The peace talks between the Kuomintang and the Republic of China broke down completely, and what was the meaning of Zhou Enlai giving Situ Leiden a multicolored porcelain vase?

Nanjing Changjiang Road Meiyuan Xincun Street, only one street away from the Presidential Palace, the "heart" of the Republic of China government, the buildings here are simple and small, red tile gray walls, white corridors and green cypress flowers, integrated into the thick air of the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties and not conspicuous. This is the original site of the office of the Chinese Communist Party delegation during the 1946 Nanjing negotiations between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China, which is now the Meiyuan New Village Memorial Hall. However, more than 70 years ago, "there were no plum blossoms and no gardens", Guo Moruo once laughed, and got the name Plum Garden probably because "Mr. Mei Yi (the spokesman of the Chinese Communist Party delegation) lives here."

Today, the three courtyards still retain the style of that year, No. 17 is the seat of the office of the CPC delegation, with offices such as conference rooms, news groups, newspaper copy rooms, telecommunications groups, foreign affairs groups, and women's groups; the second-story small building at No. 30 is the office of Zhou Enlai and Deng Yingchao, as well as their living residence; No. 35 is the office and residence of Dong Biwu, Li Weihan, Liao Chengzhi and others, and there is a small door on the east side of the courtyard, which is convenient for avoiding the eyes and ears of the No. 31 surveillance station and contacting Zhou Deng and Deng on the 30th.

/ Zhou Enlai walking out of Meiyuan New Village No. 17 photo, taken in December 1946.

The two buildings on the south side of the original site were set aside as the Zhou Enlai Library and the Historical Materials Exhibition Hall, which contained the imitation Ming-style multicolored porcelain vase that Zhou Enlai gave to Situ Leiden.

During Chiang Kai-shek's three consecutive invitations to Mao Zedong to "discuss the state of the country," the U.S. government also sent a special envoy, Marshall, to mediate, hoping to continue to maintain the dominance of the Nationalist government and resist the Soviet union's forces in China. Because the post of ambassador to China was vacant at the time, Zhou Enlai recommended Stuart Layden, who was well versed in Chinese culture and had not been involved in partisan disputes.

Stuart Layden was born in Hangzhou, China, father and son of two generations of Presbyterian missionaries in the South Of the United States. During the War of Resistance Against Japan, Stuart Washiden was once imprisoned in a concentration camp for refusing to cooperate with the Japanese army, and after living in China for more than 50 years, he could even speak fluent Hangzhou dialect. After his release from prison, he continued to return to Yenching University as president, and both the Kuomintang and the Communists had his students in important positions, which was obviously the most suitable position for mediating bipartisan negotiations.

During the negotiations, Stuart Layden proposed a reorganization of the government, the formulation of a constitution, the fight against corruption, the implementation of democratic nation-building, and proposed that the United States equip and train the armies of the Two Parties, respectively. On November 15, 1946, the "Constituent National Convention" was convened, and the next day, Zhou Enlai held a press conference in Meiyuan to denounce the "National Congress" for violating government agreements and the will of the people, the CCP resolutely opposed it, and the delegation would evacuate Nanjing and return to Yan'an.

The peace talks broke down completely, and Stuart's previous efforts were also put to naught. Before leaving, Zhou Enlai presented Situ Leiden with this multicolored porcelain vase, which implicitly had the intention of wishing the other party peace and praying for peace in China's way forward. When Stuart Returned to the United States in 1949, he only carried a suitcase with him, which contained only some old clothes, only a multicolored porcelain vase given to him by Zhou Enlai.

In 1954, the Meiyuan Xincun Memorial Hall of the Communist Party of China delegation was prepared for construction, and reopened to the public in 1977, with 1170 cultural relics, including 100 first-class collections, which were listed as national first-class museums as branches of the Nanjing Municipal Museum.

And that porcelain vase, which accompanied Stuart Layden in later years, was his cherished object. When he became seriously ill in his later years, he instructed his secretary Fu Jingbo: "After Yu's death, this object will be restored to the Lord. On May 26, 1988, Fu Jingbo's daughter Fu Hailan made a special trip to China for this matter. Turning around, the porcelain bottle returned to the Meiyuan Xincun Memorial Hall, and the friendship during that period of prosperity was affectionately recorded by Situ Leiden in "Fifty Years in China": "I dream that China will become a stable, united and progressive country... My dream is right and achievable because I know something about Chinese and their history, and I know that they have a good character of indomitable integrity... I believe that my dream of China will also become a reality. ”