The Shameful Reality of the Republican Era Officialdom

Author: Li Wei / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 1998-01-01
Features: Willing to Endure Her Wife's Whipping One day, Zhang Ji's classmate from his study in France, Peng Jiqun, came to Zhang Ji's residence. He was a frequent visitor and entered directly without waiting for an announcement. Upon entering the hall, he saw Zhang Ji kneeling before his wife, Cui Zhenhua. Peng Jiqun couldn’t believe his eyes. But it was true. Cui Zhenhua was holding a whip and whipping Zhang Ji repeatedly. Peng Jiqun, of course, couldn’t stand idly by and stepped forward to intervene. But the whipped Zhang Ji said, “Brother Peng, please don’t interfere. My wife is a good person; let her vent her anger.” Peng Jiqun had no choice but to turn and leave. Another time was during the War of Resistance, in Chongqing. On New Year's Day, Chen Zheng (Juesheng), a Central Executive Committee member of the Kuomintang and President of the Legislative Yuan, visited Zhang Ji’s home to celebrate the holiday. In front of Zhang Ji’s mansion, he saw a toilet placed there. Chen Zheng was puzzled but still entered. He found Zhang Ji kneeling in the hall. Chen Zheng hurriedly asked why, and Zhang Ji shook his head repeatedly, saying, “This is a family matter. Please don’t inquire about it.” Chen Zheng knew this was because Cui Zhenhua, Zhang Ji’s wife, had made him kneel. If so, Cui Zhenhua must be a terrifying and cruel wife. However, those who had met her did not have such an impression. The famous journalist and writer Cao Juren had met this Zhang Ji’s wife and found her to be quite reasonable and understanding of human emotions. Yet, why did she show such a tendency toward her husband, and why was the strong Zhang Ji so obedient? He found it inexplicable and attributed it to past karma. Cui Zhenhua was not just an ordinary housewife; she was also a figure in the Republican era’s political circles. She was a Central Supervisory Committee member of the Kuomintang and held the same position as Zhang Ji. During the War of Resistance, she was the head of the Sichuan branch of the War-Time Child Care Association. The Child Care Institution on Geling Mountain in Chongqing was directly under her jurisdiction. Important personnel in the institution could not be appointed without her consent. In fact, her jurisdiction extended far beyond this; the departments where Zhang Ji worked all had to go through Cui Lady for appointments. Without her approval, Zhang Ji dared not act. Even Chiang Kai-shek feared her and her husband’s “fear of his wife,” with the wife holding the reins in the Republican era’s political circles. It wasn’t just Zhang Ji; the aforementioned Wang Jingwei, who survived a gunshot from Sun Fengming and later became a major traitor, was also subject to his wife’s rule. Wang Jingwei’s wife, Chen Biquan, styled Bingru, was born in 1891 in a wealthy overseas Chinese family in Penang, Malaya, with ancestral roots in Guangzhou, Canton. Chen Biquan joined the revolution at a young age. In Sun Yat-sen’s Tongmenghui, she was one of the earliest female members. She joined the Tongmenghui in 1907, a year after Chiang Kai-shek. In 1907, Wang Jingwei, on behalf of Sun Yat-sen, came to Penang, Malaya, to engage in revolutionary activities. His handsome appearance, elegant demeanor, and fluent oratory attracted Chen Biquan, who was about ten years younger than him. She fell deeply in love with him and followed him to Japan. At that time, Sun Yat-sen, though impressed by her young age but firm revolutionary will, accepted her into the Tongmenghui. “Singing in the city of swallows with boldness, calmly enduring as a captive; drawing the knife for a swift death, living up to the youth’s head.” This famous poem was composed by Wang Jingwei when he failed in his assassination attempt on the Qing Regent, Zaifeng, and was imprisoned. During that life-and-death attempt, Chen Biquan accompanied Wang Jingwei to Beijing. After the failure of the assassination, when Wang Jingwei was imprisoned, she tirelessly raised funds and campaigned for his release. Yet, she was still accused of harboring communists. “Because the girl Liu Mengying once stayed in a house I built, I must continue to be detained in a military prison.” She explained, “The charges of harboring and organizing groups” led to my imprisonment for eleven months and six days in a military prison. This was merely the aftermath of the ‘nine wives’ case.” During his detention, Xu Qinwen repeatedly appealed, defending himself and seeking justice, enduring repeated interrogations by the court. However, it wasn’t until May 12, 1934, that the Supreme Court of Zhejiang sent his case of harboring a traitor back for retrial. After further struggles, he was ultimately declared innocent. But by then, he had already suffered another round of imprisonment for over ten months. Xu Qinwen, wearing the “red hat,” found himself in a crowded, harsh military prison, unjustly imprisoned and enduring great hardships, both physically and mentally. Upon entering the cell, which was crammed with fifteen people and reeking of filth—“just like a third or fourth-class smoking cabin on a ship”—he felt as if he had “plummeted from a high mountain into a deep abyss.” Not only was he filled with grief and anxiety, unable to bear the injustice, but he also constantly worried about his parents and relatives, blaming himself for dragging them into trouble. As a result, he was in a state of turmoil, overwhelmed by sorrow and worry, his mind weakened, his memory declining, and suffering from severe insomnia. He often sang alone in the middle of the night without realizing it, or he would be in a daze, unable to distinguish between reality and dreams. His intense anxiety and stifling grief also led to a large, round sore on his left eye, causing him unbearable pain and making it impossible for him to read or write. In prison, apart from his own inner suffering, Xu Qinwen also endured the torment of prison guards, rats, mosquitoes, and harsh weather. This further deepened his mental anguish and severely damaged his body. His meals consisted of coarse, yellow rice with almost no vegetables, served with only water, making his digestion sluggish. His false teeth, which had been in place for twenty-one and a half years, began to fall out one by one. He also found that urination became more frequent. This prison food caused him immense pain, so he often recalled and studied the pleasure of meat and cooking, attempting to “have a spiritual meal.” After his release, he wrote an article titled “A Letter to My Sister-in-Law About Cooking Pork in Prison” for the magazine Yuzhou Feng. As a Central Supervisory Committee member, Wang Jingwei explained to Chen Biquan, “Bingru, don’t look at the title; the reality is what matters. Having the title of ‘Wang Lady’ is enough.” Wang Jingwei was right. In the puppet government, Chen Biquan, though not holding specific responsibilities, meddled in everything. She had her own group of women. Her subordinates included the Vice President of the Executive Yuan, Chu Minyi (her brother-in-law), the Secretary-General of the Executive Yuan, Chen Chunquan (her nephew), the Director of the Aviation Bureau, Chen Changzu (her brother), and other officials who depended on her, occupying various positions. However, Chen Biquan was ruthless and greedy for both power and money. She was not content with just sitting on the cold bench of a Central Supervisory Committee member and soon began to scheme to control a province. The province Chen Biquan desired was Guangdong, the hometown of both Wang Jingwei and her. Her plan was to have her brother, Chen Yaogu, appointed as governor, with her pulling the strings behind the scenes. However, Wang Jingwei’s powerful subordinates opposed this, and Wang Jingwei persuaded her not to go too far for now, suggesting that Chen Gongbo be appointed as governor instead. Chen Gongbo, naturally, was smart enough to delay his acceptance of the appointment. Chen Yaogu became the acting governor, but in reality, Chen Biquan still held control. Still, she didn’t feel secure. After multiple efforts, she finally secured the special title of “Political Guide of Guangdong” as a “Central Representative,” allowing her to stay in Guangdong for a long time. After arriving in Guangdong, Chen Biquan immediately purged her rivals, forcing Peng Dongyuan, the head of the Guangdong Maintenance Association supported by the Japanese, to step down and dissolve the association. This finally made Guangdong Chen Biquan’s domain (Chen Gongbo never actually took office in Guangdong, and later Chen Yaogu was formally appointed as governor). Greed and cruelty…