2005年，汪精衛的幼子汪文悌回到中國祭祖，這次歸鄉之行對他而言不僅是一場祭拜，更是一段與歷史正面對話的心靈震盪。當他站在父母的故居前，看見那對跪在地上的塑像時，內心的悲痛、羞愧與矛盾交織在一起。這對跪像象徵著汪精衛與其妻陳璧君在歷史上永難洗脫的罪名——賣國與叛國，而它們的存在，也提醒著後人對歷史記憶的警醒與反思。

汪精衛原名汪兆銘，是近代中國政治史上最具爭議的人物之一。早年他是孫中山的親密戰友，曾參與刺殺清攝政王載灃的行動，被視為熱血青年志士。辛亥革命後，他追隨孫中山投身國民黨政壇，一度被視為孫中山的「衣缽繼承人」。然而，到了抗日戰爭全面爆發後，汪精衛的政治立場出現劇烈轉變，從民族革命的倡導者淪為與侵略者妥協的象徵。

1938年12月29日，汪精衛在越南河內發表著名的「艷電」，公開主張與日本議和，聲稱「與其玉碎，不如為全民族謀生存」，此舉被視為徹底背叛民族的行為。隨後，他在日本的支持下於南京成立「中華民國維新政府」，並自任「國民政府主席」，名義上統治華中與華南地區，實際上則受制於日方，被國人譏為「傀儡政權」。從此，汪精衛的名字與「漢奸」、「叛國」緊密相連。

1944年，汪精衛因病在日本名古屋去世。其遺體由妻子陳璧君運回中國，並安葬於南京中山陵附近的梅花山，這一舉動在當時引起極大爭議。抗戰勝利後，南京人民群情激憤，認為「賣國賊」的墳墓不應與國父孫中山長眠同地。蒋介石最終下令何應欽動用炸藥將墓地炸毀，遺體被挖出並焚燒，灰燼四散無存，以示「國法與民意的審判」。

在那之後，汪精衛的家族成為歷史的陰影。為了讓後人永遠記取這段恥辱，有人特地在汪家故居前立起了汪精衛與陳璧君的跪像，象徵著他們永世不得翻身，永遠向國人贖罪。跪像成為民眾憤恨與歷史警示的象徵，數十年來屹立不倒。

當汪文悌在2005年回到家鄉，看見父母的跪像，他的心情異常複雜。作為兒子，他自然感受到血脈親情的痛楚；但作為歷史罪人的後代，他又無法替父母辯解。面對媒體詢問，他最終平靜地說出：「做錯了事，理應受懲罰。」這句話，既是對父母行為的承認，也是對歷史公義的尊重。

汪文悌的這一幕，成為歷史的一個側影——它不僅揭示了個人與家族面對歷史罪責的沉重，也反映了中國社會對「忠與奸」、「是與非」之間的永恆審視。汪精衛的名字至今仍是歷史爭論的焦點，而那對跪像，也成了後人記取民族屈辱與叛國之恥的具體象徵。

In 2005, Wang Jingwei’s youngest son, Wang Wenti, returned to China to honor his ancestors—a journey that turned into a deeply emotional confrontation with history. Standing before his parents’ former residence, he came face to face with two kneeling statues of his father and mother, Wang Jingwei and Chen Bijun. The sight stirred within him a storm of emotions—grief, shame, and conflict—because those statues symbolized eternal condemnation, representing the couple’s betrayal of their nation and the lasting stigma they left behind.

Wang Jingwei, whose real name was Wang Zhaoming, remains one of the most controversial figures in modern Chinese history. In his youth, he was a close ally of Sun Yat-sen and a passionate revolutionary. He even participated in an assassination attempt on Qing Regent Zaifeng, earning a reputation as a courageous patriot. During the early years of the Republic of China, he was seen as one of Sun Yat-sen’s most trusted disciples and was once regarded as a possible heir to Sun’s revolutionary legacy.

However, during the Second Sino-Japanese War, Wang’s political stance took a drastic turn. On December 29, 1938, while in Hanoi, Vietnam, he issued the infamous “Yan Telegram,” publicly advocating peace with Japan. Claiming that “it is better for the nation to live than to die gloriously,” Wang openly supported negotiation and compromise with the invader. His statement was seen as an act of complete betrayal of the Chinese nation.

Soon after, with Japan’s support, Wang established the Reorganized National Government of China in Nanjing in 1940 and became its head. In reality, his regime was nothing more than a puppet government under Japanese control. From that moment on, Wang Jingwei’s name became synonymous with treason and collaboration.

Wang Jingwei died in Nagoya, Japan, in 1944. His widow, Chen Bijun, brought his remains back to China and buried him at Meihua Mountain, near Sun Yat-sen’s mausoleum in Nanjing—a decision that outraged the public. After Japan’s surrender in 1945, the people of Nanjing demanded the destruction of his grave, arguing that a national traitor should not rest beside the founding father of the Republic. Responding to public fury, Chiang Kai-shek ordered General He Yingqin to blow up Wang’s tomb with explosives and cremate his remains, scattering the ashes to symbolize the nation’s punishment of betrayal.

Later, to serve as a lasting warning, kneeling statues of Wang Jingwei and Chen Bijun were erected in front of their former home. The statues symbolized eternal repentance and served as a reminder of the shame of treason. For decades, they stood as a visible representation of the public’s anger and a warning against betrayal of the nation.

When Wang Wenti finally returned home in 2005, he stood before the statues in silence. As a son, he felt deep sorrow and pain; as the descendant of a man condemned as a traitor, he also bore the weight of history. After a long pause, he said calmly to reporters: “They did wrong, and they deserve punishment.”

That moment captured the complex intersection of personal guilt, family legacy, and historical justice. It reflected how descendants of those once condemned must live within the shadow of history, acknowledging the sins of their forebears while facing the nation’s judgment. Wang Jingwei’s name remains a symbol of treachery in Chinese memory, and those kneeling statues continue to remind future generations of the cost of betrayal and the enduring power of national conscience.