Who knows about Chinese diplomat Jiang Zuobin?

1884-1941 AD), courtesy name Yuyan, was born in Yingcheng, Hubei Province. Famous general of the National Revolutionary Army.

Born in a poor family. In his youth, he saw the corruption and incompetence of the Qing Dynasty and determined to make a revolution, overthrow the thousands of years of feudal dynasty rule, and establish a democratic, prosperous and powerful China.

In July 1905, Jiang Zuobin studied at the Wuchang Wen General School. Due to his excellent grades, he was sent to Japan as a publicly funded student. Soon, he and some revolutionary patriots organized and established the Tongmenghui under the leadership of Mr. Sun Yat-sen. Shortly after the founding of the Tongmenghui, Sun Yat-sen left Japan and went to various places in Europe, America, and Southeast Asia. Huang Xing acted as Prime Minister of the Tongmenghui. Jiang Zuobin met with Huang Xing to discuss the revolutionary strategy. After deciding to return to China, Jiang Zuobin penetrated into the Qing Dynasty, went deep into the enemy's belly, and seized power from the top down; Huang Xing led the revolutionary patriots from the bottom up to carry out armed struggle. In 1907, he transferred to the Japanese Army Non-commissioned Officer School. After full preparations, Jiang Zuobin returned to China in 1908 and reported to the Qing government. He was first assigned to serve as an instructor at the Baoding Military Academy. During this period, he continued to instill revolutionary ideas into the students and did some revolutionary organizational work. The next year, he ranked second in the National Army Study Abroad Graduate Examination, and was transferred to the Qing court's Army Ministry's Military Scale Department as Section Chief. The Military Scale Department, also called the Military System Department, was in charge of the national army's personnel services and troop deployment. Department, status is very important. Soon, because he translated Japanese infantry drills into Chinese and used them in the army, Army Minister Yin Chang and others were highly appreciated by him. He used this opportunity to propose the reorganization of the National Revolutionary Army. The old army cadres (including Yuan Shikai's Beiyang Army) were gradually eliminated and replaced with alliance members (the Qing court certainly did not know that they were alliance members) or graduates of the Army Military Academy. Because the Qing court was afraid of Yuan Shikai's excessive power, it quickly adopted his suggestions.

In 1911, Jiang Zuobin was promoted to director of the Military Balance Department. This job was very beneficial to the realization of the revolutionary party's central power-seizing revolutionary plan. By August of that year, he had eliminated many of Yuan Shikai's minions and the old governor's hawks, laying a good foundation for the subsequent victory of the revolution. That year, although the Huanghuagang Uprising led by Huang Xing failed, it greatly shook the morale of the Qing army. At that time, Jiang Zuobin believed that after two or three years of organizational preparation, when military power was basically in the hands of revolutionaries, the central revolution could be realized relatively smoothly. However, due to the accident in Hankou, the revolutionary party had to advance the uprising on October 10. The original plan was shattered. After he got the news, although he was regretful but without hesitation, he took action immediately.

After news of the Wuchang Uprising reached Beijing, the Qing court gathered forces to encircle and suppress the rebels. Seventy-two mountain artillery pieces were mobilized outside Wuchang, but there were only 25 shells, so Jiang Zuobin was ordered to transport arms to Baoding. After he took the order, he deliberately placed the train carrying artillery shells in the 51st sequence at the back, so that the artillery shells could not be transported to their destination within ten days (the Beijing-Hankou Line was a single track at the time), and the mountain artillery became a dumb cannon and could not function, which greatly weakened the Improved the Qing army's combat effectiveness. At the same time, he actively organized troops from Northeast and North China to support the uprising. When they arrived in Wuchang, the revolutionary army was frustrated in Hanyang. Huang Xingdong walked to Shanghai. He hurried to the Governor's Mansion. Governor Li Yuanhong and others were crying bitterly because of their defeat. Seeing this, he said: "Victory and defeat are common matters for military officers. Although the revolutionary army lost in Hankou and Hanyang, there is still Wuchang. Even Wuchang was lost, and there are other areas. How can you cry like mother-in-law at this time? ? I hope you can hold on for another week and I will send reinforcements." Li Po smiled. He rushed to Jiangxi overnight and mobilized troops and reinforcements, which not only eased the situation in Wuchang, but also promoted the unification of Jiangxi. Later, when Yinchang and others learned the truth, they were shocked and said with emotion: They didn't expect Jiang Zuobin to be a revolutionary. No wonder the Qing Dynasty is about to run out of energy!

Many years later, when Jiang Zuobin talked about the Revolution of 1911, he always felt a little regretful. If the Wuchang Uprising had waited another two or three years, when most of Yuan Shikai's forces had been eliminated, and the revolutionaries had been replaced, it would have been better. There may not be the subsequent melee between the Beiyang warlords.

In 1912, Jiang Zuobin was appointed as the Deputy Minister of the Army of the Nanjing Provisional Government. Later, entrusted by Sun Yat-sen and Huang, he was re-elected as the Deputy Minister of the Army in the Beijing government. He actively proposed the establishment of three military units in Beijing, Wuhan and Nanjing. Point-based revolutionary armed forces and strengthen the revolutionary military force. However, due to Yuan Shikai's restoration and suppression, these revolutionary armed forces were successively destroyed. After that, he followed Mr. Sun Yat-sen south to prepare for the Northern Expedition and served as the chief of staff of the base camp.

After Sun's death, he inherited his legacy and actively participated in the Northern Expedition. In 1926, during the Northern Expedition, he served as the Xuanfu envoy to Jiangxi and Hubei. In order to prevent Zhang Zuolin from cooperating with Wu Peifu in the so-called Beiyang Great Unity, he went to Shenyang to persuade Zhang Zuolin. Before leaving, his friends advised him that it would be very unlucky for him to go there, so it was best not to go. He thought that the Northern Expedition was a prerequisite for reunification. Unification is the guarantee of strengthening the country and enriching the people. For the sake of the unity and prosperity of the country, personal life does not matter. He went without fear. Sure enough, Wu Peifu learned that he instigated many warlords to call Zhang Zuolin, saying that Jiang Zuobin was a lobbyist of the Red Party and wanted Zhang Zuolin to kill him. At that time, various newspapers in Shanghai published these letters and messages. He also said that Jiang Zuobin must die. After he went to Shenyang, he made righteous and generous speeches, and finally convinced Zhang Zuolin and ensured the smooth progress of the Northern Expedition.

After the victory of the Northern Expedition, Jiang Zuobin shouted that construction should be stepped up to restore the wounds of the war. He pointed out that in the late 1920s, China's most dangerous enemy was Japan, and the whole country must unite and keep its guns pointed at the outside world. Faced with the increasingly serious threat from Japan, when the Northern Expedition was victorious, he did not seek office and gain for himself. He was only worried about the future of the country. He decided to go abroad and contact Germany (then the German Social Democratic Party Hindenburg was in power), the former Soviet Union and other European countries. , to curb the development of Japan's military power. Later, he was appointed minister to Germany and Austria. On the way to take office, the turbulent sea water was like the ups and downs of his heart. When will the country be able to settle down and work together to build the country?

Since Jiang Zuobin was the first minister of the Republic of China government, the German government specially drove a float to greet him at the German-Swiss border. At Berlin Station, some senior officials came out to greet him (later ambassadors never had such a lively scene). After taking office, he actively carried out multi-party diplomacy. After the Kuomintang government severed diplomatic relations with the former Soviet Union in 1929, many people in the government believed that the former Soviet Union was an enemy and should never be contacted. He believed that the former Soviet Union had many things to learn from, and to contain Japan, it was necessary to contact the former Soviet Union. He also managed to go to the former Soviet Union for on-the-spot investigation, and ventured back to the country to preach, promoting the spirit of unity and nation-building in the former Soviet Union. During his tenure, he contacted the foreign ministers of the former Soviet Union many times and explained the positive significance of the Soviet Union to the authorities, but none of them was adopted.

Before Jiang Zuobin arrived in Berlin, the Chinese Embassy in Germany did not even have a car. When it came to foreign affairs events, it had to borrow a car temporarily and was in a hurry. Not only did it cause problems, but it was also often laughed at. Not only that, the dilapidated state of the museum inside and outside is really surprising. The eaves are peeling, the curtains are shabby, the chair surfaces are broken and connected with holes, and the heating is often not available. It is ridiculed by outsiders as a "cold palace". After he arrived, he immediately began to design and repair the house, replace the interior furnishings, and install intercoms, heating and other equipment, giving the embassy a completely new look. In late autumn, when there was a banquet in the hotel, even the female guests with bare breasts and backs did not feel the slightest chill. From then on, the nickname "Leng Gong" was never mentioned again. He also customized a tall and beautiful car based on the style of the car of the then German President Hindenburg, which was very eye-catching among the Berlin diplomatic community. When I was in Japan in the 1930s, there were numerous similar cases. The embassy (official) abroad is a window for foreigners to understand China, and they pay great attention to establishing China's prestige through this window.

In 1929, Jiang Zuobin participated in the first disarmament conference in Geneva of the League of Nations (League of Nations, the predecessor of the United Nations). In the past, international conferences were only conducted in English and French. This time he went against all odds and broke with convention. , solemnly spoke on the rostrum in Chinese, surprising many attendees. The next day, several newspapers in Geneva reported this amazing news: I heard Chinese for the first time at a League of Nations meeting! Even though Japan was one of the great powers at that time, it did not dare to break this convention. After the meeting, while walking in the garden, the Japanese representative came to him specifically and said: "I admire you! I admire your courage. You can speak in Chinese in the League of Nations. We in Japan will also follow this example in the future." The next year, a naval disarmament conference was held in London. At that time, the Japanese really spoke in Japanese. He wrote in his diary: "Our Oriental languages ??are gradually being used in the West, and only a few of them are used as their imitations? With the more than 40 million national languages ??in our country, they are of useful value no matter where they come from. I hope our compatriots Don’t give up on yourself and become discouraged.” Later, after the efforts and struggles of millions of compatriots, Chinese and Chinese finally became the official languages ??and writings of the United Nations.

Jiang Zuobin once put forward some extraordinary insights, which impressed the envoys of Germany and other countries with admiration. Hindenburg also spoke highly of him. He also made many suggestions on many aspects of domestic politics and economy, but many of them were not adopted.

Even his report on mediating the dispute between China and the Soviet Union over the Eastern Railway was not handled promptly by the authorities. As a result, the Japanese laughed at it and benefited from it. He wrote in his diary: "With so much chaos at home, there is really nowhere to hide the face of diplomats abroad. How can we win a position in the world?" The failure to realize his ideals and ambitions made him worried and heartbroken.

As mentioned before, building the embassy in Germany requires a lot of money. Before going to Germany, the government gave a special fee of 360,000 yuan. He spent all the money, but it was not enough. , he also spent his own salary and subsidies for participating in international conferences. These subsidies should be owned by himself and should not be used. But he said: "This is given to me by the government. It is public funds, and public funds must be used for public use." At that time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs often owed the embassy public funds and staff salaries, and often remitted money only once every forty or fifty days, which reduced the embassy staff's salaries. Invisibly a big discount. To this end, he specially formulated a salary advance system: librarians set a salary base according to their positions. Regardless of whether the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' remittance arrives every month, he will advance it privately on a regular basis. After the Ministry's remittance is received, he will withhold it back as appropriate. Due to the serious arrears of department payments, the amount of deductions was never equal to his advance payment. As a result, his advances accumulated more and more. Even when he left office and returned to China, he asked his colleagues to keep the fixed amount for their own use as usual after receiving their salary. If there was any excess, he would repay his previous advances as appropriate. This kind of care and kindness to subordinates was unprecedented at the time. More than ten years later, he was suffering from serious illness and faced financial difficulties. He lived in a small house in Chenjiaqiao, a rural area in Chongqing. He could not buy medicine and could not keep up with his nutrition. However, he never took the initiative to collect these debts until his death. These debts were virtually written off.

In those difficult years, Jiang Zuobin often comforted everyone: "During the Anti-Japanese War, how much does it cost to fire a cannon! When the country has difficulties, we must overcome them and save some! I would rather not eat What's so good?" One day when he was having dinner, a relative came to see him. Seeing that there was no food on the table, he said, "You have been a womb all your life, and now you are eating so poorly and living so hard. Why didn't you grab a few earlier? Where's the money?" He said calmly: "I'm not a corrupt official, why should I seize money?" "Who is a poor official like you?" "A poor official has a clear conscience, can stand firm, can sleep, and is worthy of the country and the nation. My revolution is not for my personal gain, but for the prosperity of the people and the country. If the country is good, I am good, but if the country is poor, I am poor. Now is the war of resistance, and it is a difficult period. If everyone does not save money, where will the country get the money?" /p>

In 1938, when Jiang Zuobin got married, he said: "Now that the Anti-Japanese War has begun and gold is state-owned, we will no longer buy gold jewelry." He did not buy any gold jewelry. He also told his wife not to ride in his car alone, and not to allow his children to use his car, saying "a drop of gasoline is equal to a drop of blood in wartime." This is how he always thinks about the country. In ordinary times, he has no bad habits. He does not smoke, drink (drink a small amount of beer at banquets), play cards, or go to the theater (except for government and group activities). He only likes walking, so he is known as the "Walking Ambassador" in Japan. nickname.

To congratulate King George VI on his coronation (1937 AD) and at the same time go to Germany to negotiate a trade agreement, the government sent Minister of Finance Kong Xiangxi there. In order to get the matter done, Kong decided to let Jiang Shuomin, the eldest son of Jiang Zuobin (then Minister of the Interior), go with him. This kind of good job makes most people rush to go there. However, Jiang Zuobin firmly opposed it. He believed that Jiang Shuomin was studying mathematics in Germany, and it would be appropriate to send someone who studied economics and trade for this job. On his recommendation, Wang Jiahong, who had worked in Germany for many years and had a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Berlin, was sent. Go to. He said: "I don't have a small organization, and talents belong to the country."

In 1941, his son Jiang Shuozhi, who was studying in Switzerland, wrote a letter saying that he only had two weeks of food money left. If you don't have money to buy foreign exchange in the market, some people suggest that you go to Kong Xiangxi, saying that through Kong you can buy official price foreign exchange with one-tenth of the money. But Jiang Zuobin refused to go. He would rather his son starve than ask for help. Later, a colleague from the former embassy in Germany came to see him. After hearing this and knowing that many colleagues had borrowed money that had not yet been repaid, he took the initiative to tell them about Yuyan's current situation. So they pooled money to help Jiang Shuozhi tide over the difficulties. Later, Jiang Shuozhi went to work on his own and completed all his studies.

Jiang Zuobin participated in the revolution in his youth and became deputy minister of the Ministry of War at the age of 28. He knows that talents play an important role in the rise and fall of a country. He cherishes young people, loves talents and pays attention to cultivating talents.

In January 1927, students from the Wuhan Central Military and Political School held propaganda activities in front of the Guanying Concession in Jianghan to celebrate the victory of the Northern Expedition and the relocation of the capital of the Republic of China government to Wuhan.

The British sailors rushed into the concession to provoke a fight, stabbed one person to death and seriously injured five others. The tragedy aroused public outrage among the citizens. They fought with the British sailors with bare hands and attacked the British concession. When Jiang Zuobin heard the news, he thought that if the situation continued to develop, the British might suppress them, and these passionate young people would inevitably suffer greater bloodshed and sacrifice. So after obtaining the consent of the authorities, he immediately went to the scene in person (together with another representative) as a representative of the Republic of China government, persuaded the young people to leave, and announced that the government would negotiate with the British authorities through diplomatic channels to take back the concession. Sure enough, two days later, with the support of people from all walks of life in Wuhan, the Republic of China government announced that it had taken back the British Concession in Hankou.

When he lived in Shanghai in his early years, Dong Biwu, Li Hanjun, Zhang Tailei and others often visited his home. After Dong Biwu arrived in Yan'an on the Long March in 1936, he sent a letter to Jiang Zuobin. In 1929, Liao Chengzhi was arrested for participating in revolutionary activities in Germany. It happened that Jiang Zuobin was serving as minister in Germany, and he tried every means to rescue him. He Xiangning later expressed her gratitude to him. He believes that "talents belong to the country" and talents should be protected and rescued for the country. In 1931, He Dinghua, a student Communist Party member studying in Japan, was arrested by the Japanese authorities for participating in revolutionary activities. Since He Dinghua had worked as an interpreter at the embassy in Japan, Jiang Zuobin felt that this young man was very talented. After learning about He's arrest, he He secretly hired a lawyer to defend him and found someone to act as a guarantee to release He Dinghua from prison on bail. He also failed to extradite He Dinghua back to the country as ordered by the government. He knew that if he was extradited back to the country, he would definitely be killed, which would be a pity for such a talented person. After He Dinghua boarded the ship and left Japan, he reported to the government that He Dinghua had been released on bail and was no longer in Japan. Later, He Dinghua arrived in Shanghai safely and then traveled to Yan'an.

Jiang Zuobin neither took power nor amassed money, and was recognized as an "upright official". In addition to using his salary income for work and life, the rest is used to educate his children in order to contribute more to the country. For children studying abroad, they are required to come back and serve the country after completing their studies. Most of them have done so, and some have become world famous. Some children have not returned to the country due to historical reasons, but they are still trying to make some contributions to the motherland.

Before the Northern Expedition, Jiang Zuobin had already seen the threat Japan posed to China. In 1928, during the Second Northern Expedition, the "May 3rd Jinan Massacre" occurred. On May 3, the Japanese troops stationed in Jinan without permission suddenly surrounded the Chinese National Revolutionary Army and bombed the city of Jinan indiscriminately, massacring nearly 10,000 Chinese National Revolutionary soldiers and civilians. This was a provocative demonstration by Japanese imperialism against our country. Chiang Zhongzheng, the commander-in-chief of the Northern Expeditionary Army, left Jinan on May 5 and took a detour to the Northern Expedition. However, Yu Yan (Chairman of the Battlefield Political Affairs Committee) persisted until the 9th before leaving Jinan and heading north despite a hail of bullets. He would never forget this incident, thinking it was the "biggest shame in his life, and he was determined to clear it up." As soon as the Northern Expedition was completed, he repeatedly shouted loudly to unite and point guns at the outside world. Japan was the most dangerous enemy. He personally could not stop the continuation of the civil war. He was unwilling to fight against the Communist Party and did not want another war in the country. He opposed the popular view at the time that only a world war could solve the problem, and opposed the negative attitude of waiting for the League of Nations to solve China's problems. In order to limit the power of Japanese militarism to the maximum extent, he actively united European countries, even though the Kuomintang government at that time and the former Soviet Union Although diplomatic relations were severed, he still took risks and strongly advocated the restoration of diplomatic relations and alliance with the Soviet Union. The enemy is definitely not the former Soviet Union or the Communist Party, but Japan. Japan is the biggest threat. However, his voice and some of his measures could not be taken seriously and adopted by Chiang Kai-shek's government. Until 1931, when the situation became increasingly serious, the government recalled him from Germany and served as minister (later ambassador) to Japan. He feels that it is too late to use diplomatic means to save the crisis. Because in Japan, the moderate and moderate factions have been gradually replaced by the young and hardline militant faction, it is no longer possible to use negotiation to change their intention to invade China.

On the one hand, Jiang Zuobin negotiated rationally at the negotiating table, and on the other hand, he shuttled among progressive people in Japan and diplomatic missions from various countries who sympathized with and supported our country, hoping to form an internal and external opposition to the Japanese authorities. The power of influence. However, the rapid development of Japanese militarism made it impossible to achieve successful negotiations. Coupled with the weakness of the domestic government, all his efforts were in vain. He went to Japan as a mission for four years, which exhausted all his efforts, made him worried, angry, and exhausted. When he returned home, his temples were gray and his blood pressure was alarmingly high.

After that, Jiang Zuobin's health deteriorated, but he still tried his best to serve the country and never neglected. In 1941, the Chongqing Tunnel Massacre occurred. More than 20,000 innocent people were suffocated to death in the air-raid shelter.

When he found out, he was so sad that he cried. He accused the air defense commander of being irresponsible in his work. Why didn't he open the door to save people immediately after the alarm was lifted, but let them suffocate to death? The person who came to tell him said: "The people who came in only knew how to steal gold and treasures, so how could they rescue people who were about to die? They dragged people out with rakes, threw them on trucks, dragged them away and buried them!" He was angry! He stomped his feet: "It's so unreasonable to treat people like dogs!"

The mountains and rivers were broken, the authorities were corrupt, and the people suffered. He was extremely sad, and his condition worsened day by day. On December 24, 1941, Jiang Zuobin died of illness in Chongqing at the age of fifty-eight, full of worries and wind in his sleeves. On June 12, 1943, he was posthumously awarded the rank of Army General First Class.