That night, the Shilin official residence where Chiang Kai-shek lived was shrouded in and out in panic. The guards ran in and out in panic. Many senior Kuomintang officials rushed to see Chiang for the last time.

2025/04/2817:53:39 history 1590

On April 5, 1975, lightning and lightning were rising over Taipei City, and heavy rain was pouring.

That night, the Shilin official residence where Chiang Kai-shek lived was shrouded in and out in panic. The guards ran in and out in panic. Many senior Kuomintang officials rushed to see Chiang for the last time. At around 12 o'clock in the evening, the shrill crying of Soong Mei-ling was heard in the official residence.

In the storm, this person who had an important impact on China's modern history completed his life at the age of 88.

Jiang Family Dynasty is in turmoil and storm

In the 1970s, Taiwan fell into a dilemma of being surrounded by enemies internationally.

In October 1971, UN General Assembly passed a resolution with an overwhelming majority, restoring all legitimate rights of People's Republic of China in United Nations , and Taiwan was expelled from the United Nations and all its subordinate agencies.

In 1972, US President Nixon and Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka visited China one after another, and diplomatic relations between China and the United States and China and Japan were normalized. Since then, more than 20 countries have established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China and broke off diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

Taiwanese embassies abroad have closed one after another, and diplomats have returned to Taiwan in disgrace.

Faced with this troublesome situation, Chiang Kai-shek was helpless and had no choice. In order to calm people's hearts, he could only issue an announcement, forcibly encourage the people to "be respectful and self-reliant, be calm in the face of changes, be cautious in planning and be able to make decisions, and insist on independence and perseverance."

However, his efforts were ineffective.

"Ministry of Foreign Affairs" was ridiculed by Western media as the "Ministry of Break-off" and Chiang himself was also ridiculed by the troublemakers as "international orphans."

Faced with the situation of internal and external difficulties, Chiang Kai-shek, who was over 80 years old, finally could no longer support him.

In March 1972, he underwent surgery for prostate hypertrophy. According to Taiwanese media reports, Soong Mei-ling originally wanted to take Chiang Kai-shek to the United States for surgery, but Chiang was afraid that someone in the United States would carry out an assassination plan on him and was unwilling to go.

Therefore, he finally underwent surgery at the "Venezuelan General Hospital" in Taipei. After the operation, his physical function decreased and his health continued to deteriorate.

On August 6, 1972, the special car that Chiang Kai-shek was riding in a car accident at the fork in the road at Yangmingshan . He was admitted to the "Venginer General Hospital" for recuperation. He did not return to Shilin's official residence until December of the following year.

In the last three years of his life, he only made public appearances three times.

1973 On October 10, 1973, Chiang Kai-shek issued a statement according to the convention: "Even if our rights are covered with a veil of grief and our atmosphere is temporarily poisoned by the comforting countercurrent, we will never be discouraged, and we will not lose our direction and path."

Even at the end of his life, he still insisted on weaving the so-called "anti-communist restoration" myth and lying to deceive the Taiwanese military and civilians to "struggle".

Taiwanese people are probably tired of listening to these high-sounding cliches. Because anyone with a discerning eye can see that the rise of the mainland is already unstoppable, and the Jiang family dynasty has long lost any hope of counterattacking the mainland.

Chiang Kai-shek's move was just to show his health to the outside world and to continue the rule of the Chiang family.

In the summer of 1974, Chiang Kai-shek's health improved for a while. He could take a walk in the garden every day and discuss and chat with his family. But by the end of the year, he occasionally suffered from a cold and changed from a cold to pneumonia. Because he took a lot of antibiotics when he was treating chronic prostatitis and , it was difficult to cure this time, and he never suffered from illness since then.

Died from a foreign land and left only regrets

Time passed by March 1975, Chiang Kai-shek could no longer get up. He knew that he was old and the deadline was approaching, so he asked the then deputy secretary-general of the Central Committee of the Kuomintang Qin Xiaoyi to record the will with pen and paper.

When Jiang Jingguo signed his father's will, his hands were trembling and he could hardly even write. Later, Soong Mei-ling, Legislative President Ni Wenya, Judicial President Tian Jiongjin , Supervisory President Yu Junxian and others all signed the will. After dictating the will, Chiang Kai-shek rested for a long time, and then said, "After I died, my coffin was temporarily housed. The scenery there is beautiful, very much like our hometown in Fenghua."

After saying that, he closed his eyes and did not say a word.

The Jiang family was originally a prominent family in Xikou , but later his family fell into decline. After Chiang Kai-shek came to power, he was one person and the chickens and dogs rose to heaven. The Jiang family became the "first family" of the Republic of China.

Jiang was nostalgic for his hometown all his life. Before he fled Taiwan, he always returned to his hometown once or twice every Qingming Festival or birthday. Even if it was not a special festival, he often returned to Xikou to avoid political struggles.

1975 4 On the afternoon of the 5th of January, Chiang Kai-shek felt uncomfortable in his abdomen and his urine volume decreased. The medical team thought that his heart was not functioning well, so he asked him to take a small amount of diuretic.

At around 4 pm, Chiang Kai-shek took a nap. After 8 o'clock, his condition worsened sharply, and his pulse and heartbeat suddenly slowed down. The doctor immediately applied heart pressed and artificial respiration , and gave him a first aid injection. One minute later, Chiang Kai-shek's heartbeat and breathing returned to normal.

However, just one minute later, his heart stopped beating again, and the previous first aid method was ineffective again.

in Song Amid the crying of Meiling and Chiang Ching-kuo, Chiang Kai-shek passed away at the age of 89.

Two hours later, the Taiwanese authorities issued a death bulletin, announcing that it was the "national mourning" period from April 6 to May 6.

Professionals treated Chiang Kai-shek's body with anti-corrosion and held the small burial ceremony at the Funeral Medical Hall at 6 a.m. on April 9.

According to the custom of Fenghua, Zhejiang, Chiang Ching-kuo personally wore a mourning dress for his father, and his body wrapped in silk cotton, wearing a dark robe and jacket on the upper body, and seven pairs of pants on the lower body, which looked very bloated and breasted. The first one was wearing the "Caiyu" medal, and the "Guoguang" medal and the "Blue Sky and White Sun" medal.

Song Mei-ling personally placed Chiang Kai-shek's daily books " Bible ", "Tang Poetry", "Three Principles of the People", "Desert Sweet Spring" in the coffin, as well as the topper and cane he used in daily life. The Jiang clan members knelt in front of the spirit and cried and worshiped. At noon, the coffin was moved to the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall for the people to pay their respects.

Not long after, according to Chiang Kai-shek's will, the coffin was transported to "Cihu" in Daxi Town, Taoyuan County, and temporarily housed here.

has been changed several times Burial in Cihu

Cihu Mausoleum was originally named "Dongkou Hotel", about 60 kilometers away from Taipei City. It was built by the "Veterans Engineering Officer and Soldiers" under the "Executive Yuan Guidance Committee" of the Taiwan authorities. It was completed in June 1959.

Therefore, the scenery is somewhat similar to that of Fenghua Xikou. Chiang Kai-shek built several rows of bungalows here in the style of Xikou, and renamed the "Dongkou Hotel" to "Cihu Hotel".

Chiang Kai-shek's mother Wang Caiyu in the mainland's mausoleum is called "Ci'an". It named it Cihu, which also means mourning the dead mother.

Cihu Hotel covers an area of about 1,628 square meters, surrounded by various military facilities such as castles, air raid shelters, cement offices, etc., and even the toilet is surrounded by secret bunkers.

on the surface is called "Cihu Hotel", but it is actually a "Presidential Palace" and is a good place for Chiang Kai-shek to cultivate his mind and cultivate his nature in his spare time. He often stays here for a short rest, relieves his sorrows and boredom, looks at the scenery that looks very similar to his hometown, and comforts his homesickness.

Cihu, which is similar to Xikou, has become Chiang Kai-shek's spiritual belonging in his later years in a sense, and may heal the pain of living in a foreign land.

According to the customs in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas, if a person dies in a foreign land and has not yet been buried in his hometown, the "floating house" method will be temporarily reviewed. The so-called "floating house" refers to raising the four corners of the coffin by three inches. This is a temporary funeral method adopted under special circumstances. The purpose is to allow descendants to bury their ancestors without breaking the ground and digging the graves when they have the conditions in the future.

The Jiang family was still illusory at that time, so they temporarily placed Chiang Kai-shek's coffin in Cihu. "When the sun recovers the mainland, we will be content with the Zijin Mountain in Nanjing."

Many years after Chiang Kai-shek passed away, someone asked about Soong Mei-ling's failure to bury Chiang Kai-shek. After a long silence, she said eight words:

"The fallen leaves return to their roots, and the soul returns to their hometown.”

In fact, Chiang Kai-shek had already chosen a cemetery for himself in the mainland before he retreated to Taiwan.

At the beginning, he hoped that he would be buried next to his mother's hometown after his death, until he saw the north of Fenghua City.

This post has a good geographical location, beautiful scenery and excellent feng shui. Chiang Kai-shek changed his mind and chose Renhu on the edge of the bell gate as his longevity. A road was built nearby.

But after seeing the scenery near Zixia Cave of Zhongshan Mausoleum in Nanjing, he changed his decision again.

There is the main peak of Zijin Mountain on it, Zixia Lake below, Zhongshan Mausoleum on the left, and Mingxiao Mausoleum on the right, with lush trees and quiet environment, which is a rare treasure land.

The most important thing is Yes, the place is suitable for the same height, slightly higher than the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum (Cheng believes that he is better than Zhu Yuanzhang ), and lower than the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum (Cheng dares not compare with Mr. Sun Yat-sen). Chiang Kai-shek thinks it is more appropriate to be his future cemetery.

One can accompany Mr. Zhongshan after a hundred years, and secondly, he can be worshipped, showing his orthodox status in the Kuomintang, which is more meaningful than burying him next to his mother.

So he built a pavilion on this land, named " Zhengqi Pavilion ", which was spectacular. After the Zhengqi Pavilion was trimmed, the eaves and corners were flying, and it was solemn. Chiang Kai-shek wrote a plaque and couplet inscribed by himself.

At that time, he would never have thought that he would leave the mainland a few years later, never return, and finally die on an island thousands of miles away.

Power replacement In fact, with the mind and demeanor of the leaders of the Communist Party of China, Chiang Kai-shek's coffin could be moved back to the mainland and buried in Fenghua, Zhejiang or Zijinshan, Nanjing.
As early as 1949, during the process of the People's Liberation Army liberating Zhejiang, Chairman Mao Zedong specifically instructed: After occupying Fenghua, Chiang Kai-shek's residences, ancestral halls and other buildings should not be destroyed.
During the ten-year turmoil, the ancestral tomb of the Jiang family was subject to certain conditions. The degree of damage, but the government quickly repaired it
. Many veterans who followed Chiang Kai-shek to retreat to Taiwan back to their hometowns were very moved and admired the broad mind of the Communists from the bottom of their hearts.
In July 1982, Liao Chengzhi, Vice Chairman of the National People's Congress, wrote a letter to Chiang Ching-kuo, saying, "The old man (referring to Chiang Kai-shek) is still in Cihu. After the unification, he should move to his hometown to fulfill his filial piety. "
Liao Chengzhi also persuaded Chiang Ching-kuo to put the nation and the country's morality first, and advised Chiang Ching-kuo to implement the strategy of loyalty and filial piety, expand the filial piety into the great love of the nation, and practice the great cause of unification. After the sincere and sincere letter of the Sutra News Agency disclosed, it caused a huge response on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
my country's various Democratic party , people from all walks of life made speeches, supported the views in the letter, and made public speeches from Chiang Ching-kuo, hoping that he could respond to the CCP’s call for “peaceful reunification of the motherland”, follow the trend of the times, and promote the third cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. This not only conforms to the interests of the nation and the country, but also allows Chiang Kai-shek’s body to return to his hometown.
1986, Feng Hongzhi visited Xikou, Fenghua, which was related to the Jiang family ruins. A photo was taken in the place, and a handful of soil was brought back in front of the tomb of Chiang Ching-kuo's mother Mao Fumei, and put it in a brocade box.
This brocade box was sent to Chiang Ching-kuo's hands, and he shed tears of excitement.
Regrettably, just as Chiang Ching-kuo actively responded and sent a secret envoy to the mainland of the motherland for several times to communicate, he suddenly fell seriously ill and died of no treatment.
On January 13, 1988, Chiang Ching-kuo passed away, and his body followed Chiang Kai-shek and temporarily housed it in the "Touliao Hotel".
"Touliao Hotel" was later renamed " Daxi Mausoleum ", which is only two kilometers away from Cihu Lake. The scale of the Daxi Mausoleum is smaller than that of Chiang Kai-shek's "Mausoleum", about 1,165 square meters, to reflect Chiang Ching-kuo's filial piety to accompany his father.
He left his last words before his death, and failed to fulfill his filial piety under his mother Mao Fumei during his lifetime. He hoped that he would have the opportunity to be buried in front of his mother's grave after his death and accompany his mother for life.
After the mainland learned that Chiang Ching-kuo died, the leaders of the CPC Central Committee delivered a speech, expressing condolences and commented: "Mr. Chiang Ching-kuo, Chairman of the Kuomintang of China, insisted on one China, opposed Taiwan independence, advocated national reunification, expressed his intention to make explanations to history and made certain efforts to ease cross-strait relations."
If Chiang Kai-shek's death indicates that the peak period of the Chiang dynasty has passed. Then the death of Chiang Ching-kuo became a symbol of the complete decline of the Chiang family.
From then on, this famous family that has influenced modern Chinese history has basically withdrawn from the political stage.

Conclusion

After Chen Shui-bian came to power, the power of the Jiang family faded out of the historical stage, and the "Two Chiang Mausoleums" also uncovered the mystery of the past, gradually opened to the public, and became one of the important tourist attractions in Taoyuan County. Every year, a large number of tourists come here to visit the tombs or visit, generating annual revenue of hundreds of millions of NT$3.

is influenced by the idea of Confucian traditional culture, and Chiang Kai-shek and his son have a deep obsession with returning to their roots. But their wish to be buried in the mainland may not be fulfilled until the day when the cross-strait reunification is completed. And what really prevents their souls from returning to their hometowns now are those Taiwan independence elements who are trying to split their motherland.