Soong Ching-ling

Rosamond Soong Ch'ing-ling
宋庆龄
Soong in the 1940s
Honorary Chairwoman of China
In office
16 May 1981 – 29 May 1981
Appointed bythe Standing Committee of the 5th National People's Congress on 16 May 1981
PremierZhao Ziyang
Vice Chairwoman of China
In office
27 April 1959 – 17 January 1975
Serving with Dong Biwu
PresidentLiu Shaoqi
Vacant (after 1968)
Preceded byZhu De
Succeeded byUlanhu (1983)
Acting Chairwoman of China
In office
31 October 1968 – 24 February 1972
PremierZhou Enlai
Preceded byLiu Shaoqi (as Chairman)
Succeeded byDong Biwu (as Acting Chairman)
Vice Chairwoman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
In office
17 January 1975 – 29 May 1981
ChairmanZhu De
Vacant[nb]
Ye Jianying
In office
27 September 1954 – 28 April 1959
ChairmanLiu Shaoqi
Vice Chairwoman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
In office
25 December 1954 – 29 April 1959
ChairmanZhou Enlai
Vice Chairwoman of the Central People's Government
In office
1 October 1949 – 27 September 1954
Serving with Zhu De, Liu Shaoqi, Li Jishen, Zhang Lan, Gao Gang
ChairmanMao Zedong
Personal details
Born(1893-01-27)27 January 1893
Shanghai International Settlement
Died29 May 1981(1981-05-29) (aged 88)
Beijing, China
Political partyChinese Communist Party (1981)
Other political
affiliations
Kuomintang (1919–1947)
Communist International (1930s–1943)
Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang (1948–1981)
Spouse
(m. 1915; died 1925)
Parent(s)Charlie Soong and Ni Kwei-tseng
RelativesSoong Mei-ling (sister)
Chiang Kai-shek (brother-in-law)
Soong Ai-ling (sister)
Alma materWesleyan College
Signature
n.b. ^ Between 1976 and 1978, Soong presided over the meeting of the National People's Congress Standing Committee and performed its powers as head of state in her capacity as the NPCSC First Vice Chairperson.
Soong Ching-ling
Traditional Chinese宋慶齡
Simplified Chinese宋庆龄
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinSòng Qìnglíng
Gwoyeu RomatzyhSonq Chinqling
Wade–GilesSung4 Ch'ing4-ling3
IPA[sʊ̂ŋ tɕʰîŋ.lǐŋ]
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationSung Hing-lìhng
JyutpingSung3 Hing3-ling4

Rosamond Soong Ch'ing-ling (27 January 1893 – 29 May 1981) was a Chinese political figure. As the third wife of Sun Yat-sen, then Premier of the Kuomintang and President of the Republic of China, she was often referred to as Madame Sun Yat-sen. She was a member of the Soong family and, together with her siblings, played a prominent role in China's politics. After the proclamation of the People's Republic of China in 1949, she held several prominent positions in the new government, including Vice Chairman of the PRC (1949–1954; 1959–1975) and Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (1954–1959; 1975–1981). She traveled abroad during the early 1950s, representing her country at a number of international events.

During the Cultural Revolution, however, she was heavily criticized.[1] Following the purge of President Liu Shaoqi in 1968, she and Dong Biwu as Vice Presidents became de facto Heads of State of China until 1972,[2] when Dong was appointed Acting President. Soong survived the political turmoil of the Cultural Revolution but appeared less frequently after 1976. As the acting Chairwoman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress from 1976 to 1978, Soong was again the acting Head of State, as the office of President had been abolished. During her final illness in May 1981, she was given the special title of "Honorary President of the People's Republic of China".

  1. ^ Epstein 1993, p. 551.
  2. ^ Leaders of China (People's Republic of China), zarate.eu from 11 May 2017, retrieved 12 July 2017.