The union of Soong Meiling and Chiang Kai-shek was more the result of a political marriage, which was not a secret during the Republican period. During this period, the two also had some emotional turmoil, and they almost broke up.
When Chiang Kai-shek died in Taiwan in 1975 and Chiang Ching-kuo took over as "president", Soong Meiling's situation in Taiwan became awkward, and she finally chose to leave Taiwan and live in the United States for a long time.
However, although she was a little depressed when she left, Song Meiling's life in the United States was far more moisturizing and comfortable than ordinary people imagined.
Many times, she maintains close ties with Song Ailing's family, and their existence gives Song Meiling a lot of psychological comfort.
Not to mention that Song Meiling's annual expenses far exceed NT$10 million, which greatly improves the quality of life and ensures her extravagant life.
It's just that many people are curious, where does Song Meiling's annual expenses of 10 million come from? Why is she so rich?
Song Meiling's extravagant life
In 2003, Song Meiling died of illness in New York, USA, at the age of 106.
She had no children before her death, and she did not leave any property in Taiwan and the United States after her death, and her niece who accompanied her through her old age, Kong Lingyi, the eldest lady of the Kong family, said in an interview with media reporters that Song Meiling "only left $120,000 in deposits behind her".
Suddenly, the outside world began to spread the image of Song Meiling's "indifferent fame and fortune". But is it true? The answer is "no".
Those who know Song Meiling know that she has extremely high requirements for dressing up and quality of life, and in all periods of her life, her economic situation is far better than ordinary people, and her expenses are also amazingly large. There are clues to all of this.
Song Meiling's father, Song Yaoru, was a famous revolutionary, but also a shrewd businessman, with the vision and ability to accumulate wealth, influenced by his father, Song Meiling enjoyed a rich life at the same time, but also because of the deep understanding of the theory of the relationship between power and money of the Chinese people, early on showed a strong political enterprising, keen on power and finally got what she wanted.
In 1927, Soong Meiling agreed to marry Chiang Kai-shek, who already had three wives and had two sons, in order to bring his political future and the political convenience that could bring her and the Soong family.
And Chiang Kai-shek asked to marry Song Meiling for the Song family, the Sun family, and the Confucian family behind her, especially the pro-American resources controlled by the Song family.
After marriage, Soong Meiling also gave Chiang Kai-shek great cooperation in this regard, and was active in diplomatic occasions as his secretary and English translator, introducing Western culture and politics to Chiang Kai-shek in many ways, and promoting Chiang Kai-shek's pro-American.
However, in addition to official business, in private life, Soong Meiling and Chiang Kai-shek can be called "distinct". The two pursue the American-style AA system, and their finances are independent after marriage, and the expenses required are borne by each person.
During this period, Soong Meiling's quality of life was much higher than that of Chiang Kai-shek.
She especially likes to hold banquets, a group of rich wives, ladies and even young talents in the military, politics and business circles are the objects of her warm invitation, and once the banquet is held, they often make a big fuss until dawn, and Song Meiling can bear the huge expenses incurred during the period, which shows the huge financial resources of her.
Occasionally, Chiang Kai-shek would provide some financial support for banquets for political purposes, after all, Soong Meiling did win more resources for him through this kind of socialization.
There was a lot of trouble until dawn, and after the banquet, Song Meiling often fell into a deep sleep and didn't get up until the evening.
When she wakes up, she will be on standby at her accommodation to massage her muscles and stretch her body, and the chef who knows that she has a sweet tooth will make all kinds of sweets for her in addition to the main food.
But this is far from enough, Song Meiling is particularly fond of foreign chocolate, and a large number of candies and chocolates she eats are exported from abroad at high prices.
And in order to satisfy her appetite at any time, she also makes large quantities every time she purchases, and often lets it melt away without feeling distressed when she can't finish eating.
In terms of skin care products and cosmetics, Song Meiling is also a consistent local tyrant. These are huge overheads. It's just that in front of Song Meiling, who is accustomed to a luxurious life, everything is very ordinary.
In terms of food, clothing, housing and transportation, she has long been accustomed to spending money like running water, that is, in the same era, there are still many people in the country who do not have enough to eat, and some soldiers who are disabled or even sacrificed cannot get enough compensation, and it is like "another world's thing" to her.
is like this in China, living in the United States for a long time in her later years, Song Meiling will not be soft when she spends money.
After Chiang Kai-shek's death in 1975, Soong Meiling first went to the United States to recuperate, and then stayed in the United States several times, and finally strengthened her mind to spend her old age in the United States.
The first time she left Taiwan for the United States and lived in the old house of the Kong family in Locust Valley, Long Island, New York, it took three years and three flights to transport all of Song Meiling's luggage.
It's so much luggage, and it's not all of Song Meiling's supplies in China.
In 1991, Soong Meiling left Taiwan for the second time and shipped 97 suitcases of luggage to the United States, during which there was no shortage of valuable and expensive calligraphy, painting and antiques.
Later, Song Meiling passed away, and the Locust Valley residence was auctioned, and the buyer spent $3 million to buy it, and the picture was the calligraphy and painting antiques that Song Meiling might have left in the house.
However, the shrewd Kong family has already emptied all Song Meiling's calligraphy, painting and antiques, and even the New York apartment in Manhattan, where Song Meiling lived in her later years, is also owned by the Kong family.
In her later years, Soong Meiling made religious belief the center of gravity and spiritual pillar of her life, and she often chose to drive to Manhattan to visit galleries and art galleries, read books and newspapers, draw pictures or write calligraphy at home.
These amateur pastimes became the norm of Soong Meiling's life as early as the 50s and 60s of the 20th century, and they did not fall behind in the United States.
Song Meiling's Chinese painting teachers when she was in Taiwan were two of the most well-known masters in Taiwan, and they were both hired with high salaries.
Song Meiling will also invite a group of famous painters to dinner and paint when she is interested, which is not a small expense.
Song Meiling spends 10 million a year
When she was in the United States, Song Meiling, who took off the halo of "Old Mrs. Jiang" and became an ordinary person, lost the officialdom and lived an "ordinary family life", but her past identity and status, as well as her wealthy family background, financial resources and pursuit of a high-quality life, are destined to be very different from the lives of ordinary people.
In fact, other expenditures are not mentioned for the time being, and there is an expense that Soong Meiling will inevitably incur every year, but the books are the public accounts of the Taiwan government.
It turned out that although Soong Meiling was in the United States, until her death in 2003, Taiwan's "Presidential Office" would send special medical personnel to the United States every year to take care of her.
These medical personnel are often 6 people, and each person's monthly salary is at least NT$50,000, plus holiday bonuses, a total of more than NT$6 million per year, plus the cost of medicine and equipment incurred during the period, NT$10 million is only the foundation.
This means that in terms of medical treatment alone, Soong Meiling's annual expenses far exceed NT$10 million, or 2.5 million yuan.
Counting her huge personal expenses in various aspects such as clothing, food, housing and transportation, her annual expenses are obviously amazing.
Song Meiling's source of wealth
Why does Song Meiling have so much financial resources to support her extravagant life? Looking at her life, there are mainly the following ways for her to obtain wealth.
First of all, as the daughter of the Song family, after the death of her father Song Yaoru, Song Meiling also inherited part of his inheritance with her brother and sister.
Exposed to the light is a property on Xiafei Road in the French Concession of Shanghai, and of course, in addition to this, she also got other property.
Secondly, after marrying Chiang Kai-shek, Soong Meiling served in the government and society for a long time, and she personally had a rich job income.
For example, in 1936, the "Jiangnan Zhengbao" made a preliminary report on Soong Meiling's financial situation, stating that "all the property in the port is estimated to be 13 million silver yuan for Chiang Kai-shek and 35 million silver yuan for Soong Meiling."
If the report is true, according to the conversion rules of 1 silver yuan at that time, which was equivalent to 60 yuan today, Soong Meiling's personal wealth at that time had reached 2.1 billion yuan today, more than twice that of Chiang Kai-shek.
Even in 1939, the Japanese secret service investigated the deposits of high-ranking Kuomintang government officials in Shanghai Foreign Bank, and also found that Soong Meiling had 30.94 million yuan of legal currency, equivalent to 3.77 million US dollars, in her name.
Again, there are still the Song family and the Kong family behind Song Meiling who are working for her.
At that time, the Kong and Song families held the financial power of the Nationalist government and their connections in the United States. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, they withheld and resold US aid and used it to set up their own companies in an attempt to make huge personal gains.
Song Meiling was fully aware of these and provided support. After they made a profit, some of the profits also flowed into the pockets of Soong Meiling and Chiang Kai-shek.
It is worth mentioning that when the Kuomintang army was defeated in successive battles in the Liberation War and the regime was about to collapse, Song Meiling went to the United States to ask for help but was refused. Song Meiling's private property in the United States is mostly managed by her nephew Kong Lingkan.
In the end, after leaving Taiwan for the United States, Song Meiling did not lose all her income.
It turned out that before Chiang Kai-shek's death, Soong Meiling would be given an allowance every two or three months, and later Chiang Ching-kuo succeeded Chiang Kai-shek as the new "president", and this fee was not broken.
Therefore, Soong Meiling also had a fixed income when she was in the United States, and maintained a certain degree of friendly relations with Chiang Ching-kuo.
In 1983, she also returned to Taiwan at the invitation of Chiang Ching-kuo, and frequently assisted Chiang Ching-kuo in pacifying the party elders and the military, and helping him defuse the resistance to reform.
This is also a big reason why until her death, the Taiwan side has always paid her allowances and allocated relevant staff for her.
Bibliography:
Why did Song Meiling settle in the United States in her later years[J].Hunan Literature and History,2002(5):31-31
何虎生著. 宋美龄传[M]. 2015
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