Sòng Qìnglíng
- This is a Chinese name; the family name is Soong.
| [[Image:{{{image name}}}|225px|center|宋庆龄]] | |
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| Political party | Communist Party of China |
Soong Ch'ing-ling (Simplified Chinese: 宋庆龄; Traditional Chinese: 宋慶齡; pinyin: Sòng Qìnglíng; Wade-Giles: Sung Ch'ing-ling) (January 27 1893 – May 29 1981), also known as Madame Sun Yat-sen, was one of the Soong sisters—three sisters whose husbands were amongst China's most significant political figures of the early 20th century. Her Christian name was Rosamond.
She was born to the wealthy businessman and missionary Charlie Soong in Nanshi (a part of present-day Huangpu District), Shanghai, attended Motyeire School for Girls in Shanghai, and graduated from Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia, United States.
She married Sun Yat-sen in Japan on October 25 1915; he had previously been married to Lu Muzhen. Ching-ling's parents greatly opposed the match, as Dr. Sun was 26 years her senior. After Sun's death in 1925, she was elected to the Kuomintang (KMT) Central Executive Committee in 1926. However, she exiled herself to Moscow after the expulsion of the Communists from the KMT in 1927. She became the first female Chairman and President of the People's Republic of China.
Although Soong reconciled with the KMT during the Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945), she sided with the Communists in the Chinese Civil War. She did not join the party but rather was part of the united front heading up the Revolutionary Committee of the Kuomintang.
In 1939, she founded the China Defense League, which later became the China Welfare Institute. The committee worked for peace and justice, and now focuses on maternal and pediatric healthcare, preschool education, and other children's issues.
In the early 1950s, she founded the magazine, CHINA RECONSTRUCTS, now known as CHINA TODAY, with the help of Israel Epstein. This magazine is published monthly in 6 languages (Chinese, English, French, German, Arabic and Spanish).
After the establishment of the People's Republic of China, she became the Vice Chair of the People's Republic of China (now translated as "Vice President"), Head of the Sino-Soviet Friendship Association and Honorary President of the All-China Women's Federation. In 1951 she was awarded the Stalin Peace Prize (Lenin Peace Prize after destalinization), and in 1953 a collection of her writings, Struggle for New China, was published. From 1968 to 1972 she acted jointly with Dong Biwu as head of state.
On May 16 1981, two weeks before her death, she was admitted to the Communist Party and was named Honorary President of the People's Republic of China. She is the only person ever to hold this title.
Unlike her younger sister Soong May-ling (Madame Chiang Kai-shek), who sided with her husband Chiang Kai-shek and fled to Taiwan with the Nationalist government, Soong Ching-ling is still a beloved figure in mainland China.
Media portrayal
In the 1997 Hong Kong movie The Soong Sisters (宋家皇朝), she is portrayed by Hong Kong actress Maggie Cheung.
See also
- History of the Republic of China
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Jung Chang and Jon Halliday, Madame Sun Yat-Sen: Soong Ching-Ling (London, 1986); Penguin, ISBN 0-14-008455-X
- Seagrave, Sterling. The Soong Dynasty: 1996, Corgi Books, ISBN 0-552-14108-9
- Epstein, Israel. Woman in World History: The Life and Times of Soong Ching-ling: 1993, China Intercontinental press, ISBN 7-80005-161-7.
External links
- Soong Ching Ling Foudation Website
- Soong Ching Ling Foundation Introduction
- Former Residence of Song Qingling
- Official site of the Residence
- China Welfare Institute
| Preceded by: Liu Shaoqi |
Acting Chairman of the People's Republic of China 1968–1972 with Dong Biwu |
Succeeded by: Dong Biwu (alone) |
| Preceded by: Ye Jianying (as Chairman of the National People's Congress) |
Head of State of the People's Republic of China (as Honorary President) 1981 |
Succeeded by: Ye Jianying (as Chairman of the National People's Congress |
| Main events (1916-1920) | Main events (1920-1930) | Northern Factions | Southern Factions |
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