He Xiangning and the Xinhai Revolution

In 1909, Liao Zhongkai He Xiangning and his children took a photo in Tokyo.

　　He Xiangning was an outstanding political activist in China's modern democratic revolution, an important leader of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang, and a former chairman of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang. In 1903, after studying in Japan, He Xiangning became acquainted with Sun Yat-sen, joined the League in 1905, became the second female member of the League, engaged in anti-Qing revolutionary activities, embarked on the road of democratic revolution that pursued progress all his life, and made outstanding contributions to the organizational activities of the League and the preparation of the Xinhai Revolution.

　　Join the democratic revolutionary movement

　　In January 1903, Liao Zhongkai went to Japan to study through Hong Kong. In April of the same year, He Xiangning followed Liao Zhongkai to Tokyo, where he lived and studied with her husband and began a new journey of exploring the revolutionary road. After He Xiangning arrived in Japan, he was deeply infected by the strong patriotic atmosphere in the study circles, often participated in the patriotic activities and rallies of Chinese students with Liao Zhongkai, actively supported the patriotic movement against Russia, and donated three yuan to support the "Military and National Education Association" transformed from the "Anti-Russian Volunteer Brigade".

　　In July 1903, Sun Yat-sen arrived in Yokohama, Japan via Saigon and Siam from Annam. At that time, Dr. Sun Yat-sen's reputation for publicizing the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty and calling for revolution had long been spread among international students, and he Xiangning and his wife were very admired. At a gathering of international students at the China Overseas Students Association, He Xiangning and Liao Zhongkai met Dr. Sun Yat-sen for the first time, and were deeply attracted by Mr. Sun's speech, and then visited Mr. Sun's apartment in Tokyo, a "Lower House" in Koishikawa, and firmly stated that "we also want to participate in revolutionary work, and we are willing to do little work." Before Sun Yat-sen left Japan, He Xiangning and his wife were given the task of "learning aspiring students in the East, forming a group, and performing state affairs", so that they could "organize and learn preliminary military knowledge such as pistols and rifle shooting among the international students, and prepare for the future armed struggle." After that, He Xiangning and Liao Zhongkai actively participated in the activities of the "Revolutionary Alliance", carried out liaison and propaganda work among students studying in Japan, organized young students studying in Japan in the Ngau-Tsuen District to set up a volunteer team, and secretly gathered in Omori every morning to practice shooting, and Huang Xing, who knew military knowledge, taught marksmanship. About twenty volunteer team members lived in the same apartment as He Xiangning and others, and He Xiangning got up every day to manage the housework for them and take care of boiling water and cooking. This has contributed a lot to the expansion of the ranks of the democratic revolution and the formation of the Chinese League Association, and "the establishment of the Alliance Association is very powerful."

　　Work as a liaison station and waiter for the revolutionaries

　　In 1905, Sun Yat-sen came to Japan again in order to "recruit comrades and form a large regiment" and prepare for the organization of the League. On July 30, Sun Yat-sen held a preparatory meeting for the Chinese League in Tokyo. Dr. Sun Yat-sen's reputation for advocating revolution has long attracted the attention of the Japanese authorities, so it is inconvenient to talk with comrades in the hotel, and they want to find a reliable place to carry out their activities. Thinking that He Xiangning and his wife were enthusiastic about the revolutionary cause, he sent Li Zhongshi to consult with He Xiangning. On August 6, Lai Zhongshi came to Koishikawa Ho's "loan house" (a Japanese rented house), hoping that He Xiangning would "find a 'loan family' in a convenient place to move in, and not use Japanese people as female workers." For the convenience of the comrades' gathering in the future, He Xiangning looked for a "loan family" in Kanda District that was more than twice as expensive as the original house, and there were seven rooms upstairs and downstairs, which was much larger than the original house.

　　On August 7, the night after Lai Chung-sil visited He Xiangning, through the introduction of Sun Yat-sen and Lai Chung-sil, He Xiangning joined the League in his apartment and became the second female member of the League. On the same day, He Xiangning formally went through the formalities of joining, and under the leadership of Sun Yat-sen, he read out the oath of "expelling the Tartars, restoring China, establishing the Republic of China, equalizing land rights, starting and ending, such as or Chongqing, let the public punish." That night was "excited and excited to sleep through the night". After He Xiangning joined the League, Liao Zhongkai was introduced to the League by Li Zhongshi and He Xiangning.

　　After the preparations were completed, He Xiangning moved into Kanda's "loan family" and took care of his daily life while going to school. Since then, the residence of Mr. and Mrs. He Xiangning in Kanda has become a "communication station and meeting place" for the revolutionaries, and has also become a place for receiving and sending letters from Dr. Sun Yat-sen. He Xiangning received letters for Dr. Sun Yat-sen, many of which were under pseudonyms, such as "Gao Ye", "Zhongshan", "Yixian", "Sun Residence", etc. There were many letters, and He Xiangning received them all one by one and handed them to Mr. Sun.

　　Every week, Sun Yat-sen would convene comrades to hold two or three meetings at He Xiang's residence to discuss and plan various revolutionary work. In order to prevent many shoes from being piled up at the door and arousing the suspicion of the Japanese police, every time there is a meeting, He Xiangning not only has to open the door and take care of the tea, but also to collect the shoes and clogs that are taken off at the door. At the party, He Xiangning needed to take care of everyone's meals, but as an international student at that time, she had very little money for vegetables, did not buy any good dishes to eat, and fried some radishes, cabbage and tofu was a day's meal. Sun Yat-sen sometimes ate with everyone, and He Xiangning often prepared bread and butter for him, fried a poached egg, and then made a bowl of soup with beef juice. She herself was reluctant to eat a small bottle of beef juice for a few millimeters, and only Mr. Sun would open the bottle when he arrived. He Xiangning's daughter Liao Mengxing recalled that even such a meal made He Xiangning fall into financial difficulties and had to ask for help from her mother's parents.

　　Li Zhongshi, Zhu Zhixin, Hu Hanmin, Huang Xing, Zhang Taiyan and other members of the League often came to He Xiangning's "lenders" at that time. Although the League was the inaugural meeting held in the student union, "the secret meetings led by Mr. Sun and important comrades were mostly in the 'lenders'." Because He Xiangning could not speak Mandarin and did not speak the same language, he could only have long talks with Friends of Cantonese nationality among the revolutionary comrades. But as long as the revolutionaries in the provinces came to their homes, He Xiangning "treated him as a brother in the same family." Sun Yat-sen also got along closely with He Xiangning and his wife during his time in Japan, and his feelings were as close as his family, and sometimes "I want to use money, I don't have it" and he would say to He Xiangning, "Give me dozens of yuan!" Although the economy is not rich, He Xiangning will not hesitate to take money from the cost of studying abroad to support Sun Yat-sen.

　　At that time, Dr. Sun Yat-sen proposed: "In order to organize an armed uprising in the country, we need the military flag of the uprising, the pattern of the anmin notice, the pattern of the military ticket, and so on. Therefore, while "taking care of secret assemblies and communication liaison organs" for Dr. Sun Yat-sen, He Xiangning began to study fine arts again. On April 10, 1909, He Xiangning entered the private girls' art school in Hongo, Tokyo, where he studied painting at the Higher Department of Japanese Painting, learning painting with Tanguan Zichuan Xue, and was also a student of the Japanese imperial painter Tanaka Raijo, who learned to paint lions and tigers with Mr. Tanaka. Since the late Qing Dynasty, "sleeping lion" has been often used as a metaphor for unawakened China, and "awakening the sleeping lion" has also become the ideal pursuit of many benevolent people. He Xiangning liked to paint male lions and fierce tigers, and used mighty lions and tigers to express the awakening of the Chinese nation and the high fighting spirit of revolutionaries. She once painted "Tiger Roaring Map" and gave it to Mr. Huang Xing. Some of the flags and symbols used by the rebel troops were "depicted and embroidered and sewn by He Xiangning under the guidance of Mr. Sun."

　　Although He Xiangning and Liao Zhongkai's apartment during their study in Japan was relocated several times, it has always been a secret meeting place and liaison office of the League. He Xiangning has always been enthusiastic about the revolution, trying to overcome all difficulties to serve the revolution, doing a good job in all the trivial work of the League, and designing banners and symbols for the revolutionary uprising.

　　Advise the king not to regret the head of the noble

　　On November 2, 1905, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of the Japanese government officially promulgated the Regulations on Public and Private Schools for The Admission of Qing Students, which banned the political activities of Chinese students, deprived them of freedom of speech, banned assemblies and associations, examined letters, and suppressed revolutionary ideas. On November 26, various Japanese public and private schools that accepted Chinese students were ordered by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to post the "Regulations on Public and Private Schools for The Admission of QingGuo People", which caused an uproar among students studying in Japan. In this case, international students are divided into two factions, those who advocate compromise and those who advocate resolute resistance. He Xiangning and Liao Zhongkai, and most of the league members ," "firmly advocated the alliance strike as a sign of resistance." He Xiangning recalled: "Many young students were inspired and educated in this struggle, and from approaching us, they directly participated in the organization of the League. "He Xiangning has contributed to the organization and activities of the League.

　　About a year after the official establishment of the League, He Xiangning and Liao Zhongkai followed the instructions of Dr. Sun Yat-sen to "propagate against the royalists and wage a fierce struggle against the reformists and constitutional monarchists of the time." Sun Yat-sen also asked He Xiangning, Liao Zhongkai, Zhu Zhixin, and others to write a joint letter to overseas Chinese in the Americas and other places, publicizing to them the necessity of overthrowing the Imperial System of the Qing Dynasty, which won the sympathy of overseas Chinese. He Xiangning and others wrote letters to send overseas as long as they had time, and soon overseas Chinese joined the League and sent money to sponsor the revolution. During this period, although He Xiangning still could not speak Mandarin but only Cantonese dialect, the language barrier did not hinder He Xiangning's interaction with revolutionary volunteers, and through pen talks, she met many like-minded friends who were engaged in revolution among students studying in Japan. Among them was Qiu Jin, a famous female member of the League. He Xiangning recalled the acquaintance with Qiu Jin and said: "In the year after I joined the League, there was a meeting of international students, and we met at the venue." "Qiu Jin and I met several times at international student conferences, and she also came to my house twice." In He Xiangning's eyes, Qiu Jin was an outstanding revolutionary figure who was "skipped by others and deeply admired by his peers."

　　In June 1909, after graduating from the Department of Political Economy of Chuo University, Liao Zhongkai returned to China to infiltrate the Beijing-Tianjin area for clandestine activities. He Xiangning gave her full support to her husband's return to China to carry out revolutionary activities, and at the time of parting, he also wrote a poem to encourage her husband: "The national vendetta is not restored, it is difficult to die, and it is difficult to endure ordinary crying." Advise the king not to spare his head and leave the name in Chinese history", expressing He Xiangning's expectation that her husband would not be afraid of hardships and dangers, and would have the courage to dedicate himself to the revolution.

　　In early 1911, He Xiangning and Liao Zhongkai "received the order of Dr. Sun Yat-sen to participate in the Battle of Huanghuagang". In February of the same year, He Xiangning waited for the graduation ceremony of the private girls' art school in Tokyo Hongo, and Liao Zhongkai hurriedly returned to the motherland with his daughter Liao Mengxing and son Liao Chengzhi. Although He Xiangning did not personally participate in the Huanghuagang Uprising, he participated in relevant preparatory meetings and preparatory activities in advance. After the failure of the Huanghuagang Uprising, He Xiangning deeply mourned the seventy-two martyrs who died, but "never lost because of that failure." On the contrary, we muster up our courage and march forward on the path of the blood of the martyrs." Soon, the Wuchang Uprising broke out on October 10, and after countless revolutionary martyrs who fought bravely without fear of sacrifice, the benevolent people overthrew the rule of the Qing Dynasty and began a new revolutionary journey.

　　(Author: Wang Yifei Unit: School of Humanities, Shanghai Normal University)