In 2001, Zhang Xueliang, who was over 100 years old, unfortunately passed away due to illness, leaving behind hundreds of millions of inheritance. Before his death, he left a special last word and donated all the inheritance to Columbia University in the United States. Why is this?
Zhang Xueliang's hometown is in Northeast China. He lived in Taiwan Province all year round after being put under house arrest by Chiang Kai-shek . He did not regain his freedom until the last few years of his life. He lived in the United States for only a few years, but he left all his life's wealth to Columbia University. After the news came out, everyone found it a bit incredible.
Some people are asking, why did Zhang Xueliang leave all his property to the Americans? Some people also asked in confusion, why does Zhang Xueliang still have so much money even though he has been imprisoned for more than fifty years? How did he get all this money? Next we briefly explain it.
1. Zhang Xueliang was in trouble, and Yu Fengzhi was forced to go to the United States.
First of all, let’s talk about the source of the money. A large part of Zhang Xueliang’s inheritance was left by his ex-wife Yu Fengzhi. The money came innocently, and every time Every penny contains Yu Fengzhi's love for Zhang Xueliang. Yu Fengzhi was born into a wealthy businessman family, but her marriage was very unhappy.
Zhang Xueliang, who had received Western education since he was a child, resisted the marriage arranged by his father and even wanted to cancel the marriage. However, his arms could not twist his thighs. Zhang Xueliang struggled for a long time, but still could not violate the arrangement of Zhang Zuolin , so he could only marry. Yu Fengzhi came in.
When the two first got married, Zhang Xueliang was very cold towards Feng Zhi and was unwilling to get close to her. He always treated her as an outsider. Yu Fengzhi never thought about leaving and worked hard for the Zhang family. In order to make Zhang Xueliang change his mind, Yu Fengzhi did a lot of things.
What Yu Fengzhi did was recognized by Zhang Zuolin and moved Zhang Xueliang, and the relationship between the two gradually eased.
But Zhang Xueliang has always regarded Yu Fengzhi as a sister and does not really love her. Because of this, after Zhao Yidi appeared, Zhang Xueliang quickly "feeling different".
Zhao Yidi and Zhang Xueliang fell in love with each other vigorously, causing an uproar in the society, completely regardless of Yu Fengzhi's feelings.
Yu Fengzhi was very aggrieved. She didn't want to share her husband with others, but she couldn't tie Zhang Xueliang's heart and could only watch Zhang Xueliang and Zhao Yidi being in love with each other. The feeling was painful and bitter, but she could only bear it silently, and many times she didn't even have a place to complain.
In 1936, Zhang Xueliang, eager to fight against the Japanese army, joined forces with Yang Hucheng and others to besiege Chiang Kai-shek and force him to agree to resist Japan.
In order to save his life, Chiang Kai-shek reluctantly agreed to the request of Zhang Xueliang and others. To show his sincerity, Zhang Xueliang personally escorted Chiang Kai-shek to Nanjing.
Before leaving, many people advised Zhang Xueliang not to go with Chiang Kai-shek to avoid being killed by him. Zhang Xueliang insisted that only by following Chiang Kai-shek to Nanjing could he show his sincerity. Chiang Kai-shek, who had already agreed to join forces to resist Japan, would not openly deal with him even if he was dissatisfied.
Facts have proved that Zhang Xueliang overestimated Chiang Kai-shek's belly. After Chiang Kai-shek arrived in Nanjing and regained power, he directly had Zhang Xueliang arrested.
The Northeast Army under the name of Zhang Xueliang was not monolithic to begin with. After Zhang Xueliang was arrested, they were leaderless and no match for Chiang Kai-shek, so they had no way to rescue Zhang Xueliang.
At the beginning, Zhang Xueliang was only sentenced to 10 years fixed-term imprisonment. He originally thought that Chiang Kai-shek would release him when his anger subsided. The development of the matter once again exceeded Zhang Xueliang's expectations. Chiang Kai-shek had already hated him deeply and had never thought of releasing him.
In April 1975, Chiang Kai-shek died of illness. Before his death, he specially called his son Chiang Ching-kuo to his side and told him that must not let Zhang Xueliang out, otherwise, it would be like letting the tiger go back to the mountain.
After Chiang Ching-kuo took power, he continued to imprison Zhang Xueliang in accordance with Chiang Kai-shek's order.It was not until 1990 that Zhang Xueliang, who had been imprisoned for more than fifty years, gained true freedom because of the Jiang family's loss of power.
Fifty years is a very long time for anyone. When he was first put under house arrest, Zhang Xueliang was still a high-spirited military general. When he regained his freedom, Zhang Xueliang had become an old man with gray hair on his temples. Everything in the outside world is very strange to him.
Zhang Xueliang's ex-wife Yu Fengzhi has been looking forward to Zhang Xueliang's freedom. She has been waiting for decades, but she has not waited for the day when she can reunite with Zhang Xueliang.
A few years before Zhang Xueliang was under house arrest, Yu Fengzhi did not leave, but stayed with him to tide over the difficulties with him. At that time, she was even mentally prepared to die with Zhang Xueliang.
Zhang Xueliang was very moved by Yu Fengzhi's persistence, and the relationship between the two took a further step. Unfortunately, they separated in the end.
Yu Fengzhi later left Zhang Xueliang, not because she was afraid of being implicated by him, but because she suffered from a serious illness. Long-term depression made Yu Fengzhi's physical condition worse and worse, and she was finally diagnosed with breast cancer .
2. I worked hard to earn money and longed to help him regain his freedom, but in exchange for a divorce letter
In that era when medical conditions were not yet developed, cancer was a terminal disease that was difficult to treat. Even today, decades later, cancer is still a nightmare for mankind.
Yu Fengzhi was reluctant to separate from Zhang Xueliang, but her increasingly thin body could not tolerate her further delay, and Zhang Xueliang could not bear to see her being tortured by the disease.
In order for Yu Fengzhi to receive treatment in time, Zhang Xueliang begged Chiang Kai-shek in a humble manner, hoping that he would be merciful and allow Yu Fengzhi to go to the United States for treatment.
At that time, the Anti-Japanese War was not over yet. Zhang Xueliang's Northeast Army still had a great influence in the country. Chiang Kai-shek was not in a position to get things done, so he agreed to Zhang Xueliang's request.
In 1940, Yu Fengzhi traveled to the United States. Before leaving, she reluctantly said to Zhang Xueliang, When I recover, I will come back to accompany you right away.
Zhang Xueliang said to her, after arriving in the United States, I hope you can take good care of your health and then settle our three children in the United States. This is your greatest contribution.
After Yu Fengzhi left, Zhao Yidi came to Zhang Xueliang and replaced Yu Fengzhi to take care of Zhang Xueliang's daily life. Yu Fengzhi, who was far away in the United States, felt sad and relieved when he learned about this.
What makes her sad is that as a real wife, she has no way to stay with her husband and can only go to a foreign country for treatment. She feels sorry for her husband.
She was relieved that after she left, Zhang Xueliang was not alone. Zhao Yidi did not leave Zhang Xueliang when he was in danger. He should have truly loved him and would have taken care of him wholeheartedly and would not have intentionally hurt him.
Yu Fengzhi has a lot of assets in China, but her life abroad is not easy and has always been very difficult. Because her condition was so serious, spent a lot of money every time she went to the hospital for treatment, and her savings were rapidly decreasing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Yu Fengzhi knew that she must not sit back and rest in vain. She had to find a way to make money. Otherwise, it would be difficult to maintain a normal life, let alone continue to treat the disease.
The United States is a very developed capitalist country. The stock market is very prosperous, creating many billionaires and causing countless people to go bankrupt.
Yu Fengzhi is a very smart person. After being exposed to the U.S. stock market, she learned a lot of relevant knowledge. She studied techniques and took money to test them. After only a short time, she figured out the fundamentals of the U.S. stock market.
After mastering the secret, Yu Fengzhi quickly made a lot of money. As if she had discovered a new world, she used the money she earned to continuously expand the scale of investment. While buying low and selling high in the stock market, she started a business and made money through industry.
Of the money Yu Fengzhi earned, part was used for normal operations, and part was used for medical treatment and daily expenses. The other part was sent to Zhang Xueliang, who was still under house arrest.
After persisting in treatment for a period of time, Yu Fengzhi's body gradually recovered, and his wealth also increased a lot. Even if she does nothing, she can still have enough food and clothing. But Yu Fengzhi did not stop making money, but worked harder.
Someone once asked Yu Fengzhi, why do you have to work so hard? Are you not afraid that you will get sick again? Yu Fengzhi replied, I hope Han Qing can live a prosperous life after he is released.
Yu Fengzhi was particularly looking forward to Zhang Xueliang regaining his freedom. She knew that Chiang Kai-shek needed American military support. Already successful in the United States, she made friends with celebrities everywhere, trying to put pressure on Chiang Kai-shek through the Americans to force him to release Zhang Xueliang.
Chiang Kai-shek was very angry about this and used some means to force Zhang Xueliang to choose between Yu Fengzhi and Zhao Yidi.
Zhang Xueliang loved Zhao Yidi very much. He didn't want to live up to Zhao Yidi's affectionate companionship, so he cruelly abandoned Yu Fengzhi, who was far away in the United States but was still running for him. The moment
received the divorce letter, Yu Fengzhi cried bitterly. She did not want to believe that Zhang Xueliang would abandon her so cruelly, insisting that he was forced by Chiang Kai-shek.
Yu Fengzhi once said to the people around him, Han Qing is like a bird in a cage and may be killed by them at any time. Yu Fengzhi did not dare to risk Zhang Xueliang's life and could only choose to endure it.
In 1990, Yu Fengzhi unfortunately passed away due to illness. Before her death, she did two things. First, he bought a cemetery in the Rose Garden of Los Angeles, hoping that Zhang Xueliang could be buried with him. Second, leave all your inheritance to Zhang Xueliang to prevent him from worrying about lack of money.
The legacy left by Yu Fengzhi is the main source of Zhang Xueliang's wealth, but it is not all. He also received a large amount of legacy left by his father Zhang Zuolin.
3. Looking back on 918, Zhang Xueliang's feelings for his hometown are very complicated.
Zhang Zuolin was born in a rough place. When he was young, he struggled at the bottom of society for a long time and tasted the ups and downs of the world. Eager to get ahead, he tried every means to create opportunities, constantly improved his status and expanded his power, and finally became a famous warlord.
Zhang Zuolin knew that in order for the troops to maintain combat effectiveness for a long time, a large amount of money must be invested to strengthen the training of soldiers and constantly replace weapons and equipment. Therefore, Zhang Zuolin tried every means to make money, using his power and status to obtain countless wealth.
So, how rich is Zhang Zuolin? After the September 18th Incident, the Japanese army broke into Zhang Zuolin's home and confiscated 80,000 gold bars and countless antiques and cultural relics.
In addition, Zhang Zuolin also deposited a lot of money in various banks, ranging from several million to tens of millions. The Japanese army only took away part of it, but not completely.
After Chiang Kai-shek fled the mainland, he did not withhold Zhang Xueliang's property, and transferred some of Zhang Zuolin's remaining inheritance to Zhang Xueliang's name.
It is reported that while Zhang Xueliang was under house arrest, Chiang Kai-shek only restricted his personal freedom and did not reduce his living standards.
Chiang Kai-shek would regularly take out a sum of money to give Zhang Xueliang living expenses. Someone once briefly calculated that the amount of money Chiang Kai-shek spent on house arrest for Zhang Xueliang for one year was enough to arm a regiment.
In general, Zhang Xueliang, who has been under house arrest for many years, only lost his future and did not become a destitute household with nothing. After explaining the origin of Zhang Xueliang’s wealth, let’s talk about why he donated all his money to American universities.
When Zhang Xueliang donated his property, he had reached the last moment of his life. When he was in relatively good health, he once thought about going back to his hometown to pay homage to his long-dead father, but he was never able to do so due to various reasons.
Before donating the inheritance, Zhang Xueliang did not have many choices, mainly three.First, donate to the Northeast Museum. Second, leave a few children. Third, donate it to American universities for academic research.
Zhang Xueliang was once a marshal of the Northeast Army. When the Japanese army came, Zhang Xueliang, who should have led the troops to actively resist, chose not to resist and allowed the Japanese army to march in and occupy a large area of our country.
Countless people in Northeast China were bullied and killed by the Japanese army because of Zhang Xueliang's wrong choice. Zhang Xueliang was hated by many people for decades because of his non-resistance. Many people still hold grudges about what happened back then.
Zhang Xueliang knows that his original choice has harmed many people, and he has been unwilling to talk about what happened at the beginning. However, the outside world was very concerned about what happened back then. Most people wanted to know why Zhang Xueliang was unwilling to fight the Japanese army even though he had a lot of troops.
Zhang Xueliang accepted an interview in his later years and expressed his true thoughts rather sadly. At that time, he thought that the Japanese army just wanted to take advantage of the opportunity, but he did not expect that the Japanese would have such great ambitions.
On July 6, 1931, Zhang Xueliang sent a special telegram to the Northeast Political Commissar, clearly stating: If we go to war with Japan at this time, we will definitely lose. If we lose, Japan will demand that we cede territory and pay for it, and the Northeast will be in dire straits. It is urgent to avoid conflicts and deal with justice.
Zhang Xueliang wanted to "take the overall situation into consideration" and was unwilling to fight to the death with the Japanese army. However, those grumpy Northeastern Army generals could not stand this cowardice and wanted to fight to the death with the Japanese army.
In order to appease the emotions of these people, Zhang Xueliang issued another telegram on September 6: No matter how provocative the Japanese are, we must tolerate them in every possible way and cannot resist them or cause trouble. I hope to give a quick secret order Everyone, it’s important to pay attention.
After the September 18th Incident, Chiang Kai-shek repeatedly asked the people to accept the situation and wait for the judgment of international justice.
Both Chiang Kai-shek and Zhang Xueliang hoped that the League of Nations could come forward to uphold justice and help them let the Japanese troops leave at the minimum cost.
The aggressive war openly launched by the Japanese army has caused great harm to our people. The League of Nations believes that what the Japanese army has done seriously threatens international security and requires the Japanese army to withdraw its troops as soon as possible.
However, the Japanese army was unwilling to pay attention to the requirements of the League of Nations and insisted on launching war and continuously occupying our country's land. Zhang Xueliang knew that the League of Nations could not force the Japanese army to leave, but he still placed his hope in the League of Nations and was unwilling to break out a large-scale war with the Japanese army.
Zhang Xueliang's constant tolerance and compromise made the Japanese army become more and more arrogant. On December 9, 1936, people actively participated in social activities in order to fight against the Japanese army. Chiang Kai-shek ordered Zhang Xueliang to suppress it, and even emphasized to him that he could shoot directly if necessary.
After receiving the order, Zhang Xueliang tried his best to persuade the students who were participating in the activity and asked them to go home as soon as possible so as not to delay their studies. The students shouted in unison: The Northeast Army will fight back to its hometown and regain the lost territory in the Northeast.
At this time, Zhang Xueliang had completely seen the face of the Japanese, and he was also eager to fight back to the Northeast and drive away the Japanese army. In order to appease the public's emotions, Zhang Xueliang stated in public that he would respond to everyone with practical actions within a week.
This time, Zhang Xueliang did not breach the contract. In just three days, he launched the " Xi'an Incident" which is very famous in modern history.
Although Zhang Xueliang contributed to the Anti-Japanese National United Front through the Xi'an Incident, he had no way to make up for the mistakes he had made.
Therefore, Zhang Xueliang has very complicated feelings about his hometown. He is particularly eager to come back, but he is also afraid of coming back.
4. Zhang Xueliang donated his inheritance and was not buried with Yu Fengzhi after his death.
He was undecided and had discussed with Zhao Yidi whether to donate his antique cultural relics to the Northeast Museum.
Zhao Yidi believes that with Zhang Xueliang’s status, if he donates his inheritance to the Northeastern Museum, it will not only attract criticism, but may also cause unnecessary trouble.
The United States has always claimed that they are a very free country. In fact, the real United States is not as free as they advertise.
To give a well-known example, the famous scientist Mr. Qian Xuesen went to the United States for further studies in order to learn more useful knowledge. When he wanted to return to China, the United States brutally placed him under house arrest and continued to coerce and induce him.
Due to the malicious imprisonment in the United States, Mr. Qian Xuesen lost a lot of weight and even lost his voice for a time. Not only Qian Xuesen was the one who experienced this, but other patriotic scientists were also maliciously targeted by the United States when they wanted to come back.
Zhang Xueliang, who has long lost his power, has been coveted by others because of the huge wealth in his hands. If he wants to bring back a large amount of property, some people will most likely jump out and use despicable means to cause damage.
It was precisely because of these people's eagerness that Zhang Xueliang did not leave his property to his children. He didn't want his children to be harmed because of these inheritances, he just wanted them to live a safe and happy life.
Zhang Xueliang’s children have lived in the United States all year round and have already had their own careers. Even if they don’t get Zhang Xueliang’s inheritance, they can still live a good life.
Therefore, when Zhang Xueliang decided to donate his inheritance, they did not strongly object.
There are many well-known universities in the United States. When Zhang Xueliang donated his inheritance, why did he specifically choose Columbia University ? Is there any unknown secret behind this?
When Zhang Xueliang lived in the United States, he lived in Hawaii for a long time. During this period, Zhang Xueliang met a person named Tang Degang, who was the director of the Chinese Library at Columbia University and attached great importance to the organization and maintenance of historical materials.
Zhang Xueliang experienced ups and downs throughout his life and experienced many little-known things. He wanted to leave something for future generations and did not want the past history to disappear completely. Hence, the idea of oral history and asking someone to record it.
The person responsible for recording Zhang Xueliang is the Tang Gangde mentioned before. Because of this oral recording, the two developed a deeper friendship. Zhang Xueliang recognized Tang Gangde quite a lot and donated some of his manuscripts and documents to the library of Columbia University.
The senior leaders of Columbia University attached great importance to the things donated by Zhang Xueliang. They had a room specially prepared to store Zhang Xueliang's things, and they also gave this room the nickname "Yidi Study".
This is a very interesting name. Zhang Xueliang's name is " Yi'an ", and Zhao Yidi's name has the word "荻" in it. Zhang Xueliang easily saw the meaning of the name, and he was very satisfied with it. This may be one of the reasons why Zhang Xueliang was willing to donate his inheritance to Columbia University.
When Zhang Xueliang really proposed to donate all his inheritance to Columbia University, the school leaders made a special promise that they would set up a special museum for the cultural relics donated by Zhang Xueliang, and they would protect them carefully and not let these treasures be destroyed. .
Zhang Xueliang believed in the promise made by Columbia University, and finally fulfilled the agreement and left his legacy to Columbia University.
Yu Fengzhi had always been obsessed with Zhang Xueliang during his lifetime, and even until his death, he looked forward to meeting him again and hoped to be buried with him. But Zhang Xueliang did not choose Yu Fengzhi in the end. He decided to be buried together with Zhao Yidi.
Looking back on Zhang Xueliang's life, when his father Zhang Zuolin was still there, he didn't need to think about so many things and could be as rebellious as he wanted and do whatever he wanted.
After Zhang Zuolin passed away, Zhang Xueliang rushed to the shelves and took control of the Northeast Army in place of his father. Because he was too hasty, he couldn't command everyone and control the situation like his father, so he was always hesitant and didn't know what to do.
When the Japanese army came, Zhang Xueliang did not have the courage to fight with the Japanese army. He made many mistakes one after another and harmed countless people. The "Xi'an Incident" led by him can barely be regarded as a solution to the problem.
If he had not trusted Chiang Kai-shek, he would not have personally sent Chiang Kai-shek to Nanjing. Even if Chiang Kai-shek hated him very much, there was no way to arrest him.
In that case, he might not have been imprisoned for more than fifty years, and could still be galloping on the battlefield. He might die on the battlefield, or he might live out his old age in peace.
Things in the past have all happened and become established facts that cannot be changed. Too many assumptions do not make much sense. Zhang Xueliang's life has been completely settled. He survived a long fifty years of house arrest and has now passed away.
People's evaluations of Zhang Xueliang are mixed, and are full of controversy. What do you think of Zhang Xueliang? Do you think his merits outweigh his faults, or his faults outweigh his merits? Welcome to leave a message to express your views.
