Soong Ching-ling(27 January 1893 – 29 May 1981) was a Chinese political figure. As the third wife of Sun Yat-sen, one of the leaders of the 1911 revolution that established the Republic of China, she was often referred to as Madame Sun Yat-sen. She was a member of the Soong family and, together with her siblings, played a prominent role in China's politics prior to 1949.
After the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, she held several prominent positions in the new government, including Vice President of China (1949–1954; 1959–1975) and Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (1954–1959; 1975–1981), travelled abroad during the early 1950s, representing her country at a number of international events. During the Cultural Revolution, however, she was heavily criticized.[1] Following the purge of President Liu Shaoqi in 1968, she and Dong Biwu as Vice Presidents became de facto Heads of State of China until 1972,[2] when Dong was appointed Acting President. Soong survived the Cultural Revolution, but appeared less frequently after 1976. As the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress from 1976 to 1978, Soong was the Head of State. During her final illness in May 1981, she was given the special title of "Honorary President of the People's Republic of China".
Life and activities before 1949
Sun Yat-sen and Soong Ching-ling wedding photo (1915)
Soong Ching-ling was born to businessman and missionary Charlie Soong in Chuansha, Pudong, Shanghai,[3][4] the second of six children. She graduated from McTyeire School for Girls in Shanghai, and Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia, United States.[5] Like her sisters, she spoke fluent English due to being educated in English for most of her life. Her Christian name was Rosamonde (in her early years, her passport name was spelt as Chung-ling Soong, and in her Wesleyan College diploma, her name was Rosamonde Chung-ling Soong).
Soong married Sun Yat-sen, leader of China's 1911 revolution and founder of the Kuomintang (KMT or Nationalist Party), on 25 October 1915, even though her parents greatly opposed the match. (Dr. Sun was 26 years her senior.) After Sun's death in 1925, she was elected to the KMT Central Executive Committee. However, she left China for Moscow after the expulsion of the Communists from the KMT in 1927, accusing the KMT of betraying her husband's legacy. Her younger sister, May-ling, married Chiang Kai-shek shortly afterward, making Chiang Soong's brother-in-law.
Soong returned to China in June 1929 when Sun Yat-sen was moved from his temporary burial site in Beijing to a new memorial in Nanjing, but left again three months later, and did not return until July 1931, when her mother died. She resided afterwards in Shanghai until July 1937, when the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out. Following the outbreak of hostilities, she moved first to Hong Kong (where she befriended future restaurateur and philanthropist Madame Wu [Sylvia Cheng][6]), then to Chongqing, the wartime capital of the Chinese government. In 1939, she founded the China Defense League, which raised funds and sought supplies primarily for the Chinese Communist controlled areas of northern China. In 1946, the League was renamed the China Welfare fund, continuing to seek funds and support for the Chinese Communists.[7]
Last years
Soong Ching-ling visiting the Shanghai Electric Machinery Factory, 1960
Soong's public appearances were limited after the Cultural Revolution, and she was in generally poor health, but articles by her, primarily on children's welfare issues, continued to appear in the press. Her last public appearance was on 8 May 1981, when she appeared in a wheelchair at the Great Hall of the People to accept an honorary LL.D. degree from the University of Victoria. A few days later she began running a high fever and was unable to rise again. On 16 May 1981, less than two weeks before her death, she was admitted to the Communist Party and named Honorary Chairwoman of the People's Republic of China (中华人民共和国名誉主席). She is the only person to ever hold this title.[14]According to one of Soong's biographers, she had wanted to join the Communist Party as early as 1957. However, when she asked Liu for permission to join the party, the request was turned down because "it was thought better for the revolution that she not join formally, but that she would thenceforth be informed, and her opinion sought, concerning all important inner-Party events matters, not only those involving the government."[15]
Notes
- Before the 1982 Constitution President of the People's Republic of China was officially translated as "Chairman" by the PRC government.
References
Citations
- Israel Epstein, Woman in World History: The Life and Times of Soong Ching-ling, p. 551.
- Leaders of China (People's Republic of China), zarate.eu from 11 May 2017, retrieved 12 July 2017
- 宋庆龄上海出生地解谜
- 宋庆龄出生地在川沙
- Emily Hahn, The Soong Sisters, 43–45
- Dosti, Rose (3 November 1994). "KITCHEN MATRIARCHS : The Unsinkable Madame Wu". Los Angeles Times.
- Israel Epstein, Woman in World History: The Life and Times of Soong Ching-ling, p. 437.
- Song Qingling at Encyclopædia Britannica
- "Mme. Sun Yat-Sen Ordered Arrested". Los Angeles Times. 9 October 1949.
- Klein, Donald W., and Anne B. Clark. Biographic Dictionary of Chinese Communism, 1921-1965, 2:785
- Klein, Donald W., and Anne B. Clark. Biographic Dictionary of Chinese Communism, 1921-1965, 2:786
- Israel Epstein, Woman in World History: The Life and Times of Soong Ching-ling, p. 550.
- Sheng Yonghua, Song Qingling nianpu Guangdong renmin chubanshe, 2006, 2: 601
- Israel Epstein, Woman in World History: The Life and Times of Soong Ching-ling, pp. 616-617.
- Israel Epstein, Woman in World History: The Life and Times of Soong Ching-ling, p. 491.
- Avelihiihine-Dubach, Natacha. "The Revival of the Funeral Industry in Shanghai: A Model for China" in Invisible Population: The Place of the Dead in East-Asian Megacities, pp. 79–80. Lexington Books (Lanham), 2012.
Sources
Books
- Chang, Jung and Jon Halliday. Madame Sun Yat-Sen: Soong Ching-Ling. London: Penguin, 1986. ISBN 0-14-008455-X
- Epstein, Israel. Woman in World History: The Life and Times of Soong Ching-ling. Beijing: China Intercontinental Press, 1993. ISBN 7-80005-161-7.
- Hahn, Emily. The Soong Sisters. New York: Doubleday, Doran & Co, 1941.
- Klein, Donald W., and Anne B. Clark. Biographic Dictionary of Chinese Communism, 1921-1965. 2 vols. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1971.
- Seagrave, Sterling. The Soong Dynasty. London: Corgi Books, 1996. ISBN 0-552-14108-9
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| New office | Vice Chair of the Central People's Government1949–1954 Served alongside: Zhu De,Liu Shaoqi, Li Jishen,Zhang Lan, Gao Gang | Succeeded byZhu De |
| Preceded byZhu De | Vice President of the People's Republic of China1959–1975Served alongside:Dong Biwu | Vacant
Title next held by Ulanhu |
| Preceded byLiu Shaoqi | Head of State of the People's Republic of ChinaActing1968–1972 Served alongside: Dong Biwu | Succeeded byDong BiwuActing |
| Honorary titles | ||
| New office | Honorary Chair of the All-China Women's Federation1949–1981 Served alongside: He Xiangning, Cai Chang, Deng Yingchao | Succeeded byKang Keqing |
| Honorary President of the People's Republic of China1981 | ||
