text | Night talk
editor | Wang Tu's past traces
After the death of 101-year-old Zhang Xueliang, 104-year-old Song Meiling brought a 6-word elegiac couplet to express a lifetime of affection!
In 2001, Zhang Zuolin, the once all-powerful son of the Northeast King, passed away at the age of 101. At Zhang Xueliang's funeral, came to a special guest, the 104-year-old Song Meiling.
The arrival of Soong Meiling surprised everyone in the audience. After Soong Meiling presented a 6-word elegiac couplet to Zhang Xueliang, many people present shed tears directly. So, why did Song Meiling come to commemorate Zhang Xueliang? What kind of six-character elegiac couplet did she send to Zhang Xueliang?
1. The eldest son and the third young lady are destined to have no fate.
The fates of Zhang Xueliang and Song Meiling are not only closely related to each other, but also have great similarities.
The two people are in the same boat. The story of Zhang Xueliang and Song Meiling starts from their childhood. It is said that Zhang Xueliang was the son of Zhang Zuolin, the king of Northeast China, and Soong Meiling was the third daughter of the Song family. From this perspective, Zhang Xueliang and Song Meiling are a well-matched couple. On the contrary Chiang Kai-shek was born in a run-down businessman family, and was completely incomparable to Soong Meiling in terms of status.
There are two Zhang Xueliang and Song Meiling. One has been a beautiful young master since childhood, and the other has been an eldest lady since childhood. They were both top elite families in the Republic of China at that time.
Zhang Xueliang was arranged by Zhang Zuolin to go out for training since he was a child. He began to lead his own troops when he was in his twenties. He was very popular at the time. Song Meiling was still a role model for most women at the time. Because she was sent to the United States by her parents since she was a child, And received higher education in the United States.
When she came back as an adult, she was considered an extremely rare outstanding female image at that time that combined various elements such as returnees, educated youth, and beauty.
Soon after Song Meiling returned to China, she attracted the active pursuit of many people at that time. However, among so many male suitors, not many satisfied her. On the one hand, as a woman who has returned from overseas, she has very high requirements for choosing a partner; on the other hand, as the third young lady of the Song family at that time, the Soong Meiling family also has very high requirements for her partner.
Although some men are good-looking and talented, their family and background do not meet the requirements of their family; or their family and background meet the requirements, but their appearance and character are average. Only after Zhang Xueliang came, Song Meiling's eyes immediately brightened.
At that time, Zhang Xueliang could be said to be a promising young man. In his twenties, he had already become a prince with a heavy army. In terms of talent, he was definitely considered good. At the same time, Zhang Xueliang was also one of the four most handsome men in the Republic of China. In terms of appearance, he was considered one of the best among so many warlords and warlord sons.
And Zhang Xueliang is the eldest son of the Northeast King of . This identity is a perfect match for Song Meiling.
Not only that, Zhang Xueliang is also a man who is very popular with women. He is not only very handsome, but also very good at socializing with female friends. As a result, 's relationship with Soong Meiling has heated up. If nothing else happens, the two can eventually become husband and wife. However, Song Meiling and Zhang Xueliang are destined to have no connection.
Although the two were quite well matched in all aspects, Zhang Xueliang was already married at this time and had many lovers. Although Song Meiling admired Zhang Xueliang, it was impossible for her to be a concubine with Zhang Xueliang. Therefore, the relationship between the two stopped at being ordinary friends and did not eventually become husband and wife.
2. The relationship between Soong Meiling and Zhang Xueliang warmed up.
This gave Chiang Kai-shek a chance. After some fanatical pursuit, Chiang Kai-shek finally married the eldest lady Soong Meiling. However, the friendship between Song Meiling and Zhang Xueliang is still there, and the fate between the two has not been broken.
At that time, Chiang Kai-shek and Feng Yuxiang were engaged in the Central Plains War . During this process, Chiang Kai-shek and Feng Yuxiang were evenly matched and needed someone to help them break the balance. At this time, Zhang Xueliang held hundreds of thousands of troops and was watching outside the Pass. Chiang Kai-shek and Feng Yuxiang both went to win over Zhang Xueliang.
I don’t know whether it was because of Soong Meiling’s relationship or Chiang Kai-shek’s sincerity. In the end, Zhang Xueliang chose to support Chiang Kai-shek, making Chiang Kai-shek secure the presidential throne. And Chiang Kai-shek was also grateful to Zhang Xueliang, so the two became brothers with different surnames; Chiang Kai-shek felt that this was not enough, so he asked his wife Soong Meiling and Zhang Xueliang's wife Yu Fengzhi to become sworn sisters with different surnames.
Yu Fengzhi also came from a wealthy businessman family, and he and Soong Meiling had quite a lot in common, so Soong Meiling and Zhang Xueliang naturally had more contacts. The friendship between the two people was thus able to continue to be maintained, and even improved over time. The subsequent Xi'an Incident deepened the relationship between the two again.
During the Xi'an Incident, many Nationalist troops wanted to force Zhang to kill Chiang. At this time, it was Song Meiling who stood up and went on behalf of the Nationalist army to talk to Zhang Xueliang in person. The personal relationship between Song Meiling and Zhang Xueliang played a big role in this negotiation.
After learning that Soong Meiling had gone, Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng went to greet Soong Meiling in person.
After getting off the plane, others wanted to search Song's luggage as usual. Song Meiling said directly to Zhang Xueliang: "Han Qing, this is my thing, so don't check it anymore, right?" Zhang Xueliang was also very happy when he saw his old friend coming. Touched, he immediately said to Soong Meiling: "Madam, how dare you! How dare you!"
After that, he held several rounds of negotiations with Soong Meiling. It can be said that the reason why Chiang Kai-shek was released had a lot to do with Soong Meiling. In order to get Zhang Xueliang to release Chiang Kai-shek, Song Meiling probably gave Zhang Xueliang a big guarantee at that time. It was with Song Meiling's guarantee that Zhang Xueliang lost his vigilance against Chiang Kai-shek and personally went to send Chiang Kai-shek back to Nanjing.
However, Chiang Kai-shek broke his promise and detained Zhang directly on the road, and even once wanted to kill Zhang Xueliang directly.
At this time, Song Meiling felt that she was very sorry for Zhang Xueliang, so she argued hard in front of Chiang Kai-shek. asked Chiang Kai-shek to ensure Zhang's safety, and even went so far as to break up with Chiang Kai-shek directly. Chiang Kai-shek naturally knew Soong Meiling's power. The reason why he was able to secure the presidency of the Republic of China was largely due to Soong Meiling's help.
3. As fate would have it, the two of them spent the rest of their lives in the United States.
If he really fell out with his wife, this would be an unbearable loss for Chiang Kai-shek. So although he always wanted to arrest Zhang Xueliang, he didn't dare to actually kill him.
At this time, the relationship between Soong Meiling and Zhang Xueliang changed. Zhang Xueliang changed from a dominant military leader to a person under house arrest; Soong Meiling became Zhang Xueliang's protector. During Zhang Xueliang's extremely difficult house arrest career, was not only accompanied by his wife, but also often visited by Soong Meiling. Others had nothing to say about Mrs. Song's visit.
However, coincidentally, Soong Meiling's good days also ended with Chiang Kai-shek passing away before her.
After Chiang Kai-shek's death Chiang Ching-kuo took over the power of the Republic of China. Chiang Ching-kuo and Soong Meiling had considerable conflicts. Especially when Chiang Ching-kuo's mother was divorced, Chiang Ching-kuo did not dare to blame Chiang Kai-shek, but it was inevitable that this account would be recorded on Soong Meiling. Moreover, when Chiang Ching-kuo came to power, he often had conflicts with Song Dynasty because of some things.
Chiang Kai-shek was still alive at that time, and he always advised Chiang Ching-kuo to be patient. Chiang Ching-kuo did not dare to go against his father, so he could only tolerate in every possible way while Chiang Kai-shek was alive; At this time, Chiang Kai-shek finally died, and Chiang Ching-kuo finally secured his seat of power. Naturally, Soong Meiling did not dare to stay in Treasure Island, so she had to flee to the United States.
I originally thought that I would not stay in the United States for long. Song Meiling, who is quite old, actually has some rural ideas. She wants to return to her roots in her old age; even if she cannot be buried on the mainland, she can be buried on a small island. However, she did not find an opportunity to resolve the conflict between herself and Jiang Jingguo.
Finally went to the island in 1987 and laughed it off with Chiang Ching-kuo, but Chiang Ching-kuo also passed away not long after.
The power on the island fell into the hands of other military leaders. At this time, Song Meiling did not dare to go back. After all, she herself has no son, and her stepson Jiang Ching-kuo has passed away. Chiang Ching-kuo's other sons were insignificant and did not have much power on the island, so she could only stay in a foreign country.
Not long after Chiang Ching-kuo's death, Zhang Xueliang finally got rid of his house arrest career and gained some rights to move freely. Zhang Xueliang didn't want to stay on the island anymore, after all, he had been imprisoned here for a long time. In addition, his first wife Yu Fengzhi left him property in the United States, Zhang Xueliang simply took his wife Miss Zhao Si and ran to the United States together.
As former friends and common people in the world at this time, After Zhang Xueliang and Song Meiling arrived in the United States, they would naturally contact them if anything happened.
At this time, Song Meiling was also an old man, and she had no children of her own. In her later years, she felt very lonely and desolate.. Being able to have one or two friends with whom I can chat and chat is also a blessing in my later years. Thus the friendship between the two blossomed into passion again in their later years.
Zhang Xueliang was naturally sincerely grateful to this woman who protected him. It can be said that Song Meiling was the guarantee for him to survive the rest of his life. Without Soong Meiling's multiple protections for him, he would have been killed by Chiang Kai-shek long ago.
However, in 2001, Zhang Xueliang, who was already 101 years old, finally reached the end of his life. In this regard, Song Meiling felt painfully that she had lost a true friend and an important partner. They were all from the last century. As soon as Zhang Xueliang left, she became an "old antique". One can imagine this loneliness and desolation.
All these feelings for Zhang Xueliang were turned into six characters by Song Meiling and written into an elegiac couplet. The six-character elegiac couplet reads: General Han Qing will last through the ages!
Hanqing is Zhang Xueliang's character. The traditional title uses the character to express respect for a person. Song Meiling also called Zhang Xueliang Hanqing at this time, which shows that she has deep feelings for Zhang Xueliang. The word "eternal" further illustrates Zhang Xueliang's status in her heart.
When other people saw the elegiac couplet sent by the 104-year-old man, they were also moved by the story between the two and couldn't help but shed tears.
