Soong May-ling

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Soong May-ling
宋美齡

Soong May-ling (right) with Eleanor Roosevelt during a 1943 visit
Born ca 1897 [1]
Shanghai, China [2]
Died October 23, 2003 (aged 106)
New York City, United States
Education Wesleyan College, Wellesley College
Occupation First Lady of the Republic of China
Successor Chiang Fang-liang
Political party Kuomintang (KMT)
Religious stance Christianity
Spouse Chiang Kai-shek
Children Chiang Ching-kuo (step-son) and Chiang Wei-kuo (adopted)
Parents Charlie Soong (father) and Ni Kwei-tseng (mother)
This article contains Chinese text.
Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.

Soong May-ling or Soong Mei-ling, also known as the Madame Chiang Kai-shek (traditional Chinese: 宋美齡; simplified Chinese: 宋美龄; pinyin: Sòng Měilíng; ca 1897 [1] – October 23, 2003) was the youngest of the three Soong sisters. As the wife of President Chiang Kai-shek, she played a prominent role in the politics of the Republic of China.

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The third of six children, she was born in Shanghai [2] to Charlie Soong, a Hakka Chinese Methodist minister and businessman who made a fortune selling Bibles in China. May-ling attended Motyeire School, an American private school, in Shanghai at the age of eight. Her siblings were: Oldest sister Ai-ling, middle sister Ching-ling, Mayling herself, then her brothers T. V., T.L, and last T.A.

She started college at her sisters' alma mater, Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia, but transferred to Wellesley College and graduated with honors in 1917 with a major in English literature and minor in philosophy. As a result of being educated in the United States she spoke excellent English with a pronounced Georgia accent which helped her connect with American audiences [1]. She graduated on June 19, 1917, and was one of 33 Durant Scholars.

Soong May-ling met Chiang Kai-shek in 1920. Since he was eleven years her elder, already married, and a Buddhist, May-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 couldn't convert immediately, because religion needed to be gradually absorbed, not swallowed like a pill. They married on December 1, 1927. While some biographers regard the marriage as one of the greatest love matches of all time, others describe it as a marriage of convenience. The couple never had any children.

Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek and his wife Soong May-ling with Lieutenant General Joseph W. Stilwell during the Second Sino-Japanese War.
Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek and his wife Soong May-ling with Lieutenant General Joseph W. Stilwell during the Second Sino-Japanese War.

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 especially his most loyal champion. During World War II, Madame Chiang tried to promote the Chinese cause and build a legacy for her husband on par with Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin. Well versed in both Chinese and western culture, she became popular both in China and abroad. Her prominence led Joseph Stilwell to quip that she ought to be appointed minister of defense.

In the United States, she drew crowds as large as 30,000 people and made the cover of TIME magazine, first with her husband as "Man and Wife of the Year" and second under the title "Dragon Lady." 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 Kuomintang. On February 18, 1943, she became the first Chinese national and second woman to address the U.S. Congress.

After the defeat of her husband's government in the Chinese Civil War in 1949, Madame Chiang followed her husband to Taiwan, while her sister Soong Ching-ling stayed on the mainland, siding with the communists. As the Generalissimo became more senile, Madame Chiang seized power by assuming the role of "interpreter". Madame Chiang continued to play a prominent international role. She was a Patron of the International Red Cross Committee, honorary chair of the British United Aid to China Fund, and First Honorary Member of the Bill of Rights Commemorative Society. Through the late 1960s she was included among America's 10 most admired women.

Eleanor Roosevelt and Madame Chiang Kai-shek, 1943.
Eleanor Roosevelt and Madame Chiang Kai-shek, 1943.

After the death of her husband in 1975, Madame Chiang assumed a low profile. 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 Taiwan to her family's 36 acre (14.6 hectare) estate in Lattingtown, Long Island, where she kept a portrait of her late husband in full military regalia in her living room.

Madame Chiang returned to Taiwan upon Chiang Ching-kuo's death in 1988, to shore up support among her old allies. However, Chiang's successor as president, Lee Teng-hui, proved to be more adept at politics than she was, and consolidated his position. As a result, she again returned to the U.S.

Madame Chiang made a rare public appearance in 1995 when she attended a reception held on Capitol Hill in her honor in connection with celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II. Madame Chiang also made her last visit to Taiwan in 1995.

In the 2000 Presidential Election on Taiwan, the Kuomintang produced a letter from her in which she purportedly supported the KMT candidate Lien Chan over independent candidate James Soong (no relation). The authenticity of the letter was the subject of great debate in Taiwan. (However, it should be noted that James Soong himself had never disputed the authenticity of the letter, which might have been written as a payback for James Soong's veiled criticism of her earlier, in support of Lee.)

Soong sold her Long Island estate in 2000 and spent the rest of her life in her Gracie Square apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan surrounded only by black-suited bodyguards who cleared the lobby as she passed.

When Madame Chiang was 103 years old, she had an exhibition of her paintings in New York.

Soong died peacefully in New York City, in her Manhattan apartment in 2003 at the age of either 105 or 106. Her remains were temporarily interred at Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York, pending an eventual burial with her late husband who was entombed in Tzuhu, Taiwan. The stated intention is to have them both buried in mainland China once political conditions make it possible.

“ She can talk beautifully about democracy. But she does not know how to live democracy. - Eleanor Roosevelt ”
“ Direct, forceful, energetic. Loves power, eats up publicity and flattery... Can turn on charm at will and knows it. - Joseph Stilwell ”
“ Madame Chiang was a close friend of the United States throughout her life, and especially during the defining struggles of the last century. Generations of Americans will always remember and respect her intelligence and strength of character. On behalf of the American people, I extend condolences to Madame Chiang's family members and many admirers around the world. - George W. Bush ”

  1. ^ a b While records at Wellesley College and the Encyclopaedia Britannica indicate she was born in 1897, the ROC government as well as the BBC and the New York Times cite her year of birth as 1898. The New York Times obituary includes the following explanation: "some references give 1897 as the year because the Chinese usually consider everyone to be one year old at birth." However, early sources such as the Columbia Encyclopedia, 1960, give her date of birth as 1896, making it possible that "one year" was subtracted twice.
  2. ^ a b The New York Times gives her place of birth as Shanghai, while the BBC and Encyclopædia Britannica give it as Wenchang, Hainan island (which was then part of Guangdong Province).

one source gave her birthday as 5 March 1897.

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Preceded by
Wallis Simpson		 Time's Man and Woman of the Year (with Chiang Kai-shek)
1937		 Succeeded by
Adolf Hitler
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