Wang Fangni's biological mother, Meng Qingshu
Hello everyone, I'm Lantai.
Today, Lantai would like to introduce to you the "Chinese princess" of Bulgaria in Eastern Europe in 1946 - Wang Fangni.
Why is she a "Chinese princess" of Bulgaria?
This is because her adoptive father was Dimitrov, the leader of Bulgaria at the time, and the only child of Dimitrov and his wife also died during the Soviet-German war, and the old couple only had Wang Fangni's adopted daughter under their knees.
So Dimitrov regarded Wang Fanni as his own, loved her very much, and named her Dimitrova.
And Dimitrov also built a children's entertainment room of nearly 200 square meters for Wang Fangni in the Vlana Palace where he lived.
Flana Palace
Located in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, Flana Palace was the royal palace of Tsar Simeon II of Bulgaria until 1946, and even he himself was born in Flana Palace.
After World War II, Bulgaria abolished the "monarchy", exiled Simeon II, and used Flana Palace as the office and residence of the Bulgaria head of state, the Prime Minister of Bulgaria.
It was not until 1951 that Largo was repaired (Largo is the name of three Stalinist buildings, one of which was the Chancellery) that Bulgaria leaders moved from the Vlana Palace to the Chancellery.
In other words, Wang Fangni, the "Chinese princess", lived in the Vlana Palace for more than three years, until her adoptive father Dimitrov died in 1949, when she and her adoptive mother moved out of the Vlana Palace and left Bulgaria to live in the Soviet Union.
What's more interesting is that Wang Fangni is not only famous as her adoptive father, but her biological father is not small, her biological father is Wang Ming.
Next, Lantai will briefly introduce Wang Fangni and her adoptive father.
Wang Ming and his wife Meng Qingshu
01、
Wang Fangni, whose Russian name is · Dimitrova · Georgy Tovna, was born in Moscow on January 18, 1932.
Her biological father was Wang Ming, who was quite famous in modern history and caused the Red Army to have to go on a long march.
Although Wang Ming, born in 1904, was 22 years younger than Dimitrov, born in 1882, and the two did not know each other until Dimitrov came to Moscow from Germany in 1934 to become president of the Communist International, the fact is that Wang Ming and Dimitrov quickly developed a deep personal friendship in their work.
In 1937, on the eve of Wang Ming and his wife's return to China, they were reluctant to let their daughter return to war-torn China with the couple, so they entrusted Wang Fangni to Dimitrov's care.
Although Dimitrov and his second wife Rosa's child was just one year old at the time, Dimitrov readily agreed to help Wang Ming take care of his daughter.
The tomb of Dimitrov's only son
However, based on Dimitrov's letter to Wang Ming in December 1943, we can conclude that at least at this point in time, Dimitrov had not officially adopted Wang Fangni:
Letter to little Fania received. She lives with us and grows and develops well. She was a top-hue student at school, and she extended warm greetings and best wishes to her parents. We had a great misfortune – our little Dimitri died in April of malignant diphtheria.
And from this letter, we can also learn that Dimitrov's only child, Dimitri, died of illness when he was 7 years old, and not "died in the Soviet-German war" as Wang Fangni's younger brother Wang Dandin said in an interview with domestic reporters.
And Wang Ming also regarded himself as Wang Fangni's father in his reply letter to Dimitrov, which shows that at the beginning of 1944, Dimitrov had not officially adopted Wang Fangni:
Thank you and dear Rosa from the bottom of my heart for your care and education of my daughter over the years. I would like to express my deep condolences on the passing of the lovely Mija.
It can be seen that Dimitrov should have officially adopted Wang Fangni in 1944-1945.
At this time, Wang Fanni never imagined that more than a year later, she would go from Moscow to Bulgaria with her adoptive father Dimitrov, and she was also called the "Chinese princess" of Bulgaria.
Dimitrov vs. Stalin
02、
During World War I, Bulgaria was a staunch follower of Germany and Austria-Hungary, so Bulgaria was also liquidated by the Allies after the war.
Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria abdicated the throne to Crown Prince Boris at the behest of the Entente and went into exile with the queen in Austria.
At the age of 24, Ferdinand I's eldest son, Boris, became Tsar Boris III of Bulgaria.
Boris III was only the "mascot" of the Kingdom of Bulgaria for a long time, until 1935, Boris III relied on various coincidences, taking advantage of the contradictions between new and old soldiers, successfully expelled the ruling Georgiev government and began to implement the arbitrary rule of the tsar.
After the outbreak of World War II, Boris III was forced by Hitler to join the Axis powers, and in 1943 Boris III died unexpectedly, and his son Simeon succeeded to the throne, which was the last Tsar of Bulgaria, Simeon II.
Although Bulgaria reluctantly joined the Axis camp, since it joined the Axis, it was naturally an enemy of the anti-fascist alliance led by the Soviet Union and United States.
In May 1944, the Soviet Union officially declared war on Bulgaria. The progressive forces in Bulgaria responded to the liberation of Bulgaria by the Soviet Union with strikes and armed uprisings.
After the Soviet army entered Bulgaria from Romania, it did not encounter any resistance along the way, and almost liberated Ruse, Shumen, Varna, Burgas and some other towns along the way by means of armed marches.
Not long after, an uprising broke out in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, and the rebels expelled the right-wing government, and three days later Soviet troops entered Bulgaria.
Simeon II
At this time, Tsar Simeon II of Bulgaria and his ministers were temporarily placed under house arrest.
In 1945, Dimitrov returned to Bulgaria with his wife and adoptive queen Fanny after years of exile.
In 1946, Bulgaria abolished the monarchy and exiled Simeon II, after which Dimitrov was elected the first prime minister of Bulgaria, and Dimitrov's family lived in the Vlana Palace.
As Dimitrov's only adopted daughter, Wang Fangni naturally became the "Chinese princess" of Bulgaria.
On July 2, 1949, Dimitrov died in Moscow at the age of 67.
Georgy · Dimitrov's Mausoleum in 1969
The embalmed body was placed in a crystal coffin at the tomb of Georgy · Dimitrov in Sofia.
Wang Fangni also followed her adoptive mother Rosa back to live in Moscow.
After Dimitrov's death, Wang Fanny did not choose to return to Bulgaria, but stayed in Moscow.
Later, Wang Fangni was admitted to the military academy and became a lieutenant colonel pilot, and she was also the highest-ranking Chinese officer in the Soviet Army after World War II.
Wang Ming's family in the 1960s
On January 27, 1985, Wang Fangni died of illness in Moscow, and was buried with her biological mother Meng Qingshu at the age of 53.
Wang Fangni's biggest regret in life is probably that as a Chinese, she never stepped on the land of her motherland until her death.
And according to Wang Danding, his sister Wang Fangni doesn't even speak Chinese.
I don't know what everyone thinks of Wang Fangni, the "Chinese princess"? Welcome to leave a message in the comment area to discuss.
END
Resources:
From the Soviet Union to Russia, Zhu Zheng, published by Oriental Publishing House;
"Wang Ming's Son Wang Danding", Shao Ning, Shanghai Tang, 1995, No. 97;
Wang Ming's Son Wang Danding - The Envoy of Chinese and Russian Culture, Shao Ning, Yuanliu, 2004.1;
Selected Diaries of Dimitrov, Dimitrov, Guangxi Normal University Press;