People sit, millions of silent mourning.
On September 18, 1976, the memorial meeting was held in Tiananmen Square, and more than one million delegates and Beijing citizens came from all over the world to participate in the memorial service.
The memorial service lasted for several hours, the scene was solemn, and everyone stood silently, including General ***, although he had a disabled leg and was in a wheelchair, he still stood with crutches with the help of the staff.
However, Ms. Soong Ching Ling was the only one sitting on the chair and became the only one in the audience.
On January 27, 1893 and December 26, 1893, Song Qingling and *** were born on the stage of Chinese history at the same time, and the age difference between them was only 11 months.
As the wife of Sun Yat-sen, Soong Ching-ling adhered to and practiced Mr. Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary policy of "uniting with Russia, uniting with the Communist Party, and supporting peasants and workers" all her life, so she had a positive attitude towards the Communist Party of China and regarded the Communists as her allies.
Similarly, the chairman also respects Soong Ching Ling very much, and has sent people or written letters to express condolences to her many times and is concerned about her safety. However, despite their mutual respect, they never met each other.
It was not until August 30, 1945, during the negotiations in Chongqing, that he visited Soong Ching Ling for the first time, which marked the formal establishment of the friendship and cooperation between the two.
During his stay in Chongqing, he met with many well-known people from all walks of life, chatted and laughed with them, and made witty remarks. However, in front of Soong Ching Ling, he always showed the highest level of respect and etiquette.
Song Qingling later recalled: "During the negotiations between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, when I met him for the first time in Chongqing, I felt that he was not only the leader of the country, but also the mentor of the people of the whole country. ”
Song Qingling's respect for *** is beyond words, and he speaks highly of him as "the mentor of the people of the whole country".
In 1949, when New China was about to be founded, Song Qingling was twice invited to go north to participate in the New Political Consultative Conference to jointly build New China. The first invitation was on January 19, 1949, ** and *** jointly sent a telegram to Soong Ching-ling in Shanghai, saying that the situation of the victory of the revolution had brought the reactionaries to the end of the world, that a new political consultative conference would be held in North China, that Mr. Zhongshan's will would soon be realized, and that he hoped that she would come to participate in this great cause and give guidance in the construction of a new China.
Regarding how to go north safely, I have told Meng Xing to discuss with Han Nian and Zhonghua. Always put safety first, and look forward to the response. However, at that time, the situation in Shanghai was tense, and Soong Ching-ling did not leave for safety reasons, and wrote back to express his gratitude to the chairman and all party comrades for their concern, believing that "it is better to be still than to be still", and she will meet everyone in Shanghai to welcome the liberation, and it is expected that Chiang Kai-shek will not be able to help her, so please do not worry.
On June 19, 1949, ** sent a letter to Soong Ching Ling, in which he wrote: "Mr. Ching Ling, four years have passed, and my sincere feelings of missing you are increasing day by day.
Now that the national revolution is about to achieve victory, and the plan for construction and development urgently needs to be discussed, I have sent Comrade Deng Yingchao to pay my respects and sincerely invite you to go north. We hope that you will come as soon as possible so that you can ask for advice nearby.
Please do not decline and look forward to hearing from you. Praise Da'an! **June 19, 1949. This time, Song Qingling no longer hesitated, accepted Deng Yingchao's invitation, and went north together.
When Song Qingling arrived in Beijing, he led all the leaders in Beijing to the station to greet him, and personally walked into the carriage to pick up Song Qingling, which was unique in his life.
At the moment of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Soong Ching Ling was honored to be appointed vice chairman of the people. She fondly recalled: "The birth of the people is a major milestone in the history of China and the world, and it is the supreme honor of my life to be a member of this great people." ”
For the next 20 years, Chairman ** and Soong Ching Ling have maintained a relationship of mutual respect. Whenever *** heard that Song Qingling was not in good health, he would send a medical team to visit; When Song Qingling learned that *** was malnourished, she would also send supplements over to supplement the nutrients needed by his body.
Hou Bo, the photographer of **, said: "The chairman has always maintained a special respect for Soong Ching Ling, and it can even be said that he has no respect for anyone else. ”
**'s wife Wang Guangmei also said: "Comrade Soong Ching Ling has always respected the chairman, and her living rooms in Beijing and Shanghai are full of Sun Yat-sen and the chairman's ** that she personally selected.
And the chairman's photos are all photos of his life, which seems very close. ”
On September 9, 1976, the news of **'s unfortunate death came, and Song Qingling was grief-stricken. Although she was seriously ill, she immediately rushed from Shanghai to Beijing to see off *** and personally hold a vigil.
At the memorial meeting on September 18, Song Qingling arrived early, but due to extreme weakness, she could not support herself standing for a long time. Eventually, she was left to sit in a chair.
However, despite this, Song Qingling was still the only person sitting in the audience. However, no one said anything about her because of this. Song Qingling's tenacity and deep affection for *** are deeply moving.