In the 22nd year of the Guangxu reign (1896), 13-year-old Wang Jingwei lost his mother; the following year, he lost his father. The year after that, Wang Zhaoyong went to Lechang to handle salt affairs. The Chronicle states: “In the 24th year of Guangxu (1898), at the age of 38, in February I went to Lechang. My second younger brother stayed in the provincial capital to teach, my third younger brother remained there to study clerical work, while I took my youngest brother, sixth younger sister, wife, and children on the journey together.” He specifically brought Wang Jingwei along to take care of him nearby.
Wang Jingwei’s father, Wang Zhaorong (courtesy name Shengzhai), was originally from Shanyin, Zhejiang (present-day Shaoxing). Later, he traveled around as a clerk and arrived in Panyu, Guangdong (now Guangzhou) by sea, eventually settling there. Wang Zhaorong’s first wife was Lady Lu, who bore him one son and three daughters. The son was named Zhaoyong (courtesy name Boxu, 1861–1939). In 1871, Lady Lu passed away, and Wang Zhaorong remarried a woman from Guangdong surnamed Wu. Lady Wu first had three daughters before giving birth to three sons: Zhaofu (courtesy name Zhongqi, 1878–1903), Zhaojun (courtesy name Shuhe, 1879–1901), and Zhaoming (courtesy name Jixin, 1883–1944). “Eldest, second, third, and youngest” – Wang Jingwei was the youngest among the four brothers and was born to a concubine.
Grateful for His Elder Brother’s Education and Care
Wang Zhaoyong was intelligent from a young age, able to compose poetry at ten. At 18, he studied under his father, Mr. Gu’an, at the Shanshan Pavilion, dedicating himself to classical literature and prose. He was selected as a specialized student at Xuehaitang and became a distinguished disciple of Master Chen Lanfu of Dongshu. He associated with fellow townsmen such as Liang Dingfen and Tao Shaoxue, furthering his studies. In the 6th year of Guangxu (1880), he was admitted as a county student. In the 11th year, he was recommended to the Imperial Academy for his exemplary conduct. He was tested for the position of county magistrate. In the 15th year, he passed the provincial examination. After two unsuccessful attempts at the metropolitan examination, he returned south and spent years studying penal law while working as a clerk in various prefectures and counties.
Wang Zhaoyong was 22 years older than Wang Jingwei. When Wang Jingwei was born, his father was already 62, but due to a large family to support, he still had to travel around as a clerk. To ease his father’s burden, Wang Zhaoyong, as the eldest son, took great care of his nine younger siblings, especially focusing on the education of his three younger brothers. He played the role of a “father-like elder brother,” teaching and raising them.
In Wang Zhaoyong’s *Autobiographical Chronicle of the Humble Elder*, it is mentioned that in the 17th year of Guangxu (1891), “I attended to my father at his post in Sihui County and was ordered to teach my second, third, and fourth younger brothers.” In the 19th year of Guangxu (1893), there is another entry: “I served my father in the province and also taught my third and fourth younger brothers.” In the 22nd year of Guangxu (1896), 13-year-old Wang Jingwei lost his mother; the following year, he lost his father. The year after that, Wang Zhaoyong went to Lechang to handle salt affairs. The Chronicle states: “In the 24th year of Guangxu (1898), at the age of 38, in February I went to Lechang. My second younger brother stayed in the provincial capital to teach, my third younger brother remained there to study clerical work, while I took my youngest brother, sixth younger sister, wife, and children on the journey together.” He specifically brought Wang Jingwei along to take care of him nearby.
While in Lechang, Wang Jingwei “studied under Zhang Meixuan (Cong) of Panyu, focusing on literature, history, and practical governance.” Zhang Meixuan was the father-in-law of Wang Zhaojun. During these years in Lechang, “Wang Jingwei made significant academic progress. As an elder brother like a father, the family discipline was strict to the point of harshness. Though Wang may have had private complaints, as an adult he was deeply grateful for the education and care his elder brother Zhaoyong provided.” In the 27th year of Guangxu (1901), Wang Zhaoyong’s “third younger brother” – Zhaojun – unfortunately fell ill and passed away suddenly at the age of 23.
Then, in the 29th year of Guangxu (1903), his “second younger brother” – Zhaofu – had just ranked first in the county examination and was appointed as a county student, but within days, he succumbed to an epidemic at the age of 26. By then, Wang Zhaoyong had lost several brothers, leaving only Wang Jingwei among the siblings.
Wang Xiwen, courtesy name Zishen, was the son of Wang Zhaoyong and the maternal cousin of Wang Jingwei. Wang Xiwen was born on the 6th day of the 9th month in the 16th year of Guangxu (October 19, 1890), just seven years younger than Wang Jingwei. Wang Xiwen and Liu Jiwen were born on the same day, same month, and same year, just not at the same time. Wang Xiwen was a distinguished disciple of Ku Yingfen, a veteran leader of the Kuomintang, while Liu Jiwen was Ku Yingfen’s son-in-law. At the time, they were engaged, but before the marriage could take place, Ku Wanyi passed away. Nevertheless, Liu Jiwen always regarded the Ku family as his own.
Cousin’s Tomb-Sweeping Leads to Official Position
Wang Xiwen and Liu Jiwen became acquainted through Ku Yingfen. By 1917, during the Constitutional Protection Movement, when Sun Yat-sen was proclaimed Grand Marshal in Guangdong, Liu Jiwen served as a clerk in the Finance Department of the Grand Headquarters (with Tang Shaoyi and Liao Zhongkai as minister and vice-minister, respectively), while Wang Xiwen worked as a clerk in the Ministry of the Interior (with Ju Zheng and Ye Xiasheng as minister and vice-minister). The two saw each other frequently. Before the Northern Expedition, both had their ups and downs in officialdom and could not be considered particularly successful. In 1927, Liu Jiwen leapt to become the mayor of Nanjing Special City and thereafter rose rapidly. He later served as mayor of Guangzhou for four years, living a life of wealth and prestige. Meanwhile, before the war, Wang Xiwen had only served as the magistrate of Panyu County in Guangdong. Later, he held positions such as a specially appointed secretary in the Nationalist Government’s Finance Ministry, an administrative councilor in the Wang puppet government, an external appointment as a member of the Zhejiang Provincial Government, concurrently serving as director of the Grain Bureau, then transferred to director of the Social Welfare Bureau, and later to administrative inspector and regional security commander of the fourth administrative district of Zhejiang. His official rank was no higher than that of a specially appointed first-class official.
Speaking of Wang Xiwen’s external appointment as a member of the Zhejiang Provincial Government and concurrent director of the Grain Bureau, it happened in 1942 when Wang Jingwei sent him back to Shaoxing to sweep the family graves. On his way through Hangzhou, Zhejiang Governor Fu Shishuo hosted a banquet to welcome him. During the meal, Fu asked what work Wang was doing in the Executive Yuan. Wang replied that he was reviewing documents from the Ministries of Finance, Industry, and Grain. Fu then invited him to serve as director of the Zhejiang Grain Bureau. Wang demurred: “Your kindness is greatly appreciated, but I am here this time on orders to sweep the family graves in Shaoxing. If the provincial government brings this up now, my uncle might misunderstand that I am seeking office, which would be quite inappropriate. Please find someone else!” The next day, however, Fu Shishuo actually sent a telegram to the Nanjing Executive Yuan requesting Wang Xiwen’s appointment as a member of the Zhejiang Provincial Government and concurrent director of the Grain Bureau.
Upon receiving the telegram, Wang Jingwei consulted Chen Chunpu, Secretary-General of the Executive Yuan. Chen replied: “There has been disagreement between the ministry and the province for two months, preventing the appointment of a director for the Zhejiang Grain Bureau, which has affected food supplies. Appointing someone selected internally by the Executive Yuan would be a compromise. Since Governor Fu has formally requested this, it seems acceptable.” Thus, the matter was brought up at an Executive Yuan meeting and approved, with the appointment made by the Wang government.
Wang Xiwen was previously married to a woman surnamed Jin. In the spring of 1928, he was widowed. Six years after her passing, in 1934, he remarried Jiang Wanzheng, the 11th daughter of Jiang Kongyi (the Jiang family had 18 children in total, with the 11th and 12th being daughters Wanzheng and Wan Yi; the rest were sons), becoming his second wife. At the time, Wang Xiwen was 45, and Jiang Wanzheng was 29. Wang Xiwen said: “Wanzheng is the eldest daughter of the eminent scholar Jiang Xiaogong (Kongyi). She comes from a family with a strong scholarly tradition, having studied under the renowned scholar Feng Tongruo and learned flower painting from the old master Li Fenggong. She can write poetry, prose, and paint. At 29, she married me as her second husband. Her talent far surpasses mine. I remember when she agreed to my proposal, she composed a poem in response: ‘Boundless tenderness, boundless talent, a recluse’s charm long renowned. Even if Wang Lang were to gather a cartful of fruit, without being a kindred spirit, she would not come.’ Such was her wit.” The couple was married for just over a year when Jiang Wanzheng unfortunately contracted lymphoma and passed away. Wang Xiwen suffered the grief of losing a spouse once again.
Jiang Kongyi (1864–1951), courtesy name Shaoquan, was from Nanhai, Guangdong. As a youth, he was very active, hopping around all day like a shrimp, earning him the nickname Jiang Xia (Shrimp). He eventually adopted the alias “Xia Gong” (Lord of Radiance), playing on the homophonic similarity between “radiance” (xia) and “shrimp” (xia). Lord Xia’s ancestors made their fortune in the tea trade. His father, Jiang Qingquan, was a major tea merchant in Shanghai, nicknamed Jiang Baiwan (Ten Million).
By the 9th year of Guangxu (1883), when he passed the county-level imperial examination (commonly known as becoming a “cultivated talent”), his family’s fortunes had already declined. Lord Xia was not very diligent in his studies as a youth, but he was exceptionally intelligent. He had a knack for superficial scholarship such as poetry, songs, poetry contests, and couplets, and he also wrote excellent eight-legged essays. By his twenties, he was already regarded as a “master of composition” in the Guangzhou literary scene. (To be continued)