Chapter 48 Section Four: The Death of Brave Chen

Chen Bulei's sudden suicide on November 13, 1948 was extremely shocking news when the Chiang regime was in turmoil.Chiang Kai-shek inscribed the horizontal plaque of "Contemporary Perfect Man" for the dead left and right hands, but why did the perfect man end up like this?Why did Chen Bulei's death cause shock? Chen Bulei's original name was Xun En, his style name was Yanji, and his nickname was Weilei. When he was studying in a high school in Zhejiang, his classmates saw his chubby face and called him "Bread Boy". Bray, so he simply called Chen Bulei.He was born in 1890 (the 16th year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty), and was a scholar at the age of 15 (1904).At the age of seventeen (1906), he was studying in Ningbo Fuzhong School, but he dropped out of school automatically because of a student riot.At the age of 22 (1911), he graduated from a high school in Zhejiang.After the founding of the Republic of China, he joined the Tongmenghui and engaged in education and journalism.Since meeting Chiang Kai-shek in Nanchang in the spring of 1927 and joining the Kuomintang, he has become an extremely prominent figure around Chiang.

Chen Bulei's prominence is not because he is a high-ranking official and an important position in the Party Central Committee, but because he is the head of Chiang Kai-shek's entourage and has won the trust of Chiang Kai-shek. The personal text guard has always been the chief secretary and chief of staff. With such a close-to-water status, his illustriousness is naturally beyond the general high-ranking officials and superficial important positions in the Party Central Committee.Jiang Junzhang said in "Mr. Bray's Demeanor" ("Sorrows for the Dead"): "The system of the attendant room belongs to the military committee in terms of the establishment system. But the real nature is rare in history. It is difficult to make a comparison. The Military Aircraft Department in the Qing Dynasty seems to be similar." Like the Minister of Military Aircraft, he handles all the confidential and difficult events of the highest authority. (Refer to Xu Yongping's "Biography of Mr. Chen Bulei"; Jiang Junzhang's "Mr. Chen Bulei's Work and Life after Victory Return to the Capital", "Biographical Literature" Volume 44, Issue 1) Chen Bulei, as the head of the "Military Aircraft Department", His prominence is naturally no small matter.

In addition to becoming the head of the "Military Aircraft Department", Chen Bulei has always been Chiang Kai-shek's literary courage.Jiang's works, from the early "Letter to Whampoa Classmates" and "Message to the Prime Minister", to the mid-term "Serving the Country and Missing Relatives", "Xi'an Banyue Ji", to the later proclamation speeches, are all masterpieces of Chen Bulei.This "two in one" relationship between monarch and minister is quite rare in the history of the Republic of China. On the second anniversary of Chen Bui's death, the seventh issue of the Kuomintang's internal publication "Reform" published "Mr. Sudden heart attack and died in Nanjing", this kind of rhetoric of "heart attack" is obviously deceitful.But there is a basis for this deception, and the basis is what was published in the Kuomintang's "Central Daily" on November 14, 1948:

Chen Bulei died of a heart attack yesterday The president and his wife went to mourn Ming Dynasty It was clearly a suicide, but he said "Unexpectedly, because of a weak heart, he couldn't afford to sue." Why did he lie like this?This turned out to be something.Before his death, Chen Bulei left a suicide note to his secretaries Jiang Junzhang and Jin Shengwu. Fearing that "reactionaries would fabricate rumors", he first fabricated rumors himself, causing suicide to cause illness and death.Jiang Junzhang talked about the confusion of how to announce the death news in "Sorrow for the Dead", and felt the pain of lying and self-deception, and he also strongly opposed the propaganda for anti-propaganda through Cheng Cangbo, Shao Lizi and others.In the end, the funeral committee decided to publish the truth. In this way, four days (18th) later, the "Central Daily" made a U-turn and admitted that Chen Bulei did not die of a heart attack:

Chen Tianhua's successor Chen Bulei served the country with his death The funeral will collect the suicide note and publish it Everyone knows that Chen Tianhua committed suicide by crossing the sea. However, although the Kuomintang finally admitted that Chen Bulei committed suicide, they gave different explanations for the reasons for the suicide. They only said that he was "grateful for committing suicide to serve the country". This kind of statement is too evasive up.In fact, the ins and outs of Chen Bulei's suicide are not simple. The ins and outs are not only hidden by the Kuomintang, but even Chen Bulei himself is hesitant to talk about it. Seeing his concern about his suicide, he did not hesitate to lie. To cover up the truth is more than half the thinking?

In Chen Bulei's suicide note, the most intriguing one is the letter he left to Chiang Kai-shek: Jiegong President Jun Jian: Bray has been following him for twenty years, and he has learned deeply that any pain should be borne, so as to teach him without regret.But since this spring, I have seen, heard, and been stimulated. After summer and autumn, my illnesses are increasing day by day, and my nerves are extremely weak. Instead of stealing the dead body and making the public mistakenly think that there is still a subordinate who can be driven, thus harming the public affairs, how about frankly admitting that he is incapable of serving and ending his worthless life.All such crazy and stupid thoughts are purely psychological disorders. After reading the precepts that Gong Xi condemned suicide in Huangpu, I deeply feel that this act is an unforgivable crime. You can't cover up this embarrassment, and ask yourself if you have not made any contribution in your life?God bless China, and we will be able to turn the crisis into peace. Only the public good will dare to bow, and maintain the harmony of heaven, so as to ensure the success of the Three People's Principles and protect our 450 million compatriots.Recalling Xu Shen's subordinates, he put life and death at the top of his mind, but today, with the original intention of dedicating his life, he ended up with such an extremely irresponsible ending. The scholar is useless, and he is responsible for the country and the public. I really don't know what words can explain it.Ma'am and salute.

Yours sincerely, my subordinate Bray Referral again: When good news from the front was frequent and the order in the rear was gradually stabilized, Bray suddenly became ill, so that he couldn't afford it.However, this idea of ​​Bray started a few years ago, and recently it started between July and August. I often recite the sentence "the pouring of the bottle is the shame of the base", and I can't suppress it all day long.The party and the country are in dire straits, and the lowly body has been unable to recover for a long time. When the age is declining and there is no way to make up for it, Han Yu has a saying: "The Chinese and North Korean officials are old at work, and they know how to be grateful." He is a scholar, but this body is no longer effective and in danger. After returning to the emperor for a long time, he has no place to feel ashamed and indignant.In the past, the public heard the words of Prime Minister Ye slander, but they would not eat them. Today, what I have heard and seen is poisonous propaganda among ordinary people, and there are not many people who spread rumors about the public and slander them.Recalling that in Chongqing, in the 32nd year, the Duke was ordered to pay attention to the enemy's counter-propaganda, but in the past four or five years, Breshi did not do his best to restore this vicious propaganda.That is to say, there is absolutely no reason for self-excusement and self-sufficiency at this end.My heart is pure and straightforward, and I have no other selfishness except being loyal to my father. Now I am regretting my illness with no place to be ashamed. It is because of this unforgivable ending that it is really a last resort for psychological depression.Dare to speak for the public again. (Central Daily News, November 19, 1948)

This letter was written in an extremely mournful manner, fully showing the mentality of a loyal and loyal master who "speaks well".A closer look at the key points of this letter can be summarized in several contexts: 1. He said that during the "twenty years of following", because of "deep understanding", "any pain should be borne".He said he had a lot of pain. 2. He said, "Since this spring, I have seen, heard, and been stimulated." "This spring" refers to the time since the spring of 1948, when the Kuomintang troops were defeated.Under this "witness and hearing", although he said "God bless China, it will surely turn the crisis into peace", "good news from the front is frequent, and the order in the rear is gradually stabilized", but at the same time he has to admit that "the party and the country are in dire straits", which is obviously a tactful prophecy. up. (Chen Bulei's so-called "since this spring" events are listed in Xu Yongping's "Mr. Chen Bulei's Biography": "On January 9, Shenyang fell, and then the Northeast gradually lost, and North China shook. In March, Shandong and Henan fought fiercely. In April, In May, Tai’an fell. In June, Kaifeng fell. In July, Xiangyang fell. In August, northeast bandits invaded Rehe. In September, Jinan fell. In October, Changchun fell. In November , the Battle of Xu Bang began. On November 1st, the price control was thawed, the gold dollar coupons collapsed, and prices skyrocketed. Defeatism prevailed everywhere, and the atmosphere of peace talks was extremely strong. The northern country was icy and snowy, and Pingjin was in danger; As stated in, just the opposite? Select)

3. He indicated that his health was failing. "Instead of stealing the place of the dead body and making the public mistakenly think that there is still a subordinate who can be driven", it is better to die and take the last life as "a grateful man who committed suicide" to repay his confidant. 4. He stated that he was helpless against "the enemy's counter-propaganda" and "those who spread rumors about the public and slandered the public". 5. He stated that he was "guilty" of "responsibility to the country and the public". If we corroborate some circumstantial evidence for the above, we can find that many of the ins and outs are not groundless.The most important revelation is this passage in Jiang Junzhang's "Two or Three Things About Mr. Bray" ("Sorrow for the Dead"):

In the autumn of the thirty-seventh year, "communist bandits" were rampant. The highest authority decided to carry out a general mobilization to "suppress bandits" and asked Mr. to draft a plan. Mr. Hong Lanyou and others are working on the plan. The final decision has not yet been submitted, and the highest authority urged Very urgent, several calls to urge each other.The husband replied loudly on the phone: I won't do it. This is my husband's gaffe to the highest authority.That is to say, he called me upstairs and gave me three cases, asking me to sort out and merge them into one case quickly, with a regretful tone of voice.One day later, Mr. can't afford it.It was rumored at that time that Mr. was world-weary because he was condemned by the highest authority, which was really nonsense.The current situation has changed rapidly, and Mr. is mentally fragile. Because of the sigh of "the oil is exhausted and the lamp is dry", he is unable to support the prime minister. This is the basic factor of Mr.'s world-weariness.Everyone knows that the highest authority regards Mr. with great respect and respect. It is a special case that people often call "Mr. Bray" and there is absolutely no blame for him.

Chen Bulei's "gaffe" with Chiang Kai-shek on the phone was on November 12, 1948, and the day after the "gaffe" he committed suicide.It can be seen that his suicide, and the fact that he was "responsible by the highest authority" in the "rumors", at least had the effect of "the last grass on the camel's back".Jiang Junzhang here intends to describe the truth in white, but he does not know that the more it is described, the darker it becomes? In addition to the letter to Chiang Kai-shek, Chen Bulei's suicide note to Pan Gongzhan and Cheng Cangbo is the most painful. He said: The Great Lesson of the Two Brothers of Cangbo in the Public Exhibition: My younger brother was born with a hundred useless books and delusional thinking about self-efficacy for the party and the country, neglecting laziness, and stealing the false reputation of tranquility. In the future, my health will deteriorate day by day, my brain power will deteriorate, and my thinking will become more and more difficult. I will not be able to make a single contribution to the extraordinary period after self-examination. The disease is dead, and I will say goodbye to my brother.An old friend of more than 20 years, misunderstood love and love, like a brother, I still pray that in the unforgivable, I think of my brother's last resort, and I will forgive him.I am lonely and pitiful in my old age, and I have no one to trust in Shanghai. I hope that my brothers and others will take care of them with compassion.Lin Shu is very ashamed and painful.All are minds. Sincerely, Brother Bray on November 11th What this letter said was obviously full of "self-condemnation and self-blame" full of self-hatred and self-repentance. He said that he wanted to save the country with "a useless scholar" and "wonderful thinking to serve the party and the country". As a result, "for more than ten years", the country was not saved, and the result was "wronging the country"? Choose "Crime of wronging the country, no one can redeem it".In his letter to Hong Lanyou, he said that he was "worried, and blamed himself"; in his letter to Chen Fang, Li Weiguo, and Tao Xisheng, he said that he "had worked hard all his life, but he ended up in such a worthless situation... It is unforgivable in public. It is a crime, but in private it has its helpless difficulties." ... In his suicide note, Chen Bulei kept saying "blame and ridicule himself" and "helpless".In his suicide note to his three younger brothers, Chen Xunci, Chen Xunnian, and Chen Shutong, he said: "The mental pain cannot be described in words (recently, the work relationship is important, but my brother's mind and body are completely helpless, and his anxiety is indescribable)". The words of dying actually have a profound environmental background.This is what Chen Bulei said in his suicide note to Chiang Kai-shek, "seeing and hearing, being stimulated."This phenomenon can also be seen in Jiang Junzhang's recollection in "Mr. Bray's Demeanor" ("Sorrow for the Past"): Before his death, the husband was very restless, which greatly affected his health.There were two biggest problems at that time: one was the gradual reversal of the military situation; the other was that the price limit policy implemented after the issuance of gold round coupons was gradually shaken.The former caused complex opinions from all sides to arise one after another, and many of them wanted to reach Chairman Chiang through their teachers.Some made written statements, some met face to face, and some directly talked with each other by phone.Anyone who wants to see my husband, except for one or two regular customers who have direct access to the door, will be seen by me as usual; letters have always been opened and replied by me (must be approved by my husband).Thanks to Mr. who values ​​me and trusts me in everything, so I have the courage to accept opinions or suggestions from all sides and suppress them so as not to irritate Mr.; but Mr. will inevitably hear some unpleasant comments, so I stay Depressed.Some cannot be concealed at all. For example, there was a black market for food at that time, and food and supplies from the countryside to the city were sold outside the city, and they no longer entered the city. To make trouble, there was a storm of rice grabbing along Shanxi Road. The husband's office is not far from Shanxi Road. When shouting and shouting came into his ears, he went to the back window many times to look into the distance, with a solemn expression, and retreated speechlessly. At that time, the Kuomintang used martial law to deal with the common people who robbed rice, and shot and killed ordinary people who had no food to eat and took risks every day, day and night.For Chen Bulei, this phenomenon is no longer a distant and misty picture of refugees, but a realistic painting close at hand. What was more "stimulated by what he saw and heard" and what caused Chen Bulei the most helplessness was still in his own home.Chen Bulei has seven sons and two daughters.Among the nine children, Chen Lian (Lian'er) was the first to become a Communist Party member.Chen Lian was born in 1919.Her mother, Mrs. Yang, died of "too frequent childbirth and exhaustion of Qi and blood" more than 20 days after giving birth to her.Chen Lian entered a normal school when he grew up, transferred to Hangzhou High School after a year of study, and later entered the Department of Geology of Southwest Associated University.In 1939, she joined the Communist Party, and later transferred to the History Department of Central University.After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, she taught in Beiping Beiman Girls Middle School.In 1947, the Kuomintang Secrecy Bureau uncovered the CCP’s underground radio station in Beijing, and found CCP organizations and underground radio stations in Baoding, Xi’an, and Lanzhou. They searched and arrested Chen Bulei’s daughter, Chen Lian, who was actually a Communist Party. Chiang Kai-shek was greatly surprised Surprised, outraged.Mao Renfeng, the head of the Bureau of Secrecy, said with emotion after arresting and arresting: "We arrest and kill like this, but there are still so many people who dare to break in with their heads up. I don't know why?" Don't know why.Li Ao was in Beiping when Chen Lian was arrested, which is really touching. Not only did her daughter join the Communist Party, but her youngest son Chen Yuan (Ji Le, later renamed Chen Li) also passed away.Chen Yuan was born in 1926, and his mother was Mrs. Wang.In 1946, the incident of Shen Chong, a girl from Peking University, was raped by the U.S. military (the U.S. side did not deny the incident, and Ambassador Situ said in his official report that it was "the evil deeds of individual Americans" (see reg & Brewen, the forgotten ambassador, P ．94-95) Chen Yuan participated in the demonstration and was beaten by the "Youth Army" of the Kuomintang. He formally joined the Communist Party in 1952 and later became the head of the political reading group of Tianjin People's Publishing House. Not only did his sons and daughters become famous, but even his younger brother The seventh brother, Chen Xunhui, also had problems. After Chen Bulei’s death, except for the eldest son, Chen Chi (Jiquan), who studied agriculture and worked as an agricultural expert in Taiwan, his wife and children all “voted to the Communist Party”. The third son, Chen Shi ( Ji Hao) graduated from Tongji University, studied engineering, and was a railway engineer. He was originally sent by the Kuomintang to work in Austria, and later "returned" to the mainland. The eldest daughter, Chen Xiu, also joined the Communist Party. Chen Bulei wrote a suicide note before his death, and he defended himself in the letter to his sons. He did not say this kind of self-defense to the Kuomintang comrades, but only said to his sons that something was wrong.He wrote: Quan'er, Gao'er, Hao'er, Ai'er, Ming'er, Le'er: My father is weak in body, faced with hardships and dangers, and his knowledge is poor, but he is engaged in state affairs, and his temperament is withdrawn and out of date. It is due to the accumulation of causes and conditions, and he often suffers from severe brain diseases. Since summer and autumn, the illness has recovered. Now he is the middle way and abandoned you. Going to end up like this is extremely unkind and unwise. There is only sadness in your heart. You don't have to mourn. Remember that your grandfather was only four or nine years old when he passed away, and his father's year has passed. The country is in dire straits, and the society is extremely fluctuating. However, the central leadership of our country has never made any mistakes in the policy of the past twenty years. You may not know this in detail, but you know it best as a father. You must be loyal to the country and stand on your own feet. In society, be diligent, thrifty, upright, persevering and indifferent, so as to maintain the fine family style of my family. Now that you have grown up, you should not wait for my instructions. Your mother's pain in the future is unbearable to imagine. You should take care of my will, take good care of me, and be kind and caring. It is best for Ai'er to turn to the ground and live with your mother. Give me comfort and support. Mingle is still cultivating. After graduation, your brothers should love and help each other. Yanji handwritten This letter said that "the central leadership of the country has never made any mistakes in its policy for the past twenty years", which is obviously a self-defense, but the structure of this self-defense is very reluctant. He has clearly admitted that his "knowledge is shabby", Compared with the words of consciously "misusing the country" and "self-blame" in other suicide notes, Chen Bulei "advances" against the Kuomintang for his children, but he is "at a loss" to become the Kuomintang. There must be contradictions, conflicts and secret pain in his heart .Just because this phenomenon happened in his own family, the contradictions, conflicts and hidden pains became very serious.In the end, he escaped by dying. The main reason was to explain his "helplessness" and the contradiction between reality and ideal (see Cheng Cangbo's "Mr. Bray's Death Ten Years Memorial", "Central Daily" in 1958 November 12), this kind of explanation is not for the outsiders of the "reactionaries", but for the family members of the "reactionaries". What kind of mourning? Choosing Chen Bulei’s final self-repentance is to respond to this mourning? Tao Yongbiao, adjutant Tao Yongbiao, who had been with Chen Bulei for half his life, said in his recollection ("Corpse Remonstrance-The Suicide of Chiang Kai-shek's Secretary Chen Bulei", April 1983 "The Seventies"): Outsiders know very little about the last important factor that prompted Chen Bulei to commit suicide.That is, Chen Bulei once advised Chiang Kai-shek to strike down the army and hold negotiations with the Communist Party, so that the two sides can end the civil war as soon as possible, so that the people can live and live in peace.But Chiang Kai-shek not only did not obey, but also expressed dissatisfaction afterwards.Chen Bulei was completely disappointed and lost all thoughts, so he died in his post to show his loyalty and avoid Chiang Kai-shek's suspicion.From this point of view, Chen Bulei's suicide can also be described as a corpse remonstrance. Chen Bulei's final wailing to Chiang Kai-shek is also another account of his contradictions, conflicts and hidden pains.He ended up "grateful for the man who committed suicide" and wanted to die to prove that he knew what he was doing-finally using the one thing he could do right to put an end to the many things he did wrong.His wife Wang Yunmo said in the preface to "Chen Bulei's Memoirs" that Chen Bulei finally felt that "it was a waste of national power, ashamed of the people, and life would be better than death." Therefore, in the posthumous letter, he urged his friends to work hard on state affairs in a timely manner, so as not to make the boss sad. Yes In the past, the death of the master was definitely not just for the stimulation of one person and one thing to lead him to commit suicide, because his ambition was to inspire the public with his death."This explanation is inappropriate.Chen Bulei is not "aiming to inspire the public with his death". We have studied the whole ins and outs and found that few people are encouraged by his death, but more people are self-dissected by death.He finally proved the tragic end of the intellectuals with his death, and he denied his life's dedication with his death. Regarding Tao Yongbiao's "corpse admonishment", many Kuomintang members who retreated to Taiwan disagreed, but they could not explain the reason. Vol. 4), of the cause of Mr. Bray's death, says: The first reason is that at that time the Communist Party was rampant, the political situation was precarious, the President Chiang Kai-shek was very melancholy, and most of the members of the central government were volunteers from the countryside, and it was like an ant to be in the limelight and enjoy power. Few people could share the worries and labors for the head of state. In his eyes, he was extremely sad and indignant, so he quoted two lines of Han Yu's poem in the president's suicide note: "The Chinese and North Korean officials are old at work, do you know how to be grateful?" He was dissatisfied with the state officials and so-called important people He was so sad and indignant that he harmed the country. This was the first reason for his death.The second reason is that his mental and physical strength is on the verge of collapse. He suffers from severe insomnia and his physical strength is exhausted day by day. What is the use of this body.The third is his family. He is the most loyal member of the Kuomintang, but some of his children are "Left" leaning.At that time, gold coupons were implemented. He was a law-abiding person. He exchanged all his little savings for gold coupons. The currency depreciated wildly, and even his family life had problems. Or, only those who die to thank the country and its leaders? Hu Jianzhong is the president of the "Central Daily" in Chongqing, the executive member of the Central Executive Committee of the Kuomintang, a member of the Central Reform Committee, a member of the Legislative Council, and the president of the "Central Daily" in Taipei. Isn't it clear?The host of Taipei's "Central Daily" Cao Shengfen provided a more peculiar cause of death, saying that Chen Bulei's death was "a kind of remonstrance to the party members who were generally selfish and betrayed the leaders at that time"? The method of remonstrating corpses? According to the traditional Chinese interpretation, the object of "corpse remonstrance" must be the ruler. "Da Dai Li" records that Wei Linggong did not use virtuous (蘧Boyu) but unworthy (Mizixia), and the minister Shi (Shi Yu) refused to listen to several remonstrances, and told his son before he died that he "cannot be a king" and "death should not be a ceremony", and asked his son to "put his corpse in the Beitang".Duke Ling of Wei went to pay his respects to the funeral and found out what was going on. He said, "Let's summon Yun Boyu and value it, call Mizi flaws and leave him, move to the mourning hall, and then go after the ceremony."Therefore, it is said: "The power of history to defend the country? Choose a husband to be a virtuous man, but he will retire unworthy; if he dies, he will be remonstrated with a corpse. It can be said that his loyalty is not fading?" "In ", it became the words of Confucius: "Confucius heard it and said: 'The ancient admonishers are dead? The selection is not like Shi Yu's death, the corpse admonishes, and the loyalty to the king? The selection is not straightforward? '") According to Cao Shengfen, Chen Bui's "corpse admonishment" was not aimed at "leaders" but "commonly selfish party members who betrayed the leader". Isn't this too bizarre? In Jiang Junzhang's article "Mr. Chen Bulei's Work and Life After Returning to the Capital after Victory", Tao Yongbiao believed that Chen Bulei's death was a big disapproval of Chiang Kai-shek's "corpse remonstrance".It is said that "the most glaring thing is the title, which is called 'Corpse Remonstrance', which is not only completely inconsistent with the facts, but also treats Mr. Bray with the pedantic foolishness of Wu Kedu, which is really disrespectful to Mr. Bray." (See the first issue of the forty-fourth volume of "Biographical Literature", January 1984 issue) However, what should Jiang Junzhang say when he read Cao Shengfen's "Old Records of Gratitude for Gratitude"?Cao Shengfen said that the admonishment of Chen Bulei's death was the ghosts and monsters in the Kuomintang. Is this consistent with the facts?Isn't this "disrespectful"?To be honest, when Chiang Kai-shek was defeated, betrayed, and Yankees ridiculed him, it was really a kind of good fortune to have such a skinny and unassuming Chen Bracken "remonstrate" for him?