After Zhang Xueliang inherited his father's business, his hobby of collecting money was quite different from his father, Zhang Zuo Lin. Zhang Xueliang pays more attention to the financial situation of the whole northeast, but doesn't care much about his private property. At that time, Zhang Xueliang's income mainly came from the annual salary of the security commanders in the three northeastern provinces and the assets left by his father before his death. During his own administration, even some industries left by his father were rarely managed, and many properties were left by him.
Zhang Xueliang once said in a letter to his sister:
"How much property, where, I'm not very clear. Besides what my father left, I also bought a house, land, or stocks myself, either for fun or to help my friends. I never pay much attention to them. "
It can be seen that Zhang Xueliang's attitude towards wealth is relatively indifferent.
So where did Zhang Xueliang's great wealth come from in his later years? This is going to talk about one of his hobbies.
Zhang Xueliang is very keen on collecting ancient and modern calligraphy and painting all his life, which is also the biggest personal expense and the only place where he is willing to spend money. During his imprisonment, Zhang Xueliang had no gold, silver and jewels on him, but some books and ancient calligraphy and paintings that he regarded as life were still with him.
These calligraphy and painting books are very precious and have high historical value. Many of his paintings and calligraphy collections are the works of famous painters and literati in Ming and Qing Dynasties, such as Shi, Wu Daozi and Xu Weihe. The collection of books is very scarce at present, and there are many books annotated by Zhang Xueliang himself.
A large part of these precious books were donated by Zhang Xueliang to the library of Donghai University in Taiwan Province Province on 1993. 1994, Zhang Xueliang decided to settle in Hawaii, when he entrusted his niece Zhang to auction a collection. The main reason for dealing with these precious cultural relics is that they will be used for life after they settle in the United States.
After settling in the United States, Zhang Xueliang still has a batch of his favorite collections around him. Even though there are still many places in America that need money, he is reluctant to sell it.
But on 1995, Zhang Xueliang learned that Columbia planned to open an exhibition hall for him and Ms. Zhao Yidi. After careful consideration, Zhang Xueliang decided to donate this last collection to Columbia University for free.
This last collection is very precious, including Zhang Xueliang's manuscript notes during his imprisonment, personal letters from Kuomintang military and political officials to Zhang Xueliang, family letters, seals and photos. And Ms. Zhao Yidi's various collections.
By auctioning some precious collections, Zhang Xueliang can still live a rich life in the United States, which is the main source of wealth for Zhang Xueliang after his release in his later years. As for rumors, in his later years, he lived on gifts from friends and Yu Fengzhi's business income in the United States, which should not be the main source of his huge wealth.