Soong Meiling, as one of the "Three Sisters of the Song Family" and Mrs. Chiang Kai-shek, has always been a figure of much attention. Although she pursued power and wealth all her life, some of her actions did have a certain negative impact on the country.
After Chiang Kai-shek's death, Soong Meiling chose to go to the United States to spend her old age. However, her two decisions on the issue of the tomb are confusing about her inner world.
In 1975, Chiang Kai-shek died of illness in Taipei, which was one of the most painful events in Soong Meiling's life. Since then, Taipei is no longer her place to stay, she has drifted between Taipei and New York, and perhaps she understands that an era is over.
The Confucian family and the "Lady faction" tried to continue to support Soong Meiling as chairman of the Kuomintang, but only 23 days after Chiang Kai-shek's death, the Kuomintang held an extraordinary meeting and decided to amend the party constitution to change the title of the top leader of the Kuomintang to "chairman", and the title of "party president" could only belong to Chiang Kai-shek alone.
The tranquility of the Shilin Mansion seems to be silently telling Song Meiling's loneliness. In September 1975, she chose to leave Taiwan and go to the United States for recuperation and seclusion, gradually fading out of the stage of history.
In 1973, Song Ailing died in the United States, and in 1981, Song Qingling died of illness in Beijing, and Song Meiling could not see her for the last time.
These sad emotions swelled in her heart from time to time, and it was the result of her own choices. When Chiang Ching-kuo announced her succession, Soong Meiling did not even return to Taiwan, which may also be because she did not want to see the family affairs that had caused more pain.
She has a tough and domineering personality, and these traits are mainly reflected in her life.
When I was a private bodyguard in the United States, one of the most troublesome things I encountered was teaching Song Meiling to drive. She doesn't know anything about traffic rules and won't yield to pedestrians, even thinking that this is her way and that someone else should make way for her.
She drove roughly, unable to see the traffic around her. Although she was majestic in public, she was unable to exert her influence in Taiwan Province.
Some people analyzed two reasons: one is that her authority depends on the title of "Mrs. Chiang Kai-shek", after Chiang's death, her influence was greatly reduced, except for a few old subordinates who had feelings for her, her influence almost disappeared, coupled with Chiang Ching-kuo's character and power, she could not be manipulated behind the scenes.
Public opinion in Taiwan Province is constantly developing, and after the era of Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang Ching-kuo, the rule of the Kuomintang can no longer be maintained. Even if Song Meiling has a huge influence, in such an environment, her influence cannot play a role.
In her later years, Soong Meiling focused on pleasure and did not care about politics and power, and she understood that after leaving Chiang Kai-shek, she could not push anything. In 1995, in order to facilitate medical treatment, she has been living in an elegant apartment in Manhattan, which was the property purchased by Kong Lingkan before his death.
This luxurious suite features 18 rooms, including 7 master bedrooms and multiple servants' bedrooms. In particular, Soong Meiling placed her portrait in her bedroom, and there are still jadeite and ivory on display in the room, which shows that the luxury of her life has not diminished.
Immersing herself in her own world may also be the theme of Song Meiling's life. Even in her old age, her purity can only be maintained by herself, and the smell of the family's dogs and the pungent smell of the duck she often roasts attract more and more cockroaches.
Unable to stand the situation, the neighbors called in for an inspection, and inspectors even found a cupboard full of gold bars in her home.
She's keeping her awake in her own way. ”
Song Meiling's later life dialogue research value is not high, because she often mistakes Kong Lingkan for someone else, which leads to deviations in dialogue. However, when she was conscious, she said, "When my sisters died, I don't understand why God left me alone." ”
In her heart, God's mission in the world is to guide her family members who do not believe in **, which also explains why she cares so much about her family. Therefore, in her later years, Song Meiling has always believed in ** religion and looked for the meaning of life.
Song Meiling, who was 105 years old, spent the last birthday of her life with purple brocade as decoration. Sadly, pneumonia broke her down shortly after her birthday, and she spent a long time in the hospital before finally passing away in October 2003.
Although her niece and niece-in-law have always been by her side, Song Meiling's death has attracted great attention from American journalists.
Song Meiling's death has left the world with too many mysteries, especially the cautious words she expressed in "living in her own world", which has become the key to studying her psychological dynamics.
According to the Oriental Morning Post, Soong Meiling's niece Kong Lingyi said on October 26, 2003, that Soong Meiling had plans to place her body in New York after her death.
Kong Lingyi stressed that Soong Meiling wanted to be buried with her family, but this "family" did not include Chiang Kai-shek.
In 1918, during the Anti-Japanese War, Soong Meiling's father occupied the Universal Cemetery by the Japanese cavalry battalion, and they destroyed many houses and trees. It was not until after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1972 that the civil affairs department recovered 30 acres of land and rebuilt the Universal Cemetery.
However, the actual situation of this matter and the authenticity of Kong Lingyi's statement can no longer be verified, and only people at that time may know the truth.
When Song Meiling is about to celebrate her 100th birthday, her physical condition is deteriorating day by day, causing various speculations from the outside world. But the only thing that is certain is that she made it clear that she would not be buried with Chiang Kai-shek in Taiwan Province after her death.
However, Soong Meiling was once a woman with a strong desire for power, and Chiang Kai-shek was the key figure for her to get everything, so why did she make it clear that she did not want to be buried with him?
In 1927, Jiang Song held a wedding in Shanghai, and many newspapers reported on the wedding at the time, but some newspapers were very harsh, directly attacking the essence of their marriage - the combination of warlords and wealth.
Looking back at the beginning of their marriage, there is indeed much to speculate. In 1926, Chiang Kai-shek began to pursue Soong Meiling, who was 40 years old at the time, with his original wife, two concubines, and two children.
At that time, Song Meiling had not yet come out of the cabinet, if they were true love in the first place, I am afraid it would be difficult to be convinced.
If there is no other reason, it is difficult to understand why Soong Meiling was reluctant to be buried with Chiang Kai-shek after her death, which seems counterintuitive. Chiang Kai-shek provided Soong Meiling with everything she wanted, and even after Chiang Kai-shek's death, the property consumed by Soong Meiling was due to Chiang Kai-shek's influence.
Otherwise, in the process of the defeat and decline of the Jiang dynasty, how could Song Meiling live such a luxurious life?
Since Song Meiling has passed away, we cannot get an answer from her personally, and can only speculate through her actions during her lifetime. According to Jiang Xiaoyong, the "legal spokesperson" of the third generation of the Jiang family, revealed: "Regarding the matter of moving the tomb, the Jiang family has its own unique way of dealing with it. ”
In addition, there is a theory that came out of the overseas Chinese community in New York, USA, claiming that Soong Meiling had already purchased a cemetery in New York, USA, and had already made arrangements, so she chose not to return to Chiang Kai-shek's side.
Song Meiling lived to be 106 years old, but she did not leave any biographies or memoirs, and even no complete audio-visual materials have survived. Although she had been persuaded to leave something, she politely declined.
In Taiwan, someone later produced "Century Soong Meiling" based on some clips to supplement some of her audio-visual materials. Despite this, Soong Meiling's cemetery in the United States looks very ordinary, almost unbelievable.
The building was not a traditional columbarium, but a special memorial. Song Meiling's ashes were solemnly placed on the top floor of the third floor, which is the final destination of her life, and her "last words", whether they can be confirmed or not, are worthy of our deep thought.
Her life was as luxurious as a song, but in her later years, she gradually faded out of people's sight. Song Meiling has spanned three centuries and completed her life's journey, but there are still many unsolved mysteries on her body, waiting for future generations to reveal.