Soong Mei-ling and her beloved little brother

it's a sad party, but we're more closely connected.

the relationship between Soong Mei-ling and her little brother Song Zi-an is not only the love and support of an ordinary sister to her younger brother, they are nine years apart, but they are also far away, but because of this distance, Mei-ling was able to play a mother-like role during a period of Zi'an 's life, and their relationship has been very close in the days that followed. Gu Weijun, as a bystander, also left a record in his memoirs that the relationship between quot; Xi'an and his sister was much better than that of Zi Wen. At that time, in the 1950s, Zi an and Mei-Ling were both in their 50s, but they still gave others the impression. And their adult photos, although now can see very little, it is obvious that he has always been her beloved little brother. The relationship between Mei Ling and other brothers and sisters is more or less marked by political darkness, but between her and Xi'an, no matter what situation they are in, they are all the care and love of an ordinary sister to their younger brother.

when Mei Ling studied abroad in 1907, Zi was just born. In such an era when transportation and communication are inconvenient, their impression of each other for ten years should only come from the correspondence between Mei Ling and her parents. When Mei Ling graduated from college and returned home in 1917, Zi was ten years old. it could be said that they met for the first time in their lives, but when they returned home, Mei-Ling quickly entered the role of sister and began to take care of her two brothers in all aspects. In fact, as a daughter, she is sharing with her parents. Although the Song parents are very good, they generally feel that they have given more time and painstaking effort to the older children in front of them, and later, especially when Xi'an was growing up, they did not have much energy to educate the youngest child in person. Father Song, in particular, died when Xi'an was 11 years old. While the former two sisters, Song Ailing, have their own families and careers. Brother Song Ziwen was either away from home on business or spent all day in the office. Meiling should have spent the longest time at home with Xi'an. She participated in the growth of Xi'an and spent more time and energy on Xi'an than her parents.

Meiling is not a gentle sister in the traditional sense, she is very much like her mother in some aspects of her character. During the period when she first returned to China, Zi was often beaten for poor grades, temper tantrums, laziness, and other reasons. Meiling said in her letter to Emma on August 7, 1917: my two brothers failed the exam last year, and my family was very angry. The poor child has two teachers who come every day, one to teach English and the other to teach Chinese. I think they teach effectively. I also teach two brothers English grammar. Under my supervision, one of them is learning how to use punctuation and the other is learning to spell. I think the 10-year-old will stay at home next year. A teacher will teach him Chinese, and I will teach him other subjects. I had completely subdued the two boys and handed them over to me because my mother was bored. They are not easy to control because they are really smart and lazy. I've hit the little one several times, and they're both afraid of me. You have no idea how disciplined I am. 

at the beginning of this letter, Meiling mentioned that\ & quot; I have been home for almost three weeks\ & quot; has been beaten several times by this sister who has been away from home for ten years in just three weeks. I don't know what he thought of her at that time. Mei Ling later mentioned in her letter to Emma that she had hit so hard that she was very sorry for her little brother who had been beaten, but she still beat her until he admitted his mistake:\ & quot; my ten-year-old brother looks like a devil today. I hit him and let him lie in bed for three hours. I have never seen him lose his temper so much. I let my parents leave the room so that I could discipline him more efficiently. He has now calmed down and is as weak as a lamb. I can't tell you how heartbroken I was when I hit him, but because he refused to admit his mistake, I had to keep beating him until he apologized for losing his temper. I broke the stick when I hit him! 

from the onlooker's point of view, Meiling is a little too strict or even rude. A ten-year-old boy should already have unique sensitivity, stubbornness, and self-esteem. He feels that Meiling has not seriously understood Zi'an 's emotions. Fortunately, this did not cast a shadow over their relationship. After all, the days of being beaten are a minority, and Xi'an should be able to feel the contribution of Mei Ling in his daily life. Although the five brothers and sisters take care of themselves, it is Mei Ling who can spend so much time and energy on themselves. Even if Xi'an was more afraid of this strict sister at that time, he could understand the sister's expectations and love for him after getting along with her for a long time. After returning home, Mei Ling is busy socializing and learning Chinese and music, but she takes time every day to help Zi with her lessons. In her letter to Emma on January 13, 1918, Mei-Ling mentioned that she was helping Ann prepare for the entrance exam for St. John's High School:\ & quot; my little brother will take St. John's entrance exam next week. I am in a hurry to help him with his homework in the hope that he can pass the exam. Quote;

Zi failed the exam. Mei Ling said in a letter dated January 31st: did I tell you that my little brother is going to take St. John's entrance exam? He passed English, but failed Chinese, so he can't go to school yet. I have to teach him for another six months because we live too far from a good day school. Quote; until September 1919, Xi'an finally passed St. John's entrance examination. At that time, Ai Ling had just given birth to her third child, and Mama Song was busy looking after her. Mei Ling was preparing for Zi'an 's admission. quote; my little brother passed St. John's enrollment for the exam, he is at school now and can only go home once a month. As soon as my sister's baby was born, I was busy sending him to school. I didn't think he would pass the exam, so I was very busy on the days when I learned that he had passed the exam and sent him to school. Mother has been taking care of her sister, so there is nothing she can do. 

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if it hadn't been for Mei Ling's supervision and guidance, Zi might not have been admitted to St. John. Of course, with a sister like Mei Ling, it doesn't matter whether he is admitted to this famous school or not. Zi, who began his boarding career, wrote to Meiling about his life at school and his loneliness when he left home for the first time. Meiling said in the letter: I just received a letter from my little brother. this is the first time he has left home. He looks lonely and not happy. Poor child. 

in addition to her studies, Meiling should also take good care of Xi'an in her daily life. In her letter to Emma, she mentioned taking her little brother to buy fireworks because she knew that children like to set off fireworks. Quote; tomorrow I'm going to take my little brother to the city to buy firecrackers and fireworks. Whether born in a poor family or a rich family, every Chinese child likes to play with these two things from the bottom of his heart. Quote; doesn't plan to have any celebrations at home on the first Christmas after their father's death, but they still have to prepare Christmas presents for their little brother, who is still a child.

Meiling also asked Emma to help Ann subscribe to American children's magazines as his birthday gift:\ & not;, can you subscribe to St. Nicholas magazine for two years? Please write Song Zi a Shou, 30 Seymour Road, Shanghai, China. I want to give him this magazine as his birthday present. He is a very clever little boy with a strong curiosity and curiosity. So I think some interesting and healthy reading materials are what he needs. \ & quot; she has been watching Zi'an 's growth. Sometimes when she goes out to meet her good friends, she takes her teenage son with her. Emma remembers in her later years that she was with Mei Ling when she made an appointment with Mei Ling for ice cream at a famous chocolate shop in Shanghai in the early 1920s.

these are the years before Mei Ling met Jiang. In the most brilliant 20 years of Mei Ling's life, I have not seen relevant historical materials about her relationship and interaction with Xi'an. But if you look at the photos of the two of them during this period, you can still feel the special closeness between them. Mei Ling's photo with Xi'an is different from her photo style with others. You can see at a glance that her fully grown brother is still loved and cared for by her. On the other hand, in the years when Ziwen had a bad relationship with Mei Ling, if he had any inconvenience to say directly, he was asked to convey Zi an's closeness to Mei Ling. And his importance as a little brother in this family with many powerful brothers and sisters.

Mei Ling and Xi'an

Jiang and his brother-in-law Song Ziwen (right) and brother-in-law Song Zian

Xi'an may not have made any concrete return to Mei Ling, but he has been a reassuring and warm little brother for the rest of his life, which is enough for Mei Ling. He went to study at Harvard University in 1926. After returning home, he spent most of his time doing things with his eldest brother Soong Ziwen, who was his right-hand man when he went to the United States for help. In addition to the second elder sister Soong Ching-ling, his brothers and sisters, including the relatively less famous Song Ziliang, have been attacked and criticized, but there is hardly anything bad about him (although he is occasionally picked up when blaming his brother and sister, it can be regarded as an escort). It was not easy to be in his position at that time. He did not have a bad influence on Meiling because of his words and deeds.

Zi married in the United States during the Anti-Japanese War has a beautiful wife and two sons, and his personal life can be regarded as happy. In fact, as a little brother who is taken care of and loved, his brother and sister should want to see him have a happy life. For Meiling, who attaches great importance to family affection, Xi'an has always been a kind of emotional support for her. For example, Mei-Ling mentioned in her memoirs of the Xi'an incident that after the incident and before she flew to Xi'an, Yu tried to go to Xi'an. Minister Kong and other sisters and brothers were willing to accompany her. Especially touching Xi'an should also be by her side to give her comfort and be willing to accompany her to go. For example, according to Gu Weijun, in July 1954, Mei-Ling went to the United States for medical treatment on a low profile and was unwilling to inform the embassy in the United States. Zi also went to pick her up and accompany her when she arrived in San Francisco.

49 years later, Zi an's family often went to Taiwan, and his children also brought happiness to Meiling's family. Song Zhonghu, Zi'an 's youngest son, recalled: I spent many summers from the age of nine to college, including some of the time since then, with Madame Chiang and them. in those years Chiang Kai-shek's diary sometimes appeared to play with Xiong Hu, which refers to Zi'an 's two sons, Song Boxiong and Song Zhonghu.

Mei Ling also devoted herself to Zi'an 's children. In his childhood, Song Zhonghu was not good at Chinese. To enable him to read letters, Meiling often drew all kinds of animals and plants on stationery to express the meaning of words and wrote to him in pictures mixed with simple Chinese. After a picture of Song Zhonghu when he was a teenager, there was a sentence written by Jiang: since you left, I am alone and lonely. I hope you will come again during the summer vacation and keep me company. The quote; reads the feeling of warmth, and you can also see the love of the couple for their son Ann.

the greatest pain that Xi'an brought to Meiling should be his sudden death. He has so many young Mei ages, and Mei-Ling looks to grow up, and he is still in good health, so you can imagine how much pain Meiling will suffer from the news that he died of a sudden cerebral hemorrhage while on a business trip in Hong Kong. He was also the first important person in Meiling's life besides her parents. A reporter saw Mei Ling's tears at the airport in San Francisco. She wanted to go to the United States to attend Zi'an 's funeral on a low profile, but she was found out and could only tearfully tell reporters that it was a personal trip. Xi'an's sudden departure may have made his brothers and sisters realize that they may lose each other at any time, so they should cherish the time they can still spend together. As Mei Ling said in her letter to friends after the funeral: this is a sad party, but we are more closely connected.