Yan Xishan's life has experienced countless ups and downs, from the "King of Jin" in Shanxi to the "down-and-out old man" in Taiwan, either in the power struggle or on the road of political wrestling, but unfortunately he ended up lonely and lonely.
In 1960, Yan Xishan left a strange last words on his deathbed, "Don't cry loudly after I die", why did this former high-ranking Kuomintang official leave such a puzzling last words?
Today, let's talk about his story and find answers from his life experience.
Yan Xishan's early years and rise
Yan Xishan was born in 1883 in Wutai County, Shanxi, although his family was not prominent. However, his father attached great importance to education, which laid the foundation for Yan Xishan's later growth.
Yan Xishan was brilliant from an early age, and showed outstanding talent as a teenager, and after receiving an initial education in his hometown, he was sent to Taiyuan to study, where he demonstrated extraordinary learning ability.
In 1904, Yan Xishan went to Japan to study, entered the Zhenwu School to receive military training, learned advanced military theories and techniques in Japan, and came into contact with revolutionary pioneers such as Sun Yat-sen and Huang Xing, and was influenced by revolutionary ideas.
This study abroad experience not only improved his military literacy, but also broadened his personal horizons and insights, and gave him a new understanding of China's future.
After returning to China, Yan Xishan quickly rose to prominence in the military field, using his knowledge to actively participate in anti-Qing revolutionary activities and build up his own military power in Shanxi.
After the outbreak of the Xinhai Revolution, he quickly rose in the political arena of Shanxi by virtue of his outstanding military talents, and was elected as the governor of Shanxi in 1911, and since then has become the actual controller of Shanxi, and has the title of "Yan Laoxi".
Although Yan Xishan's reputation abroad is not very good, he has also done a lot of good things after taking charge of Shanxi, starting to carry out a series of reforms, implementing new policies, developing the economy, improving people's livelihood, and striving to build Shanxi into a stable and prosperous region.
Yan Xishan paid attention to infrastructure construction, built railways and highways, improved transportation conditions, and promoted Shanxi's economic development.
Attaching importance to education, establishing schools to promote new-style education, introducing advanced educational concepts from the West, encouraging students to study abroad, and cultivating a large number of modern talents for Shanxi.
Land reform should be carried out to reduce the peasants' burdens, agricultural production should be encouraged to popularize advanced agricultural technology, and irrigation facilities should be improved to increase agricultural output.
At the same time, Yan Xishan also actively developed industry, setting up coal mines, iron and steel plants, and other heavy industrial enterprises to improve Shanxi's industrial level.
In terms of commerce, Yan Xishan attaches great importance to the construction of markets, promotes the development of commerce and trade, encourages businessmen to invest, and establishes many commercial centers and markets. Overall, under Yan Xishan's leadership, Shanxi's agriculture, industry, and commerce have developed considerably.
Of course, he did all these things for a personal purpose, after all, only with money in his hands could he promote military reform and build a well-trained and well-equipped Jinsui army to provide a solid guarantee for consolidating the Shanxi regime.
Before the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Yan Xishan's series of measures did safeguard public order and ensure the safety and stability of the people's lives. Thanks to his efforts, Shanxi has gradually become a rich and stable region, and is known as a "model province".
Politically, Yan Xishan also showed superb skill and strategy, and was good at balancing the forces of all parties, skillfully handling internal contradictions, and maintaining the stability of Shanxi's political situation.
On the one hand, he was involved with the Beiyang government, and on the other hand, he took advantage of the contradictions of the Beiyang government to win a relatively independent position for himself. At the same time, he also established corresponding ties with the Kuomintang to support Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary cause and enhance his political influence.
This is not the end, Yan Xishan secretly maintains certain relations with warlords everywhere to avoid large-scale military conflicts. How? Many means have enabled him to be in a safe corner, and he is a native emperor of Shanxi.
Follow Chiang Kai-shek's defeat and retreat to Taiwan
Yan Xishan has always been a person who likes to avoid war, as long as you don't beat me, you can make any trouble. In 1936, the anti-Japanese national united front was formed, and Yan Xishan began to fight against the Japanese army in Shanxi on the premise of supporting Chiang.
In 1937, the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression broke out in an all-round way, and the Japanese army soon occupied North China.
During the Anti-Japanese War, Yan Xishan called on the people to support the front line and actively cooperate with the strategic deployment of the Nationalist Government to resist Japan.
He also attached great importance to the cultural anti-Japanese war and advocated anti-Japanese propaganda, and for a time Shanxi became an important base for the anti-Japanese war, providing strong support for the anti-Japanese struggle across the country.
As mentioned above, Yan Xishan was a vacillating person with his own little Jiujiu in his heart, and during the period of resistance against Japan, he actually signed the "Terms of the Basic Agreement on the Armistice between Japan and Yan" with Japan.
It means that the two sides will cease hostilities, Yan Xishan will break away from the Chongqing Nationalist Government, and Japan will hand over the Shanxi regime to Yan Xishan, which is even more cunning than the cunning rabbit in the three caves, and will be able to settle down in the southwest corner of Shanxi in a short period of time
Of course, this was only a small episode, and the Japanese army was finally defeated in 1945, and the time came for reckoning.
After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, the civil war between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party broke out, and Yan Xishan once again became an important role on the battlefield, and the Jin Sui Army led by him actively participated in the civil war and fought fiercely with the PLA.
In 1948, the People's Liberation Army launched a full-scale attack on Taiyuan, and Yan Xishan's Jin Sui army gradually fell into difficulties, and finally Taiyuan fell and Shanxi Province was liberated after a year.
Yan Xishan was forced to retreat to Nanjing and continue to operate within the Kuomintang, but the Kuomintang was losing ground throughout the country, and Yan Xishan's situation was also very difficult.
He served as premier and then minister of defense of the Nationalist government, trying to save the KMT from decline through political means, but the KMT's corruption and incompetence made Yan Xishan's efforts futile, and he eventually had to retreat to Taiwan with the KMT.
In Taiwan, Yan Xishan remains in a position of high position and has tried to revive the Kuomintang through military and economic reforms, but these efforts have failed to produce tangible results.
Of course, he also has great selfishness in doing so, wanting to replicate the legendary experience in Shanxi and establish his own power in the left and right. However, what he did was not worth mentioning in front of Chiang Kai-shek.
After Chiang Kai-shek's comeback, Yan Xishan was completely marginalized and became a political solitary minister. Since then, Yan Xishan's political career has basically come to an end, and he bought a farm on the outskirts of Taiwan and lived a reclusive life, with the Kuomintang giving him 50,000 yuan a month for living expenses.
Death leaves a last word
In his later years in Taiwan, Yan Xishan lived a quiet and lonely life away from the center of power, working on the farm every day, and resting at sunrise and sunset.
The former king of Shanxi can only reflect on his life in loneliness, and he can never let go of Shanxi's failure.
In 1960, Yan Xishan had already entered his old age, experienced countless winds, frosts, rains and snows, was physically and mentally exhausted and sick, and his physical condition was worrying, and he was later hospitalized due to serious illness.
In the hospital, Yan Xishan needed to rely on infusions and medicines to sustain his life, and he suffered from illness every day, but despite this, he still kept a clear head and knew that his time was running out.
The relatives took good care of Yan Xishan and accompanied him, but Yan Xishan himself seemed unusually calm, without too many words, just lying quietly on the hospital bed, as if looking back on his life.
Perhaps realizing that the deadline was approaching, Yan Xishan began to confess his last words, so as to draw a complete end to his life, the last words were short and concise, and contained several important contents.
First of all, Yan Xishan hopes that his funeral can be simpler, lower in specification, and not extravagant and wasteful; Secondly, Yan Xishan asked his relatives not to cry loudly after his death.
If the former one is easy to understand, after all, Yan Xishan has experienced too much glory and wealth in his life, and he no longer needs to pursue superficial scenery when he is dying, but the second last words are incomprehensible to many people.
In traditional Chinese culture, crying loudly when a loved one dies is a way to express grief, but Yan Xishan does not want his relatives to do the same, perhaps because of his life experience and psychological changes in Taiwan.
Yan Xishan's life in Taiwan was not satisfactory, as mentioned above, after Chiang Kai-shek's comeback, he has been under surveillance, and he does not dare to make the slightest mistake. Coupled with being far away from his homeland in Shanxi and losing his former power and status, life has become lonely and lonely.
He also tried to carry out some political and economic activities in Taiwan, but he did not achieve remarkable results, and many unsatisfactory things made Yan Xishan feel the impermanence of life and the changeability of fate, and saw life and death more thoroughly.
Since ancient times, no one has died, birth, old age, sickness and death are natural laws, and there is no need to be overly sad, Yan Xishan did not let his relatives cry loudly, perhaps hoping to accept his departure calmly and face the impermanence of life with a peaceful mind.
Of course, there is also a possibility that he will leave without waves, which is also a guarantee for the living, after all, Chiang Kai-shek has been staring at him.
Yan Xishan had already sent his son abroad before, and it can be seen from this that he is not worried about his posthumous affairs.
Yan Xishan also made arrangements for his own property and future affairs, demanding that his property be reasonably distributed to ensure that every relative can get the protection they deserve, after all, life in Taiwan is not as good as in Shanxi, and he hopes that they can continue to live their own lives.
Yan Xishan also specifically mentioned his longing for his hometown Shanxi, hoping that his ashes could be brought back to Shanxi and buried in his homeland.
It's a pity that this wish was not fulfilled and was finally buried on Qixing Mountain in Taipei...... As the once beautiful "King of Shanxi", Yan Xishan had ups and downs in the power struggle, and finally spent his lonely old age in Taiwan.
The last words may be a calmness about life and death, or it may be to protect the family members who are still alive, it is no exaggeration to say that Yan Xishan has been calculating all his life, even when he is dying......
What do you think differently about this?
Reference: Education in Shanxi under Yan Xishan - CNKI (cnki.net)
Yan Xishan's Alternative Will - CNKI (cnki.net)