Former Residence of Soong Ching Ling
The former residence of Soong Ching Ling (宋慶齡) is located at the Hau Hai (後海) area of Shichahai (什剎海) in Beijing. There is a famous Maoist saying about the three daughters of the Soong family - "One loved money. One loved power. One loved her country." The eldest, Soong Ai-ling got married with a rich man; the second, Soong Ching-ling, Sun Yat-sen; the youngest, Soong May-ling, Chiang Kai-shek - the leader of Kuomintang and the first president of the Nationalist Government after moving to Taiwan. Consider the political background of Mao, you may guess which sister is considered patriotic, and which zealously pursued power in his saying. As Soong Ching Ling was the wife of the founding father of China - Sun Yat-sen, the two of them were very active in the revolution and building of modern China; they frequently traveled across the country and therefore lived in many provinces, just as this one in Beijing.
To get to the destination, you will pass through the beautiful neighbourhood of Shichahai such as the hutong (胡同) in the photo on the left.Shichahai is not only a tourist spot, but also a community for the local residents. This photo particularly captures two ladies running into each other and exchanging greetings. It is a very much "alive" area of the old Beijing.
Now, let's enter the former home of Soong Ching-ling at Shichahai.
Walking down the path, you will see an arc somewhere in the middle. This arc is originally for growing grapes for Soong Ching-ling.
Most of the area is used for exhibiting photographs and personal items of Soong Ching-ling. Here is some highlights of the memorabilia displayed at this old residence of Soong. As mentioned at the outset, Soong was the wife of Sun Yat-sen and they lived through a long period of wars and revolution. Soong Ching-ling's father was Sun's friend, and Soong admired Sun and became his assistant and later his wife. On the left, the utensils were used at the time they got married; on the right, more interestingly, the pistol was the wedding gift for Soong Ching-ling given by Sun, which not only showshis love for his wife but also his fear for the dangerous future that would fall upon them.
The two of them standing in front of the first airplane that was built in China in 1923
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Mao's saying of the Soong sisters emphasizes the legendary, influential element in their life stories, albeit might not be accurate.
All of the Soong sisters were alumnae of the Wesleyan College in United States. Highly educated, rich, beautiful - the Soong sisters transformed from the students of a prestigious academic institution to three significant political figures in Chinese modern history.
Soong Ching-ling was also conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Law by the Victoria University of Canada.
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