Soong May-ling

Soong May-ling or Soong Mei-ling, also known as Madame Chiang Kai-shek (simplified Chinese: 宋美龄; traditional Chinese: 宋美齡; pinyin: Sòng Měilíng; ca 1897 – October 23, 2003) was a First Lady of the Republic of China, the wife of former President Chiang Kai-shek. She was a politician and painter. The youngest and the last surviving of the three Soong sisters, she played a prominent role in the politics of the Republic of China. She was born in Shan... more

Soong May-ling or Soong Mei-ling, also known as Madame Chiang Kai-shek (simplified Chinese: 宋美龄; traditional Chinese: 宋美齡; pinyin: Sòng Měilíng; ca 1897 – October 23, 2003) was a First Lady of the Republic of China, the wife of former President Chiang Kai-shek. She was a politician and painter. The youngest and the last surviving of the three Soong sisters, she played a prominent role in the politics of the Republic of China. She was born in Shanghai, China on March 5, 1898, but some biographies use the year 1897 because Chinese tradition considers everyone to be one year old at birth. She was the third of six children of Charlie Soong, a Hakka Chinese Methodist minister and businessman. Her siblings were: Oldest sister Ai-ling, middle sister Ching-ling, May-ling herself, then her brothers T. V., T.L., and last T.A. In Shanghai, May-ling attended the McTyeire School for Girls with her sister, Ching-ling, before their father arranged to have them further their education in the United... less