Soong Mei-ling

Soong Mei-ling was born on March 5, 1898, to a wealthy and influential family in Shanghai, China. She was the fourth of six children of Charlie Soong, a former Methodist missionary and businessman, and Ni Kwei-tseng, a devout Christian. She had two sisters, Soong Ai-ling and Soong Ching-ling, and three brothers, T.V. Soong, T.L. Soong, and T.A. Soong. She was educated in the United States from 1908 to 1917, when she graduated from Wellesley College with a degree in English literature. She was fluent in English, French, and Chinese, and was well-versed in Western culture and ideas. In 1927, she married Chiang Kai-shek, the leader of the Nationalist Party of China, who became the president of the Republic of China in 1928. She helped introduce him to Western civilization and worked to publicize his cause in the West. She also played a prominent role in the politics of the Republic of China, and was the chairwoman of the Fu Jen Catholic University. She was active in the civic life of her country and held many honorary and active positions in various organizations and committees. During the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II, she rallied against the Japanese invasion and occupation of China, and sought support from the United States and other allies. In 1943, she became the first Chinese and only the second woman to address a joint session of the U.S. Congress, where she appealed for increased aid and sympathy for China. She also wrote many articles on China for American journals and magazines, and was featured on the cover of Time magazine three times. She was widely admired and respected by the American public and media, and was considered one of the most influential women in the world. After the Chinese Civil War, she and her husband fled to Taiwan in 1949, where they continued to lead the Republic of China as a rival government to the People's Republic of China on the mainland. She remained loyal and devoted to her husband until his death in 1975, and then became a recluse. She moved to the United States in 1978, where she lived in a large estate in Lattingtown, New York, and later in a luxury apartment in Manhattan. She rarely appeared in public and avoided contact with the media. She died of respiratory failure on October 23, 2003, at the age of 105. She was buried next to her husband in the Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York. Soong Mei-ling was a remarkable woman who made significant contributions to the history and culture of China and the world. She was a bridge between the East and the West, and a symbol of courage, grace, and dignity.