Charlie Soong facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Charlie Soong
宋嘉澍
Charlie Soong at Vanderbilt University
Born	Han Jiaozhun (1861-10-17)17 October 1861 Wenchang, Hainan, China
Died	3 May 1918(1918-05-03) (aged 56) Shanghai, China
Other names	Soong Chia-shu Soong Yao-ju
Alma mater	Vanderbilt University Duke University
Known for	Prominent player in the Xinhai Revolution and patriarch of the Soong family
Spouse(s)	Nyi Kwei-twang (Ni Kwei-tseng)
Children	6, including: Soong Ai-ling Soong Ching-ling T. V. Soong Soong Mei-ling
Soong Chia-shu
Chinese	宋嘉澍
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Sòng Jiāshù Wade–Giles Sung Chia-shu Southern Min Hainanese Romanization Thang Yawjee
Soong Yao-ju
Chinese	宋耀如
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Sòng Yàorú Wade–Giles Sung Yao-ju
Han Chiao-chun
Traditional Chinese	韓教準
Simplified Chinese	韩教准
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Hán Jiàozhǔn Wade–Giles Han Chiao-chun

Charles Jones Soong (Chinese: 宋嘉澍; pinyin: Sòng Jiāshù; Wade–Giles: Sung Chia-shu; October 17, 1861 – May 3, 1918) was a Chinese businessman. He became well-known as a publisher in Shanghai. His children later became some of the most important leaders in China's government.

Early Life and Education

Charlie Soong was born Han Jiao Zhun on October 17, 1861. His family was from Hainan and had Hakka roots.

When he was about seventeen, a relative who did not have children adopted him. His family name was changed to Soong. This relative took him to Boston, Massachusetts, where he owned a tea and silk shop. Charlie worked there for a while.

After some time, Soong ran away and joined the U.S. Revenue Marine. This was a group that later became the U.S. Coast Guard. He worked as a cabin boy on the ship USS Albert Gallatin.

After about a year, Charlie followed his captain to Wilmington, North Carolina. There, he became a Christian and was baptized as Charles Jones Soon. Later, he changed the spelling of his family name to Soong.

Soon after, a church in Wilmington helped Charlie prepare to become a Christian missionary in China. A rich businessman named Julian S. Carr helped him. Carr was a big supporter of Trinity College (now Duke University). He helped Charlie get into the school in 1880, even though Charlie did not meet the usual requirements.

The idea of having a Chinese person as a missionary in China excited many church leaders. They helped him learn English well and study the Bible. One year later, Soong moved to Vanderbilt University. He finished his studies in religion there in 1885. In 1886, he was sent to Shanghai for a Christian mission. He had spent almost half his life abroad by then.

From Missionary to Revolutionary

Charlie Soong's time as a missionary was short. In the late 1880s, he felt that he could do more for his people if he was not limited by the church's rules. He started his own businesses: a small printing company and, in 1892, a publishing house called the Sino American Press. He also helped start The Commercial Press.

Around this time, Charlie secretly joined a group working for change in China. This group was called Hung P'ang, or the Red Gang. It had started with groups who wanted to bring back the Ming dynasty in the 1600s. But by Charlie's time, it had become a group fighting for a republic, a country led by elected officials.

In 1894, Charlie Soong met Sun Yat-sen at a church in Shanghai. This was a very important meeting for him. Both men had a Western education, Hakka roots, and were Christians. They both strongly wanted to change China. They were also both members of secret groups (called triads) that were against the Qing government.

They quickly became good friends, and Charlie started giving money to support Sun's plans. They set up a political group to connect these secret societies. Their first uprising failed in 1895, and Sun fled China. He did not return for sixteen years. Charlie stayed hidden during the uprising and felt safe in Shanghai because his name was not yet linked to the failed attempt. In the years that followed, Charlie Soong paid for Sun Yat-sen's travels to find support and money.

The Soong Family

In the years before the revolution in 1911, Charlie Soong started a family in Shanghai with his wife, Ni Kwei-Tseng. Their first child, Soong Ai-ling, was born in 1888. Their next daughter, Soong Ching-ling, was born in 1893. Their first son, T. V. Soong, was born a year later. Their last daughter, Soong Mei-ling, came in 1898. She was followed by two more sons, T. L. Soong and T. A. Soong.

Charlie wanted all his children to study in the United States. Ai-ling was the first to go at age thirteen. She became a special student at Wesleyan College in Georgia. All three sisters went to Wesleyan. Ching-ling and Mei-ling moved to Georgia in 1907. However, Mei-ling later left Wesleyan and graduated from Wellesley College in Massachusetts.

Ai-Ling graduated in 1909 and moved back to China. Charlie made her Sun Yat-sen's secretary. Her job was to handle his letters and decode messages from the republicans. A few years later, in 1911, Sun Yat-sen successfully led the Xinhai Revolution. The Qing government fell, and Sun Yat-sen became president of the Republic of China for a short time.

In 1912, Ching-ling returned to China. She arrived just as the republic was falling apart under the leadership of Yuan Shikai. By then, everyone knew about the connection between Charlie Soong and Sun Yat-sen. Charlie felt his family would not be safe in China. In 1913, they fled with Sun to Tokyo. They stayed there until 1916, when Charlie thought it was safe enough to return to Shanghai.

Dispute with Sun Yat-sen

While in Tokyo, Soong Ai-ling married H. H. Kung, a rich banker. She could no longer work as Sun Yat-sen's secretary. Instead, Soong Ching-ling took the job in 1914 while in Tokyo.

Ching-ling and Sun soon fell in love. When Charlie Soong moved his family back to Shanghai in 1916, Ching-ling and Sun secretly stayed in touch. Their relationship was difficult because Sun was already married.

Charlie was very angry when Ching-ling asked to go back to Japan to be with Sun. When she then went against his wishes and secretly escaped on a boat to Tokyo, Charlie broke all ties with Sun. He also disowned his daughter, meaning he no longer considered her part of the family.

Death

Charlie Soong died on May 4, 1918. He died from a kidney disease called Bright's disease (now known as chronic nephritis). Neither Sun Yat-Sen nor the rest of the Kuomintang (Sun's political party) showed public sadness. The disagreement over Ching-Ling was still fresh in people's minds.

Family Tree

Images for kids

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  Soong sisters with their mother.

• 

  The three Soong sisters in their youth, with Soong Ching-ling in the middle, and Soong Ai-ling and Soong Mei-ling on her left and right.

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  Soong Ching-ling and Sun Yat-sen wedding photo (1915).

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  Soong Mei-ling and General Chiang Kai-shek wedding photo (1927); he was a successor to Sun Yat-sen as President of the Republic of China and a descendant of the third son of the 12th century BC Duke of Zhou's (Duke of Chou). She was known as "Madame Chiang Kai-shek" and lived from 1898 to 2003.

See Also

• History of the Republic of China
• Soong sisters
• Charlie Soong was played by Jiang Wen in the 1997 movie The Soong Sisters.