Historical Background
ON 12 August 1961, there passed away in Peking an extraordinary man at a ripe old age of 87. He was accorded a State funeral by the Government of the People’s Republic of China in recognition of his deeds and achievements during his lifetime. Among his mourners were some of the top-ranking party, military and government officials in the land, including Chu Teh, Chou En-lai, Ch’en Yi, Ch’en Po-ta, Liao Ch’eng-chih and Tung Pi-wu. Mao Tse-tung, Liu Shao-ch’i, Madam Sun Yat-sen and many others laid their wreaths and sent their condolences to the deceased’s family.1 From Peking, the hearse was carried by train and arrived on 20 August for a final burial at the Ao Garden at Chi Mei on a grand and extensive ground covering some 8,789 square feet. There an ornate, elaborate and personally designed tomb had long been completed as his final resting place. Thousands of mourners from Fukien province lined the roads and streets from Chi Mei right up to the Ao Garden to pay their last homage to the best and proudest son ever produced in the area in modern times — Tan Kah-kee…
