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Soong Ai-ling (; July 15, 1889 – October 20, 1973), legally Soong E-ling or Eling Soong, Christian name Nancy, was a Chinese businesswoman, the eldest of the Soong sisters and the wife of H. H. Kung (Kung Hsiang-Hsi), who was the richest man in the early 20th century Republic of China.


Life

Born in Shanghai, she attended McTyeire School beginning at age 5. Soong Ai-ling arrived in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
at the Port of
San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
on June 30, 1904, aboard the ''SS Korea'' at the age of 14. She attended Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia. Soong returned to
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
in 1909 after her graduation. In late 1911, she worked as a secretary for Sun Yat-sen, a job later taken by her sister, Soong Ching-ling, who later became Madame Sun Yat-sen. Soong Ai-ling met her future husband, Kung Hsiang Hsi, in 1913, and they married the following year in
Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...
. After marrying, Soong taught English for a while and engaged in child welfare work. In 1936, she founded the Sandai Company (also called Sanbu Company) and became a successful and immensely rich businesswoman in her own right.Lily Xiao Hong Lee, A. D. Stefanowska, Sue Wiles:
Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women: v. 2: Twentieth Century
'
During the
Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...
, she was active in the Committee of the National Friends of the Wounded Soldiers and the National Refugee Children's Association, and chair of the local Hong Kong section of the Committee of the National Friends of the Wounded Soldiers. The three Soong sisters made public appearances in Hong Kong in favor of relief work until 1940, when the Japanese radio stated that they would evacuate rather than join the Chinese government in Chongqing to endure the war conditions. In response to this, they left for Chongqing, where they continued to appear to boost public morale touring hospitals, air-raid shelter systems and bomb sites during the war. They founded the Indusco (also called Gungho) organization to protect Chinese industry during wartime conditions, an organization in which Soong Ai-ling was most active of the sisters. During the later years of the war, Soong Ai-ling, her husband, and her children were accused of graft, corruption, black-marketing and war profiteering. In 1944, her husband was finally asked to step down as minister of finance. She and her husband transferred their immense wealth and business abroad and left for the US. She died at age 84 on October 20, 1973 at New York-Presbyterian Hospital in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. She is interred in a mausoleum at Ferncliff Cemetery in
Westchester County, New York Westchester County is a County (United States), county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, bordering the Long Island Sound and the Byram River to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The c ...
.


Children

Source: * Kung Ling-i (daughter) 孔令儀 * Kung Ling-kan (son) 孔令侃 * Kung Ling-chun, also known as Kung Ling-wei (daughter) 孔令俊 * Kung Ling-chie (son) 孔令傑, also known as Louis C. Kung, was later an American oil executive.Dawson, Jennife
"Bizarre bomb shelter becoming data center"
'' Houston Business Journal''. May 12, 2003; retrieved April 9, 2012.
He married actress Debra Paget in 1964; they divorced in 1980. The couple had one son, Gregory Teh-chi Kung (1964-1996) 孔德基. Louis C. Kung died in 1996 in
Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
.


Media portrayal

In the 1997
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
movie '' The Soong Sisters'', Soong Ai-ling was portrayed by actress
Michelle Yeoh Yeoh Choo Kheng (; born 6 August 1962), known professionally as Michelle Yeoh (), is a Malaysian actress. In a career spanning over four decades, Yeoh has appeared Michelle Yeoh filmography, in projects encompassing a wide array of genres, a ...
.


See also

*
History of the Republic of China The history of the Republic of China began in 1912 with the end of the Qing dynasty, when the 1911 Revolution, Xinhai Revolution and the formation of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China put an end to 2,000 years of imperial ...
* Soong Ching-ling * Soong Mei-ling


References


Further reading

* Seagrave, Sterling. ''The Soong Dynasty''. Corgi Books, 1996. .


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Soong, Ai-Ling 1889 births 1973 deaths Chinese Methodists Educators from Shanghai Family of Sun Yat-sen Wesleyan College alumni 20th-century Chinese businesswomen Chinese emigrants to the United States Secretaries to Sun Yat-sen Burials at Ferncliff Cemetery