[This is a Chinese name; the family name is Soong.]
Soong May-ling
Early Life
She was born in Hongkou District,Shanghai
She was the fourth of six children of Charlie Soong, a wealthy businessman and former Methodist missionary fromHainan , and his wife Ni
Kwei-tseng (倪桂珍; Ní Guìzhēn). Mei-ling's siblings were
sister Ai-ling, sister Ching-ling, who later became Madame Sun Yat-sen, older
brother Tse-ven and younger brothers Tse-liang (T.L.) and Tse-an (T.A.)
May-ling was officially registered as a freshman at Wesleyan in 1912 at the age of 15. She then transferred toWellesley
College Shanghai Wellesley Wellesley Georgia
Madame Chiang
Soong Mei-ling met Chiang Kai-shek in 1920. Since he was eleven years her elder, already married, and a Buddhist, Mei-ling's mother vehemently opposed the marriage between the two, but finally agreed after Chiang showed proof of his divorce and promised to convert to Christianity. Chiang told his future mother-in-law that he could not convert immediately, because religion needed to be gradually absorbed, not swallowed like a pill. They married inShanghai New York City
Madame Chiang initiated the New Life Movement and became actively engaged in Chinese politics. She was a member of the Legislative Yuan from 1930 to 1932 and Secretary-General of the Chinese Aeronautical Affairs Commission from 1936 to 1938. In 1945 she became a member of the Central Executive Committee of the Kuomintang. As her husband rose to become Generalissimo and leader of the Kuomintang, Madame Chiang acted as his English translator, secretary and advisor. She was his muse, his eyes, his ears, and his most loyal champion. During World War II, Madame Chiang tried to promote the Chinese cause and build a legacy for her husband on a par with Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin. Well-versed in both Chinese and Western culture, she became popular both inChina
In 1931, Soong Mei-ling had a villa built for her on the east side ofNanjing Mei-ling Palace
“Warphans”
Although Soong Mei-ling initially avoided the public eye after marrying Chiang, she soon began an ambitious social welfare project to establish schools for the orphans of Chinese soldiers. The orphanages were well-appointed: with playgrounds, hotels, swimming pools, a gymnasium, model classrooms, and dormitories. Soong Mei-ling was deeply involved in the project and even picked all of the teachers herself. There were two schools - one for boys and one for girls—built on a thousand-acre site at the foot of Purple Mountain, in Nanjing. She referred to these children as her "warphans" and made them a personal cause. The fate of the children of fallen soldiers became a much more important issue inChina after the beginning of the war with Japan
Soong Mei-ling made several tours to theUnited States
Both husband and wife were on good terms with Time magazine senior editor and co-founder Henry Luce, who frequently tried to rally money and support from the American public for the Republic of China. On February 18, 1943, she became the first Chinese national and the second woman to address both houses of the US Congress. After the defeat of her husband's government in the Chinese Civil War in 1949, Madame Chiang followed her husband toTaiwan ,
while her sister Soong Ching-ling stayed in mainland China
After the death of her husband in 1975, Madame Chiang assumed a low profile. She was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1975 and would undergo two mastectomies inTaiwan
Chiang Kai-shek was succeeded to power by his eldest son Chiang Ching-kuo, from a previous marriage, with whom Madame Chiang had rocky relations. In 1975, she emigrated fromTaiwan to her family's 36 acre (14.6 hectare)
estate in Lattingtown , New York Wolfeboro , New Hampshire Taiwan U.S. Taiwan Taiwan Long
Island estate in 2000 and spent the rest of her life in a Gracie Square New York
Soong Mei-ling or Soong May-ling (Chinese: 宋美齡; pinyin: Sòng Měilíng; March 5,
1898 – October 23, 2003), also known as Madame Chiang Kai-shek or Madame
Chiang, was a Chinese political figure who was First Lady of the Republic
of China, the wife of Generalissimo and President Chiang Kai-shek. Soong played
a prominent role in the politics of the Republic of China and was the
sister-in-law of Sun Yat-sen, the founder and the leader of the Republic of
China. She was active in the civic life of her country and held many honorary
and active positions, including chairman of Fu Jen Catholic University. During
the Second Sino-Japanese War she rallied her people against the Japanese
invasion and in 1943 conducted an eight month speaking tour of the United States of America
She was born in Hongkou District,
She was the fourth of six children of Charlie Soong, a wealthy businessman and former Methodist missionary from
May-ling was officially registered as a freshman at Wesleyan in 1912 at the age of 15. She then transferred to
Madame Chiang
Soong Mei-ling met Chiang Kai-shek in 1920. Since he was eleven years her elder, already married, and a Buddhist, Mei-ling's mother vehemently opposed the marriage between the two, but finally agreed after Chiang showed proof of his divorce and promised to convert to Christianity. Chiang told his future mother-in-law that he could not convert immediately, because religion needed to be gradually absorbed, not swallowed like a pill. They married in
Madame Chiang initiated the New Life Movement and became actively engaged in Chinese politics. She was a member of the Legislative Yuan from 1930 to 1932 and Secretary-General of the Chinese Aeronautical Affairs Commission from 1936 to 1938. In 1945 she became a member of the Central Executive Committee of the Kuomintang. As her husband rose to become Generalissimo and leader of the Kuomintang, Madame Chiang acted as his English translator, secretary and advisor. She was his muse, his eyes, his ears, and his most loyal champion. During World War II, Madame Chiang tried to promote the Chinese cause and build a legacy for her husband on a par with Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin. Well-versed in both Chinese and Western culture, she became popular both in
In 1931, Soong Mei-ling had a villa built for her on the east side of
“Warphans”
Although Soong Mei-ling initially avoided the public eye after marrying Chiang, she soon began an ambitious social welfare project to establish schools for the orphans of Chinese soldiers. The orphanages were well-appointed: with playgrounds, hotels, swimming pools, a gymnasium, model classrooms, and dormitories. Soong Mei-ling was deeply involved in the project and even picked all of the teachers herself. There were two schools - one for boys and one for girls—built on a thousand-acre site at the foot of Purple Mountain, in Nanjing. She referred to these children as her "warphans" and made them a personal cause. The fate of the children of fallen soldiers became a much more important issue in
Visits to the U.S.
Soong Mei-ling made several tours to the
Both husband and wife were on good terms with Time magazine senior editor and co-founder Henry Luce, who frequently tried to rally money and support from the American public for the Republic of China. On February 18, 1943, she became the first Chinese national and the second woman to address both houses of the US Congress. After the defeat of her husband's government in the Chinese Civil War in 1949, Madame Chiang followed her husband to
Later Life
After the death of her husband in 1975, Madame Chiang assumed a low profile. She was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1975 and would undergo two mastectomies in
Chiang Kai-shek was succeeded to power by his eldest son Chiang Ching-kuo, from a previous marriage, with whom Madame Chiang had rocky relations. In 1975, she emigrated from
Death
Madame Chiang
died in her sleep in New York City , in her Manhattan Ferncliff Cemetery
in Hartsdale , New York ,
pending an eventual burial with her late husband who was entombed in Cihu , Taiwan China
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