In 1915, at the home of lawyer He Tianrui in Tokyo, Japan, 22-year-old Song Qingling married 49-year-old Sun Yat-sen . At the wedding, Soong Ching Ling's father Song Yaoru knelt in front of his son-in-law and kowtowed. What was going on?
Song Yaoru was a loyal follower of Sun Yat-sen's revolution
Song Qingling's father, Song Yaoru, also known as Song Jiashu, was born in Guluyuan Village, Wenchang County, Hainan. Due to his poor family background, when he was 9 years old, he followed his elder brother across the ocean to work as an apprentice in Java, Indonesia. When he was 12 years old, Song Yaoru adopted his uncle who was a businessman in Boston, USA, and worked as an apprentice in a silk tea shop.
His adoptive father had high hopes for him and specially hired an English teacher who was familiar with the history of the American Revolution. From the English teacher, Song Yaoru learned about Lincoln and others, and praised their democratic revolutionary ideas very much. He also looked forward to the day when revolutionaries would appear in his motherland.
Although the life of working outside was difficult, Song Yaoru also made many good friends who were studying in the United States, as well as the pastor of the local church. His horizons are becoming wider and wider, and he has a strong desire to go to a real school and receive modern civilized education. But his adoptive father did not support him, so he had to escape from the house with the help of his friends.
In 1880, 16-year-old Song Jiashu was baptized by Christ and became a Christian believer. Later, he was admitted to a church college to study. While learning theological knowledge, he further strengthened his democratic ideas. In 1885, the United States began to boycott the Chinese. A large number of Chinese workers were harmed at that time, which made Song Yaoru very angry. He felt strongly that only a strong country could gain a foothold abroad. After completing his studies, Song Yaoru resolutely chose to return to China to preach, trying to use the ideas of democratic revolution to awaken the revolutionary enthusiasm of the Chinese people.
After marrying Ni Guizhen in 1886. Because missionary work in China was not easy to do, he had no choice but to found the Huamei Press and began to print the Chinese version of the " Bible " for the church. Unexpectedly, the business became more and more successful. Later, he also worked as an agent for imported machinery, and soon accumulated rich financial resources.
In 1894, Song Yaoru met Sun Yat-sen. The two shared their revolutionary ideals and soon became good friends. Song Yaoru was impressed by Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary thoughts and became a loyal follower of Sun Yat-sen's revolution. When Sun Yat-sen was preparing to establish the "Reviving China Society" and the " China Alliance ", he spent a large amount of money to finance them, and secretly printed revolutionary publications and pamphlets in his own press. Song Yaoru used all the money he earned to support Sun Yat-sen's revolution and became an important force in the revolution. Song Yaoru often told his children about Sun Yat-sen's deeds, and everyone admired this revolutionary hero.
The road of love between two people who were not blessed by their parents
Soong Ching Ling's mother Ni Guizhen was the daughter of a famous family and a teacher. She also received advanced Western education since she was a child. Therefore, Soong Ching Ling grew up in a relatively open family. She also developed a brave and free character and had unwavering revolutionary ideals.
Song Yaoru and Ni Guizhen attached great importance to their children's education, so after Soong Ching Ling graduated from middle school, she was sent to study in the United States. While studying abroad, I was baptized by the new American ideological trends.
Because she had admired Sun Yat-sen since childhood, she had always paid attention to Sun Yat-sen's information. When she learned that the first Revolution of 1911 was successful, she was very happy. In her paper, she also expressed her affirmation of Sun Yat-sen's ability to overthrow the autocratic rule of the Qing government. Her heart longed to see this great man.
This opportunity came soon. In 1913, Sun Yat-sen failed in launching the second revolution of 1911 and was forced to flee to Japan. Song Yaoru quickly prepared a large sum of money to support Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary work in Japan, and sent his eldest daughter to him to serve as his temporary secretary. In August, Soong Ching Ling graduated, just as her parents were in Japan helping Sun Yat-sen raise funds. So Soong Ching Ling rushed to Japan to meet her parents, and finally met Sun Yat-sen, her childhood idol.
Seeing that Sun Yat-sen was short of manpower, Soong Ching Ling volunteered to stay and assisted his sister Soong Ailing in his work.From her sister's words, Soong Ching Ling learned more about Sun Yat-sen's deeds, and admired him even more in her heart.
Gradually, Soong Ching Ling became the main force, meeting Sun Yat-sen up to ten times a month, far more than her sister Soong Ailing, the official secretary. The relationship between Sun Yat-sen and Soong Ching Ling is getting better and better.
In 1914, her sister Song Ailing married Kong Xiangxi and began to take care of the family and had no time to take care of it. Soong Ching Ling naturally became Sun Yat-sen's English secretary. As the contacts increased, Soong Ching Ling was attracted by Sun Yat-sen's profound knowledge and enthusiasm for selfless work for the revolution, and she became more and more admirable for Sun Yat-sen. Song Qingling had high emotional intelligence and strong abilities, and Sun Yat-sen especially trusted her. At the same time, she was lively, beautiful, and full of energy. Spending time with her made Sun Yat-sen feel much younger.
The two had the same revolutionary pursuit and had many common topics. They often talked long hours late into the night. The two soon fell in love, and their relationship grew deeper and deeper. Sun Yat-sen once said to a friend, after I met Soong Ching Ling, I felt what love was for the first time in my life. As the relationship deepened, during a mountain climbing meeting, Sun Yat-sen proposed to Soong Ching Ling on the top of the mountain. He was eager to give her a status.
Song Qingling was very happy, thinking that she could pursue her idol forever, become his wife, and help him carry out the revolution together. She agreed and immediately returned to China to visit relatives, planning to confess their relationship to her parents.
But they did not expect that their love would be strongly opposed by their parents. Because the Song family is a devout Christian family, and Christianity stipulates that daughters cannot be married to people with families. Soong Ching Ling had a big fight with her parents and was placed under house arrest. Her parents did not allow her to return to Japan. At the same time, Song Yaoru also sent a letter to Sun Yat-sen saying: "My daughter will not be anyone's concubine. She will stay in Shanghai forever to accompany her mother."
Sun Yat-sen was in a dilemma. Although he had no relationship with his wife Lu Muzhen, Lu Muzhen was very kind and stayed with him for many years and gave birth to a son for him. However, the two have different ambitions, and it is torture to be together reluctantly. So he went to Lu Muzhen to express his thoughts. Lu Muzhen was indeed kind and understanding. She simply divorced Sun Yat-sen and left Sun Yat-sen.
On the other side, Soong Ching Ling, who was in love, climbed out of the window with the help of the maid and escaped from the house, and immediately returned to Japan. And he immediately signed a marriage vow with Sun Yat-sen, and held a simple wedding at the lawyer's home.
Song Yaoru, who arrived later, was a step too late and strode into Soong Ching Ling's wedding. Seeing that it was a foregone conclusion, he knelt in front of Sun Yat-sen, kowtowed a few times, solemnly entrusted his daughter to him, and then left quickly. After
, Song Yaoru severed the father-daughter relationship with Soong Ching Ling and also drew a clear line with Sun Yat-sen.
A best friend becomes a son-in-law, no one can accept it! At first, Song Yaoru was very angry and refused to talk to the two of them, but as time went by, Song Yaoru reluctantly accepted it, and then gave his daughter a set of priceless furniture and 100 sets of children's quilts as a dowry.
He did not give up supporting Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary cause and always provided him with financial help.
The short-term marriage has been rich in experience, but it has surpassed countless
in the world. The two people lived happily after marriage. Song Qingling was Sun Yat-sen's friend and his right-hand assistant in his career. He traveled around with him and supported his revolutionary cause wholeheartedly. Sun Yat-sen once expressed his happiness in a letter to a friend: "We are living a new life that I have never experienced before." Song Qingling also mentioned in a letter to a friend: "I have learned a lot from my husband." The two were in harmony, loved each other, shared joys and sorrows, and together they performed an eternal love chapter in the history of revolution.
When faced with political crises and tribulations, Sun Yat-sen and Soong Ching Ling discussed their views and opinions together, sometimes all night long. The manuscripts written by Sun Yat-sen were also carefully transcribed by Song Qingling. The two worked hand in hand with each other to overcome difficulties again and again.
However, Soong Ching Ling lost her fertility due to a political incident, resulting in the two still not having children after ten years of marriage. That happened in 1922. After the death of Yuan Shikai in 1916, when various warlords were fighting, Sun Yat-sen took the opportunity to return to China to carry out the law-protection movement , and established the presidential palace in Guanyin Mountain, Guangzhou. In 1922, Chen Jiongming, a crony he cultivated, rebelled and mobilized a large number of troops to bombard the presidential palace and drive away Sun Yat-sen. At this time, Soong Ching Ling, who was pregnant, took the overall situation into consideration and insisted on staying to cover Sun Yat-sen's secret evacuation. Helpless, Sun Yat-sen had no choice but to evacuate alone. Soong Ching Ling took out his pistol and was ready to sacrifice. Fortunately, Sun Yat-sen saved the day and successfully rejoined the army. Although Sun Yat-sen escaped safely, Soong Ching Ling suffered a miscarriage due to fright and could no longer be pregnant.
After that, Sun Yat-sen's body was overwhelmed by all the hard work, and he became increasingly ill. In 1925, he was bedridden and unable to get up. During this period, Soong Ching Ling stayed by Sun Yat-sen's side and took good care of him. When he was critically ill, Sun Yat-sen made two wills, one related to political career, and the other family will specifically mentioned that he would leave all his inheritance to Soong Ching Ling, and said that his children had grown up and could be independent and did not need his own inheritance. Sun Yat-sen passed away the next day.
Although their ten-year marriage was short-lived, they experienced the highs, lows, and various storms of the revolution together. Their experiences were richer than countless others in the world. After that, Soong Ching Ling inherited Sun Yat-sen's last wish, continued to devote himself to the revolution, and persisted in revitalizing the cause of China.
Because her marriage did not receive the blessing of her family at the beginning, her father never completely forgiven her until her death. After Soong Ching Ling passed away in 1981, she did not choose to be buried with the love of her life, Sun Yat-sen, but chose to be buried in her parents' tombs, guarding her parents at all times. Perhaps she wanted to gain their parents' forgiveness in this way!
@爱米儿 Say
There is a famous saying about the three Song sisters. It is said that the eldest sister Soong Ailing loved money, so she married Kong Xiangxi and became the richest family in the world; the younger sister Soong Meiling loved power, so she married Chiang Kai-shek and set the gems that the Empress Dowager Cixi wore on her head in her embroidered shoes; the second sister Soong Chingling was patriotic, so she married Sun Yat-sen and eventually became the mother of the country.
Although this statement is not accurate enough, at least we can see from it that the three sisters of the Song family all married well, and they were all married by well-known matchmakers, and they became upright first ladies. Why they can marry so well is because they are good enough in their own right.
came from a famous family, and the Song family was also one of the four famous families at that time. My father received enlightened Western ideological education since childhood. After returning to China, he started his own business and accumulated huge wealth. His friends were also influential people like Sun Yat-sen. Therefore, the three Song sisters were sent to study in the United States at a young age. With the Song family's wealth in the United States, they also lived a high-society life and received first-class education. As early as 1905, the 16-year-old Soong Ailing followed her uncle to attend a banquet hosted by President Roosevelt at the White House. Facing those famous big shots, Soong Ailing was not nervous and behaved gracefully. It can be seen that the three sisters were well nurtured in such an environment.
A woman with such a background naturally comes into contact with excellent people. After Soong Ailing graduated, because her father had always supported Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary work, Soong Ailing was sent to Japan and became Sun Yat-sen's secretary. It was during this period that he met Kong Xiangxi, who helped Sun Yat-sen raise funds because of his outstanding business and financial management skills in Japan.
After meeting Soong Meiling, Chiang Kai-shek launched a crazy pursuit of her. Finally, he abandoned his young and beautiful 21-year-old wife who had been married for only a few years and married 28-year-old Soong Meiling. Many people believed that this marriage was a combination of interests, and the second sister Soong Ching Ling also expressed firm opposition. Everyone thinks that Chiang Kai-shek chose Soong Meiling not because he loved her as a person, but because of her family background.Her father, Song Yaoru, had provided revolutionary funds for Sun Yat-sen for a long time; her eldest brother-in-law, Kong Xiangxi, was also one of the four major families at the time and was as wealthy as the country; and her second brother-in-law was Sun Yat-sen. Being related to Sun Yat-sen could increase Chiang Kai-shek's political capital.
But no matter what outsiders say, the two people said that they love each other as a person, and they spent their married years respectfully.
Sun Yat-sen and Chiang Kai-shek both divorced their ex-wives, while Ming Media married Soong Ching Ling and Soong Meiling. Kong Xiangxi met Song Ailing after she was widowed in middle age. The marriage between the two became more legitimate, with more blessings from the public and less rumors. Neither Soong Ching Ling nor Soong Meiling had children of their own, and their husbands both died before them, and they lived alone for many years in their later years. Only the eldest sister Song Ailing gave birth to 4 children. In her later years, she lived a happy life with her husband Kong Xiangxi in the United States.
The three Song sisters made three different choices in marriage and experienced three completely different lives.
