On September 9, 1976, our great leader and mentor passed away, and the whole country was immersed in deep grief.
Among these grieving people, there is an 83-year-old man who is firmly guarding the spirit of ***, she is Song Qingling. Although Song Qingling was already old at this time and her physical condition was not as good as before, she still refused the suggestion to let her rest and insisted on coming out to wake the spirit.
So, what contributions did Soong Qingling make to our party? What is her relationship with our party? Why did she insist on keeping a wake for ***?
Song Qingling, born in 1893 in a wealthy merchant family in Shanghai, was born in the same year as ***. Her father, Song Jiashu, was a wealthy industrialist who owned many industries at home and abroad, and was also a staunch supporter of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, who generously supported Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary cause on many occasions when he faced difficulties.
And Song Jiashu's children are even more famous, his three daughters are Song Ailing, Song Qingling, Song Meiling, and the three sons are Song Ziwen, Song Zi'an, and Song Ziliang.
Soong Ching-ling received a good education since he was a child, and in 1907 he went to the United States to study. At that time, China was in the late Qing Dynasty, the people were generally poor, and the illiteracy rate was extremely high, but Soong Qingling not only had the opportunity to study, but also went to the United States to study, which shows the wealth of his family.
Song Qingling entered Wesleyan Women's College in the United States, and was rejected by her classmates at first, but she was cheerful and generous, diligent and studious, and soon changed the traditional impression of Chinese among her classmates and graduated with excellent grades.
During her studies, her younger sister Song Meiling also came to Wesleyan Women's College, and Song Qingling took good care of her, and Song Meiling later recalled that it was the time when the sisters had the deepest relationship and the period she missed the most.
During Soong Ching-ling's study, China experienced great changes, the Xinhai Revolution broke out, Sun Yat-sen became the provisional great-state of China, the decadent Qing Dynasty was overthrown, and China officially moved towards a republic.
After hearing the news, Soong Ching-ling was enthusiastic and wrote the article "The Greatest Event of the 20th Century", warmly praising the revolution and expressing deep admiration for Sun Yat-sen.
Her father had introduced Sun Yat-sen's deeds to her many times, and when she learned that Sun Yat-sen had served as the **great**, Song Qingling was even more excited. In 1913, Soong Ching-ling graduated from Wesleyan Women's College and went to Japan, where she met Sun Yat-sen and became his secretary.
However, Sun Yat-sen did not serve as ** in Japan, but before that, because Yuan Shikai usurped the fruits of the victory of the Xinhai Revolution, he became *** Sun Yat-sen originally had the intention of abdicating and making way for Xian, and peacefully handed over the position of **.
However, after Yuan Shikai came to power, he went against the grain, strengthened the centralization of power, and even assassinated the leader of the Kuomintang, Song Jiaoren, which made Sun Yat-sen angry. In the end, Sun Yat-sen united with some revolutionaries to launch an uprising, known as the "Second Revolution", but unfortunately failed, and Sun Yat-sen was also wanted and could only go into exile in Japan.
At this time, Soong Ching-ling's sister Soong Ai-ling was also in Japan, and she worked as a secretary for Sun Yat-sen. Soong Ching-ling met Sun Yat-sen through Soong Ai-ling and took over her secretarial duties.
However, Song Ailing just wanted Song Qingling to be Sun Yat-sen's secretary, and did not expect that there would be a spark of love between them.
Song Qingling's admiration and affection for Sun Yat-sen deepened in the process of getting along with him day and night, and Sun Yat-sen also had a deep affection for this smart and clever girl, and the relationship between the two gradually warmed up, and Sun Yat-sen even came up with the idea of marrying her.
However, this idea was opposed by most of the Song family, including Song Qingling's father, Song Jiashu. At that time, Song Qingling was only 23 years old, while Sun Yat-sen was 50 years old and had been married.
Song Jiashu was shocked by this and resolutely opposed his daughter's marriage to Sun Yat-sen. However, Soong Ching Ling did not change her mind, and she was determined to overcome the difficulties and spend her life with Sun Yat-sen.
After that, she stayed by Sun Yat-sen's side until the last moments of his revolutionary career. In 1922, Sun Yat-sen encountered a crisis in Guangzhou, and the then Guangdong warlord Chen Jiongming, although he had cooperated with Sun Yat-sen and provided him with many supplies, had disagreements on some issues, and finally launched a rebellion and bombarded the ** government.
Soong Ching Ling has always stood by Sun Yat-sen's side and supported him through this difficult period.
Dr. Sun Yat-sen made great efforts for the revolutionary cause and had no choice but to evacuate. He originally planned to take Soong Qingling with him, but considering that Sun Yat-sen's target was too big and easy to expose, she suggested that he evacuate first, and she provided cover for him.
So, Mr. Sun Yat-sen first hid and hid on the Yongfeng ship, which supported the revolution. After dealing with the rebels, Soong Ching-ling also came to the Yongfeng ship to meet Mr. Sun Yat-sen. They traveled to Shanghai together, during which time Dr. Sun Yat-sen learned the lessons of previous revolutionary failures and resolved to change his tactics and implement a new approach.
During this period, the Soviet Union had been established and its influence was growing day by day, becoming an example for many countries to follow. In Shanghai, Sun Yat-sen put forward the three major policies of "uniting Russia, uniting the Communist Party, and supporting peasants and workers," which was supported by Soong Ching-ling.
After that, Sun Yat-sen returned to Guangzhou and founded the Whampoa Military Academy. Song Qingling also attended the opening ceremony of the school. In October 1924, Feng Yuxiang, Duan Qirui, Zhang Zuolin and others invited Mr. Sun Yat-sen to go north to discuss the state of the country.
Unfortunately, Dr. Sun Yat-sen was unable to overcome his illness and died in Peking in March 1925, leaving behind his last words: "The revolution has not yet succeeded, comrades still have to work hard."
Soong Ching-ling was extremely saddened by this, and she was determined to persevere in Dr. Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary ideas to the end.
After the death of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, Chiang Kai-shek and other careerists began to covet the leadership of the Kuomintang, and the political situation of the Kuomintang gradually changed. In March 1926, on the eve of the Northern Expedition, Li Zhilong, acting director of the Guangzhou National ** Navy Bureau, received an order to sail the Zhongshan ship to Huangpu for dispatch.
However, after the Zhongshan ship arrived at Whampoa, Chiang Kai-shek claimed that he had not given this order, and instead accused Li Zhilong of provoking and causing trouble. Rumors swirled in the city of Canton about an attempted coup d'état and the kidnapping of Chiang Kai-shek.
As a result, Chiang Kai-shek seized the opportunity to declare martial law in Guangzhou and arrested Kuomintang leftists and members of our party on a large scale, which became known as the "Zhongshan Ship Incident." This incident made Soong Ching-ling's political position face a major test for the first time, she resolutely supported our party and the left wing of the Kuomintang, won the support of *** and *** and others, and advocated resolutely confronting Chiang Kai-shek.
However, the Comintern, led by the Soviet Union at that time, did not see the situation clearly and compromised and accepted Chiang Kai-shek's unreasonable demands. As a result, the influence of our party and the left wing of the Kuomintang within the Kuomintang in Guangzhou was greatly weakened, while the influence of the right wing of the Kuomintang such as Chiang Kai-shek was further strengthened.
On the occasion of the victory of the Northern Expedition, Chiang Kai-shek showed his brutal true colors and launched the "April 12 counter-revolutionary coup", waving a butcher's knife at our party and the leftists of the Kuomintang
Soong Ching-ling, together with a number of leftist members of the Kuomintang and Dong Biwu and other members of our party, jointly issued a telegram to severely condemn Chiang Kai-shek's brutal acts. At the same time, Soong Ching-ling pinned his hopes on the Wuhan Nationals led by Wang Jingwei, hoping that Wang Jingwei would stand up against Chiang Kai-shek.
However, Wang Jingwei turned his back on Sun Yat-sen's ideals at the critical moment, chose to compromise and retreat, and not only did not fight Chiang Kai-shek, but secretly reached a series of agreements with him, and finally wantonly squeezed out our party members and completely betrayed the revolution.
Soong Ching-ling severely condemned this and announced a complete break with the Kuomintang. Subsequently, Song Qingling supported our party's Nanchang uprising, and on the day of the uprising, she and 22 other people issued a manifesto in the name of the National Commissar, calling on all revolutionaries to unite and continue to struggle against Chiang Kai-shek and Wang Jingwei.
Although Soong Ching-ling was physically threatened by the Kuomintang authorities and had to leave China for a study tour of Europe, she continued to denounce Chiang Kai-shek's brutal rule during her visit.
In 1931, Soong Ching-ling returned to China, and soon after, Deng Yanda, a leftist of the Kuomintang, was killed.
As Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary companion, Soong Ching-ling had high prestige, assisted Sun Yat-sen in his work for a long time, and also had considerable influence in the Kuomintang. Soong Ching-ling's non-cooperative attitude caused many Kuomintang figures who were dissatisfied with Chiang Kai-shek to refuse to cooperate with Chiang Kai-shek, which made Chiang Kai-shek extremely angry, and he repeatedly advised Soong Ching-ling to "know that he has lost his way", but was severely refuted by Soong Ching-ling.
Soong Ching-ling has always been committed to fighting for a better society, cooperating with Cai Yuanpei, Lu Xun and other progressives to found the "China Civil Rights Protection League", and at the same time, he has not forgotten our party and has always given material and spiritual support.
She criticized the Kuomintang, especially Chiang Kai-shek, and at the same time used her influence to call for donations and materials, and even sold her property to raise funds and secretly gave them to our party. She campaigned to rescue progressives imprisoned by the Kuomintang authorities, and ** and *** spoke highly of her.
After the degeneration of the Kuomintang, Soong Ching-ling pinned his hopes on our party. During the Anti-Japanese War, for the sake of national interests, she temporarily resumed contact with the Song family and the Kuomintang.
However, during the War of Liberation, she firmly stated her position, condemning the despicable acts of the Kuomintang in provoking a civil war, saying that the Kuomintang was unpopular in launching a civil war and would eventually fail.
During the liberation of Shanghai, Soong Ching-ling used his influence to provide a lot of help to the People's Liberation Army in liberating Shanghai. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, she participated in a series of state affairs, always aiming for a better society.
It can be said that Soong Ching Ling's hopes have always been pinned on our party, and our party has also brought her real hope, allowing her to see that a beautiful society is gradually taking shape.
In the mutual trust between each other, the cooperation between Song Qingling and our party has deepened day by day, and she has always maintained a harmonious relationship with ***. Song Qingling firmly believes that *** has inherited the legacy of Mr. Sun Yat-sen, and also sees that Mr. Sun Yat-sen's ideals are gradually being realized, so she admires *** very much.
Therefore, after the death of ***, she was deeply saddened. Although she was older than *** and her physical condition was not good, many people advised her to rest at home, and she still insisted on coming out to wake for ***.
It's just that she was too weak to stand up after standing for a while, so she found a chair for her, and she sat and participated in the whole memorial service. Although Soong Ching-ling is not a member of our party, she is undoubtedly a "comrade" of the people, she has always adhered to her ideals, and she has led the people to realize her ideals.
This kind of mutual admiration and support between great characters is indeed a good story.