From a national army general to a prisoner and then to the builder of New China, Song Xilian's life was always full of magical turns.
Since he was pardoned, he and his family have gained a "new life" again.
Song Xilian under the "gun point"
Song Xilian became famous because of the Anti-Japanese War.
Shortly after he became the commander of the 71st Army, the Nationalist Government was extremely anxious about the fall of Xuzhou.
The Japanese army quickly moved its troops to the Yangtze River, attempting to destroy the central area of China's Anti-Japanese War by going deep into Wuhan.
In Chiang Kai-shek 's mind, the upcoming Battle of Wuhan was a matter of life and death. Therefore, he specially organized 90 divisions.
Song Xilian was ordered to rush to Fujin Mountain at this stage, which is an important gorge.
In the Battle of Fujin Mountain , Song Xilian fought fiercely with the Japanese army for 10 days. His fighting ability was also clearly demonstrated this time.
Because there was still a certain gap in equipment, Song Xilian suffered a total of 14,000 casualties in exchange for 14,000 Japanese casualties, and the opponent's three elite divisions were also hit hard.
In order to resist Japan, he and his first wife Leng Lanqin jointly mobilized their families to go to the battlefield together.
Among them, Song Shanglu, Song Jiehong, Song Leichu and Song Jieyi are Song Xilian's cousins, and Liu Qifeng is Song Xilian's brother-in-law.
Song Xilian’s eldest brother Song Renchu also served as the county magistrate of Wugang County in Hunan Province during the Anti-Japanese War. This county was also an "advanced county in the Anti-Japanese War" that year.
The three words "Song Xilian" were firmly remembered by Chiang Kai-shek. He awarded Song Xilian the Huazhou Honorary Award. Song Meiling also personally led a team to the front line to participate in condolences.
After this battle, Song Xilian's military reputation reached its peak.
However, in the War of Liberation, he stood on the opposite side of the people.
In November 1949, the People's Liberation Army marched into the southwest, and Song Xilian guarded the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.
At this time, the People's Liberation Army was already at the forefront of the military and was invincible.
When he escaped to the foot of the mountain on the north bank of the Dadu River , the PLA troops who were pursuing him were even more powerful.
Song Xilian originally took out a pistol and pointed the gun at himself, but guard platoon leader Yuan Dinghou snatched the pistol away, and Song Xilian was captured without a fight.
Next, Song Xilian faced 10 years of ideological education.
Originally, there was a saying in the military that because his surname was Song and he was a lieutenant general, he was named the "Send to the End General", and what he captured was only a regiment commander of the People's Liberation Army, which also made him think that and The shameful feeling that his position does not match his position has always been a lingering haze for Song Xilian.
However, during those 10 years, Song Xilian's transformation was quite good, and he soon realized the root cause of the KMT's failure.
Because of his rapid ideological transformation, he and more than 30 other war criminals were among the first to receive amnesty.
The person who had the greatest influence on him was none other than Premier Zhou.
In December 1959, Song Xilian took the amnesty notice and already had mixed feelings. He had been on the battlefield for many years, but in the end everything had to start all over again.
In the first ten days after leaving the War Criminals Management Center, Song Xilian has been adapting to the outside society and feeling the atmosphere of the new country.
Something happened that he didn't expect.
As soon as he got in the car one day, he was told: Premier Zhou is going to meet you.
His tears burst out instantly. In the past few days, he had met Premier Zhou twice. The first time was during the Huangpu period, when Premier Zhou was his teacher; the second time was during the Xi'an Incident , he and Chen Geng went to visit Premier Zhou.
Those scenes were always vivid in his mind. It was hard for him to believe that he was already the mentor of the Prime Minister of the Republic and had not forgotten him.
He felt ashamed. After the Anti-Japanese War ended, he went against the people.
On the day of the meeting, Premier Zhou said cordially: "Both Wen Bai and I were instructors at Huangpu Military Academy , and we are your teachers. If the students go astray, the teacher is somewhat responsible."
Song Xilian always felt guilty, But Premier Zhou added: "No matter how many detours you have taken, today you have finally returned to the people's camp and come together again. A new page of history has begun. This is to express my congratulations to you."
During this day's meeting, Premier Zhou also asked about Song Xilian's family.
Song Xilian replied: "Thank you for your teacher's concern. I am 52 years old, but I am still in good health. I can still try my best to do something for the people in the second half of my life. My wife died of illness in 1949, and my five children are all in Hong Kong." Or the United States, and there are other relatives such as my sister in China."
Premier Zhou listened carefully to Song Xilian's words and said to him: "Those overseas can contact you first, and those in China can arrange a meeting as soon as possible. If you have any requirements for your family and life. If you have any difficulties, you can go to Xu Bing, deputy director of the United Front Work Department of the Central Committee, who is responsible for making arrangements."
After that, Song Xilian took up his pen and began to serve as a member of the CPPCC Cultural and Historical Materials Committee.
Since then, he has held positions in the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, including a member of the 4th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference; a member of the Standing Committee of the 5th, 6th and 7th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
During this period, he and Yi Yinxian got married.
His first wife, Leng Lanqin, gave birth to 5 children for him. Chiang Kai-shek originally wanted to take away his wife and children, but Leng Lanqin was reluctant to leave and insisted on staying. In the end, Died in 1949.
Song Xilian’s later years and descendants
Song Xilian’s five children lived in Taiwan and Hong Kong for a period of time, and then went to the United States one after another.
During this process, Song Xilian was still busy in Beijing.
As the children gradually start families and start businesses in the United States, Song Xilian gets older and older, and he hopes to stay with his children even more.
In this way, in 1980, Song Xilian left for the United States to reunite with her long-lost children.
His children were all very filial, and Song Xilian lamented that "love for a wife is more important than family" and chose to settle down in the United States.
His wife Yi Yinxian also chose to travel to a foreign country with him.
During his days in the United States, Song Xilian was not idle. He was always dedicated to the reunification of the country.
In 1984, he, Li Mo'an, and others jointly established the Huangpu Alumni Association, and also issued a declaration hoping that all military school students and their families would promote the reunification of the motherland.
So far, he has never forgotten the education Gongdelin gave him, and he has understood many things on his own.
5 children have been living an ordinary life in the United States. They rarely appear in public and often get together because of their father. They are not big shots and they all have deep feelings for their father whom they have not seen for many years.
In 1993, Song Xilian finally died in New York due to severe renal failure at the age of 86. His ashes were buried in the "Celebrity Area" of the Tang Dynasty Permanent Cemetery in Changsha, and the tombstone was inscribed by the then Hunan Provincial Party Committee Secretary.
Song Xilian’s wife Yi Yinxian left with Song Xilian 6 years later.
At her memorial service, Mr. Qin Huasun, China’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, also came. There were nearly a hundred people present.
At this point, Yi Yinxian's life also ended. During the days when she and Song Xilian came to the United States together, she had been helping Song Xilian in overseas activities to promote China's peaceful reunification.
In accordance with Ms. Yi Yinxian's last wish, her ashes were eventually transported to Hunan and buried together with Song Xilian.
There are also some relatives of Song Xilian who stay in China, and they all lead ordinary lives.
Song Jingfan is a retired worker at the bridge factory. In 2015, he was 58 years old.
He told the reporter who came to interview: "My biggest hobby is watching TV series and related books on the Anti-Japanese War, many of which are related to the battlefield stories my grandfather told me in the past."
Song Jingfan's grandfather was Song Renchu, who participated in the Northern Expedition, and Song Renchu's younger brother was Song Xilian.
In his impression, his uncle lived in Beijing for many years, and then went to the United States to reunite with his children. .
In 1984, Song Jingfan got the news that his uncle came back from the United States for a visit. At that time, Song Jingfan was in his twenties and an ordinary worker. He asked for leave from his work unit and drove to Beijing overnight to see his uncle again.
Song Xilian chatted with him for a day. Song Xilian was also particularly concerned about this junior, asking him to read more books, read more newspapers, and write down all the stories he knew. When Song Jingfan went back, Song Xilian bought him a return ticket.
Later, Song Jingfan also started writing after his retirement. He wrote down many things about his family, which was worthy of his uncle's teachings.
And Song Xilian's nephew Cao Fuxiang has always stayed at Xingzipu. Facing visiting friends, Cao Fuxiang sighed: "My uncle is our glory, but he has also caused us trouble in history. "
Compared to Song Jingfan, Cao Fuxiang and Song Xilian had less intersection.
However, he still remembered: "Uncle Song Xilian is the youngest among their brothers, and his mother is the youngest among the sisters. They are often taken care of by other brothers and sisters. "
Cao Fuxiang was born in 1952 and had no impression of his uncle. It was not until Song Xilian returned to Shuangfeng in 1984 that the two met. As for his uncle's past experiences, he had only heard from others.
That year , Aunt Leng Lanqin summoned many relatives to participate in the anti-Japanese war, and Cao Fuxiang's father was one of them.
His father participated in the Wuhan Battle and the Yunnan-Burma Battle.
However, Cao Fuxiang's biological mother, Song Xiuyan, died because of Song Xilian and others when she was a child. Playful, he accidentally squeezed her into the brazier, and his hand was seriously injured, leaving him disabled.
From that time on, Song Xilian's character gradually became quieter.
Song Xilian did not stay in Cao Fuxiang's growth trajectory. , Cao Fuxiang's life path was taken step by step, and he also chose to stay in his hometown.
Song Xilian's name came up again because of the exposure of his posthumous letter.
In his letter, he reviewed his life experience and also expressed his feelings about it. He expressed various opinions on the development of the motherland. In his later years, he always struggled for peaceful reunification.
In his exchanges with friends, he also wrote: During the seven years since I have been in the United States, I have always met some so-called scholars. They have only a limited understanding of the actual situation in the motherland, and they make partial generalizations and slander them wantonly.
These words can also fully explain Song Xilian's position.
Today, some of his relatives are in China, and some are still abroad. They had different lives and were briefly reunited because of Song Xilian.
Song Xilian's positive spirit still encouraged them to move forward, and the mistakes Song Xilian made in history also need to be faced up to by them
. One of the KMT officials who was pardoned, the subsequent situation of Song Xilian and his family was very smooth, without too many twists and turns, and they lived a harmonious and beautiful life.
Reference
Several important moments in Song Xilian's life Liu Xu; Literature and History World
. The Anti-Japanese War family history of Song Jingfan, a retired employee of the former bridge factory: The uncle and grandpa are Song Xilian Zhuzhou Evening News
