Ching-ling, known as "Red Sister," married the "father of China," Sun Yat-sen, and ultimately rose to be Mao Zedung's Vice-Chair.

De rol die de Soong-zussen hierin hebben gespeeld, de politiek, de verandering en gruwelijkheden waaraan het volk was onderworpen. In fact, it was Ei-ling who was her brother-in-law Chiang Kai-shek’s most influential advisor, even though much of her advice had to be funneled through her husband or a younger brother who also served in Chiang’s cabinet. Her argument was that she had to meet the Generalissimo’s political needs, provide for Little Sister, and, especially, prepare for the first couple’s rainy day. Sun Yat-sen, who pioneered the idea that China should become a republic, became angry when he was not elected as the republic's first president.

Ching-ling, or Red Sister as Chang refers to her, would become the Madame Sun Yat-sen, and later served as vice-chairman to Mao Zedong. Beskrivningarna av historiska händelser var bra för att kunna placera systrarna och deras betydelse i tiden, men jag hade önskat mer fokus på systrarna och mindre på männen i deras liv för ett bättre betyg. Then what is a book on Chinese history might become what it promised to be: a biography of three most powerful Chinese women and their roles in shaping 20th century China. But Chiang was negotiating with Stalin at the time and dependent on Soviet arms; murdering the Reds might even have triggered a Soviet invasion. He was said to be raising money in Hawaii and elsewhere but what funds he got for this seem to come from his Maui based brother.

The lessons were blissfully simple: The party is unimpeachable; those who assail the party are despicable; the family is a metaphor for our great nation, whose members are all lovingly allied because unity is the most important principle. There were other charitable activities, but these paled in comparison with the huge hoard generated by her ‘squeeze’. The Soong sisters are not the only highlights, but also their 3 brothers and a powerful political dynasty this family forged. Years ago I read Madame Chiang Kai-shek: China's Eternal First Lady which, overall, paints a very different picture of "Little Sister". All became drunk with the power that came with the men they manipulate (the slant given by Chang, although other accounts suggest that Sun and Chiang did what they did mainly on their own, with just some influence from the sisters).Little Sister married Chiang, an avaricious, womaniser, and ambitious man with little scruples – exactly like Sun, his mentor. Despite supporting CCP, she even after their victory still lived in a mansion with servants – far from ordinary Chinese and far from equality formally backed by her. The author, who grew up in the People's Republic of China, has no love for the Communists, but she has no love for the Kuomintang, which also has violent history, either.

But to secure his control of the country, he promptly purged the communists from his new regime, killing thousands.Na nieszczęście Charliego wśród ubiegających się o rękę jednej z córek znalazł się największy rewolucjonista kraju. Chang argues that Qingling was in fact a card-carrying member of the Comintern for much of the Stalin era. Jung Chang ma niesamowity dar opowiadania i z całym szczęściem dla czytelnika nie zachowała go dla siebie. In Chang’s account, Qingling is the least appealing: a hard-headed Comintern convert, whose political convictions overrode feelings for her family.