Sister Song is a household name. As the three sisters who had the greatest influence on China in history, they relied more on their education, manners and personality charm than their beauty or husband status, and gained remarkable status and prestige in modern China.
With such sisters and brothers who have made great achievements, we have to know their father, a man who has also had a positive and far-reaching influence on China, and an important patron and follower of Sun Yat-sen's national revolution-Song Jiashu.
Song Yaoru, whose real name was Han Jiaohuai, took his cousin as his adopted son and changed his surname to Song. Its ancestors can be traced back to Han Qi, a famous figure in the Northern Song Dynasty. Later, one of them moved to Wenchang, Hainan and became one of the earliest Hakkas in the area.
1878, Song Yaorucai 15 years old, went to Boston to do business with his uncle, 1885 graduated from a theological seminary in the United States. At that time, Chinese workers in the United States were persecuted and Chinatown was burned. Song Yaoru was very indignant about this. He believes that to fundamentally change the situation of overseas Chinese being bullied, we must have a strong motherland, light the torch of democratic revolution in the hearts of hundreds of millions of people, and overthrow the decadent Qing government. He decided to return to China as soon as possible to awaken the people of China with the idea of democratic revolution. The picture below shows Song Jiashu when he was young. Does she look like an American cowboy?
After returning to China, Song Yaoru preached in Suzhou, Shanghai and other places, and at the same time set up an industry and taught in a missionary school. Hu Shi is one of his students. /kloc-in the summer of 0/885, she married Ni and had six children, Aileen, Qingling, Meiling and Zi 'an.
Song Yaoru often tells his children about the twists and turns of his youth. His strong patriotism and democratic thoughts, indomitable will to fight against fate, humility and self-esteem, and the cultivation of children's courage and foresight have had a great and far-reaching impact on the formation of children's character.
The picture below shows the only family portrait of Song Yaoru. In the photo, you can clearly see the characteristics of a family that combines Chinese and western. Among them, Qingling is at the bottom right, Meiling is at the top right, and Song Ziwen, the eldest son, is squatting in the middle.
In the 1920s, the Song family began to step onto the glorious stage of China's history and influenced China's politics for more than half a century. Their daughter Soong Ching Ling married Sun Yat-sen, whose revolutionary belief is unshakable and widely loved by Chinese people. Song Meiling married Chiang Kai-shek and became the first spokesman for China in the US Congress. Song Ailing married Kong Xiangxi, amassed a lot of wealth and became the richest man in the world. The husbands of these three men all played an important role in promoting the modern history of China. His sons Song Ziwen, Song Ziliang and Song Zian are all-powerful figures in the political and economic stage of the Republic of China. They once held important positions in the Kuomintang, which was a great moment. It was their father Song Yaoru who created this legendary family. Through the interpretation of the book Song Yaoru, the founder and author of the Song family, co-authored by Professor Zhou Weimin and Professor Tang Lingling of Hainan University, we have a further understanding of the educational methods of the Song family.
Legend has laid the foundation for Song Yaoru's view of family education.
As long as one in a hundred children becomes a superman, there will be four million superman in China. Who's afraid it can't be saved? At present, most parents in China are unable to raise their children wholeheartedly, so I dare to be the best in the world.
Song yaoru
Zhou Weimin commented that Song Yaoru was a legendary figure in China and the West and one of the pioneers of modern democratic revolution. His legendary experience established his concept of family education.
As a child, Song Yaoru had to go to visit relatives in Java, Indonesia with his brother because of his poor family, and began his apprenticeship in his hometown. Three years later, he was adopted by his parents to his uncle in Boston, USA. However, this time Song Yaoru went abroad, but it had a great impact on his life. He not only walked out of the closed homeland, but also had the opportunity to get in touch with the advanced western ideas at that time. From then on, he joined the Christianity he had always believed in and became a devout Christian. He was lucky to receive a higher education in America. After returning to China, he served as a Christian priest, preached everywhere, and then engaged in industry and commerce, accumulating a lot of wealth. He hit it off with Sun Yat-sen, the revolutionary forerunner, and became a staunch supporter of Sun Yat-sen's revolution.
"On the other hand, he is indifferent to fame and fortune, not obsessed with his official career, and pursues freedom, democracy, morality and progress called for by Christianity. He was praised as a revolutionary hermit by Sun Yat-sen. His extraordinary experience directly influenced his family education concept for children. "
Song Yaoru, who has studied in the United States for eight years, has a personal experience of the advancement and perfection of western education. He has always had a great ambition in his heart, that is, to cultivate Lincoln-style and Washington-style great figures in China.
The growth environment is unique.
Tang Lingling, a professor at Hainan University, said: "Historically, Meng Mu moved three times to choose a good environment to educate children. In this regard, Song Yaoru seems to be imitating Meng Mu. " 1890, he bought a large piece of land in Dongyou Road, Hongkou, a suburb of Shanghai, and prepared to build a new house. At that time, many people were puzzled by his choice of suburbs instead of urban areas, and thought it was an odd performance. In fact, Song Yaoru has his own ideas. Shanghai, which was bombarded by foreigners at this time, is densely populated, mixed with good and evil people, and its streets are shabby and dirty. Moreover, due to the lack of unified management, public security is quite chaotic, and all kinds of hooligans and thieves are wandering in the streets. Anyone with status and wealth will carry weapons and be accompanied by bodyguards when they go out. At that time, in order to obtain asylum, most people generally chose to build houses near foreign consulates.
Song Yaoru chose a place near the suburbs, where the environment is beautiful, the air is fresh and far away from the city. Besides, it is built in the middle of a green farmland. The house was designed by him personally and has certain Hainan characteristics. There is a stream in front of the house and a vegetable garden in the back. Children can play in the vegetable garden or the surrounding fields to satisfy their curiosity. It is said that he grows vegetables himself and orders his favorite palm trees and other plants from America. This is almost an elegant environment for Song Yaoru to live in the United States.
Shang and Tang wrote in the Biography of Soong Ching Ling: "Because of this, this family was in the superior environment of' Xanadu'. Compared with the ordinary families in China, Qian Qian and Qian Qian at that time, it had a strict Christian life order and a harmonious, joyful and poetic atmosphere." These two beautiful buildings, which combine Chinese and western cultures, accompanied the brothers and sisters of the Song family to spend their happy youth.
Respect children's nature and be strict.
Song Yaoru knows that games are children's nature and respecting children's nature is the basis of all education. So as early as when the child was born, Song Yaoru couldn't wait to buy a box of balls to encourage the child to kick around. No matter how busy and tired he is at work, Song Yaoru always mingles with the children and plays games or tells stories with them.
As a mother, Ni Juezhen not only manages the family diligently and strictly educates her children, but also likes playing the piano. Song Yaoru likes singing, so it is the custom of the Song family to hold family gatherings on weekends. The mother plays the piano for the children, and the father sings folk songs and pop songs in the southern United States with the pure and loud voice of the piano. The party not only cultivated children's artistic talent, but also gave them a chance to fully display their talents. For example, Song Ailing inherited his father's singing, Song Meiling learned to dance and paint, and Soong Ching Ling inherited his mother's piano playing skills. This makes them speak appropriately in public, and they are not shy when interacting with others, which creates favorable conditions for their future development.
When Song Ailing, a naughty boy, and his younger brother and sister were playing in the nearby fields and trampling on the villagers' labor achievements many times, several villagers finally came to the door together and complained to their parents. After paying them compensation far exceeding the loss, Song Yaoru reached an oral agreement to let the villagers not scare and disturb the children, let the children play in the fields and release their nature.
Zhou Weimin said, as Song Yaoru, the founder of the Song family, said: If you love children, let them develop freely according to their personality. But he did not indulge the child's desire, but tried his best to cultivate the child's self-control. When Song Ailing wrestled as a toddler, his father did not lift her up immediately, but patted the ball in front of her to encourage her: "Brave girl, get up and walk by yourself!" " "
In order to exercise children's willpower, Song Yaoru often takes Song Ailing in the rain to exercise her willpower and endurance in the rainy days of lightning and thunder. It is said that Xiao Qingling, then 4 years old, joined independently without her parents' request. After that, Song Yaoru took them hiking in the wild, fasted together, resisted the temptation of food and learned to starve. These bizarre behaviors in the eyes of ordinary people have gradually honed children's initiative, perseverance and innovation in the future.
This is the first time for China women to study abroad.
Tang Lingling believes that Song Yaoru, who has been to the West, has no secular concept of "men are superior to women" in China. If he doesn't think that women can't do anything or achieve anything, emily hahn, the author of The Song Family, said that they "treat girls like boys". When Song Ailing was five years old, Song Yaoru sent her to Maide Girls' School in Shanghai. As a boarder, she exercised her ability to live independently. Later, Soong Ching Ling and Song Meiling also entered the school one after another.
Record: 1904, Song Ailing, 15 years old, accompanied by pastor William Burke's family, went to the United States to study on the cruise ship Koryo. At that time, few rich parents in China were willing to send their children abroad for education, and it was always boys who sent them out. Song Yaoru's attitude of treating his children equally changed this situation, which is another example of his advocating progress as a Christian. Song Ailing, as the first woman in China to study abroad alone, pioneered the study abroad of China women and set an example for more and more women to study abroad. The president of the University of Wisconsin once commented that Song's parents were pioneers of the integration of eastern and western cultures with imagination and courage.
Learn from China and the West and aspire to serve the motherland.
Song Yaoru and his wife trained their children in both Chinese and English since childhood. They bought a lot of children's books from America and taught them to read and write in turn. When telling stories to children, they will tell them in English first and then explain them in Chinese. As usual, Song Yao told the children that learning English well is to broaden their horizons, but at the same time, Chinese must be better. He firmly believes that outstanding people in the future must learn something from China and the West.
Although all the brothers and sisters of the Song family studied abroad, Song Yaoru never encouraged them to stay abroad. By sending them letters and newspaper clippings regularly, he passed on the news information that happened in China to them, so that they could know what happened in China and the development of China revolution in time. From beginning to end, the Soong brothers and sisters are proud to be China, both at home and abroad.
During this period, War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression's Song Ailing, Soong Ching Ling and Song Meiling took part in the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Movement, and established a "comfort women's club" in Nanjing to organize women's support groups against the enemy. According to Song Yaoru's Chronicle, Song Ailing said to Soong Ching Ling at that time: "I am determined not to ask political affairs, concentrate on running enterprises, and use the money I earn to do something practical for the country and people in need. But now, the Japanese are at home, and business can't be done. The country has reached the point where people are in poverty. What's the use of making money? I heard that you are organizing a women's anti-enemy support group, and I want to take an active part in this important anti-Japanese activity. Father always taught us to be patriotic before his death. Is there anything more patriotic than resisting aggression? " In the end, the Soong sisters joined hands and were active in the front line of "August 13th" War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. At present, the patriotic spirit of everyone's responsibility has been fully exerted in the Song family.
Song Yaoru's lifelong ideals and pursuits left an indelible mark on China's modern history, especially the revolutionary history. His children, especially in those turbulent years, showed dazzling light, just like the shining stars in the Milky Way. They can really feel Song Yaoru's extraordinary character and the inheritance of life value.