Chapter 26: Reassessing “Mother of the Nation” Soong Ching-ling

Soong Ching-ling (1893–1981) initially followed Sun Yat-sen and, after his death, supported the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), contributing significantly to its cause. In 1933, she was secretly introduced by CCP representatives in Moscow to join the Communist International, earning Stalin’s recognition. After the CCP seized power and founded the People’s Republic of China, she served as Vice President of the state, enjoying great prestige. During the Cultural Revolution, she faced harassment but was protected and not physically harmed. Afterward, she formally joined the CCP and was highly venerated. She died in 1981. Her younger sister, Soong Mei-ling, commented:

“Our second sister was strong-willed by nature; at every major event in her life, she was confused. Ultimately, she was abandoned by all, left alone and helpless, dishonoring her parents and ancestors, and feeling guilt for the suffering of the people.”

Soong Ching-ling’s lifelong path followed the Russian route. She erred, and under Mao Zedong, she was used politically. Despite her honors, her life bore melancholy. In contrast, her younger sister Soong Mei-ling followed the American path, maintaining integrity throughout life and leaving a reputation without reproach.

I. Ignoring Her Parents — Marrying Sun Yat-sen

Soong Ching-ling was born in January 1893 in Shanghai, with ancestral roots in Wenchang, Hainan. Her father was a wealthy missionary. At age seven, she enrolled in Shanghai’s Western-style Girls’ School. In 1907, at 14, she went to study in the United States and in 1913 graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Wesleyan College, Georgia.

In August 1913, she traveled to Tokyo to serve as Sun Yat-sen’s English secretary and fell in love with him. In 1914, she returned to Shanghai with her parents. She proposed marriage to Sun, but her father strongly opposed it, as Sun was 47 and already had a wife and three children, while Soong was 22. Confined by her father in Shanghai, Soong escaped by jumping out a window to join Sun in Japan, marrying him in October 1915 in Tokyo, while continuing as his secretary.

In 1916, she returned to Shanghai with Sun, and in 1917 went to Guangzhou to participate in the Constitutional Protection Movement against the Beijing government. After its failure in 1918, she assisted Sun in writing and organizing. In 1920, when General Chen Jiongming’s forces took Guangzhou, she accompanied Sun to reorganize the military government. In December 1921, she went with Sun to Guilin, Guangxi, planning the Northern Expedition. In May 1922, she followed Sun to Shaoguan, Guangdong, to supervise troops and promote the Northern Expedition. In June, Chen Jiongming rebelled against Sun; Soong fled Guangzhou with Sun, suffering a miscarriage and never having children again. At age 29, she wrote an English account, Escape from Guangzhou.

In August 1922, Soong accompanied Sun to meet CCP leader Li Dazhao and participated in discussions with Comintern representative Mikhail Borodin, establishing the policy of “Alliance with Russia and Cooperation with the Communists.” In February 1923, she followed Sun to Guangzhou to rebuild the Generalissimo’s office with Soviet aid.

In November 1924, she accompanied Sun from Guangzhou via Shanghai and Japan to Beijing to negotiate with Feng Yuxiang. Sun fell ill and died in March 1925 in Beijing. In December, Soong left Shanghai for Guangzhou.

II. Serving in Moscow and the Communist International

In January 1926, Soong was elected to the Central Executive Committee of the Kuomintang (KMT). In December, she joined the core five-member committee, including herself, Borodin, Wu Yuzhang, Chen Youren, and Jiang Zuobin. In January 1927, she persuaded Borodin to reclaim the Hankou British Concession.

In April 1927, when Chiang initiated the Shanghai purge of Communists, Soong publicly condemned Chiang, insisting on the “Alliance with Russia and Cooperation with the Communists,” and opposed her sister Soong Mei-ling’s marriage to Chiang. In July, she issued a Declaration Protesting the Violation of Sun Yat-sen’s Policy, formally breaking with Chiang.

In July 1927, after Wang Jingwei’s purge in Wuhan, Soong went to Moscow with Chen Youren, then to Berlin in March 1928, and returned to China in May 1929 for Sun Yat-sen’s state funeral in Nanjing, issuing a statement: I Will Not Participate in Any Kuomintang Work. She returned to Shanghai after her mother’s death in 1931.

In early 1933, Soong facilitated contact between Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam and the French Communist leadership, restoring links between Ho and the Vietnamese Communist Party.

III. Joining the Communist International and Supporting the CCP

In May 1933, Soong was secretly introduced by CCP representatives in Moscow to the Communist International. She later met secretly with Liao Chengzhi to investigate lists of traitors. Comintern representatives praised her: Soong “had deep understanding of secret work.”

In September 1933, she organized the Shanghai branch of the World Committee Against Imperialist War and was elected chairwoman of the Far East Anti-Imperialist and Anti-War Alliance.

During the Xi’an Incident of December 1936, Soong supported a peaceful resolution. In July 1937, she met CCP leaders Zhou Enlai, Qin Bangxian, and Lin Boqu in Shanghai to discuss KMT-CCP cooperation.

During the Anti-Japanese War, the Soong sisters reunited in Chongqing. She maintained a private telephone line with Soong Mei-ling, and the three sisters publicly demonstrated unity multiple times.

In January 1941, following the Wannan Incident, Soong publicly criticized the Chiang government. In September 1945, she met Mao Zedong in Chongqing during Chiang-Mao negotiations. In July 1946, she issued a statement calling for cessation of U.S. aid to the KMT. In January 1947, the KMT appointed her as a government advisor; in June 1949, she remained in Shanghai, where Deng Yingchao delivered Mao’s letter inviting her to Beijing to discuss major state affairs.

IV. Welcomed by Mao with 50 Senior Officials

In September 1949, Soong went to Beijing, where Mao personally led over 50 senior CCP officials to greet her at the station. She participated in the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and was appointed Vice President of the state.

In 1951, she received the Stalin Peace Prize in Beijing, donating the 100,000 rubles to a child health hospital. In January 1953, she visited the USSR and met Stalin. In September 1954, she became First Vice Chairperson of the NPC, ranking fifth after Mao, Zhu De, Liu Shaoqi, and Zhou Enlai.

V. Mao Showcasing the “Mother of the Nation” over Khrushchev

In November 1957, Mao visited Moscow for a Comintern conference, bringing Soong in the first-class cabin to demonstrate her seniority. He signaled to Khrushchev that Soong had collaborated with Lenin-era Communists in the 1920s, asserting her political prestige over Khrushchev.

In 1958, she was re-elected state vice president, ranking third behind Mao and Liu Shaoqi. In 1961, Mao met her in Shanghai, and in 1963, she moved to her Beijing residence.

VI. During the Cultural Revolution — Seven Letters to Mao

During the Cultural Revolution, Soong’s parents’ graves in Shanghai were destroyed, and she faced threats to her safety. She was protected as a top-priority figure by Mao and Zhou. She wrote seven letters to Mao expressing her discontent and desire to travel abroad. Mao responded that she could leave freely if she wished.

In May 1981, Soong, critically ill with heart disease, was visited by Wang Guangmei, who asked if she wished to formally join the CCP. Soong reportedly agreed, having previously applied in 1957. She was henceforth publicly recognized as a member and celebrated as a great communist.

VII. Marriage, Widowhood, and Political Utility

Soong Ching-ling remained a widow after Sun Yat-sen’s death in 1925. In the 1950s, at over 50, she expressed a wish to marry a young secretary. Zhou Enlai permitted cohabitation but not marriage; Mao approved: “There is no rule that the ‘Mother of the Nation’ must remain a widow.” After Mao’s death, Deng Xiaoping did not recognize the marriage, and her secretary left, leaving Soong widowed again.

Originally Christian, Soong softened her religious views to align with CCP ideology, denying her Christian faith and moving toward atheism. In 1966, she denied that Sun Yat-sen was a Christian, claiming: “Sun Yat-sen told me he never believed in God nor missionaries.” By 1978, she acknowledged that the spirit of love in the Bible remained in her mind.

Soong Ching-ling died in Beijing in May 1981, requesting burial in Shanghai alongside her parents. Deng Xiaoping oversaw the construction of her separate tomb, inscribed with a dedication. The Shanghai site is spacious and commemorative.

Ultimately, Soong Ching-ling’s choice not to be buried with the “Father of the Nation” reflects her lingering regrets. Her sister Soong Mei-ling remarked:

“Our second sister was strong-willed, confused in every major decision, unfaithful to the country, unkind to the people, disloyal to parents, unfaithful to her husband, neglectful of friends, unmindful of righteousness, lacking respect for heaven and earth, failing to remonstrate with tyrants, unable to comfort the cruel — what a tragic life! The cause lay in her obstinate nature, parental indulgence, arrogance without learning, shallow insight, and tendency to meddle in major affairs. She ended abandoned, alone, dishonoring her parents above and feeling guilt toward the people below.”