When Zhang Xueliang died in the United States in 2001, why did he donate his inheritance to the United States? The reasons behind it caused an uproar.

On October 14, 2001, Zhang Xueliang died in the United States at the age of 101.

Zhang Xueliang was imprisoned for half a century because of the Xi'an Incident. He was already in his late years when he regained his freedom.

He said frankly in a follow-up interview: "I never thought I could live to be 90 years old."

Zhang Xueliang thought he would die in captivity, but never thought he would see the light of day again. that day.

Zhang Xueliang spent the rest of his later years in Hawaii, USA.

After his death, he donated all his net worth to Columbia University in the United States, causing an uproar from the outside world.

Why not leave your family property to your children, or donate it to the motherland that gave birth to him?

Zhang Xueliang was born in 1901 at the beginning of the last century. His father was the famous Zhang Zuolin.

But before Zhang Zuolin made his fortune, Zhang Xueliang followed his mother in his hometown, and spent his childhood in poverty.

It was not until 1912 that his father Zhang Zuolin gradually became famous, and Zhang Xueliang's life gradually improved.

He also went from the small county town in his hometown to the provincial capital Fengtian, and lived a wealthy life that was completely different from before.

After arriving in the provincial capital, Zhang Xueliang received an excellent education under the arrangement of his father.

Seeing his son grow up, Zhang Zuolin also arranged for him to serve in his army.

Zhang Zuolin wanted to train his son well and could not let him immerse himself in the life of a rich kid.

After serving in the army for two years, Zhang Xueliang performed very well, without any of the arrogance of a boy from a rich family.

Two years later, Zhang Xueliang was admitted to the Army Lecture Hall of the Three Northeastern Provinces. He performed well during the military academy and eventually graduated first in the artillery department.

After graduation, Zhang Xueliang began to lead troops in war. He achieved outstanding results in the two Zhili-Fengtian wars, and was promoted to the commander-in-chief of the garrison in the Beijing-Yuzhou area.

His father Zhang Zuolin was already the "King of the Northeast" at this time. The Japanese had already been eyeing the three northeastern provinces and proposed cooperation with Zhang Zuolin.

How could Zhang Zuolin do such a traitorous act and resolutely reject the Japanese? The resentful Japanese wanted to assassinate Zhang Zuolin.

In the end, the Japanese planned the "Huanggutun Incident" and Zhang Zuolin died of serious injuries.

Zhang Xueliang was deeply saddened to learn that his father had been killed by the Japanese.

But at this time, he had to cheer up, take over the burden from his father's shoulders, and become the commander-in-chief of security in Northeast Province.

At that time, Zhang Xueliang was only 28 years old, and he was called Young Marshal by the outside world. This was also a recognition of his military ability. Zhang Xueliang, who inherited his father's legacy, lived up to the expectations of all parties.

After Zhang Xueliang's father passed away, he was unambiguous in the face of national justice and chose to send a telegram to Chiang Kai-shek. He chose to obey the Nanjing National Government.

This decision also brought China towards formal unification.

After surrendering to the Nanjing government, Zhang Xueliang was appointed deputy commander of the army, navy and air force, and commander-in-chief of the Northeast Frontier Defense.

In the subsequent Central Plains War, warlords from all sides wanted to challenge Chiang Kai-shek's Nanjing National Government.

In this largest and longest warlord melee, Zhang Xueliang's attitude is particularly important.

Warlords from all sides wanted to win over Zhang Xueliang for their own use. Zhang Xueliang thought over and over again and chose to temporarily avoid Huludao by claiming to be ill.

When the War in the Central Plains was almost underway, Zhang Xueliang chose to join the war and support the National Government.

At this time, the outcome of the battle was decided, and Zhang Xueliang became the biggest winner in this battle.

After helping Chiang Kai-shek win the battle, Zhang Xueliang gained Chiang Kai-shek's trust, and for a while the relationship between the two was as close as brothers.

When the September 18th Incident broke out in 1931, the Japanese army deliberately blew up the railway and framed the fault on China.

And used this to launch an attack on Shenyang, and gradually occupied the three northeastern provinces and other places.

At this time, Zhang Xueliang suffered unprecedented infamy because of his inaction.

Zhang Xueliang was also called the "Non-Resistance General" by the people from a former glorious young marshal.

In this regard, Zhang Xueliang felt bitter and could not express his feelings. He had already asked Chiang Kai-shek many times to discuss response policies.

However, at that time, Chiang Kai-shek was only focused on resisting our party's troops, and was not at all focused on resisting foreign enemies.

Every time Zhang Xueliang asked for instructions, Chiang Kai-shek replied: Do not resist the Japanese army.

Zhang Xueliang did not receive the order and had to stand still, thus missing the best opportunity to resist the Japanese army.

It was Chiang Kai-shek's short-sightedness and inability to distinguish what was important from major events that led to the fall of the entire Northeast, and the compatriots in the Northeast were living in dire straits.

As the Japanese army continued to invade our land, many parties began to advocate that the civil war should be stopped first.

However, Chiang Kai-shek was stubborn and always adhered to the policy of "helping the outside world first stabilize the country inside".

Seeing that the country was in danger, Zhang Xueliang made many admonitions, stopped the civil war, and jointly resisted the Japanese army. However, he was reprimanded by Chiang Kai-shek.

Faced with Chiang Kai-shek's order to wipe out the Red Army, Zhang Xueliang became increasingly resistant. He really could not fight his own people when foreign enemies invaded.

Zhang Xueliang began to contact our party. After learning that our party was willing to suspend the struggle, he decided to cooperate with our party.

Zhang Xueliang and Premier Zhou met in Yan'an. After harmonious negotiations, they reached an agreement to fight against the enemy together.

But the most thorny issue at the moment was Chiang Kai-shek's lack of cooperation. Zhang Xueliang contacted General Yang Hucheng after thinking about it.

General Yang Hucheng, like Zhang Xueliang, has been advocating the issue of active resistance to Japan. In the end, the two reached an agreement and made an important decision.

This decision also directly affected the lives of two people. One was imprisoned for many years, and the other was brutally killed.

On December 12, 1936, Zhang Xueliang teamed up with Yang Hucheng to plan the "Xi'an Incident" that shocked China and foreign countries.

On December 11, Chiang Kai-shek arrived in Xi'an. He had already seen that Zhang Xueliang and others were passively responding to the annihilation of the Red Army.

Chiang Kai-shek publicly announced that the Central Army would take over the Northeast Army and continue to attack the Red Army.

Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng immediately contacted their senior generals and will conduct military remonstrances the next day.

At five o'clock in the morning the next day, when Chiang Kai-shek was still asleep, the Northeast Army rushed into Chiang Kai-shek's bedroom, trying to capture Chiang Kai-shek.

However, Chiang Kai-shek had already received the notice in advance and quickly jumped out of the window to escape.

Chiang Kai-shek even injured his back when he jumped out of the window, but at this time he could no longer care but ran as fast as he could, and was eventually captured by the Northeastern Army.

When Chiang Kai-shek saw Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng, he cursed them for their cowardly ambitions and their intention to rebel.

Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng expressed that they just hoped that Chiang Kai-shek, who was facing a formidable enemy, would put aside the decision of "the foreign affairs must be settled at home first" and unite our party to resist the Japanese army.

At this time, Chiang Kai-shek, even though he was unwilling to do so, had no choice but to agree to this request in order to save his life.

Chiang Kai-shek, who was held hostage, had no choice but to sign a number of agreements, declaring to the outside world: "Stop all civil wars and unite to resist Japan."

Song Meiling learned of the incident in Nanjing and immediately contacted various forces to call Zhang Xueliang and asked Zhang Xueliang to send Chiang Kai-shek back to Nanjing as soon as possible.

After more than ten days of negotiations, Zhang Xueliang, under pressure from all parties, had to personally send Chiang Kai-shek back to Nanjing.

Zhang Xueliang took Chiang Kai-shek on the plane back to Nanjing.

At this time, he did not know that he would lose half his freedom by going away, and he would be imprisoned from the prime of his life to his twilight years.

As soon as Chiang Kai-shek arrived in Nanjing on December 26, he immediately ordered Zhang Xueliang to be detained and placed under house arrest.

Seeing the Anti-Japanese War starting, Zhang Xueliang was imprisoned and could not go into battle to kill the enemy, and he felt very sad.

Zhang Xueliang’s first wife, Yu Fengzhi, learned that her husband was imprisoned and repeatedly requested Zhang Xueliang’s release, but was never successful.

With the help of Song Meiling, Yu Fengzhi stayed with her husband, but in the end she had to go to the United States for medical treatment due to illness.

At this time, Zhang Xueliang’s confidante, Miss Zhao Si, came to him and stayed with him for decades.

When the Anti-Japanese War ended in 1945, the Japanese army surrendered in full, and the foreign enemies were eliminated. Chiang Kai-shek began to fight against our party again.

Under the leadership of Chiang Kai-shek, the Kuomintang gradually declined. Seeing the founding of New China imminent, Chiang Kai-shek retreated to Taiwan.

I thought that after Chiang Kai-shek went to Taiwan, Zhang Xueliang would be able to see the light of day again.

However, Chiang Kai-shek ordered Zhang Xueliang to be taken away together and continued to be imprisoned. It can be seen that he hated Zhang Xueliang for what he did back then.

Zhang Xueliang went to Taiwan with the Kuomintang, stayed away from the mainland, and never set foot on the mainland again in his life.

Zhang Xueliang continues to live a life of imprisonment in Taiwan. Fortunately, Miss Zhao Si is by his side to take care of his daily life.

In April 1975, when Chiang Kai-shek was on his deathbed due to heart problems, he called his son Chiang Ching-kuo to explain his funeral arrangements.

When talking about Zhang Xueliang, he said: "Remember not to let the tiger go back to the mountain."

After Chiang Kai-shek's death, his son Chiang Ching-kuo took over his father's position and followed his father's last words. Continue to imprison Zhang Xueliang.

At this time, Zhang Xueliang had been imprisoned for nearly thirty years.

He knew that he might not be able to regain his freedom in his lifetime, and would be a caged bird for the rest of his life.

However, what Zhang Xueliang did not expect was that Chiang Ching-kuo actually walked ahead of him. Chiang Ching-kuo died of illness in 1988.

It was not the Chiangs who took office, but Lee Teng-hui.

In 1990, Zhang Xueliang finally regained his freedom. At this time, he was 90 years old. He never thought that he would still live to this day.

During the years that Zhang Xueliang was imprisoned, for the sake of Yu Fengzhi, he divorced Yu Fengzhi and married Miss Zhao Si.

However, Yu Fengzhi never gave up on Zhang Xueliang. After she was cured of her illness in the United States, she began to work hard in business.

Yu Fengzhi has accumulated tens of millions of dollars in business, all in preparation for Zhang Xueliang. Over the years, she has never given up rescuing Zhang Xueliang.

After learning that Zhang Xueliang had finally regained his freedom, Yu Fengzhi, who was seriously ill, eagerly wanted to see him.

But in the end, Yu Fengzhi did not wait until the man he had missed for decades died in the United States.

Before Yu Fengzhi died, he left tens of millions of dollars in inheritance to Zhang Xueliang. He had only one last wish, and that was to be buried together with Zhang Xueliang.

Zhang Xueliang stood in front of Yu Fengzhi’s grave. “Zhang Yufengzhi” was still engraved on Yu Fengzhi’s tombstone.

Yu Fengzhi always believed that she was Zhang Xueliang's wife, even though the two had been divorced for many years.

Facing his ex-wife who had been let down by him, Zhang Xueliang was filled with guilt and couldn't help crying at the grave.

After Zhang Xueliang regained his freedom, he no longer wanted to live in Taiwan, which had trapped him for decades, and he was unable to return to his hometown in Northeast China.

His descendants all grew up and lived in the United States, and Zhang Xueliang also went to the United States to spend the rest of his life.

Because of the tens of millions of dollars in inheritance left to him by Yu Fengzhi and the family property left by Zhang Zuolin, Zhang Xueliang lived very well in the United States.

Then, Zhang Xueliang’s last decision shocked the country and abroad. He chose to donate all of his net worth to Columbia University in the United States.

When the outside world heard the news, they were all in an uproar. Why did Zhang Xueliang not leave his inheritance to future generations?

It is said that the descendants of Zhang Xueliang grew up in foreign countries and received Western education.

Most of Zhang Xueliang’s heritage is a collection of historical value. Future generations do not understand Eastern culture and may not cherish it.

Zhang Xueliang's life was full of ups and downs, and he was imprisoned for half a century. He knew well that "every man is not guilty, but he is guilty of having a jade in his possession."

He does not want his descendants to follow in his footsteps, he just wants them to live a peaceful and stable life.

In this regard, the outside world also has opinions. Since it is not left to children, why not choose to donate it to the country.

In fact, during those years in the United States, Zhang Xueliang never thought about returning to China and his hometown in Northeast China.

But because his "non-resistance" led to the loss of Northeast China, he has always felt guilty and has been living in this kind of suffering for many years.

At the birthday party when he regained his freedom, Zhang Xueliang once said in front of many media: "I am a sinner" when being interviewed by the outside world.

Zhang Xueliang also said that after the fall of Northeast China, the Japanese army returned his family property to Zhang Xueliang.

Zhang Xueliang refused in public: "If you want to give it back, give it back to our three northeastern provinces. The three northeastern provinces are bigger than your three islands of Japan."

He said that this was the Japanese army humiliating him. Looking back on it, , only endless hatred.

Zhang Xueliang is fully aware of his guilt and laughs at himself as a grasshopper after the fall, he will not be able to jump around for long.

He has never let go of Northeast China, but he can never return to Northeast China.

There may be another reason why I chose to donate to Columbia University.

At Columbia University, students were very interested in modern Chinese history and interviewed Zhang Xueliang many times.

Zhang Xueliang saw their sincerity during the interview. Later, Columbia University also proposed to set up an exhibition hall for Zhang Xueliang.

Zhang Xueliang has always been worried about the storage of the collections in his hands. When he learned that Columbia could properly arrange these collections, he chose to donate them to Columbia University.

By 2001, Zhang Xueliang was already a centenarian and his body was getting weaker and weaker.

After being bedridden for treatment, Zhang Xueliang felt that his end was approaching, so he called his family to make a will and donate all his inheritance to Columbia University.

The descendants who have received Western education since childhood did not object and accepted it calmly.

On October 14, 2001, 101-year-old Zhang Xueliang passed away in Hawaii, USA.

This once glorious young marshal resolutely chose to fight in order to save the country in times of crisis.

As a result, he was imprisoned for 54 years. The most glorious time was spent in a world, and he was about to die when he saw the light of day again.

Zhang Xueliang’s contribution to the country is worth remembering.

At all times, we should remember that national interests are above all other interests.