In the textbook of modern Chinese history, 段祺瑞 is classified as a pro-Japanese warlord. But it was this pro-Japanese warlord who rejected the Japanese in his later years, resolutely not to be a traitor, and supported the 蒋介石 government to resist Japan. In the anti-Japanese tide, Duan Qirui completed his complicated life.
一
After Yuan Shikai's death, as the leader of the Beiyang warlord Anhui family, Duan Qirui was once a powerful figure on the Chinese political stage. The defense movement led by 孙中山 opposed the Beiyang warlord headed by Duan Qirui. However, the 1920's Zhi-Anhui War became a turning point in Duan Qirui's political career. Duan Qirui's Anhui army lost to the immediate army, but it fell apart within five days. Seeing that the situation is over, Duan Qirui had to electrify and go off to live in Tianjin.
After living in Tianjin, Duan Qirui set up a Buddhist hall at home, burning incense and reciting scriptures every day. He eats fast and recites Buddha, just to cover people's eyes and eyes, and to wait for the political situation to change. In 1924, the Second Zhifeng War broke out. 冯玉祥 and Zhang Zuolin jointly defeated Wu Peifu and invited Duan Qirui to come out and assume the provisional power of the Republic of China. But the current situation is not what it used to be. During the one-and-a-half-year period when he was in temporary power in Beijing, Duan Qirui had to accept the breath of 张作霖 and Feng Yuxiang. After the ruling government collapsed in April 1926, Duan Qirui, under the escort of the army sent by Zhang Xueliang, arrived from Beijing to the Japanese Concession in Tianjin and resumed his public life.
Duan Qirui apart from sitting quietly and reading scriptures every day, reading and meeting guests, and taking a nap after dinner, it is also to learn chess skills with chess friends. Duan Qirui likes to play Go and has good chess skills. When he gained power, he specially raised a group of chess players to accompany him to play chess, many of whom were masters in the chess world. These people must be there every day, waiting for Duan to play chess, and Duan treats them with courtesy. 吴清源, who later became a master of Go, was not old at the time, but his chess skills were outstanding and he was favored by Duan Qirui. He always asked him to play chess with him.
With the passage of time, Duan Qirui is getting older. Great changes have taken place in China's political situation. Chiang Kai-shek became the leader of the National Government, and the Japanese pressed on. After the "September 18th" Incident, Japan invaded and occupied the northeast of our country, and attacked Jehol again in early 1933. North China was in danger. At the same time, the Japanese authorities are looking for suitable candidates in Beijing and Tianjin to organize the North China puppet regime and implement the policy of "using China to control China." Duan Qirui became one of Japan's active targets because of his prestige and pro-Japanese in the past. The Japanese spy chief 土肥原贤二 visited Duan Qirui several times and asked him to come forward to organize the North China government to overthrow Chiang Kai-shek, and expressed Japan's willingness to fully support. At this time, Chen Jiongming saw Chiang Kai-shek's internal and external difficulties, and thought that the time had come, so he sent people north to contact Duan Qirui to jointly overthrow Chiang. Duan Qirui told Chen Jiongming’s envoy: “I’m old and unable to do anything. It’s better to ask Chen Jiongming to preside immediately. I should fully support him in all his plans.”
After the intelligence agency reported the news to Chiang Kai-shek, he appeared anxious. disturbed. Chiang Kai-shek knew well that although Duan Qirui had been out of the wild for many years, he still had certain power and influence in North China. In order to prevent trouble before it happened, Chiang Kai-shek hurried to "three-pronged": First, he sent Qian Xinzhi, chairman of the Bank of Communications, as a special envoy to Tianjin with his own signed letter to invite Duan Qirui to go south to discuss the country. Chiang Kai-shek promised Duan Qirui that when the domestic situation became somewhat stable in the future, he planned to reorganize the government and invite Duan Qirui to be the president. He will become vice president until Duan Qirui "a hundred years" later, he will be president again; Rui’s confidant 王揖唐, Duan Honggang and others fabricated rumors, saying that Doihara Xianer was ready to act on Duan Qirui like he was threatening Puyi to the northeast, inducing him to be a puppet in North China; the third was from Shanghai. The association, the Federation of Exchanges and other popular groups called Duan Qirui to "promptly issue a declaration, express his attitude, and don't fall into the scheming of Japanese people."
Duan Qirui saw that the eight characters hadn't been written yet, but the secret had been leaked, and Tianjin had become a place of right and wrong that could not be left for long. He felt that it would be better to go south and perfuse Chiang Kai-shek first, so although he was not happy, he was invited to Nanjing.
In public, Duan Qirui denied the political meaning of going south, claiming that "this trip does not matter. The second girl is studying in Shanghai, and I am thinking about it, so I went to have a look." "Yu has studied Buddhism for many years and will travel to Putuo. Yu Su suffers from leg disease, which is getting better from time to time, so he can travel long distances to move his muscles and bones." Of course, Yu can meet with him to talk.”
But Duan Qirui decided that it was not easy to go south. Wang Yitang, who was sent by the Japanese to pull Duan Qirui out of the mountain and later became a key member of the Wang Puppet government, repeatedly discouraged him from leaving Tianjin. According to Duan Qirui’s daughter, Duan Shixun, when Wang Yitang learned of Duan Nan’s decision, he yelled at him more than once: "We have always been in the north. What can we do to go to the south? Don’t go to the south, stay in the north. Good.”
The travel schedule is set, and Chiang Kai-shek sent Zhang Qun to Tianjin to meet him in a special car. Just before Duan Qirui went south, Wang Yitang didn't give up, and hurried to stop him. Duan Shixun sternly said to Wang Yitang: "Brother Wang, don't come up with ideas anymore." He called the messenger: "Send Master Wang back!" At the same time, he hurriedly helped his father get into the car and drove out of the mansion to the station.
二
On January 21, 1933, Duan Qirui, accompanied by his cronies Wu Guangxin, Wei Zonghan and nephew Duan Honggang, embarked on the train going south. On the train, his eyebrows were tightly frowned, and he thought about going to Nanjing at the invitation of Chiang Kai-shek this time. He did not know whether it was a disaster or a blessing, whether he would be treated with courtesy, and what he would do in the future.
On the day Duan Qirui arrived in Nanjing, Chiang Kai-shek ordered the military officer above Nanjing to cross the river to Pukou Station in military uniform, and he himself went to Xiaguan Pier to wait. As soon as the ferry landed, Chiang Kai-shek boarded the ship to greet him. When meeting, his disciple was very respectful, claiming that Duan was a "master" and called himself a "student".
Duan Qirui also gave Chiang Kai-shek face, and immediately issued a written opinion on the current situation to reporters, declaring: "When we are going through the national disaster together, the government has the entire policy and method for fighting against the aggression. Both the ruling and opposition parties should act in unison. Back-up support. Although Rui is declining, he should still follow the Chinese people.”
Duan Qirui (front row middle) with Wu Guangxin (rear row), Feng Yuxiang (front row second from left) and others
On January 24, Duan Qirui arrived in Shanghai by car, and a reporter from Shenbao asked him questions about the North China issue. Duan Qirui replied: "Japan's violent behavior has reached the point where it is beyond emotion and reason. China can only work hard to save itself. It is better to ask for others. The whole country actively prepares and works together to cope. Even though there are ten Japan, why are you afraid?" "The patriotic government and the opposition are unanimous, and the only way to save the country is to save one's ears." Duan Qirui originally planned to return to Tianjin soon, and then decided not to return to Tianjin temporarily to avoid rumors.
After Duan Qirui went south, the Japanese authorities still did not give up and still wanted to lure him out of the mountain to engage in "华北五省自治". Soon, the Japanese authorities established the so-called "Sino-Japanese Secret Church" in Tianjin, falsely claiming that Duan Qirui was the president. Some people even used his name to move around, organize plainclothes teams, disrupt public order, and help abuse.
Although Duan Qirui was in Shanghai, he quickly learned the news. He felt that if the rumors spread everywhere, the fake ones would become true. On May 20, Duan Qirui categorically called Wang Yetang and others, expressing his attitude: "Yuyang Yang has no problems with the world. The current situation in North China is serious, and he is afraid of acting outside the track under the guise of being an off-track actor rather than patriotic. Dao. I hope my brothers will pay close inspections, inform the local authorities, and stop them strictly.”
Wang Yitang has made up his mind to turn to Japan as a traitor, and spares no effort to serve the day and test Duan Qirui's intention to return to Tianjin. For this reason, he sent a cryptic telegram to Duan Qirui, which aroused suspicion from the outside world.
One day in 1935, Wang Yitang sent Duan Qirui a telegram that made the outsiders bewildered: "Yucai Poetry Collection, five books have been reserved, Yu Shi contacted and waited to be informed. Wang Geng." Duan Qi Rui knows it well. It turned out that Wang Yi was named Zhiyang in the early Tang Dynasty, and later changed his name to Wang Geng. "Yucai" originally referred to Duan Yucai, a philologist in Qing Dynasty, but here it is a metaphor for Duan Qirui. "Five Ministry" refers to the so-called "autonomy of five provinces in North China."
王揖唐
Duan Qirui saw that the Japanese authorities still wanted him out of the mountain. He considered that now after allIn Shanghai, the Japanese invaders could not help but if they were vague, they might be suspicious if Chiang Kai-shek knew about it. Therefore, Duan Qirui categorically rejected Wang Yitang’s invitation, and sent a telegram as follows: “Special telegram to Chen. Yugong said: Shareholders are definitely different, and do not contact other parties. If you have made an appointment, please give up.”
On the second day of Duan Qirui's resumption of the call, a Shanghai newspaper published a paragraph with a striking headline that puzzled outsiders: "There are five booked poems, and Duan Qirui will not sell; Jin Wang called, and the wording was flickering; Duan Fubao must give up everything and his attitude was resolute and admirable."
Suddenly speculation arose, and many reporters simply went to Duan Mansion to find out. Duan Qirui felt that this was a good time to show the people of his mind, so he simply asked the reporters of Shenbao to publish the communication messages. Duan Qirui's move was brilliant, and for a time public opinion praised Duan Qirui's "patriotic actions."
三
Duan Qirui first lived in the old Fukaisen Road World College arranged for him by the municipal government in Shanghai, and later moved to the residence of Chen Tiaoyuan, the former Governor of Anhui Province on Xiafei Road. Chiang Kai-shek allocated 20,000 yuan a month for living expenses. As for the appointment of Duan Qirui as president, he never mentioned it again. However, Duan Qirui just listened to this kind of empty cheque and did not expect it to be cashed, nor did he accept the false title given to him by Chiang Kai-shek.
During his stay in Shanghai, Chiang Kai-shek personally visited Duan Qirui. According to Duan Qirui’s daughter, Duan Shixun, "Duan Qirui’s daughter, Duan Shisun, did not know the doorkeeper. He did not open the door to greet the car and let Jiang’s car stop by the side of the road and sit in the office car. I was on the second floor. Seeing that there was a visitor, he went downstairs and asked the servant. After taking over the famous assassin, Jiang was surprised. He hurried in and helped his father out. Jiang first greeted the old man, and after sitting down, he warmed up to the old man’s daily life. , Physical status and medical conditions, etc., the inquiry was very detailed. The affectionate and kind words. I sat for more than an hour before resigning.”
During his stay in Shanghai, Duan Qirui had a relationship with Zhang Taiyan, a master of Chinese learning. However, due to the language barrier between the two parties, the Southern accent and the Northern tune are often incomprehensible, so I often regret that I cannot talk freely. Despite this, Zhang Taiyan still respected Duan Qirui and placed great hopes. On Duan Qirui’s 70th birthday, Zhang Taiyan specially wrote "Hefei Duan Gong’s 70th Birthday Preface". In addition to praising his merits, he also earnestly hoped that Duan Qirui would be loyal to the country and imitate Guo Ziyi in the Tang Dynasty and Li Hongzhang in the Qing Dynasty. It is the important task of preserving the land within the Great Wall. Unfortunately, Zhang Taiyan's hopes fell through. Not only did Duan Qirui fail to preserve North China, but because of his age and frailty, he could not even protect himself.
段祺瑞墓
Duan Qirui had been suffering from neuropathic arthritis when he was in Tianjin and had scarlet fever. When he arrived in Shanghai, he was 69 years old with white hair and beard. His physical strength is getting weaker day by day, but his living habits are still the same as in Tianjin. He gets up early every day to recite sutras, play chess, and sometimes invite guests to play mahjong. At the turn of the spring and summer of 1934, Duan Qirui suffered from severe ulcers and heavy bleeding. After being rescued by Hongen Hospital (now Huadong Hospital), although he was saved from death, he was very depressed.
In May of this year, the famous Japanese chess players Mizuno Kotani (6th dan at the time) and Wu Qingyuan (5th dan at the time, not yet Japanese nationality) visited Shanghai. Wu Qingyuan and Mi Mu Gu are two superstars in the Japanese chess world. They are invincible and have few rivals. At that time, no one in Shanghai could play against them.
Wu Qingyuan did not forget his old days, and visited Duan Qirui. One was a young man with great brilliance and the other was an old widow. The two met and were filled with emotion. They met again, but Wu Qingyuan ended in a small defeat. Duan Qirui knew in his heart: This game of "Communicative Chess" for the purpose of respecting the elders was probably a kind of comfort for his disastrous defeat in the past!
In the summer of 1934, at the invitation of Chiang Kai-shek, Duan Qirui went to Lushan to escape the summer heat, accompanied by Duan Honggang and Gu Shuiru. After seeing Chiang Kai-shek, Duan Qirui talked about Go and Wu Qingyuan. He said that this rare genius might become a Japanese citizen, which would be a big loss for China. He should try to recall Wu back to China and guide the Chinese chess skills, otherwise Japan Go is getting stronger and stronger, and China will fall behind.
Chiang Kai-shek said "very good" face to face, but in fact it was completely evasive. He didn't care about things like Go at the time, and the result was nothing. One year after Duan Qirui's death, someone wrote an article saying: "Old DuanWhen he died, he was still here, but some people advocated the game (Go). Now our country's Go masters have turned a blind eye to Duan Hefei (Qi Rui), and they feel a sense of lone star in the dawn. "
On November 1, 1936, Duan Qirui's gastric ulcer relapsed and bleeding continued. After rescue, he drove to the west at 8 pm the next day at the age of 71. On the occasion of his death, Duan Qirui He wrote his will and said: "It has been more than seventy years, ... everything has nothing to cherish. But I look at the four directions, and the country is tens of thousands of miles away, and the people are exhausted, and I feel sad. "Although the country is weak, there must be hope of revival. The way of revival is simple. Don’t lighten political disputes because of my own opinion, don’t talk empty talks without regard to practice, don’t waste money on matters that are not urgent, and don’t believe in radicalism and sway the country; diplomats should not forget to consolidate national defense, and educators should not. Forget the treasure and preserve the quintessence of the country, and those who govern the family should not abandon the inherent ethics and teachings, and seek scholars to avoid the enthusiasm of fashion. Don't do this, but take everything. The so-called self-reliant people are here, and those who turn weak into strong are also here. ”
On November 5th, the Nanjing National Government commended Duan Qirui for his contributions to the republic in the early years of the Republic of China. It praised Duan Qirui for his “holding of integrity and loyalty to the country” and announced that “the state should be buried immediately. ". "The life deeds are kept in the Xuanfu History Museum, which is used to show the country's sincerity. "
After Duan Qirui's death, Mrs. Duan moved to a garden house on Yuyuan Road near the intersection of Jiangsu Road. Chiang Kai-shek still sent someone to send 5,000 yuan a month for living expenses until the end of his life.
段When Qi Rui became seriously ill, Chiang Kai-shek allocated 200,000 yuan to purchase a cemetery in Huangshan, southern Anhui, where he planned to bury Duan's body. After Duan Qirui died, his family and friends all advocated burial in Huangshan. However, Duan Qirui's eldest son Duan Hongye resolutely opposed this. He claimed: "Chiang Jieshi is not a good man, and there will be no good results in the future. Don't touch him with the body of the old man. "Duan Hongye was in charge of transporting the coffin to Beiping for burial.
According to the old rules, the eldest son took the place of the father, and the funeral was based on the opinion of the eldest son, so the Duan family had to follow his advice. On December 9, Duan Qirui’s coffin was transported to Beiping. It was temporarily placed in the Western Mountain Reclining Buddha Temple.
Duan Hongye had searched for a feng shui treasure site for his father in Babaoshan and other places, but he could not find a suitable burial site. After the Japanese army occupied Beiping in July 1937, they requisitioned the Reclining Buddha Temple. The Duan family was urged to quickly move Duan Qirui’s coffin away. At that time, it was a time of turmoil. The Duan family was too busy to take care of the living and the dead, so they hurriedly lifted the coffin out and moved it to Duan Qirui, the western suburb of Beiping. To the south of the grave of the third disciple Duan Ziyou, he dug a pit by the side of the avenue and buried it. Some Duan Qirui friendly heard this during his lifetime and couldn’t help but sighed: “I didn’t expect the old man to live vigorously for a lifetime, and there would be no place to be buried after death. . "Such a sad ending must have been unexpected by Duan himself.
Duan Qirui has no real estate. He does not smoke, drink, prostitute, gamble, greedy, or occupy. Prime Minister". He loved Go all his life and supported a large number of Go players in China, including Wu Qingyuan, Wang Yunfeng and Gu Shuiru. He was called "the big backstage of Chinese Go". He called the Qing emperor to abdicate, crusade against Zhang Xun to restore and resist. 袁世凯 The three things of proclaiming the emperor have the reputation of "three republics."
In the early days of liberation, Zhang Shizhao reported Duan Qirui's history in writing to Mao Zedong. After Mao Zedong read it, after arriving in Beijing, Zhang Shizhao , Smiled: "If you have meritorious services, you have turned your enemies into friends. "
In the spring of 1953, Duan Qirui’s daughter, Duan Shisun, went to Beijing. Zhang Shizhao and Li Jishen, two Kuomintang veterans, said to her: "You think the government will buy your Duan property for three thousand yuan. Your real estate is also paid monthly at a discount to the price of food for rent. How has it been treated as an "enemy property"? "This shows that the people's government has also affirmed Duan Qirui's performance in maintaining national integrity in his later years.
26 years after Duan Qirui's death, in 1963, Duan Honggang and Zhang Shizhao found a place to bury Duan in Beijing Wan'an Cemetery. Qi Rui. What is good to write on the tombstone? Zhang Shizhao and others repeatedly thought about the following two ways of writing: one is "the tomb of the ruling section of the public"; the other is "the tomb of the ruling section of the Republic of China." In the end, everyone felt that it was not mentioned. rank as well, so he wrote the tombstone "section of Hefei public Chi-chuen tomb" .
source from the Chapter: magazine all walks of life in 2020 on six
author: Song Fengying
