In the spring of 1975, Chiang Kai-shek's condition deteriorated and his life was coming to an end. On his deathbed, he had a huge globe placed next to his bed. Whenever he could sit up, he always stared at the position of the continent on the globe, as if looking for something, which was his last concern.
On the evening of April 5, he died of abdominal discomfort, and at the last moment of his life he stayed in Taiwan, a small island thousands of miles away from his hometown. Although Chiang Kai-shek's funeral was spectacular, his body has not yet been buried, and the outside world has questioned this.
However, an old man who was in charge of the burial revealed the real situation.
In his later years, Chiang Kai-shek was fond of deep thought, and when he was walking or riding in a car, he would always shout "No, this is not okay." "At first, the guards who accompanied them were not used to it, and they were often taken aback.
However, as time went on, they gradually realized that this was Chiang Kai-shek's habit. Unlike his wife Song Meiling, who loved roses alone, Chiang Kai-shek's love for plum blossoms in his later years had reached the point of obsession.
Chiang Kai-shek once ordered people to replace all the red cherry blossoms in the official residence with plum blossoms, and planted a large number of plum blossoms in the Fuxing Township Jiaobanshan and Yangmingshan Hotels. Every year during the flowering season, he would take the time to go to Jiaoban Mountain to enjoy the plum blossoms, and told his wife Song Meiling: "The fragrance of plum blossoms can keep me sober." ”
In addition to appreciating plums, he is also keen to screen movies at his official residence, especially "Tanuki for the Prince" starring Li Lihua and Yan Yan. In addition, Chiang Kai-shek in his later years also had a frequent activity, that is, staring alone at the globe in the room.
He used a magnifying glass to observe the land on the globe that belonged to the mainland motherland countless times, and every river and mountain was memorized.
The place he has been thinking about has become a permanent regret in his life. After the Spring Festival in 1975, Chiang Kai-shek's physical health deteriorated significantly, and when his physical condition was good, he could barely sit up, and when he was bad, he could only lie on the bed, supported by the liquid in various tubes.
His eldest son looked at his physical condition, and his heart was full of helplessness and grief.
In the early morning of April 5, Chiang Ching-kuo went to visit his father as usual. Unexpectedly, his father, who had been sick in bed for a long time, was in good spirits, which surprised him. It was the Qingming Festival, and the main topics that their father and son talked about were the Qingming Festival and Mr. Zhang Boling's 100th birthday.
Before Chiang Ching-kuo left, Chiang Kai-shek stopped him and said earnestly: "You have to take care of yourself." Jiang Jingguo was stunned at first, since he became an adult, the most talked about between father and son is business, and it is the first time that he has been told by his father to take care of his body like today.
Jiang Jingguo's heart was full of unspeakable sadness, but he held back his tears, lowered his head and replied, "Okay, Daddy", and then quickly left his father's bedroom. After returning home, Chiang Ching-kuo always had an indescribable feeling in his heart.
In the evening, he was relieved and drove to his father's mansion again. However, the silence in the bedroom, the sound of his father's even breathing, made him feel that his worries were unnecessary.
At 8 o'clock in the evening, the ** in Chiang Ching's country rang out urgently. What he was worried about still happened, and the doctor's voice was eager and nervous: "Quick, Jiang Gong's pulse has suddenly slowed down, and his urinary system has also failed, I'm afraid Gongzi will have to rush over to see him for the last time as soon as possible." ”
Ten minutes later, when Chiang Ching-kuo's car arrived at his father's residence, doctors were making a final attempt to treat the heart, including artificial respiration, the use of drugs and direct stimulation of the heart with electrodes.
At 11:50 p.m., the attending doctor officially announced Chiang Kai-shek's death. In the dying moments of Chiang Kai-shek, the descendants of the Chiang family and Soong Meiling were by his side, and in addition, some high-ranking generals within the Kuomintang were also present.
After Chiang Kai-shek's death, a small signing ceremony was held at his official residence. Mrs. Jiang's signature was calm and decisive, and Yan Jiagan also signed the will. However, when it was Chiang Ching-kuo's turn to sign, he was so grieved that he could barely hold a pen.
Although he had a premonition of his father's death, the reality of this moment was still difficult for him to accept. He remembered his father's last words when he visited him in the morning, but now they had become a lifelong farewell.
After discussion between Chiang Ching-kuo and Soong Mei-ling, it was decided that Cihu Lake, 60 kilometers south of Taipei City, would be the temporary resting place of Chiang Kai-shek's coffin. It is a place discovered and built by Chiang Kai-shek in the 60s of the last century, called Ciyuan.
During his lifetime, Chiang Kai-shek often came here to rest, and now it has become his permanent resting place.
In the early morning of April 6, Chiang Kai-shek's body was transported from the official residence to the "Veterans General Hospital", and the next day it was opened to the public for viewing. The mourning hall is surrounded by 88 white candles, and a huge portrait of Chiang Kai-shek hangs in the center.
In front of the spirit, 5 crosses are woven from plain chrysanthemums, and the middle one is that of Mrs. Song Meiling, with the upper couplet written "Brother and Husband", and the lower couplet written "Meiling Jingbang".
Chiang Kai-shek's coffin was transferred to the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall three days after it was suspended at the Veterans General Hospital. Before the coffin was moved, according to custom, Chiang Ching-kuo, the eldest son of the eldest house, had to dress his father himself.
There are a total of 7 shirts and 7 pairs of trousers, including the outer robe and waistcoat. Although he had been adrift in Taiwan for many years, Chiang Kai-shek also embraced the ** religion under the influence of Soong Meiling.
Chiang Kai-shek's body was wrapped in silk cotton, and his black trousers, black shoes, and the daily necessities he used during his lifetime were placed in the coffin. His wife Song Meiling also specially put his four favorite books "Three People's Doctrine", "Bible", "Desert Sweet Spring", and "Tang Poems".
When everything was ready, Chiang Kai-shek's coffin was sent to the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall. As the eldest son, Chiang Ching-kuo constantly knelt down in front of Chiang Kai-shek's coffin during the process of moving the soul, and this scene was photographed and published in the newspaper.
Other officers in the Kuomintang followed suit, and even some ** in order to prove Chiang Kai-shek's status in the hearts of Taiwan's aborigines, specially published in the newspaper that Xie Dongmin knelt down to worship Chiang Kai-shek**, which was in stark contrast to the image of Taiwan, which claimed to be a democratic society at that time, and became a laughing stock in all walks of life.
Beginning on April 9, the Kuomintang members headed by Yan Jiagan began to hold a vigil for Chiang Kai-shek's body, and how to properly place and preserve his body became an issue of great concern to Chiang's family.
Chiang Kai-shek always hoped to return to his hometown on the mainland for burial after his death, and the idea of returning to his roots was deeply rooted in his heart. Despite receiving a new education and a religious faith, the traditional ideas in his bones are still strong.
This can be seen from the importance he attaches to the ancestral industry of his hometown Xikou. In addition, his relationship with his wife is also very stable.
On December 12, 1939, Chiang Kai-shek received bad news that Xikou was bombarded by Japanese enemy planes, and Mao was unfortunately killed. Although he was extremely saddened by the death of his original partner, he was more worried that Xikou's ancestral business was unattended.
This deep nostalgia for his homeland became even stronger in Chiang Kai-shek's later years. In order to express his nostalgia for his hometown, he named many place names in Taiwan after the names of his hometown to express his homesickness.
Therefore, he explained in detail to the descendants of the Jiang family before his death, and hoped to return to his hometown for burial after his death, and not to be buried in Taiwan. In addition, Chiang Kai-shek also had a special requirement, that is, not to be cremated after death, and to preserve the body intact.
Chiang Kai-shek's posthumous handling raises many questions because he did not make detailed arrangements during his lifetime. After Mr. Jiang's death, the disposal of the body became a challenge. The Jiang family's choice was to take short-term embalming measures, but due to the opposition of the family, the technicians could only carry out this temporary treatment, so that the preserved body would only last for a maximum of three to six months, after which it would decompose.
While looking for an alternative, the Jiang family urgently found a bronze coffin. However, this bronze coffin does not even have a lid, nor does it have two locks as legended by the outside world, one is in the mausoleum management office and the other is in the hands of the Jiang family.
Chiang Kai-shek died on April 16, 1975, at the age of 88. Amid mourning music, his coffin was escorted to the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall. The Taiwanese authorities mobilized thousands of students to kneel along the route and demanded that shops cease, factories shut down, buildings painted plain paint, and advertisements replaced.
After Chiang Kai-shek's death, his coffin was parked in the palace in Cihu and was not buried. In order to commemorate him, the Taiwan authorities decided two months later to prepare for the construction of the "Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall."
On April 5, 1980, five years after Chiang Kai-shek's death, the "Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall" was officially completed.
Chiang Ching-kuo loved his homeland all his life, and although he once pursued a policy of isolation from the mainland, his deep thoughts about his homeland could never be erased. It was not until 1987, when he was bedridden, that he relaxed his policy on the cross-strait issue and opened up channels for visiting relatives, so that some veterans who had been separated from their families on the mainland could return to their hometowns to find their relatives.
However, Chiang Ching-kuo's wish was not fully realized, and he died in 1988, unable to return to his mother, Mao. But with the continuous improvement of ***, his descendant Fang Zhiyi finally arrived in Beijing with his family in 1995, and was asked about the whereabouts of the remains of the two Chiangs, she said that the ties and exchanges between the two sides of the strait are gradually strengthening, and I believe that there will be more opportunities for Chiang Ching-kuo and Chiang Kai-shek to return to their hometowns in the future.
For the first time, Chiang's family openly expressed their desire to transport the remains of the two Chiangs back to the mainland for burial, but the Taiwan authorities did not approve it, resulting in the matter being shelved to this day. Jiang Xiaoyong, as a descendant of the Jiang family, fulfilled his last wish to return home instead of his grandfather and father.
Unfortunately, Jiang Xiaoyong died soon after, and when he was dying, he said affectionately: "The Jiang family is Chinese. "Now, the era of Chiang Kai-shek's rule in Taiwan has passed, and the descendants of the Chiang family are gradually declining.
The third generation of the Jiang family is mixed in the Taiwanese entertainment industry, and various lace news have occurred, perhaps this is a causal cycle.