Rosamonde telegrams (1915–1916) — ciphertext-only break, partial

At a glanceCiphertext-only break · partial

The documents: Twenty-two telegrams, 17 February 1915 to 13 May 1916: fifteen from 1915 between Tokyo and Shanghai, seven from May 1916 between Shanghai and Tokyo. Most are Sun Yat-sen to Soong Ching-ling; two or three go the other way.
Where: Diplomatic Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, 1.6.1.4-2-1-2, copies made for the Foreign Ministry by the Communications Bureau; JACAR B03050087600, B03050087700 (1915) and B03050089000 (May 1916). No translation was made at the time.
The cipher: English without spaces in ten-letter words, enciphered by twelve swapped letter pairs; d and p stay as they are. One key from February 1915 to May 1916.
How it was found: Brice Dudout recovered the key by simulated annealing scored by an English model, from the cipher words alone, and checked it on telegrams that were transcribed blind before the key was known.
What it says: A courtship and its sequel in Sun’s own English: “Whenever ye see Yung you inflict tor[t]ure [u]pon me”; in 1916, a dangerous iron trunk to be left with Inuzuka.
Credit: Brice Dudout, The Rosamonde telegrams (2026, CC BY 4.0), with Claude (Opus 5.5): discovery, transcription, key and edition. This page summarises his work; three telegrams were re-deciphered here from the scans.
Still open: The seven telegrams of May 1916 as a reading: 109 of their 627 letters (17%) are supplied from sense where the copies give look-alike letters, with nothing outside to confirm them, so they count as decoded, not read (check of 23 October 2026). In 1915: eight words of 9 March, one word of 25 February, one group of 7 July. Who “Laisaosang” and “Yung” were.

01 The telegrams

From 1913 to 1917 the Japanese Ministry of Communications had the telegrams of Sun Yat-sen’s circle in Tokyo copied for the Foreign Ministry. The copies form the series “inquiry into the mail of designated persons” (特定人ノ発受郵便物取調), now digitised by the Japan Center for Asian Historical Records. Most are in Chinese telegraph codes; the project’s page on Sun Yat-sen’s intercepted telegrams, 1916–17 covers the condenser systems, a different cipher.

In the 1915 volumes Brice Dudout noticed a separate family: ten-letter words with no pattern of consonants and vowels, but recurring groups such as hea. They leave Tokyo in the name of Tōyama Mitsuru (頭山滿), Sun’s neighbour and protector, for two Shanghai addresses, “Laisaosang, 445 Chaoufoong Road” and “Rosamonde, 628 E. Yuhang Road”. In May 1916 the same words travel between Shanghai and “Rosamonde Tokio”.

Imperial Government Telegraphs forwarded-message form of 26 February 1915, addressed Laisaosang Shanghai, with twelve handwritten cipher words in two columns and the signature 頭山滿 — Tokyo to “Laisaosang, Shanghai”, 26 February 1915, 10.40 am, signed 頭山滿. Read across the two columns, the twelve words begin *myovonoiho coohavbhea* = “whenever ye see Yung you”. Image: Diplomatic Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, JACAR B03050087600 image 52, via Brice Dudout’s wenmi repository.

02 The system and the key

The plaintext is telegraphic English with the spaces removed, cut into ten-letter words. Each letter is replaced by its partner in a table of pairs, so the same table enciphers and deciphers:

a↔u b↔g c↔s e↔o f↔j h↔y i↔r k↔z l↔t m↔w n↔v q↔x · d and p unchanged

You becomes hea and love becomes teno; several clear telegrams of March 1915 to Rosamonde are simply signed “teno”. Names, sums and reply addresses stay in clear, and so do a few words (happy, Inuzuka, iron, trunk). The last word stops at ten letters, which cuts husba[nd] twice in May 1916. On 6 March 1915 the form twice has qq where pp is expected; Brice renders it [pp] and leaves the table as it is.

How the key was recovered. On Brice’s account the letter index of coincidence is 0.062, a natural language and not a code; f and q never occur and hea comes ten times. Simulated annealing over all substitutions, then over reciprocal ones only, scored with an English quadgram model, gave the key; the same search recovers an English control text enciphered with a random key. No crib or outside plaintext was used. The key taken from the 1915 telegrams alone then scores the 1916 forms, transcribed blind before the key was found, far above 2,000 random reciprocal tables (z = 7.5), and Brice’s own blind re-transcription of 1915 likewise (z = 10.9). A telegram in another system stays at chance (z = 0.6). The forms were transcribed twice and independently, by Claude and then by Brice without seeing Claude’s transcription; 89% of the letters agreed.

Checked here. The cipher words of three forms whose scans are in Brice’s repository (20 and 26 February, 7 July 1915: 20 words, 200 letters) were transcribed again from the images and deciphered with the table unchanged. The result agrees with his edition letter for letter, including the letters he corrects and the unreadable xa ins of 7 July; the statistical test in docs/_validate.py passes on these 200 letters. Two small points: the scan gives abon (g, not p) in “[u]pon”, a second slip that his brackets leave out, and the cipher has “for our soul are mingled” where his edition prints “souls”.

03 The readings

The texts below are Brice Dudout’s, quoted from his edition as he wrote them, telegraphic abbreviations included (ye for you, Yoko for Yokohama). Square brackets mark a letter the form gives differently or leaves out; he checked each against the images, and most are the clerk’s cursive confusions (n for v, i for r, y for h, g for p), not errors of the key. … marks a passage that does not decipher. Unless noted, the sender is Sun Yat-sen and the recipient Soong Ching-ling.

Date	From → to	Deciphered text
17 Feb 1915	Tokyo → Laisaosang	Your letter [o]f the eight received. My life is [s]afe agai[n], I [ha]ve to thank you. Did you get my l[a]st cable?
20 Feb 1915	Tokyo → Rosamonde, 628 E. Yuhang Road	Must an[s]wer cable to Chu’s yesterday. HATA
21 Feb 1915	Tokyo → Laisaosang	I am so happy, tha[n]k[s] to you. (happy in clear)
23 Feb 1915	Tokyo → Laisaosang	Yes, I’ll save you or die myself if fail. But you must b[e] strong too.
25 Feb 1915	Tokyo → Laisaosang	With de[vou]t love I ask ye to throw of[f] Yung at once. If not I will surely die. I could throw of[f] … and sacrificed 100000 yu[a]n for you. Why are you [t]roubl[e] over a house a[n]d automobile? Now the [q]ues is: are you go[i]ng to cut h[i]m?
26 Feb 1915	Tokyo → Laisaosang	Whenever ye see Yung you inflict tor[t]ure [u]pon me, and the [p]ain will surely react on you more i[n]tens[e], for our souls are mingled i[n]to one. You can’t esca[p]e.
3 Mar 1915	Tokyo → Laisaosang	Thirst[y] for hearing from you. An[s]wer.
6 Mar 1915	Tokyo → Laisaosang	I a[pp]rehend you going to desert me. Is it true? Tell definitely once for all to me. I shall a[pp]reciate you more for the honesty.
7 Mar 1915	Tokyo → Laisaosang	Why not give me comforts?
9 Mar 1915	Tokyo → Laisaosang (30 words)	[J]oy and ho[p]e return to me with your cable yes[ter]day. Many tha[n]k[s]. I just goin[g] … I a[m] well and sound usual. E[x]ecu[t]e your agreement at once, I b[i]d you [e]agerly. Your father su[r]prised me by a cal[l] t[h]is morni[ng]. (middle passage not deciphered)
11 Mar 1915	Tokyo → Laisaosang	What make ye cabled me so urgent yesterday? Re[p]ly by ci[p]her. Must write it at home, never do it in office, for [t]hey see. You don’t use code book, so they can get our secrets by guessing. Write me often, [p]lease do.
12 Mar 1915	Tokyo → Laisaosang	Shall I tell father that you coming by Korea? Answ[er].
15 Mar 1915	Tokyo → “Miss Nit”, steamer Korea (wireless)	Who coming with you? Do father know when to meet ye? Are you land Kobe or Yoko? Re[p]ly [q]uick so that I may know what to do for your landing. Love.
10 Jun 1915	Tokyo → Laisaosang	Are you forgot me? Why not write and se[n]d the [p]hoto?
7 Jul 1915	Shanghai → Rosamonde, Tokio (Soong Ching-ling → Sun, probable)	Lovesick … in torture. Be merciful. Come or free me forever.
May 1916: decoded, not read. In Brice Dudout’s readings below, every bracketed letter is one the form gives differently (n/v, i/r, y/h, g/p, a/u, e/c), supplied from sense: 109 of 627 letters. That is far beyond the share of look-alike letters a reading may rest on, and the copies carry no translation and no cipher transcription of the 1916 forms is in the repository to test them against the key, as was done here for 20 and 26 February and 7 July 1915. The rows are a partial reading.
1 May 1916	Nagasaki → Rosamonde, Tokio	[In]te[n]s[e] love a[n]d ma[n]y k[is]ses to you.
4 May 1916	Shanghai → Rosamonde	Safel[y] la[n]d Fre[n]ch concess[i]on yesterday, no[w] very busy now. Love from devoted husba[nd].
8 May 1916	Tokyo → “Junzaburo”, Shanghai (Soong Ching-ling → Sun, probable)	[I]s [i]t true y[o]u are going to Canton soon?
10 May 1916	Shanghai → Rosamonde	[I] not go to Canton. You can come here an[y] t[i]me, b[u]t do[n]’[t] take iro[n] trunk, leave [i]t to Mr Inuzuka’s care. Do you understand?
11 May 1916	Shanghai → Rosamonde	D[a]rl[ing], have you [r]eceive cable a[sk] [y]ou to come he[r]e a[n]d do you know that iron trunk mus[t] be g[i]ve[n] to M[r] Inuzuka to take care. Love a[n]d k[is]ses to m[y] own w[i]f[e].
12 May 1916	Shanghai → “Nakayama, 109 Harajuku, Tokio”	Cha[ng] K[i] [r]etur[n] Tok[i]o [i]s not true. D[i]d y[o]u [re]ceive two former ca[bl]es ask you to come back a[n]d g[i]ve the iro[n] tru[n]k [to] M[r] Inuzuka’s [c]are? Have y[ou] done so? Fo[r] [I] [a]m very [anxi]ous about the t[r]unk, fo[r] [i]t [i]s ve[ry] d[an]ge[r]ou[s] fo[r] [y]ou to take [i]t yourself. Do [y]o[u] [q]uite cl[e]a[r] w[h]at [I] mea[n]? A[ns]wer at once. Husb[and].
13 May 1916	Tokyo → “Junzaburo”, Shanghai (Soong Ching-ling → Sun, probable)	[Pl]ease tell [T]ai h[i]s w[i]fe com[in]g also. Rosamonde. Porthos.

04 Who writes to whom

No form names either party; the attribution is Brice’s, built from independent facts that agree. “Rosamonde” (or Rosamond) was Soong Ching-ling’s English name, and in 1916 “Rosamonde Tokio” was a telegraphic address of Sun’s household.

The dates. Ching-ling was in Shanghai from 28 October 1914 to 17 March 1915. The Tokyo–Shanghai telegrams run from 17 February to 12 March, and on 15 March one goes by wireless to the steamer Korea, which brought her back (“Are you land Kobe or Yoko?”). She left again on 3 May; the run resumes on 10 June.
The relay. Zhu Zhuowen (“Chu”), Sun’s man in Shanghai, wrote on 2 and 4 February 1915 that he had set up an office for Miss Soong beside his own room, out of her mother’s sight, where she could be written to. On 20 February Tokyo wires “Must answer cable to Chu’s yesterday.”
The rumour of March 1915. On 9 March clear telegrams from Shanghai ask after Sun’s health, one of them to Rosamonde signed “teno”. Tokyo replies in the cipher, “I a[m] well and sound usual”, and the next day Sun asks Shanghai, in a condensed Chinese code, what rumours are going round about his safety.
Yung. A suitor named, with another, in a letter from her father Charlie Soong to Sun of 3 August 1915, published by Yang Tianshi; the telegrams name him five months earlier.
May 1916. The messages are signed “devoted husband” and addressed to “my own wife”; the iron trunk, Inuzuka Shintarō, Canton, Zhang Ji and the liner Porthos recur in Chinese-code telegrams of the same days. Ching-ling joined Sun in Shanghai on 19 May 1916.

The 11 March telegram is itself a lesson in the system’s weakness: encipher at home, never in the office, “You don’t use code book, so they can get our secrets by guessing.” Japanese officials copied every form but did not decipher them.

05 What remains uncertain

In the eleven complete telegrams of the first 1915 sample, about 45 of 750 letters are corrected (6%), nearly all copying confusions. The brackets in the table show each one.
Not deciphered: eight words in the middle of 9 March 1915; one word after “throw of[f]” and the end of “de[vou]t” on 25 February; one group on 7 July (the key gives lovesickxa instorture). The key is complete; these fail on the copies.
Probable, not proved: “Chang Ki” as Zhang Ji, “Tai” as Dai Jitao, Ching-ling as sender of 7 July, 8 and 13 May.
Unidentified: who stood behind the address “Laisaosang”, and Yung’s Chinese name.
Brice found the telegrams neither in the work on the 1916 intercepts nor in the studies of the marriage he checked (below); other works remain to be searched.
This project checked three of the twenty-two forms against the scans; the other nineteen rest on his transcription.

Full texts

The transcription and the decryption of every document on this page, so that the reading can be used and checked. Short files are shown here; all are in the repository.

JACAR B03050087600, eleven telegrams, 17 Feb - 11 Mar 1915

Sun Yat-sen in Tokyo to Soong Ching-ling ('Laisaosang' / 'Rosamonde') in Shanghai, Japanese Communications Bureau copies: love telegrams, Yung the rival suitor, 'Reply by cipher ... they can get our secrets by guessing'. Readings are Brice Dudout's (contributed); only the 20 and 26 Feb forms were transcribed and re-deciphered here, his transcriptions of the others are not published.

Transcription

ciphertext_checked.txt

# Cipher groups transcribed here from the three JACAR scans in Brice Dudout's wenmi repository
# (assets/img/rosamonde/). One telegram per block; cipher words only (addresses and clear signatures left out).
# 20 Feb 1915, Tokyo -> Rosamonde 628 E. Yuhang Road, JACAR B03050087600 image 45
wacluvcmoi sugtolesya chocloiduh
# 26 Feb 1915, Tokyo -> Laisaosang, JACAR B03050087600 image 52 (left column then right, line by line)
myovonoiho coohavbhea rvjtrsller laiougevwo uvdlyoqurv mrttcaioth iouslevhea weiorvlovc jeieaiceat uiowrvbtod roleevohea suvlocsugo
# 7 Jul 1915, Shanghai -> Rosamonde Tokio, JACAR B03050087700 image 50
tenocrszqu rvcleilaio gowoisrjat sewoeijioo wojeionoip

Decryption

readings_dudout.md

# The Rosamonde telegrams: Brice Dudout's readings

Copied 22 Oct 2026 verbatim from NOTES.md ("The telegrams"), which quotes his edition at <https://bdudout.github.io/wenmi/en/rosamonde.html> (CC BY 4.0). His cipher transcriptions of the forms are not published; the three checked here are in `ciphertext_checked.txt` and `texts/check_decryption.txt`.

## The telegrams

Readings are Brice Dudout's, quoted from his page. Square brackets: letters the form gives differently or leaves out
(he checked them on the images on 15 Oct 2026; mostly n/v, i/r, y/h, g/p, a/u, e/c cursive confusions); "…" not
deciphered.

| Date | From → to | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| 17 Feb 1915 | Tokyo → Laisaosang (Sun → Ching-ling) | Your letter [o]f the eight received. My life is [s]afe agai[n], I [ha]ve to thank you. Did you get my l[a]st cable? |
| 20 Feb 1915 | Tokyo → Rosamonde, 628 E. Yuhang Road, signed Hata | Must an[s]wer cable to Chu's yesterday. HATA |
| 21 Feb 1915 | Tokyo → Laisaosang | I am so happy, tha[n]k[s] to you. (*happy* in clear) |
| 23 Feb 1915 | Tokyo → Laisaosang | Yes, I'll save you or die myself if fail. But you must b[e] strong too. |
| 25 Feb 1915 | Tokyo → Laisaosang | With de[vou]t love I ask ye to throw of[f] Yung at once. If not I will surely die. I could throw of[f] … and sacrificed 100000 yu[a]n for you. Why are you [t]roubl[e] over a house a[n]d automobile? Now the [q]ues is: are you go[i]ng to cut h[i]m? |
| 26 Feb 1915 | Tokyo → Laisaosang | Whenever ye see Yung you inflict tor[t]ure [u]pon me, and the [p]ain will surely react on you more i[n]tens[e], for our souls are mingled i[n]to one. You can't esca[p]e. |
| 3 Mar 1915 | Tokyo → Laisaosang | Thirst[y] for hearing from you. An[s]wer. |
| 6 Mar 1915 | Tokyo → Laisaosang | I a[pp]rehend you going to desert me. Is it true? Tell definitely once for all to me. I shall a[pp]reciate you more for the honesty. |
| 7 Mar 1915 | Tokyo → Laisaosang | Why not give me comforts? |
| 9 Mar 1915 | Tokyo → Laisaosang (30 words) | [J]oy and ho[p]e return to me with your cable yes[ter]day. Many tha[n]k[s]. I just goin[g] … I a[m] well and sound usual. E[x]ecu[t]e your agreement at once, I b[i]d you [e]agerly. Your father su[r]prised me by a cal[l] t[h]is morni[ng]. (middle passage not deciphered) |
| 11 Mar 1915 | Tokyo → Laisaosang | What make ye cabled me so urgent yesterday? Re[p]ly by ci[p]her. Must write it at home, never do it in office, for [t]hey see. You don't use code book, so they can get our secrets by guessing. Write me often, [p]lease do. |
| 12 Mar 1915 | Tokyo → Laisaosang | Shall I tell father that you coming by Korea? Answ[er]. |
| 15 Mar 1915 | Tokyo → "Miss Nit", steamer Korea (wireless) | Who coming with you? Do father know when to meet ye? Are you land Kobe or Yoko? Re[p]ly [q]uick so that I may know what to do for your landing. Love. |
| 10 Jun 1915 | Tokyo → Laisaosang | Are you forgot me? Why not write and se[n]d the [p]hoto? |
| 7 Jul 1915 | Shanghai → Rosamonde, Tokio (Ching-ling → Sun) | Lovesick … in torture. Be merciful. Come or free me forever. |
| 1 May 1916 | Nagasaki → Rosamonde, Tokio (Sun → Ching-ling) | [In]te[n]s[e] love a[n]d ma[n]y k[is]ses to you. |
| 4 May 1916 | Shanghai → Rosamonde | Safel[y] la[n]d Fre[n]ch concess[i]on yesterday, no[w] very busy now. Love from devoted husba[nd]. |
| 8 May 1916 | Tokyo → "Junzaburo", Shanghai, form signed 中山 (Ching-ling → Sun, probable) | [I]s [i]t true y[o]u are going to Canton soon? |
| 10 May 1916 | Shanghai → Rosamonde | [I] not go to Canton. You can come here an[y] t[i]me, b[u]t do[n]'[t] take iro[n] trunk, leave [i]t to Mr Inuzuka's care. Do you understand? |
| 11 May 1916 | Shanghai → Rosamonde | D[a]rl[ing], have you [r]eceive cable a[sk] [y]ou to come he[r]e a[n]d do you know that iron trunk mus[t] be g[i]ve[n] to M[r] Inuzuka to take care. Love a[n]d k[is]ses to m[y] own w[i]f[e]. |
| 12 May 1916 | Shanghai → "Nakayama, 109 Harajuku, Tokio" | Cha[ng] K[i] [r]etur[n] Tok[i]o [i]s not true. D[i]d y[o]u [re]ceive two former ca[bl]es ask you to come back a[n]d g[i]ve the iro[n] tru[n]k [to] M[r] Inuzuka's [c]are? Have y[ou] done so? Fo[r] [I] [a]m very [anxi]ous about the t[r]unk, fo[r] [i]t [i]s ve[ry] d[an]ge[r]ou[s] fo[r] [y]ou to take [i]t yourself. Do [y]o[u] [q]uite cl[e]a[r] w[h]at [I] mea[n]? A[ns]wer at once. Husb[and]. (address Murai 317 Joffra) |
| 13 May 1916 | Tokyo → "Junzaburo", Shanghai, form signed 中山 (Ching-ling → Sun, probable) | [Pl]ease tell [T]ai h[i]s w[i]fe com[in]g also. Rosamonde. Porthos. |

Unless marked, 1915 Tokyo telegrams are Sun → Ching-ling and 1916 Shanghai/Nagasaki telegrams are Sun → Ching-ling.

Decryption

check_decryption.txt

# Output of `python decipher.py` (ciphertext_checked.txt, the key unchanged), saved 22 Oct 2026: the three telegrams re-deciphered here from the scans.
# Cipher groups transcribed here from the three JACAR scans in Brice Dudout's wenmi repository
# (assets/img/rosamonde/). One telegram per block; cipher words only (addresses and clear signatures left out).
# 20 Feb 1915, Tokyo -> Rosamonde 628 E. Yuhang Road, JACAR B03050087600 image 45
mustanswer cabletochu syesterday
# 26 Feb 1915, Tokyo -> Laisaosang, JACAR B03050087600 image 52 (left column then right, line by line)
wheneverye seeyungyou inflicttoi tureabonme andthexain willsurely reactonyou moreintens foroursoul aremingled ietooneyou cantescabe
# 7 Jul 1915, Shanghai -> Rosamonde Tokio, JACAR B03050087700 image 50
lovesickxa instorture bemerciful comeorfree meforeverp

JACAR B03050087700, four telegrams, 12 Mar - 7 Jul 1915

Sun to Ching-ling about her return by the steamer Korea (12 and 15 Mar), 'Are you forgot me?' (10 Jun), and Ching-ling's 'Lovesick ... in torture. Be merciful. Come or free me forever' (7 Jul). Brice Dudout's readings; only the 7 Jul form was transcribed and re-deciphered here.

Transcription

ciphertext_checked.txt

# Cipher groups transcribed here from the three JACAR scans in Brice Dudout's wenmi repository
# (assets/img/rosamonde/). One telegram per block; cipher words only (addresses and clear signatures left out).
# 20 Feb 1915, Tokyo -> Rosamonde 628 E. Yuhang Road, JACAR B03050087600 image 45
wacluvcmoi sugtolesya chocloiduh
# 26 Feb 1915, Tokyo -> Laisaosang, JACAR B03050087600 image 52 (left column then right, line by line)
myovonoiho coohavbhea rvjtrsller laiougevwo uvdlyoqurv mrttcaioth iouslevhea weiorvlovc jeieaiceat uiowrvbtod roleevohea suvlocsugo
# 7 Jul 1915, Shanghai -> Rosamonde Tokio, JACAR B03050087700 image 50
tenocrszqu rvcleilaio gowoisrjat sewoeijioo wojeionoip

Decryption

readings_dudout.md

# The Rosamonde telegrams: Brice Dudout's readings

Copied 22 Oct 2026 verbatim from NOTES.md ("The telegrams"), which quotes his edition at <https://bdudout.github.io/wenmi/en/rosamonde.html> (CC BY 4.0). His cipher transcriptions of the forms are not published; the three checked here are in `ciphertext_checked.txt` and `texts/check_decryption.txt`.

## The telegrams

Readings are Brice Dudout's, quoted from his page. Square brackets: letters the form gives differently or leaves out
(he checked them on the images on 15 Oct 2026; mostly n/v, i/r, y/h, g/p, a/u, e/c cursive confusions); "…" not
deciphered.

| Date | From → to | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| 17 Feb 1915 | Tokyo → Laisaosang (Sun → Ching-ling) | Your letter [o]f the eight received. My life is [s]afe agai[n], I [ha]ve to thank you. Did you get my l[a]st cable? |
| 20 Feb 1915 | Tokyo → Rosamonde, 628 E. Yuhang Road, signed Hata | Must an[s]wer cable to Chu's yesterday. HATA |
| 21 Feb 1915 | Tokyo → Laisaosang | I am so happy, tha[n]k[s] to you. (*happy* in clear) |
| 23 Feb 1915 | Tokyo → Laisaosang | Yes, I'll save you or die myself if fail. But you must b[e] strong too. |
| 25 Feb 1915 | Tokyo → Laisaosang | With de[vou]t love I ask ye to throw of[f] Yung at once. If not I will surely die. I could throw of[f] … and sacrificed 100000 yu[a]n for you. Why are you [t]roubl[e] over a house a[n]d automobile? Now the [q]ues is: are you go[i]ng to cut h[i]m? |
| 26 Feb 1915 | Tokyo → Laisaosang | Whenever ye see Yung you inflict tor[t]ure [u]pon me, and the [p]ain will surely react on you more i[n]tens[e], for our souls are mingled i[n]to one. You can't esca[p]e. |
| 3 Mar 1915 | Tokyo → Laisaosang | Thirst[y] for hearing from you. An[s]wer. |
| 6 Mar 1915 | Tokyo → Laisaosang | I a[pp]rehend you going to desert me. Is it true? Tell definitely once for all to me. I shall a[pp]reciate you more for the honesty. |
| 7 Mar 1915 | Tokyo → Laisaosang | Why not give me comforts? |
| 9 Mar 1915 | Tokyo → Laisaosang (30 words) | [J]oy and ho[p]e return to me with your cable yes[ter]day. Many tha[n]k[s]. I just goin[g] … I a[m] well and sound usual. E[x]ecu[t]e your agreement at once, I b[i]d you [e]agerly. Your father su[r]prised me by a cal[l] t[h]is morni[ng]. (middle passage not deciphered) |
| 11 Mar 1915 | Tokyo → Laisaosang | What make ye cabled me so urgent yesterday? Re[p]ly by ci[p]her. Must write it at home, never do it in office, for [t]hey see. You don't use code book, so they can get our secrets by guessing. Write me often, [p]lease do. |
| 12 Mar 1915 | Tokyo → Laisaosang | Shall I tell father that you coming by Korea? Answ[er]. |
| 15 Mar 1915 | Tokyo → "Miss Nit", steamer Korea (wireless) | Who coming with you? Do father know when to meet ye? Are you land Kobe or Yoko? Re[p]ly [q]uick so that I may know what to do for your landing. Love. |
| 10 Jun 1915 | Tokyo → Laisaosang | Are you forgot me? Why not write and se[n]d the [p]hoto? |
| 7 Jul 1915 | Shanghai → Rosamonde, Tokio (Ching-ling → Sun) | Lovesick … in torture. Be merciful. Come or free me forever. |
| 1 May 1916 | Nagasaki → Rosamonde, Tokio (Sun → Ching-ling) | [In]te[n]s[e] love a[n]d ma[n]y k[is]ses to you. |
| 4 May 1916 | Shanghai → Rosamonde | Safel[y] la[n]d Fre[n]ch concess[i]on yesterday, no[w] very busy now. Love from devoted husba[nd]. |
| 8 May 1916 | Tokyo → "Junzaburo", Shanghai, form signed 中山 (Ching-ling → Sun, probable) | [I]s [i]t true y[o]u are going to Canton soon? |
| 10 May 1916 | Shanghai → Rosamonde | [I] not go to Canton. You can come here an[y] t[i]me, b[u]t do[n]'[t] take iro[n] trunk, leave [i]t to Mr Inuzuka's care. Do you understand? |
| 11 May 1916 | Shanghai → Rosamonde | D[a]rl[ing], have you [r]eceive cable a[sk] [y]ou to come he[r]e a[n]d do you know that iron trunk mus[t] be g[i]ve[n] to M[r] Inuzuka to take care. Love a[n]d k[is]ses to m[y] own w[i]f[e]. |
| 12 May 1916 | Shanghai → "Nakayama, 109 Harajuku, Tokio" | Cha[ng] K[i] [r]etur[n] Tok[i]o [i]s not true. D[i]d y[o]u [re]ceive two former ca[bl]es ask you to come back a[n]d g[i]ve the iro[n] tru[n]k [to] M[r] Inuzuka's [c]are? Have y[ou] done so? Fo[r] [I] [a]m very [anxi]ous about the t[r]unk, fo[r] [i]t [i]s ve[ry] d[an]ge[r]ou[s] fo[r] [y]ou to take [i]t yourself. Do [y]o[u] [q]uite cl[e]a[r] w[h]at [I] mea[n]? A[ns]wer at once. Husb[and]. (address Murai 317 Joffra) |
| 13 May 1916 | Tokyo → "Junzaburo", Shanghai, form signed 中山 (Ching-ling → Sun, probable) | [Pl]ease tell [T]ai h[i]s w[i]fe com[in]g also. Rosamonde. Porthos. |

Unless marked, 1915 Tokyo telegrams are Sun → Ching-ling and 1916 Shanghai/Nagasaki telegrams are Sun → Ching-ling.

Decryption

check_decryption.txt

# Output of `python decipher.py` (ciphertext_checked.txt, the key unchanged), saved 22 Oct 2026: the three telegrams re-deciphered here from the scans.
# Cipher groups transcribed here from the three JACAR scans in Brice Dudout's wenmi repository
# (assets/img/rosamonde/). One telegram per block; cipher words only (addresses and clear signatures left out).
# 20 Feb 1915, Tokyo -> Rosamonde 628 E. Yuhang Road, JACAR B03050087600 image 45
mustanswer cabletochu syesterday
# 26 Feb 1915, Tokyo -> Laisaosang, JACAR B03050087600 image 52 (left column then right, line by line)
wheneverye seeyungyou inflicttoi tureabonme andthexain willsurely reactonyou moreintens foroursoul aremingled ietooneyou cantescabe
# 7 Jul 1915, Shanghai -> Rosamonde Tokio, JACAR B03050087700 image 50
lovesickxa instorture bemerciful comeorfree meforeverp

JACAR B03050089000, seven telegrams, 1 - 13 May 1916 decoded, not read

Between Shanghai and 'Rosamonde Tokio' after Sun's return to China, May 1916: his safe landing in the French concession, Canton, and repeated orders to leave the iron trunk in Mr Inuzuka's care. Brice Dudout's readings; no cipher transcription of these forms is in the repository.

A mechanical decode with holes in most sentences: shown so that the transcription and the key can be checked and improved, not as a reading.

Decryption

readings_dudout.md

# The Rosamonde telegrams: Brice Dudout's readings

Copied 22 Oct 2026 verbatim from NOTES.md ("The telegrams"), which quotes his edition at <https://bdudout.github.io/wenmi/en/rosamonde.html> (CC BY 4.0). His cipher transcriptions of the forms are not published; the three checked here are in `ciphertext_checked.txt` and `texts/check_decryption.txt`.

## The telegrams

Readings are Brice Dudout's, quoted from his page. Square brackets: letters the form gives differently or leaves out
(he checked them on the images on 15 Oct 2026; mostly n/v, i/r, y/h, g/p, a/u, e/c cursive confusions); "…" not
deciphered.

| Date | From → to | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| 17 Feb 1915 | Tokyo → Laisaosang (Sun → Ching-ling) | Your letter [o]f the eight received. My life is [s]afe agai[n], I [ha]ve to thank you. Did you get my l[a]st cable? |
| 20 Feb 1915 | Tokyo → Rosamonde, 628 E. Yuhang Road, signed Hata | Must an[s]wer cable to Chu's yesterday. HATA |
| 21 Feb 1915 | Tokyo → Laisaosang | I am so happy, tha[n]k[s] to you. (*happy* in clear) |
| 23 Feb 1915 | Tokyo → Laisaosang | Yes, I'll save you or die myself if fail. But you must b[e] strong too. |
| 25 Feb 1915 | Tokyo → Laisaosang | With de[vou]t love I ask ye to throw of[f] Yung at once. If not I will surely die. I could throw of[f] … and sacrificed 100000 yu[a]n for you. Why are you [t]roubl[e] over a house a[n]d automobile? Now the [q]ues is: are you go[i]ng to cut h[i]m? |
| 26 Feb 1915 | Tokyo → Laisaosang | Whenever ye see Yung you inflict tor[t]ure [u]pon me, and the [p]ain will surely react on you more i[n]tens[e], for our souls are mingled i[n]to one. You can't esca[p]e. |
| 3 Mar 1915 | Tokyo → Laisaosang | Thirst[y] for hearing from you. An[s]wer. |
| 6 Mar 1915 | Tokyo → Laisaosang | I a[pp]rehend you going to desert me. Is it true? Tell definitely once for all to me. I shall a[pp]reciate you more for the honesty. |
| 7 Mar 1915 | Tokyo → Laisaosang | Why not give me comforts? |
| 9 Mar 1915 | Tokyo → Laisaosang (30 words) | [J]oy and ho[p]e return to me with your cable yes[ter]day. Many tha[n]k[s]. I just goin[g] … I a[m] well and sound usual. E[x]ecu[t]e your agreement at once, I b[i]d you [e]agerly. Your father su[r]prised me by a cal[l] t[h]is morni[ng]. (middle passage not deciphered) |
| 11 Mar 1915 | Tokyo → Laisaosang | What make ye cabled me so urgent yesterday? Re[p]ly by ci[p]her. Must write it at home, never do it in office, for [t]hey see. You don't use code book, so they can get our secrets by guessing. Write me often, [p]lease do. |
| 12 Mar 1915 | Tokyo → Laisaosang | Shall I tell father that you coming by Korea? Answ[er]. |
| 15 Mar 1915 | Tokyo → "Miss Nit", steamer Korea (wireless) | Who coming with you? Do father know when to meet ye? Are you land Kobe or Yoko? Re[p]ly [q]uick so that I may know what to do for your landing. Love. |
| 10 Jun 1915 | Tokyo → Laisaosang | Are you forgot me? Why not write and se[n]d the [p]hoto? |
| 7 Jul 1915 | Shanghai → Rosamonde, Tokio (Ching-ling → Sun) | Lovesick … in torture. Be merciful. Come or free me forever. |
| 1 May 1916 | Nagasaki → Rosamonde, Tokio (Sun → Ching-ling) | [In]te[n]s[e] love a[n]d ma[n]y k[is]ses to you. |
| 4 May 1916 | Shanghai → Rosamonde | Safel[y] la[n]d Fre[n]ch concess[i]on yesterday, no[w] very busy now. Love from devoted husba[nd]. |
| 8 May 1916 | Tokyo → "Junzaburo", Shanghai, form signed 中山 (Ching-ling → Sun, probable) | [I]s [i]t true y[o]u are going to Canton soon? |
| 10 May 1916 | Shanghai → Rosamonde | [I] not go to Canton. You can come here an[y] t[i]me, b[u]t do[n]'[t] take iro[n] trunk, leave [i]t to Mr Inuzuka's care. Do you understand? |
| 11 May 1916 | Shanghai → Rosamonde | D[a]rl[ing], have you [r]eceive cable a[sk] [y]ou to come he[r]e a[n]d do you know that iron trunk mus[t] be g[i]ve[n] to M[r] Inuzuka to take care. Love a[n]d k[is]ses to m[y] own w[i]f[e]. |
| 12 May 1916 | Shanghai → "Nakayama, 109 Harajuku, Tokio" | Cha[ng] K[i] [r]etur[n] Tok[i]o [i]s not true. D[i]d y[o]u [re]ceive two former ca[bl]es ask you to come back a[n]d g[i]ve the iro[n] tru[n]k [to] M[r] Inuzuka's [c]are? Have y[ou] done so? Fo[r] [I] [a]m very [anxi]ous about the t[r]unk, fo[r] [i]t [i]s ve[ry] d[an]ge[r]ou[s] fo[r] [y]ou to take [i]t yourself. Do [y]o[u] [q]uite cl[e]a[r] w[h]at [I] mea[n]? A[ns]wer at once. Husb[and]. (address Murai 317 Joffra) |
| 13 May 1916 | Tokyo → "Junzaburo", Shanghai, form signed 中山 (Ching-ling → Sun, probable) | [Pl]ease tell [T]ai h[i]s w[i]fe com[in]g also. Rosamonde. Porthos. |

Unless marked, 1915 Tokyo telegrams are Sun → Ching-ling and 1916 Shanghai/Nagasaki telegrams are Sun → Ching-ling.

06 Sources

Brice Dudout, with Claude (Anthropic), The Rosamonde telegrams (1915–1916), in The Wenmi code, October 2026, CC BY 4.0; repository github.com/bdudout/wenmi. Reported by email on 15 October 2026; the 6 and 7 March 1915 telegrams added on 16 October.
JACAR (Japan Center for Asian Historical Records), Diplomatic Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, 1.6.1.4-2-1-2, 特定人ノ発受郵便物取調: vol. 1, B03050087600 (8 January – 11 March 1915; forms of 20 and 26 February on images 45 and 52); B03050087700 (March 1915 – February 1916; 7 July on image 50); vol. 3, B03050089000 (29 April – 22 May 1916).
Yang Tianshi 楊天石, “宋嘉樹與孫中山、宋慶齡的婚姻”, Bainian chao 百年潮, 2001, no. 12.
Zhu Jiulin 朱玖琳, “從檔案文獻看孫中山與宋慶齡的婚姻”, Jindai Zhongguo 近代中國 25 (2016), pp. 50–70.
J. Chang and J. Halliday, Mme Sun Yat-sen (Soong Ching-ling), Penguin, 1986.
Related: Sun Yat-sen’s intercepted telegrams, 1916–17 on this site, a different cipher.

Folder: targets/rosamonde1915/ (notes, the three telegrams transcribed here, the key as a script, the validation pairs). The readings are Brice Dudout’s, reproduced under CC BY 4.0 with his agreement.