After Yuan Shikai died, why didn't he want to be buried in Xiangcheng and return to his roots? Why did Yuan Shikai not want to be buried in Xiangcheng even after he died? It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s that I have trouble saying it!
Anyang Yuan Lin
On the north bank of Huanshui River in Beiguan District, Anyang City, Henan Province, there is a cemetery covering an area of nearly 130 acres. The layout is similar to the imperial tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is the well-known tomb of Yuan Shikai, also known as Yuan Shikai. Lin, Yuan Gonglin . Yuan Shikai was a famous figure in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China. He was from Xiangcheng, Henan Province, so some people called him " Yuan Xiangcheng ".
As Yuan Shikai of Xiangcheng, why did he not return to his hometown to be buried after his death, but "migrated" to Anyang hundreds of miles away? To elaborate, he had no choice but to run away from home because he was not a direct descendant, had a low status in the family, and suffered humiliation during his lifetime.
In Xiangcheng in the late Qing Dynasty, Lao Yuan's family was a large family, so Lao Yuan's father Yuan Baozhong also lived a happy life with three wives and four concubines. Yuan Shikai's biological mother was his father's concubine, Mrs. Liu. A child born from a concubine is destined to be ranked first among the dwarves. Therefore, from the moment he was born, he was adopted by his third uncle Yuan Baoqing . Therefore, his relationship with his brothers has always been lukewarm.
Yuan Shikai
Later, Yuan Shikai became a well-known upper-class celebrity in the world through his own struggle. However, once he returned to his hometown in Xiangcheng, he still could not shake off any dignity - his status as a commoner always reminded him that in the world In the old Yuan family, he could only live with his tail between his legs. The thing that stimulated him the most was returning to his hometown to bury his mother.
In 1901, his mother Liu, who lived with him, suddenly died of illness. Due to the chaotic situation at that time (allied troops were stationed in Beijing and Tianjin after the Gengzi Rebellion), Yuan Shikai, the governor of Shandong, once called for returning to his hometown to bury his mother. However, Cixi did not allow him to take leave, and only rewarded him "after the overall situation is decided."
In order to give Lao Yuan some spiritual comfort, Cixi decreed that Mrs. Liu would be granted the title of first-class wife, and she would build a square with a commendation. It was already the autumn of the second year that the coalition affairs were settled. In September, Cixi was given a 40-day leave and a reward of 3,000 taels of silver. Yuan Shikai returned to Xiangcheng in October.
Yuan Shikai
The coffin of Yuan Shikai's mother Liu had been transported back to Xiangcheng, Henan Province from Shandong and was temporarily suspended in Yuanzhai for burial. After Yuan Shikai came back, he wanted to bury the Liu family in the Yuan family's ancestral grave. However, he encountered opposition from others. This person was Yuan Shikai's second brother Yuan Shidun .
Although Yuan Shidun was the second son, as the Nagato, Liu was not allowed to be buried in the Yuanzhai North Cemetery. The reason was that the concubine's wife could not be buried side by side with the legitimate wife and could only be buried outside.
Although Yuan Shikai was a powerful feudal official, he was unable to resist such a rude brother. In this regard, he could not keep up with his contemporary Tan Yankai.
Tan Yankai
Tan Yankai, a native of Chaling, Hunan, dominated the political arena in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China for more than 20 years. He served as the chairman of the Hunan Consultative Bureau in the late Qing Dynasty, an important leader of the constitutional movement in the late Qing Dynasty, and one of the few "roly-poly" in the political arena in the early Republic of China.
However, like Yuan Shikai, he also had an embarrassing identity, that is, he was a concubine. Tan Yankai's father, Tan Zhonglin, , was also a nobleman in the late Qing Dynasty. He served as a governor, governor and other high-ranking official in the frontier, and had many wives and concubines.
In addition to his original wife, Mrs. Chen, Lao Tan also has four side wives including Mrs. Yan and Mrs. Li. Tan Yankai was born to Mrs. Li, Tan Zhonglin's concubine.
Tan Yankai’s calligraphy
In 1916, Tan Yankai’s biological mother, Mrs. Li Tai, died of illness in Shanghai. The next year, Tan Yankai Fuling was buried in Changsha. Tan House is located behind the Tan Clan Ancestral Hall, and the coffin must pass through the Clan Ancestral Hall for funerals.
However, according to clan rules, the concubine cannot be buried from the clan ancestral gate after her death. Therefore, the clan members advised Tan Yankai not to break the clan rules and carry it out from the side door of the clan temple. Some people even blocked the door for this reason.
When Tan Yankai saw this, he was furious. He lay down on the coffin lid in anger and ordered his husband to wake up. When the coffin was carried to the gate of the clan ancestral hall, he shouted: "I am dead, Tan Yankai, carry me to the funeral!" When the clan members saw this, they immediately looked at each other and fell silent, so they had to give way and let the bearers carry the coffin out of the clan ancestral door for the funeral.
Yuan Shikai's funeral
Yuan Shikai did not have Tan Yankai's heroic spirit of "lying down in the coffin to bury his mother". He could not get over Yuan Shidun, the Nagato, so he had to compromise and tearfully bury his mother in another place.
Although the funeral was very grand, Lao Yuan felt as uncomfortable as a layer of sludge in his heart. What's even more annoying is that his second brother Yuan Shidun not only did not attend the funeral, but also walked around wearing a red coat.
Yuan Shikai's Tomb
After this turmoil, the relationship between the two brothers was completely broken. Yuan Shikai angrily vowed never to return to his hometown of Xiangcheng. Even when he was forced to return to his hometown and live in seclusion, he still "fished" in Huanshang Village, Anyang, which shows how deeply he was injured.
Of course, after his death, he was even more reluctant to be buried in his hometown. Therefore, before his death, he left his last words: "I will return my home with my coffin, and I will be buried in my coffin."
(pictures from the Internet)
