and before the wedding, she took advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention to leave her hometown, and traveled thousands of miles to southern Anhui to join the anti-Japanese team that she had been thinking about day and night.
Zhang Qian has a beautiful appearance, high cultural attainment, and has accumulated rich performance experience in school, so she was assigned to the New Fourth Army Field Service Regiment. At that time, the New Fourth Army had scarce money and food, materials, and the life of the troops was very difficult, but the regimental commander cherished Zhang Qian's talent, so he specially invited the best teacher to teach her the knowledge of performance.
Pictured| the soldiers of the New Fourth Army
In the southern Anhui army, Zhang Qian was not afraid of hard work, constantly improved her ability in her work, and soon grew into a backbone of the unit that could stand alone.
Ordinary people like the performance of the field service group very much, in order to enrich the script, they often tell Zhang Qian the story of Chen Yi and other people's heroic and fearless resistance, at that time Zhang Qian did not know that he would have a marriage with Chen Yi in the future. She only admired the legendary general and secretly remembered these stories.
Because Chen Yi's story made her believe that the path she chose was the right one.
Zhang Qian stayed in this Yunling station full of art and home and country feelings, intently studying the role she wanted to play, and also envisioning that her acting career would be as bright as China's future. Slowly, Zhang Qian's fame rose, from the commander to the ordinary soldiers, and almost everyone in the army knew that on the anti-Japanese propaganda line in southern Anhui, there was a girl named Zhang Qian who performed superbly.
There were many young men in the army who admired her, and many people proposed to be a matchmaker for her. But Zhang Qian is not only a woman with a high sense of national mission, but also a woman who pursues her own life, so on the issue of who to spend her life with, she does not listen to her parents, and she will not easily give her feelings to others.
But life is like a boat, there are always waves that can disrupt your course.
At the beginning of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Chen Yi, who was then the commander of the first detachment of the New Fourth Army, came to the Yunling branch for a meeting, and when he heard that the nearby grand opera stage was about to perform the anti-war propaganda drama "One Year", Chen Yi, who had always been very interested in cultural music and art, immediately decided to go and watch it.
Pictured| Chen Yi
The bride dressed in red on the stage of chen clan ancestral hall took away all of Chen Yi's eyes from the first appearance, and he was fascinated by it, and the bride was played by Zhang Qian, who was only 17 years old. After the performance, Chen Yi turned around and asked about Zhang Qian's situation.
Chen Yi's actions fell into the eyes of his old friend Zhu Kejing, you know, since Chen Yi joined the revolution, although he had two marriages, but there were no happy results, so he is still a "light rod commander", and several old comrades-in-arms have long wanted to introduce him to the object.
At that time, Zhu Kejing was the leader of the field service group, and he knew that Chen Yi had a good feeling for Zhang Qian, so he found Zhang Qian and asked her what she thought, but he did not expect Zhang Qian to bow his head and not say a word, as if he did not approve of this marriage, Zhu Kejing had to give up.
In fact, Zhang Qian did not agree, but did not dare to agree. She had long heard of Chen Yi's name, and knew that it was a talented, intelligent and courageous person, and that she was just a member of a service group, so how could she go to a high level as a leader?
Picture | Zhang Qian
Zhang Qian was able to refuse in the face of Zhu Kejing, but when she accidentally saw the love poem written by Chen Yi to herself, her defenses were loosened. At that time, the performance team wanted to borrow a dress of the leader of the Eighth Route Army, and the leader comrade named Zhang Qian to borrow it from Commander Chen Yi, and Chen Yi also took off his coat very happily after hearing the causes and consequences and handed it to Zhang Qian.
But as soon as Zhang Qian's front foot left, Chen Yi remembered a terrible thing: there was an important "thing" that he had put in his clothes pocket. It was a love poem he wrote casually, "Zan Chunlan", zhang Qian mentioned it when she first spoke to Chen Yi, and her nickname was Chunlan.
Sure enough, after the performance, Zhang Qian found the poem on the way to sort out the costumes, and at this moment, Zhang Qian, who realized Chen Yi's sincere feelings, felt trepidation.
She asked the leader, who thought for a long time and then said solemnly:
Comrade Zhang Qian, the choice of love partner is indeed up to you to decide, no one can force you. From the perspective of organization, of course, I prefer that a loyal revolutionary comrade like Chen Yi can find a lover, but it does not mean that you are obeyed, nor is it not allowed to choose!
”
"In front of people, I felt confused, confused and did not know what to do. Excerpted from Zhang Qian's letter. This is the content of a photo, the front is Zhang Qian, the back is The sentence written by Chen Yi, at the moment of seeing the photo, Zhang Qian made up her mind.
Picture | Zhang Qian (left) and Chen Yi (right)
Soon Chen Yi came to the station again, the first date of the two people, they talked very happily, talked for nearly 8 hours, Chen Yi told the truth about his two marriages and personal past, Zhang Qian was touched by Chen Yi's sincere and straightforward temperament. Late that night, after the two of them had finished walking on the field, Chen Yi sent Zhang Qian back to her service group residence.
Within a few days, an essay called "Moon Night" was sent from Chen Yi to Zhang Qian's hands, and the prose was beautifully worded, which not only made Zhang Qian feel Chen Yi's cherishing of the two people getting along, but also made her can't help but recall the moonlight and the figure of the two strolling that night, and she knew that she was missing.
Zhang Qian's reply to Chen Yi is also very poetic:
I love the spring of this battle, I love the battle of this spring.
In this era of war and smoke, it is rare to love someone, and it is not easy to work together, but a love poem has already made this young girl feel unprecedented sweetness and heartbeat, she understands that in addition to the reverence and admiration she had for Chen Yi in the story, she now has the love for Chen Yi in reality, and the surging feelings are out of control.
In the autumn of 1939, Zhang Qian was assigned by the organization to work in the political department of a detachment. Although Zhang Qian was reluctant in her heart, she was becoming more and more determined, and she was about to go to a new battlefield.
Zhang Qian walked with high morale to the front line of the anti-Japanese resistance behind the enemy lines, and also to Chen Yi. On the eve of the Spring Festival in 1940, 18-year-old Zhang Qian married Chen Yi, and they held hands and vowed to support each other, tolerate and understand, and after that, they spent the difficult years of honor together until the end of their lives.
In March of that year, forced by the severe situation, Chen Yi had to leave his beloved wife and lead the New Fourth Army across the Yangtze River all the way north. After the Anhui Incident in 1941, Chen Yi was appointed acting commander of the New Fourth Army.
Revolutionaries put their work tasks first, Zhang Qian never complained about the long-term separation between husband and wife, and she and Chen Yi relied on letters to contact to ease their longing.
Picture | The Martyrs' Cemetery of the Anhui Southern Incident
During the period when Chen Yi was fighting on the front line, Zhang Qian did not stop promoting and further training herself, and she successively served as a propaganda officer of the Central China Branch of the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University and a political instructor of the Ministry of Health of the New Fourth Army, making great contributions to revolutionary work. In addition to this, she also found time to teach herself English and Russian.
In 1942 and 1943, Zhang Qian gave birth to two sons for Chen Yi
Chen Haosu
、
Chen Danhuai
At this time, the domestic situation was turbulent and the environment was unpredictable, and under such difficult conditions, she still balanced family and work well, not only completed her own work, but also raised two children.
In 1949, Chairman Mao's speech at the founding ceremony heralded that the rising sun of new China had finally illuminated this originally dark land. Seeing that the situation in China had basically stabilized, Chen Yi and Zhang Qian, a couple who had gathered less and more, were finally reunited. Chen Yi was appointed mayor of Shanghai at this time, and Zhang Qian's work was much lighter, but she could not spare herself, so in her free time, she went to continue to complete her ambition, that is, to study Russian and engage in the translation and publication of her favorite literature.
Figure | founding ceremony
After studying at the Taiping Lake Russian Language School in Beijing, Zhang Qian returned to the Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House and translated and published two literary works from the former Soviet Union. She was going to keep trying to continue translating the book.
This plan had to be put on hold because of her husband's work
。
At the beginning of the founding of New China, Premier Zhou Enlai had always been the foreign minister, but with the improvement of China's international status, the diplomatic task was entrusted to Premier Zhou alone, and the workload was a bit too heavy, and Premier Zhou was really lacking in skill, so this task fell to Chen Yi's head.
In September 1954, after Chen Yi was elected vice premier of the State Council at the First National People's Congress, his work gradually shifted to the diplomatic direction. Chen Yi, who had experience in staying in the West in his early years and performed very well after taking over Shanghai, once again withstood the pressure and played an important role in his new post.
Pictured| Zhou Enlai
In 1955, the world-renowned Bandung Conference was held in Bandung, Indonesia, and Premier Zhou Enlai's policy of "seeking common ground while reserving differences" made the world see China's attitude and made new China's international influence more and more great. It was at this meeting that Chen Yi accompanied Zhou Enlai and became a well-known diplomatic aid.
But a new problem was placed in front of Chen Yi:
At present, the diplomatic activities of New China are gradually increasing, and the leaders of those Southeast Asian countries will bring their wives with them when they visit China, but China does not have a fixed wife to receive the relatives of these leaders.
In order to fill the gap in his wife's diplomacy, Chen Yi went home to consult with his wife, hoping that his wife Zhang Qian could be responsible for receiving foreign leaders and their groups in China together with the wives of senior officials.
However, Zhang Qian could not let go of her love for literary translation and creative career in her heart, hoped that she had an independent working space, and wanted to devote all her body and mind to the cause she loved, so she was initially unwilling to allow Chen Yi to do diplomatic work.
Chen Yi refused to give up and mobilized Zhang Qian many times, but unfortunately every time he touched a nose of ash, he took his wife no way, he told Premier Zhou about his difficulties, hoping that Premier Zhou, who was always accurate and effective in handling affairs, could help him. Premier Zhou laughed after listening to the whole process, and then agreed to come down, and when he returned home, he and his wife Deng Yingchao told her about it and asked her to do ideological work for Zhang Qian.
Pictured| Deng Yingchao
Zhang Qian can not give up only her own career, but in the face of personal and national choices, she is actually rational enough, Deng Ying more than to talk to her after a few words, Zhang Qian was really moved, agreed to give up her interest, concentrate on doing a good job in diplomatic work.
After making a decision, Zhang Qian returned home and sorted out the dictionaries and word books used for translating literature on her desk and bedside table, and then sealed them all in a box. Chen Yi watched from the side, knowing that she had finally changed her mind, and said with a smile: "Sure enough, Sister Deng still has a way, as soon as she came forward, you agreed." ”
Zhang Qian looked at him complainingly and said, "I have transferred jobs for you for the third time." This is true, when the two were married, Zhang Qian gave up her dream of being an actor, and now, she has made sacrifices again and given up her fledgling translation career.
Of course, Chen Yi knew his wife's hardships, and he patted Zhang Qian's hand and said seriously:
I know it's not easy for you, but if you think about me, didn't I also spend so many years in the military, and then turn around and start doing diplomatic work now? Everything is for the revolution and the country, let's do a good job together!
Zhang Qian, whose focus shifted, did not lose her luster, she found her own value in the field of diplomacy, and was later even jokingly called "China's first diplomatic lady". However, although this title is a joke, it is not unworthy of the name to really pursue.
In 1956, Zhang Qian, in accordance with the arrangement of her superiors, visited Pakistan with a Chinese women's delegation. The delegation was full of well-known figures in the women's circles at that time, but Zhang Qian, who looked at her young age and shallow qualifications in the past, was not overwhelmed at all. Before the delegation left, Deng Yingchao, then vice chairman of the All-China Women's Federation, specifically urged other women comrades in the delegation to support Zhang Qian's work as much as possible.
Obviously, in Deng Yingchao's heart, she already had the idea of letting Zhang Qian show her skills in diplomacy. Although Zhang Qian's visit to Pakistan is her first foreign trip, Deng Yingchao believes that her ability will be able to successfully complete this mission.
The final result told Deng Yingchao that Zhang Qian did not live up to her expectations.
As early as after agreeing to engage in diplomatic work, Zhang Qian has been working hard to improve her diplomatic ability, no matter what she does, she is constantly improving, even in the face of English and Russian that she has long taught herself, she still spends a lot of time in-depth study, so that her English level can be further improved. In addition, she attaches great importance to the study of traditional Chinese literary classics, which can help her show Chinese characteristics and cultural heritage in diplomatic occasions.
When Cambodia's Prime Minister Sihanouk visited China for the first time, he could not help but be impressed by the remarkable achievements made by New China's development so far. Later, he invited Zhang Qian to Cambodia many times to participate in their grand water festival.
After applying to her superiors, Zhang Qian took a women's delegation to Cambodia for a visit.
The delegation's visit, which lasted eight days, was warmly welcomed by the Cambodian people. Zhang Qian and others successively received members of the royal family and heads of government to discuss matters related to Sino-Cambodian diplomacy, in addition to which she also had cordial conversations with the wives of ministers, ministers' wives and other Cambodian social women representatives and extended cordial greetings.
Under the leadership of Zhang Qian, the Chinese women's delegation showed cambodia and even the world the temperament and image of Chinese women, making the international community realize that China today is enough to gain a firm foothold in the forest of the world's nations.
Since Zhang Qian began her diplomatic career, along with the development of New China, she has visited abroad as many as 21 times, even in diplomatic confrontations with American politicians, she has not been left behind.
In 1961, in order to publicize the diplomatic ideas of New China to the rest of the world, Zhang Qian and her husband Chen Yi often appeared at various major cocktail parties. In May of that year, when the two went to Geneva to attend a conference, an extraordinary diplomatic incident occurred.
It was at a cocktail party, Zhang Qian was talking cordially with the wives of the representatives of various countries, she suddenly felt someone walking towards her, so she looked over and found that the person was mrs. Harriman of the American delegation. However, during that period, there was discipline in the country, stipulating that diplomatic staff should not take the initiative to contact and talk with important personnel of the United States on any occasion, especially on large diplomatic occasions.
Mrs. Harriman bypassed everyone and came specially, it was impossible to just greet each other, and it was time to test Zhang Qian's diplomatic wisdom. In the face of such an obvious diplomatic overture by the Americans, Zhang Qian was silent on the surface, but her heart was actually entangled.
Because if there is contact with the REPRESENTATIVE of the United States, it violates discipline, but if it is directly ignored, it will appear that China's diplomacy is unassuming.
Just when Mrs. Harriman was about to walk in front of her, Zhang Qian had an idea in her mind, and she pretended that she could not understand foreign languages, and she pretended not to understand foreign languages, found the gap between Mrs. Harriman's search for interpreters around her, quickly shifted the topic of their discussion, and chatted with another group of representative ladies.
Mrs. Harriman had to come with an interpreter, but there was no way to directly insert the communication between several people, so she had to find another opportunity.
Not long after, Ambassador Harriman and his wife squeezed hard to Chen Yi's side, took the initiative to talk to him, and held out their hands, chen Yi also smiled slightly, and generously shook back. Countless media reporters at home and abroad recorded this classic scene, not a day."
The US politician took the initiative to shake hands with the Chinese politician
The news was known all over the world.
This incident is enough to reflect Zhang Qian's wisdom and composure, and her improvisation has won China's initiative in Sino-US exchanges. Her generous and elegant demeanor and fluent foreign languages have impressed foreign guests on various diplomatic occasions, and further consolidated the international image of New China.
In 1972, Marshal Chen Yi, a famous general of the generation, died of illness and closed his eyes forever. At the memorial service, although Zhang Qian was immersed in the grief of losing her husband, she forced herself to meet Chairman Mao Zedong, who suddenly came.
Chairman Mao's health was not very good at that time, and everyone thought that he would not come over, but he still forced himself to attend the memorial service. Finally, Chairman Mao said to Zhang Qian:
Chen Yi is a good comrade.
This evaluation gave Chen Yi a good conclusion in his life. Looking at the kind chairman, Zhang Qian finally couldn't suppress her tears, she choked up and said: "Chen Yi sometimes doesn't understand things, he provokes the chairman to be angry..."
In the same year that Marshal Chen Yi died, Zhang Qian was also diagnosed with stomach cancer, and when she knew that her life was about to end in death, she made a decision.
Even though she knew that she was terminally ill and needed a good rest, she chose to work day and night to sort out the poems left by her husband before his death. In the years when the husband and wife were in love with each other, Chen Yi left many moving poems, recording the life of the general Jinge Iron Horse.
There are many love poems written by Chen Yi to her in the poem manuscript.
Finally, before her condition deteriorated to the point where she could not move, Zhang Qian handed over her painstakingly compiled "Selected Poems of Chen Yi" to the children at the bedside. On March 20, 1974, her life came to an end.
The girl who once played actively and laughed on the stage, the woman who was the wife of Chen Yi, the foreign minister of New China, she contributed her youth to drama, gave up her personal ideals for the diplomacy of New China, and as a representative of the diplomatic women's group, she opened up the situation of "lady diplomacy" in New China and made great contributions to China's diplomatic cause.
Ms. Zhang Qian and Marshal Chen Yi experienced the flames of war together, experienced the birth of the republic together, they fought for the revolutionary cause with all their hearts, even if they reached the end of their lives, the flower of love and the flower of revolution that the two had watered with their hearts and minds were still blooming and never withered.