On April 25, 1971, Song Ziwen died of suffocation at the age of 77 while dining in his San Francisco apartment. Although many people don't know much about Song Ziwen, his family was extremely influential during the ** period.
Song Ziwen's three sisters are known as the "Three Sisters of the Song Family" (Song Ailing, Song Qingling, Song Meiling), and their family is one of the "four families" of the ** period, and this family plays a pivotal role in China's modern political arena.
After learning the news of Soong's death, Nixon immediately ended his vacation and returned to the White House. He held a press conference to announce that he would personally hold a funeral for Song Ziwen and invited his three sisters to attend.
This move immediately attracted the attention of the United States, who speculated about why Nixon did this. It turned out that Nixon ** wanted to take this opportunity to win over Song Qingling in Chinese mainland.
Soong Ching-ling was then vice president of the People's Republic of China, and exchanges between China and the United States had already begun through "ping-pong diplomacy." Nixon hoped that through this funeral, he would initiate a response to China and promote the normalization of relations between the two countries.
At Soong's funeral, only his relatives and friends in the United States attended, while his three sisters were absent and lost their last chance to reunite. This puzzled Nixon, who could not understand why the three sisters of the Song family did not come to Song Ziwen's funeral.
Is it because the relationship between the three sisters is stiff, or is there a deeper reason behind it? First of all, we want to talk about Song Ziwen's second sister Song Qingling. Although Song Qingling and Song Ziwen have the best relationship, the only contradiction between them lies in the difference in ideals and beliefs.
Soong Ching Ling's belief that the country first and the Song family existed for China prompted her to marry Sun Yat-sen and work together for the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. However, his younger brother Song Ziwen had a very different idea, and he believed that China existed for the Song family.
This philosophical divergence has led them to become increasingly estranged from each other, each taking different paths. The sister and brother used to be close, and Song Qingling even strongly recommended Song Ziwen to Sun Yat-sen.
With his extraordinary talent, Song Ziwen worked beside Sun Yat-sen and showed outstanding ability. He received his Ph.D. in economics from Columbia University, where he worked in finance and economics.
Sun Yat-sen and Soong Ching-ling once faced the challenge of stabilizing the economy and advancing the Northern Expedition in Guangzhou. Under such circumstances, Sun Yat-sen chose Soong Ziwen and appointed him as the director of the Guangdong Provincial Department of Finance.
Song Ziwen was grateful to his sister and brother-in-law for their kindness, so after Sun Yat-sen's death, he was deeply saddened, and at the same time accompanied his sister and took care of Song Qingling.
The deep friendship between Song Qingling and Song Ziwen can be seen. However, as time passed, the contradictions between the two gradually surfaced. In 1927, Chiang Kai-shek established the Nanjing National** in Nanjing, which formed a confrontation with the Wuhan National**.
Soong Ching-ling and Soong Ziwen had been working in Wuhan National**, so they had a disagreement with Chiang Kai-shek. Although Chiang Kai-shek tried to win over Soong Ching-ling many times, she always stood her ground and did not waver.
Song Ziwen was also like his sister at first, standing beside Song Qingling.
In the face of Chiang Kai-shek's combination of soft and hard and the surveillance of spies, Song Ziwen chose to compromise and joined Chiang Kai-shek's camp, leaving Soong Qingling to fight alone. Although the two men were reunited in 1938 after the second KMT-CCP cooperation, their differences in political ideas became more and more apparent.
At the time of this national crisis, Soong Ching-ling founded the Alliance for the Defense of China to assist anti-Japanese organizations across the country. After careful consideration, Soong Qingling decided to make his younger brother the president of this organization.
Song Ziwen lived up to his sister's high expectations and provided a lot of material assistance to the Communist Party.
Song Ziwen once tried to absorb the Communist Party into the Kuomintang, and even predicted after the war that the Communist Party might become a faction of the Kuomintang. However, he was full of admiration for the heroic performance of the Communists and the Eighth Route Army, especially their spirit of not fearing death, which the Kuomintang lacked, which made Soong worry about the prospects of the Kuomintang.
At the same time, he also believes that the material assistance given by his sister Song Qingling to the Eighth Route Army may become a hidden danger. These fears intensified after Chiang Kai-shek launched the "Southern Anhui Incident", which eventually prompted Soong Ziwen to quit the organization and whitewash Chiang Kai-shek: "The New Fourth Army suffered this kind of thing not because they were communists, but because they did not obey the arrangements of the state." ”
Song Qingling was disappointed in her younger brother Song Ziwen's choice, but she did not blame too much, but only publicly expressed regret. The two kept in touch through letters, and Song Ziwen knew that his sister was not in good health and lacked supplies, so he sent many things from the United States.
However, with the end of the War of Resistance and the outbreak of the Civil War, they became disillusioned with the Kuomintang. Song Ziwen hoped to learn from the British and American systems and establish a first-class country, which was inconsistent with Soong Ching-ling's beliefs, so he chose to go to the United States.
Since then, Song Qingling has stayed in the mainland, and the two have lost contact. It was not until Song Ziwen's death in 1971 that they completely severed contact.
After Song Ziwen's death, Nixon considered the close relationship between the siblings and Soong Ching Ling, who was thousands of miles away, and immediately informed Soong Ching Ling of the bad news and hoped that she would come to the United States to attend the funeral.
However, due to the fact that Sino-US relations have not yet thawed, this letter reached Soong Qingling after many rounds. After Soong Qingling learned of this, at the invitation of Nixon, he began to plan a trip to the United States.
But at that time, it was not easy to travel to the United States, and the people of the two countries could not travel directly, so they had to pass through other countries before transiting. In addition, transportation is also a problem, there were very few airports in China in the 70s, and even fewer aircraft.
When national leaders visited abroad at that time, they needed to make a reservation for a plane in advance in order to travel smoothly.
Due to sudden changes and delays in delivering letters, after Song Qingling learned the news of her husband Song Ziwen's death, she found that there were no days left before the funeral. Because he could not spare a plane in China for a short time, Song Qingling had to give up the opportunity to go to the United States to attend the funeral.
This was a huge regret for Nixon, because Soong Ching-ling's visit to the United States would be a major event in the history of China and the United States. Also regretful is Song Qingling, who has not seen her relatives at home for many years, especially her beloved younger brother.
Originally, she wanted to take this opportunity to get together, but the conditions were backward, and this plan had to fall through. As for why Song Ailing and Song Meiling did not attend Song Ziwen's funeral, the reason may be that there is an estrangement between them and Song Ziwen.
As the eldest daughter of the Song family, Song Ailing's ability is outstanding, so she is heartbroken about this family. This allowed her to gradually take power to herself and came into conflict with her eldest son, Song Ziwen.
Song Meiling also mentioned in the book that her relationship with Song Ziwen was not harmonious. Therefore, they may not have attended Song Ziwen's funeral for these reasons.
Song Ailing is resolute and sometimes ignores the feelings of her younger siblings. When Song Ziwen was young, there was nothing wrong with this. However, when Song Ziwen entered adulthood, he gradually became dissatisfied with his sister's arbitrariness.
With the division of family interests and power, the contradictions between the two gradually deepened. Song Ziwen firmly believes that he is the eldest son and should inherit the family business. In this conflict, there is a key figure who exacerbates the deterioration of the relationship between siblings, and he is Soong Ailing's husband Kong Xiangxi.
As a descendant of Confucius, Kong Xiangxi grew up in a family with the style of a Confucian businessman. Since Song Ailing married into the Kong family, Song Ziwen has despised this brother-in-law.
Kong Xiangxi has attracted much attention because of his middle-of-the-road style and image of a good man in the Kuomintang, and he adheres to the concept of "moderation" and respects the interests of all parties, so he is called "Hahakong".
Although his behavior annoyed Song Ziwen, the two were able to maintain a semblance of peace at first. However, from 1933 onwards, the relationship between the two gradually became strained.
That year, dissatisfied with Chiang Kai-shek's economic policies, Soong Ziwen resigned and left the post of Minister of Finance. In order to dispel Soong Ziwen's dissatisfaction, Chiang Kai-shek transferred this position to Kong Xiangxi.
The stories of Song Ziwen and Kong Xiangxi are full of drama. Originally, Song Ziwen wanted to control the treasury by suppressing Chiang Kai-shek, but the result was unexpected for him. Chiang Kai-shek directly transferred the position to Kong Xiangxi, and Kong Xiangxi immediately drove out Song Ziwen's cronies and replaced them with his own.
Song Ziwen was furious, but he didn't expect that his strategy would make him lose his real power. It turns out that the Ministry of Finance has always been a fat poor, holding the economic lifeblood of the people.
Soong had wanted to threaten Chiang Kai-shek by taking control of the economy, but now that plan had fallen through.
Kong Xiangxi and Song Ailing are relatives, but Song Ailing is already married to the Kong family, so she tries her best to help Kong Xiangxi and persuade her younger brother not to go too far. As a result, the conflict between the siblings escalated.
Soon after, Kong Xiangxi was dismissed by Chiang Kai-shek for economic mismanagement, and Soong Ziwen returned to power. However, at that time it was already the period of the Liberation War, and the Kuomintang was already at a disadvantage.
In 1947, Kong Xiangxi had a premonition that the situation was not good, and fled to the United States like Song Ziwen. When an old friend came to visit, Kong Xiangxi sarcastically said to Song Ziwen: "Everyone says that I am a loser and a loser, but I served as Minister of Finance for many years during the Anti-Japanese War, and left Song Ziwen 900 million US dollars and 60 million taels**, and now they are all defeated by Song Ziwen!" ”
Kong Xiangxi and Song Ailing, who were honored in the past, are now forced to attend the funeral, and they can't help but think back to the events of that year, thinking of their husband's death, and their younger brother turning a blind eye, they can't help but feel angry!
But she was still a little hesitant, after all, brothers were like siblings, they hadn't seen each other for many years, and it didn't seem appropriate not to go to the funeral. When Song Ailing was in trouble, her daughter Kong Lingwei returned home.
Kong Lingwei has been living in Taiwan and came to the United States with Soong Meiling. But now Song Meiling has returned to Taiwan and asked Kong Lingwei to tell Song Ailing: "Resolutely not go to Song Ziwen's funeral." ”
Song Meiling and Song Ziwen: The conflict born because of Chiang Kai-shek Song Meiling and Song Ziwen are brother and sister, but because Song Ziwen, who studied abroad, has a lot less time to get along, the relationship between the two has become good and bad.
The root of the contradiction lies in their relationship with Chiang Kai-shek. During the National Revolution, Soong Ziwen and Chiang Kai-shek began to clash, which made the relationship between the two even more complicated.
As for why Soong Meiling did not attend Soong Ziwen's funeral, and did not let Soong Ailing attend, it may be due to their dissatisfaction with Chiang Kai-shek.
At the initiative of Soong Meiling, Soong Ziwen was invited to go north to Wuhan to preside over economic affairs. As he marched to Nanchang, he discovered a perplexing phenomenon: although the city had successfully driven out the warlords, there was not a single vendor on the streets.
In this regard, Song Ziwen was curious, so he asked the local **. However, this answer surprised him! It turned out that Chiang Kai-shek printed 40 million currency in Nanchang in order to raise military expenses, which led to serious inflation and made the lives of the local people in difficulty.
Soong Ziwen expressed extreme dissatisfaction with this and denounced Chiang Kai-shek for not understanding the economy. At the subsequent meeting, Song Ziwen publicly said: "The most important thing at present is not to go north, but to rectify the economy as soon as possible." ”
However, Chiang Kai-shek's ambition to quickly unify the country led to a heated argument with Soong Ziwen at the meeting, which ultimately led to no conclusion and had to be dissolved.
Although Soong Meiling sparked a heated debate at the meeting, this did not stop Chiang Kai-shek's determination to pursue her. He sent a rich gift to the Song family and said that he wanted to marry Song Meiling as his wife.
For this reason, the Song family held a special meeting to discuss Song Meiling's marriage. Soong Ziwen and Soong Ching-ling resolutely opposed Chiang Kai-shek, believing him to be ruthless and cunning. Old Mrs. Song Ni Guizhen also resolutely opposed.
Only Song Ailing and Song Meiling supported him. Soong Ailing had always been assertive at home, and her insistence led Soong Meiling to marry Chiang Kai-shek on December 1, 1927.
Soong Meiling's marriage to Chiang Kai-shek gave her the role of mediator between the two. Soong often ridiculed Chiang Kai-shek's martial temperament, while Chiang Kai-shek ridiculed Soong Tzu-wen as a sour scholar.
However, because of Song Meiling's existence, the relationship between the two has not broken down. Although the relationship between them did not improve, and even once, Chiang Kai-shek smashed a teacup at Song Ziwen, and if it was not for Song Meiling to stop it in time, the conflict between the two might have escalated.
Over time, Soong grew tired of her brother's discipline, while Soong became disillusioned with Chiang Kai-shek's political tactics and ended up going to the United States. In 1952, Chiang Kai-shek, who was defeated and retreated to Taiwan, in order to show his determination, actually expelled Song Ziwen from the party, and then investigated and punished the people around Song Ziwen for ** crime and house arrest.
The relationship between Soong Ziwen and Chiang Kai-shek was strained by Soong Meiling's actions, and the two broke off contact completely. Although Chiang Kai-shek had invited Soong Ziwen to Taiwan, Soong Ziwen refused all.
It wasn't until Song Ziwen's death in 1971 that the two families got in touch again. At that time, Chiang Kai-shek was already old and frail, and he looked very haggard. When Nixon came to power, his attitude towards Chiang Kai-shek was not enthusiastic.
Chiang Ching-kuo also visited the United States on behalf of Chiang Kai-shek, but the United States did not give him a warm reception, but the assassination of Chiang Ching-kuo occurred, which made Chiang Kai-shek feel very frightened. In addition, the mainland's "ping-pong diplomacy" led to a relaxation of Sino-US relations, making it difficult for Chiang Kai-shek to regain the trust of the United States.
However, at the end of April of the same year, Chiang Kai-shek suddenly received an invitation from the United States to invite Soong Meiling to attend Soong Ziwen's funeral, and Nixon would personally preside over it.
After hearing the news, Chiang Kai-shek and Nixon danced with excitement, believing that the United States would attach importance to Taiwan again and seek to win over again. Chiang Kai-shek immediately sent Soong Meiling to the United States on a private jet, knowing that this was not only her brother's funeral, but also an important diplomatic mission.
Therefore, she made careful preparations and took Song Ailing's daughter Kong Lingwei to the United States to reunite with her sister. However, just halfway through, things changed.
Song Meiling's plane temporarily stayed in the Hawaiian Islands, and before she had time to enjoy the local scenery, she was called back to Taiwan by a call. After receiving **, Song Meiling showed extraordinary wit, she asked Kong Lingwei to buy all the newspapers in Hawaii that day and personally understand the news dynamics.
Soong Meiling and Chiang Kai-shek were taken aback because they didn't know that the second sister, Soong Ching-ling, was also attending her brother's funeral. This was the first time they had the opportunity to meet their second sister after the defeat of the Kuomintang.
Soong Meiling was very excited, but Chiang Kai-shek warned her in ** that this was the Communist Party's ** plan, and there was a conspiracy behind it. Under pressure, Song Meiling had no choice but to pack up and take a special plane back to Taiwan overnight.
Nixon's intelligence agents discovered the anomaly and immediately reported it to Nixon. Nixon thought it would be very embarrassing if no one came to the funeral.
Song Ziwen and Song Meiling are thinking: Will Song Ailing and Song Meiling refuse to see Song Qingling? So Nixon specially conveyed the news to Song Meiling that Song Qingling could not attend the funeral due to inconvenient transportation.
After Song Meiling learned about it, she hoped to return to the United States to attend the funeral, but Chiang Kai-shek once again forbade her to participate. Song Meiling returned to Taiwan with regret, leaving only a sigh.
On May 1, 1971, Soong Ziwen's funeral was held in a church in New York, and most of the people present were news**, only a few friends and relatives attended, which was particularly deserted.
Afterwards, Nixon expressed regret over the incident, hoping to take the opportunity to improve relations with Chinese mainland, but failed to do so. He said puzzledly: "I really don't understand you Chinese!" ”
It turned out that after Kissinger's secret visit to China, Nixon also came to Beijing in person, and Sino-US relations were finally on the right track. However, Song Ziwen's funeral became a small episode during this period and became a topic of conversation in people's mouths.
Song Ziwen's death is undoubtedly a sad thing for the three sisters of the Song family. However, due to various reasons, they missed the last chance to reunite, which became their eternal regret.
It can be said that this incident was a tragedy that was forced to sacrifice because of politics.