Soong sisters

Soong family 宋嘉澍家族
Chinese political family
The Soong sisters
Country	China
Current region	Mainly the United States
Place of origin	Wenchang, Hainan
Founder	Charlie Soong
Connected members	Chiang Kai-shek H. H. Kung Sun Yat-sen
Connected families	Chiang family Kung family Sun family
Traditions	Methodism

The Soong sisters,^{[note 1]} Soong Ai-ling, Soong Ching-ling, and Soong Mei-ling, were three prominent women in modern Chinese history. Of Hakka descent, with ancestral roots in Wenchang, Hainan, they were raised as Christians in Shanghai and educated in the United States. All three sisters married powerful men, respectively, from eldest to youngest, H. H. Kung, Sun Yat-sen, and Chiang Kai-shek. Along with their husbands, they became among China's most significant political figures of the early 20th century.

Their father was American-educated Methodist minister Charlie Soong, who made a fortune in banking and printing. Their mother was Ni Kwei-tseng, also a Methodist who came from an Episcopalian family.^[1][2] All three sisters attended Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia, United States.^[3] Mei-ling, however, left Wesleyan and eventually graduated from Wellesley College in Massachusetts. Their three brothers were all high-ranking officials in the Republic of China government, one of whom was T. V. Soong.

Their life stories have been summarized in a saying, sometimes attributed to Mao Zedong: "One loved money, one loved power, one loved her country",^{[note 2]} referring to Ai-ling, Mei-ling, and Ching-ling in that order.^[4]

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