He was named one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century by Time magazine. ** Known as the "good prime minister of the people". Soong Ching Ling is not only deeply loved by the Chinese people, but also has high prestige in the international community.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, they did their best for the country and the people, but they were unwilling to spend a penny more on the country and the people. Even though their wages were not low at the time, they were still poor.
According to the data, ** the salary at that time was 594 yuan, and **'s salary was also 404 yuan, but their wages were still not as high as Song Meiling, why is this?
Regarding the life of ***, it is estimated that the one who knows the most is Wu Liandeng, who is known as "** housekeeper".
During the National Day in 1964, ** found Wu Liandeng and said very kindly that he wanted to ask Wu Liandeng to help at home to see if it would work. can do things specifically for ***, Wu Liandeng is too late to be happy, how can he not be willing?
In the first few years, Wu Liandeng was only responsible for tidying up the warehouse, cleaning and cleaning, and tidying up the things in the chairman's house. In 1968, Wu Liandeng was officially appointed as the administrator and became the housekeeper of the family, and the main task was to manage the salary, various financial expenditures and procurement of the family.
In the 12 years from 1964 to 1976, Wu Liandeng was very conscientious, and even *** often said that Wu Liandeng was a lamp beside him.
Similarly, in the past 12 years, Wu Liandeng has also witnessed the frugal and simple life style of a generation of national leaders.
**Almost all the belongings are stored in the warehouse, and the warehouse in Wu Liandeng's mouth is just a small house of less than 15 square meters, with a few wooden cabinets in it.
In addition to the chairman's daily change of clothes, there are some very broken towels, cloth heads, wool and other things, and there is not a single valuable, not even a quilt, in addition to some treasured Mao Anying relics.
Wu Liandeng didn't understand why *** kept those old things at first, or the old comrades told him that those things had to be kept and mended.
At the founding ceremony, ** was wearing a neat tunic suit, but no one knew that the clothes inside the tunic were full of patches, and the elbows were still patched with old socks.
**No quilt, cover a sheet when it's hot in summer, cover two towel quilts in spring and autumn, and add an extra towel quilt when it's cold in winter.
These towels have never been replaced with new ones, they are repaired when they are broken, and one towel has the most patches on it, there are more than seventy, and those patches are still old towels from the warehouse.
As the supreme leader of the Party and the state, he always receives precious gifts from other heads of state. Gold and silver utensils, ivory products, ethnic handicrafts, local specialties and so on are all available, making people look at it intently. But there is not a single one in the warehouse of ***.
Those precious gifts are all handed over to the treasury, and local products such as fruits, tea, etc. are all given to kindergartens, staff, leaders, etc., and they do not leave anything at home.
In 1964, my country's overseas Chinese in Indonesia were asked for help from the motherland by the local people. Our country** immediately stepped forward to protect them. In order to express their gratitude, some overseas Chinese specially sent 315 kg of bird's nest.
At that time, bird's nest was still a rarity, and it cost four or five hundred and one catties to say the least. But without any hesitation, he said that he would send all those bird's nests to the Great Hall of the People to entertain foreigners, and he was not allowed to keep any of them at home.
Until 1975, Wu Liandeng saw that *** was coughing all day long, and his physical condition was getting worse and worse, so he thought about stewing some bird's nest soup to supplement some nutrients.
After Wang Dongxing's approval, Wu Liandeng got the last 7 taels of bird's nest. He secretly added a little bit to the soup every time, and he didn't dare to say anything about it, for fear that he wouldn't drink it after he knew.
Next, let's talk about ***'s salary and daily expenses. Since 1968, all the salaries of ** have been managed by Wu Liandeng.
In 1955, the monthly salary was $594. A year later, ** proposed to reduce his salary, and his salary was reduced to 504 yuan. By the 60s, when the country's economic situation was unprecedentedly difficult, ** again proposed a wage reduction, this time, ** 404 per month$8.
This 4048 yuan was not a small amount at the time, but even if Wu Liandeng broke the crumpled flowers, it was still not enough. In Wu Liandeng's ledger, there are several major expenses per month.
The first item is to eat, about 100 yuan. This is not to say how good the food is, on the contrary, the food is very simple, never eat delicacies from the mountains and seas, at most eat fish. If there is a little meat on the table one day, you will lose your temper. He always said that he was eating well now, and many people still didn't have enough to eat.
Since *** never eats delicacies from the mountains and seas, where did the 100 yuan of food money go?All this money was spent on treats. ** has a lot of friends with democrats, and he often pays out of his own pocket to invite friends such as Huang Peiyan and Zhang Shizhao to dinner.
The second item is smoking and drinking tea, about 100 yuan. He has a great addiction to smoking, smokes two or three packs of Panda brand cigarettes a day, and has never used a lighter. Later, for the sake of the body, in 1970, Wu Liandeng specially invited a Chengdu master to develop a cigar that is not so harmful to the body, and added some traditional Chinese medicine to the cigar, ** liked it very much.
However, in 1975, **'s body really didn't allow him to smoke anymore, so he decided to quit smoking. However, quitting smoking should be gradual. At the beginning, I just picked up the cigar and put it under my nose to smell and didn't smoke, and then I simply put away the cigarettes, ashtrays, and matches, out of sight and out of mind, and the ***, who has been smoking for decades, quit smoking with amazing perseverance.
**I like to drink West Lake Longjing the most, and I have to drink more than a pound every month. One month, he drank three catties, which scared Wu Liandeng a lot. The cup of tea that I drank every night before going to bed** was never poured, and I refilled it with water the next morning.
The third item is daily living expenses. This expense includes rent, utilities, and furniture rental, which adds up to about 84 yuan per month. When it is cold in winter, you have to pay more than 30 yuan for heating, which adds up to about 120 yuan.
Some people will wonder, ** paying rent and utility bills is easy to understand, but why pay furniture rental fees?
This was because at that time everything was owned by the government, and all the tables, chairs, benches, clothes racks, wooden beds for sleeping, and electrical appliances had to be rented.
As the top leader of the party and the state, he set an example for others and took the lead in paying the rent, and other leaders in Zhongnanhai took *** as an example and also paid the rent.
The fourth is to provide for a family. There are also family members and two children, who have to be responsible for Li Min and Li Ne's school and living expenses. From 15 yuan per person per month to 30 yuan later. If you don't spend it this month, you will turn it in again, and if you spend too much, you will deduct it from the next month.
These items have been calculated to almost the salary of ***, but it is far from enough. Because *** will also subsidize non-party democrats every month.
Zhang Shizhao once lent him a sum of money to help him complete the revolutionary cause, which was the early days of the founding of the Communist Party, and it was a time when there was a shortage of money. Zhang Shizhao's kindness in the snow has always been remembered. Later, *** sent 2,000 yuan to Zhang Shizhao every year until Zhang Shizhao's death in 1973.
In addition, when relatives from my hometown come to Beijing, the expenses for food, housing, transportation and medical treatment are all reimbursed by myself. **I also regularly send some money to relatives in my hometown for emergency relief.
So what about where these expenditures come from?On this issue, the comrades who are responsible for managing the manuscript fee know best.
**He has published many books and paid a lot of manuscript fees. Until his death on September 9, 1976, the total manuscript fee was about 1.24 million yuan. However, almost all of this manuscript fee is used to fund the publication of other people, official affairs and editors.
Whenever the family money is insufficient, Wu Liandeng has to find *** approval slips first, and then go to Wang Dongxing, director of the General Office of the Communist Party of China, for instructions.
But so much manuscript fee, ** I almost never spend it.
At that time, ** was already a million net worth, but he still lived a frugal and simple life.
And the concept of the prime minister is the same as ***.
In the sixties, the salary of ** was the same as *** was 404$8. It's not a small salary, but life is also very poor.
** and his wife Deng Yingchao have no children, but ***'s younger brother Zhou Enshou has 6 children, but his stomach ulcer is very serious, so he retired early to recuperate at home, and he is responsible for the life of 6 children on his own initiative.
**I will give my niece Zhou Bingde living expenses every month, at first it was 100 yuan, and then the price **, I gave more and more, and finally gave my niece 200 yuan every month.
Later, Zhou Bingde and his two younger brothers lived in ***'s house, and ** should also manage the living expenses of their three children. But *** never opened a small stove for them, and always let them go to the cafeteria to line up to eat. Even if you occasionally entertain the children to a good meal, you should teach them not to forget the hard life they used to have.
So where did the rest of the money go?Part of the expenditure is, of course, the same as ***, which is spent on rent, utilities, furniture, and rental. There is also a part of *** and his wife Deng Yingchao, who are used to support the orphans of martyrs and the staff who are living in difficulty around them. The remaining small part is the cost of food.
**Like ***, life is very frugal and simple, and I have never treated myself well in eating. **Never eat in a restaurant, the best daily food is to eat some fish and meat, and cereals are often eaten.
Whole grains are a rarity for us now, but white flour rice is not very rare, but in those days, white flour rice was a more expensive food.
**I'm very busy at work, and sometimes I don't even have time to eat. Deng Yingchao had no choice but to fill the teacup with cornmeal porridge and let *** eat the meal like drinking water. Sometimes, when you meet foreign guests, you don't have time to eat, and the teacup will also be filled with cornmeal porridge.
Never special. Once, ** went to the army to check the food of the soldiers, and he insisted on not going to eat in the city, but eating fried cabbage and pancakes with the soldiers. The fighters were touched by the approachability of ***.
**When he went out to inspect, he would communicate with the local staff in advance that meat dishes were not allowed, and even eggs could not be scrambled, and he only ate two vegetarian dishes and one soup at a meal. If there are too many vegetarian dishes, *** will also let them serve them and save them for the next meal.
It's not that no one suggested to Deng Yingchao to make ***'s food better, but Deng Yingchao only said that it was not that she didn't want to, but that *** couldn't eat it when he saw that the food on the table was better than usual, because he always thought that there were still many people who couldn't even eat enough.
In addition, ** is also very concerned about the cost of food each month. Once, the kitchen administrator reported a penny more than in the past, and the administrator didn't think it was wrong, but *** immediately pointed out that the salt was a penny more than before, and it was strictly ordered to find out why the price of salt would rise.
Later, after investigation, it was found that a store had privately raised the price of salt by a penny in order to reduce the loss caused by transportation. **Immediately prohibit the price increase, and ask the store to return the overcharged. He said that a penny is also money, which is related to the vital interests of the masses, and without the instructions of the people, the price of salt cannot be raised without authorization.
In addition, ** also vigorously supported and helped Soong Ching Ling to carry out welfare undertakings.
Song Qingling is a native of Shanghai and has lived a wealthy life since childhood. However, for the sake of the revolutionary cause and the construction of New China, this former rich daughter once had to borrow money to survive.
Soong Ching-ling was the wife of Sun Yat-sen, and the two married in Japan on October 25, 1915. Soong Ching-ling actively participated in and supported the democratic revolution led by Sun Yat-sen, and after Sun Yat-sen's death, he still did not change his original intention and struggled on the front line of the revolution.
In June 1938, Soong Ching Ling initiated the organization of the "Alliance for the Defense of China", which was dedicated to wartime medical work and childcare work.
She used donations from caring people abroad and money raised from China to support the border areas and anti-Japanese base areas behind enemy lines in the form of funds, medicines, and materials.
In 1941, the anti-Japanese base areas were extremely short of supplies, and in addition to the lack of domestic supplies, the Kuomintang also wantonly blocked foreign aid to the anti-Japanese base areas with military equipment, medicine and other materials.
In 1943, Soong Ching-ling appealed to everyone in the Baomeng Association to try his best to break through the blockade and win material assistance from foreign aid organizations for the anti-Japanese base areas.
In order to avoid the interference and military blockade of the Kuomintang, Soong Ching-ling would often ask foreign friends to help withdraw money and deliver supplies.
General Joseph Stilwell, who was then chief of staff of the Chinese theater, agreed to use American military aircraft to deliver relief supplies to Yan'an on behalf of the PRF. The reason why General Stilwell helped him was not only because he admired the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army very much, but also because he admired Soong Qingling very much.
On October 1, 1949, the People's Republic of China was founded. As vice president of the state, Soong Ching Ling undertook a large number of state affairs activities. At the same time, she is also very concerned about the causes of children and women, and has fought for many benefits for them.
Song Qingling took her due salary in accordance with the regulations, and in addition, the state also gave her a special subsidy of 300 yuan per month for activity funds, which would be higher than *** and *** because of her salary
It stands to reason that Song Qingling's monthly salary is higher than *** and ***, and she is as frugal and simple as *** and ***, and never spends a penny more on food, clothing, housing and transportation. But she also often can't make ends meet, why is that?
It is mentioned above that Soong Ching Ling has been committed to the culture, education, health and welfare of women and children, and part of her salary is used for welfare.
There is also a part of the salary that Song Qingling used to entertain foreign friends. At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, it was necessary to open up the diplomatic situation, and Soong Ching-ling had studied abroad and had many international friends, so Soong Ching-ling often visited foreign friends as a friend.
Bring some gifts when visiting friends. The gifts given by Song Qingling are all gifts with Chinese characteristics and are worth a lot of money. These gifts could have gone to the public account, but Song Qingling said that she had to pay for the gifts to her friends.
Once Song Qingling really had no money, so he wanted to sell some of the relics left by Sun Yat-sen for money. If it weren't for the fact that the guards knew how precious those things she was, and secretly applied for 10,000 yuan from the organization, I am afraid that those things would not be kept.
Therefore, although the wages of ** and *** are not as high as Song Qingling, their concepts of diligence and thrift are the same, so they are all awe-inspiring.
Vice Chairman Song and the leaders of these countries have rushed into battle for the revolutionary cause and done their best for the construction of New China, but they have never been extravagant and wasteful, and have done their best to help those in need, and have also taught their descendants not to be special, but to carry forward the spirit of hard struggle.
Now our lives are getting happier and happier, and we have achieved a moderately prosperous society, but we should inherit and carry forward the frugal and simple life style of Vice Chairman Song and their generation of national leaders.