Chapter 15 6. Spring River Knows Plumbing

In 1927, Song Meiling married Chiang Kai-shek, who was in power.Shilun believes that this is a "political marriage" combining "money and power". Only one week after they got married, Song Meiling followed Chiang Kai-shek to Nanjing because the Nanjing government asked Chiang Kai-shek to resume his post as commander-in-chief. Nanjing in 1927 was far less beautiful and tidy than Nanjing in 1937.At that time, it was still a mixed scene that made people frown, desolate and desolate.In the first few months of their arrival in Nanjing, their living quarters were very simple, and sometimes even the streets became the offices of government officials.There is none of the usual glamorous social scene here.It was one such place that Chiang Kai-shek took his bride to, and it was here that they would make their home until Chiang Kai-shek led his troops to resume the Northern Expedition.

Although Song Meiling has been to many places, but only limited to Tianjin, Shanghai and Guangzhou several big cities.In her own words, it has always been "comfortable and comfortable." Living in Nanjing is a kind of trial for her, a kind of trial that most women of her class are unwilling to undergo.None of the wives of Nanjing government officials went to Nanjing to settle down. They preferred to stay in Shanghai, so that their husbands could occasionally visit them. Song Meiling said: "Nanjing could only be called a small village with a so-called wide road at that time. The road is also so narrow...all the houses in Nanjing are so simple, cold and unbearable, except for the church. .”

In January 1928, Soong Meiling left her modern Shanghai apartment with heating, in an "ice cellar" in mainland China Ryan went home. Although the relationship between the two began to develop after marriage, it is not difficult for anyone to see the scene of the two intimately supporting each other in public. For about 10 years, Soong Meiling often traveled on the road, and her footprints traveled all over China.Moreover, Song Meiling also served as her husband's diplomatic adviser, using her knowledge of Western learning to improve her husband's air force construction and make friends with European and American countries.

This political couple in the eyes of others may not be without romantic feelings. On New Year's Eve in 1934, Chiang Kai-shek and his wife were walking in the mountains on the outskirts of Pucheng, Fujian, and found a white plum blossom in full bloom.Jiang carefully folded a few plum blossoms, and when the red candles were lit at night, he put the plum blossoms in a bamboo basket and gave them to Song as a New Year's gift.Soong Meiling said to others: "You may understand why I am willing to share hardships with my husband on the front line. He has the courage of a soldier and the gentleness of a poet!"

After the Xi'an Incident broke out in 1936, people were panicked for a while, the clouds of war were dense, and the Nanjing Nationalist Government was in chaos.On the issue of how to rescue Chiang Kai-shek and how to deal with Zhang and Yang, there was a division between the main battle and the main and the two factions.Regardless of Song Meiling's opposition, the main combat faction secretly mobilized troops to bomb Xi'an.With her decisiveness and wisdom, Soong Meiling tried her best to ease the tension in all aspects of the Kuomintang, and she flew to the northwest alone without fear of danger and obstacles.

When Song Ziwen went to Xi'an earlier, she entrusted her brother to tell Chiang Kai-shek: "If Ziwen doesn't return to Beijing within three days, he will come to live and die with you!" .At that time, she said to the people around her, "If someone is rude to me, please kill me." The Zhuang drama has won widespread respect from the world. Song Meiling later recalled that Chiang Kai-shek was imprisoned by Zhang Xueliang in Xi'an. When Song Meiling rushed to Xi'an to see him, "he was so surprised that I was a phantom." "After he settled down a bit, he showed me a sentence from the scriptures he read that morning: 'The Lord created one thing on earth, that is, women guard men.'" While the crowd admired her courage, they finally understood , she and Chiang Kai-shek lived and died together, shared weal and woe, and it is absolutely unreasonable to have courage without love.

When Chiang Kai-shek retreated to Taiwan, Song Meiling was already fifty and two years old. In January 1950, Song Meiling, who was in the United States, left the peaceful and prosperous New York, and returned to her husband.At this time, Chiang Kai-shek was already the overlord of Chu whose fate was irretrievable, and it seemed that Song Meiling was going to be his Concubine Yu.The early 1950s was undoubtedly the period when the situation in Taiwan was the most tense and its status was the most ambiguous.If Song Meiling was a person who was good at running away, she would not have to go to Taiwan, but she went resolutely, ready to die at any time.If Soong Meiling married Chiang Kai-shek only for power, then Soong Meiling may have had true feelings for Chiang Kai-shek at this time, and she has already moved her true feelings.A friend in need is a friend.

After evacuating to Taiwan, the emotional color of Song Meiling and Chiang Kai-shek's companionship took the main position. Both Chiang Kai-shek and Song Meiling had regular lives.Chiang Kai-shek got up at 6 o'clock every morning. When Chiang Kai-shek got up every morning, he always took a pen and a flashlight and tiptoed into the bathroom, not wanting to wake up Song Meiling who had only been asleep for two or three hours.He does gymnastics for about an hour, singing the "National Anthem."At 7 o'clock, he would automatically stop singing, and the service staff of the Shilin Mansion also used the "President" not singing as the meal time. At this time, Soong Meiling always appeared in the dining room on time with sleepy eyes.Her habit is to go to bed at one or two o'clock every night, sleep for a few hours first, get up and have breakfast with Chiang Kai-shek, after breakfast, wait until Lao Jiang goes to work at 8 o'clock, and then go back to sleep for two or three hours. The well-known "returning to the cage".

At 12 noon, the two started to have lunch.Chiang Kai-shek ate rice, plus a few delicious home-cooked dishes, and a stewed hen every week.Soong Meiling mainly eats steak and pork chops.During the skin attack, she only drank milk, plus eggs.At lunch, when the couple communicates most, the grandchildren and great-granddaughters are the main content of the conversation. Chiang Kai-shek, who came from a gentry family in Zhejiang and received the spiritual education of "Bushido", and Soong Meiling, who was born in a wealthy family, received influence from a Westernized family and received standard American education, naturally had a great distance in life habits. Mutual tolerance and understanding, more often it was Chiang Kai-shek who made concessions to Song Meiling.

Song Meiling can smoke.But Chiang Kai-shek did not drink alcohol, tobacco, or tea in the early 1920s.He especially objected to his subordinates, especially soldiers, smoking.He has a logic: People who can smoke will definitely take opium when they get the chance. If they smoke opium, they will either ruin their fortunes or lose their fortunes, or they will find ways to plunder them.Therefore, none of Chiang Kai-shek's subordinates, except Chen Bulei, dared to smoke in front of Chiang Kai-shek. Chiang Kai-shek knew that Soong Meiling smoked. Although she did not explicitly object, Soong Meiling was cautious about it. First, never smoke in front of Chiang Kai-shek; second, never smoke in public, especially when participating in important activities; third, never smoke in her study and private Before going to meet Chiang Kai-shek after smoking in a small-scale gathering, wash your hands to get rid of the smell of smoke; the fourth is to only smoke the kind of soft and fragrant cigarettes smoked by women.Because of this, Chiang Kai-shek never had an argument with Song Meiling about smoking.

Song Meiling liked to dance when she was young. It is not surprising that Song Meiling, who grew up in the United States, has a fondness for dancing.Things were a little different after marrying Chiang Kai-shek, who lived a rigid and lifeless life.Because dancing has also caused some conflicts between husband and wife.But after arriving in Taiwan, such entanglements never happened again.On the one hand, Song Meiling was over half a century old, and her enthusiasm for dancing was no longer what it used to be;They never developed this common interest in their lives. Song Meiling is particularly keen on music.In the days in Taiwan, the official residence usually asks the adjutant to play some classical music in the afternoon. These classical music are basically light music with a slow rhythm.If Chiang Kai-shek didn't want to hear it, Soong Meiling would listen at a lower volume in her study.Due to the influence of Western culture, Song Meiling preferred Western music, and Chiang Kai-shek liked some operas such as "national opera" and Shaoxing opera. Chiang Kai-shek's habit of listening to music was gradually cultivated by Song Meiling.Before rest every day, Chiang Kai-shek and Song Meiling always asked the attendants to play gramophone music, and the husband and wife enjoyed it together, which seemed to be a bit of harmony. Like all couples, the relationship between this prominent couple became stronger and purer in their later years. After the 1970s, Jiang Song's relationship developed to a new stage.Chiang Kai-shek handed over a lot of official duties to Chiang Ching-kuo, so he had a lot of leisure.In the vast garden of the Shilin Mansion, on the mountain paths shaded by flowers and trees, people often saw Chiang Kai-shek and Song Meiling walking side by side arm in arm, whispering in low voices. In Taiwan, Song Meiling has been involved in social welfare work as the "first lady".On some occasions, such as Christmas, Chiang Kai-shek would accompany Song Meiling to the school to watch the children's performances.Instead of entering the campus by car, they must stop at the gate and walk in by themselves.They were holding hands, very close and happy.During the performance, the two would bite their ears from time to time, and this kind of intimacy is difficult to pretend. It took about two years and eight months for Chiang Kai-shek to die from a heart attack in 1975.During this time he has been bedridden and hardly ever got up.Since he was admitted to the hospital, Soong Meiling has been with him all the time, and he never left a step in the hospital, showing his love and care. After Chiang Kai-shek passed away in 1975, every afternoon, Song Meiling wore a black cheongsam and insisted on going to the "General Manager Rong" and the "National Father Memorial Hall" to pay her respects.On the eve of leaving Taiwan for the U.S., she published "A Book of Encouragement to All Chinese", saying that since the marriage: "Yu and the president have stayed together and encouraged each other. Every morning and evening, the president and I pray, read the Bible, and meditate side by side; now I am alone with a smile. The face is full of photos, I closed my eyes and prayed silently, the room was silent, I heard coughing in my ears, I felt that Yi was still alive and was always by my side." Jiang and Song have been in Taiwan for more than 20 years, and generally get along well, but they had a big awkwardness about one thing.Wu Guozhen, the former "chairman" of Taiwan Province, had sharp conflicts with Chiang Ching-kuo, and was repeatedly criticized by Chiang Ching-kuo in front of Chiang Kai-shek, which caused Chiang Kai-shek's dissatisfaction.Seeing that he was in danger, Wu Guozhen began to think about leaving, but the visa was not available for a long time, so he had to plead with Song Meiling.Song Meiling was moved with compassion, and with her help, Wu finally left with his wife.When Wu Guozhen was interviewed by the press in the United States, he made a fool of Jiang and his son. Chiang Kai-shek was very angry and ordered his subordinates to investigate who let Wu Guozhen go.After some investigation, it was discovered that the main envoy was Song Meiling, so the subordinates had to ask Jiang to handle it himself.Chiang Kai-shek sent someone to call Soong Meiling to the study. After Song Meiling knew Jiang's purpose for looking for her, she felt a little nervous, but she also thought that with the relationship between husband and wife for many years, Jiang would scold her at most, so she went to the study and began to explain calmly. But Chiang Kai-shek didn't wait for her to finish speaking, and slapped her across the face. Soong Meiling was shocked and angry, turned around and left. Chiang Kai-shek followed behind and chased after a few steps. When he saw the guard standing at the door, he had to give up angrily.Soong Meiling was slapped and burst into tears.Soon, she flew to the United States alone, and after several months, she returned to Taiwan under the persuasion of batches of "special envoys" sent by Chiang Kai-shek. But this kind of situation is rare after all. Most of the time, they are respectful and polite to each other, and both sides make room for each other.When Soong Ching Ling commented on the younger sister's marriage for the first time, she said that both parties were speculating on the marriage, and there was no love. In 1940, her opinion obviously changed. She said that in the marriage of Jiang and Song, "there was no love at all in the beginning, but I think they have love now. Meiling loves Jiang sincerely, and Jiang also Love her with all my heart. Without Mei Ling, Jiang would be much worse." After years of ups and downs, Song Meiling and Chiang Kai-shek's marriage is no longer just a combination of power and money.Whether they are united for love, only they know.However, the long-term stability of the marriage also proves that the life of the two is not without love at all.