Song Ailing (1890–1973)

Chinese financier and philanthropist. Name variations: Soong Eling, Eye-ling, or Ai-ling; Sung Eling; Madame H. H. Kong or Madame H. H. Kung. Pronunciation: Soong EYE-ling. Born Dec 12, 1890, in Shanghai, China; died Oct 20, 1973, in New York City; eldest child of Han Chiao-shun, universally known as Charlie Jones Song (publisher of Bibles) and Ni Guizhen (Ni Kwei-tseng, known later as Song Guizhen); elder sister of Song Qingling and Song Meiling; educated at Wesleyan College, Georgia, 1904–09; m. financier Kong Xiangxi also spelled K'ung Hsiang-hsi (1880–1967), April 1914 (in the West, he was known as H. H. Kung, and she was therefore known as Madame Kung; he died 1967); children: Ling-i (known is Rosamund, b. 1916); Ling-ki'an (David, b. 1917); Ling-wei (Jeannette, b. 1918); Ling-chieh (Louie, b. 1919).

Receiving her degree in US (1909), returned to Shanghai, where she took part in charity activities; became secretary to Dr. Sun Yat-sen; as the respectable Madame Kung, was more interested in business than politics; with husband, lived in Shanghai and rapidly expanded their business in large Chinese cities, including Hong Kong; a shrewd entrepreneur who usually stayed away from publicity, was often said to be the mastermind of the Song family; brokered Meiling's marriage to Chiang Kai-shek and played a crucial role in directing American foreign policy in the 20th century; fled China with husband (1947), taking most of her wealth with her; remained in US, never returning to China or even Taiwan.

See also Roby Eunson, The Soong Sisters (Watts, 1975); Emily Hahn, The Soong Sisters (Doubleday, 1941); Sterling Seagrave, The Soong Dynasty (Harper & Row, 1985); and Women in World History.