In honor of Mother’s Day, we’ve shared a snapshot into the life of “the Mother of China”, Song Qingling.

Song Qingling is known as the “Mother of China”. She was born in Shanghai in 1893. Her father was a Western-educated and successful businessman. Because of her relatively privileged upbringing, Song along with her two sisters, became some of the first Chinese women to receive an education in the United States.

As a young woman, Song attended Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia. Her experiences in the US had a significant impact on her perspectives, and she spent most of her life championing the rights of women and children and later, trying to promote understanding between China and the world.

The first “First Lady” of China

In 1915, she married Sun Yatsen, the founder of the People’s Republic of China and nearly 30 years her senior. The first woman to take on the role of first lady of China, Song took an active role in civil society. She studied and monitoring conditions of female factory workers, founded women’s clubs and even lead the Women’s Institute of Political Training.

In a time when women in China were not expected (or encourage) to be active in society at large, Song was a champion and role model. In 1938, Song founded the China Defense League, with the mission to protect children’s health during the tumultuous Sino-Japanese War. In 1949, due to her efforts, Song was given the position of vice chair in the newly established People’s Republic of China.

Later Life

Although Song’s political decisions following her husband’s death and throughout the transformation of China are often questioned, she was undoubtedly loyal to the Chinese people. Frommers once wrote:

 “[she] is as close as you’ll get to a modern Chinese Communist saint.”

For all her Western influence, activism and ideals, Song was patriotic to her core and remained loyal to the idea of a China that was strong by its own merit. She used her US education to reach out to the West, founding the magazine China Reconstructions (now China Today) in 1952, which shared news of China in English, as well as other languages.

Song Qingling passed away at the age of 90 in 1981 in Beijing. Although perhaps not realized in her lifetime, the “Mother of China” set a good example and foundation for future bridge-building. Through the Soong Chingling Foundation, which seeks to improve children and women’s welfare in China, to promote understanding between USA and China and to promote world peace, her work is still being done.

Sources: BBC, Brandeis.edu, China.org, Chinaposters.net (header image), Granite Studio