Soong sisters

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The three Soong sisters: Soong Ching-ling at the left, Soong Ai-ling in the middle and Soong Mei-ling at the right

The Soong sisters (

Sun Yat Sen, and Chiang Kai-shek. Along with their husbands, they became among China
's most significant political figures of the early 20th century.

Their father was American-educated

Republic of China government, one of whom was T. V. Soong
.

History

The Soong sisters in their youth

Throughout their lifetimes, each one of the sisters followed her own beliefs in terms of supporting the

Communists (CPC). In the 1930s, Soong Ai-ling and Mei-ling were the two richest women in China;[4]
both of them supported the Nationalists.

In 1937, when the

Imperial Japanese army. Soong Ai-ling devoted herself to social work such as helping wounded soldiers, refugees and orphans. She donated five ambulances and 37 trucks to the army in Shanghai and the air force, along with 500 leather uniforms.[4]

The sisters visiting female Nationalist soldiers

When the Japanese occupied Nanjing and Wuhan, the three sisters moved to Hong Kong. In 1940, they returned to Chongqing and established the Chinese Industrial Cooperatives, which opened job opportunities for people through weaving, sewing and other crafts. The sisters frequently visited schools, hospitals, orphanages, air raid shelters and aided war torn communities along the way.[4]

Three sisters

English name Chinese name Description
Soong Ai-ling
Traditional Chinese: 宋藹齡
Pinyin
: Sòng Ǎilíng		 The eldest sister (1889–1973). She was married to China's richest man and finance minister, H. H. Kung.
Soong Ching-ling
Traditional Chinese: 宋慶齡
Pinyin
: Sòng Qìnglíng		 The middle sister (1893–1981). She married
vice president of the People's Republic of China with Dong Biwu from 1959 to 1972 and honorary President
in 1981, just before her death.
Soong Mei-ling
Traditional Chinese: 宋美齡
Pinyin
: Sòng Měilíng		 The youngest sister (1898–2003). She was a prominent political leader in her own right, the wife and partner in power of Chiang Kai-shek, the leader of the Kuomintang (KMT), commander in chief of the Chinese armies and later president of the Republic of China.

Their marriages and alleged motivations have been summarized in the Mao Zedong saying "One loved money, one loved power, one loved her country" (Chinese: 一個愛錢、一個愛權、一個愛國; pinyin: Yīgè ài qián, yīgè ài quán, yīgè ài guó) referring to Ai-ling, Mei-ling, and Ching-ling in that order.[5]

Cultural materials

See also

References

  1. ISBN 9789622098022
    .
  2. ^ "The Soong sisters".
  3. ^ "The Soong Sisters". History of the College. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  4. ^
    ISBN 0-7656-0504-X
    .
  5. ISBN 9780756519896
    .

Bibliography

External links
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