Family rifts are often deepened by differences in political affiliation. The contradictions between Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Ching-ling have a long history and are deep-rooted. The three Song sisters could have taken advantage of Song Ziwen's death to reunite, but they missed this rare opportunity due to political reasons. In 1971, U.S. President Richard Nixon wanted to use this opportunity to improve Sino-U.S. relations and invited the three sisters to the United States for funeral. Who knows, Song Meiling, Song Qingling and Song Ailing were finally absent from Song Ziwen's funeral. How did a seemingly ordinary family affair evolve into such an unbelievable result?
Speaking of the beginning and end of this family infighting, we must start with the contradiction between Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Ching-ling. The two had fundamental differences in political positions, with Soong Ching-ling insisting on her husband Sun Yat-sen's idea of "uniting with Russia, the Communist Party, and supporting peasants and workers," while Chiang Kai-shek was pro-American and anti-communist. Chiang Kai-shek even launched the Southern Anhui Incident in 1941, which pushed the anti-communist movement to a climax.
Chiang Kai-shek's diary has a vivid record of this. He has an unusually ordinary attachment to his wife Song Meiling, and he is always "reluctant to give up" whenever he goes out. When he fell ill in 1934, he also thanked Song Meiling for "taking care of herself". But for Song Qingling, Chiang Kai-shek did not mention family affection, and only called her "Mrs. Sun" with resentment.
In 1945, he wrote indignantly in his diary that Soong Ching-ling had talked to him "for the first time in 15 years" about allowing the Communists to attend the San Francisco Conference, which annoyed him. It was obviously the request of the United States and the Soviet Union, but he blamed all his anger on Song Qingling. It can be seen that Chiang Kai-shek's hatred for Soong Ching-ling has been deep-rooted.
In 1971, Song Ziwen died in San Francisco. Nixon wanted to take this opportunity to improve Sino-US relations, so he invited Soong Meiling and Soong Ching-ling to the United States to attend the funeral. Unexpectedly, after receiving Chiang Kai-shek's telegram, Soong Meiling gave up her plan to go to the United States.
It turned out that Chiang Kai-shek was worried that Soong Meiling would "strayed into the trap of the CCP's United Front", so he did everything possible to prevent her from going. Even Song Ailing, who has always had a close relationship with Song Meiling, was absent from the funeral because of this. As for Soong Ching-ling, he was kept in China on the grounds of "no aircraft charter".
"The three Song sisters could have taken advantage of Song Ziwen's death to reunite, but they missed this rare opportunity due to political reasons." This can't help but be impressive. Family affection is so fragile and powerless under the weight of politics.
Soong Meiling and Soong Ailing listened to Chiang Kai-shek's obstruction and finally did not go to the United States. Nixon, on the other hand, was puzzled by the result that "Chinese do not value human feelings." However, if he had read Chiang Kai-shek's diaries full of resentment towards Soong Ching-ling, he might have understood the decision at that time.
In 1981, 92-year-old Song Qingling wanted to reunite with Song Meiling before his death, but the latter politely refused on the grounds of "unwilling to betray her deceased husband". Five years later, at the age of 106, Song Meiling died, and her last words hoped to be buried with her parents and Song Qingling, but unfortunately she could not get her wish in the end.
The root of all this stems from the political differences between Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Ching-ling. In this way, it is not difficult to understand the ending of "intolerable water and fire". It is a pity that family affection has been torn apart by political forces to such an extent.
History occasionally opens a small window for us to glimpse the strife and discord of the past. The three Song sisters could have used Song Ziwen's funeral to reunite, but they fell short due to the political differences between Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Ching-ling.
This is nothing less than an ironclad proof of "family affection vs politics", witnessing how fragile and powerless family affection is in the face of huge political forces. Even the wish for reunion before his death could not be realized due to the political disagreement between Jiang and Song.
Life is short for decades, and family affection is the most precious gift. It's a pity that in the long river of history, too many family ties have been drowned and torn apart by the power of politics. We are fortunate to witness this regret, and it should be a heavy lesson to awaken our cherishing of family affection.
After all, family affection is our last sustenance in this world. Instead of being rifted by political forces, it is better to gather together and share the joy of family, which is the highest artistic conception of life. I hope that in the future, there will be no more tragedies of family affection being ravaged by political forces.