More than thirty years ago, I read an earlier biography of the three sisters: The Soong Dynasty by Sterling Seagrave, a bestseller published in 1985. The lives of the three Song sisters – the subjects of Jung Chang’s spirited new book – are more than worthy of an operatic plot.

Another interesting detail, that ‘classic’ historic narrative about China in 1920s-30s stresses multiple local warlords, which split China. There were some details that could be taken out because they are simply not needed for the readers to understand certain events that were taking place. All three sisters enjoyed tremendous privilege and glory, but also endured constant attacks and mortal danger. He was ready to give Manchuria to Japan twice: once asking for their backing against the Manchu dynasty and then to fight against the republic. Because of decades of propaganda on all sides, the three sisters came to be regarded as what Chang refers to as “fairy-tale figures.

Despite their divergent destinies, the Soong sisters were clearly emboldened by their life of plenty.

Soong’s ardent support for Sun came at least in part from the fact that both men visited the West early in life and harbored admiration for outspoken, confident, learned women.

Little Sister May-ling would become Madame Chiang Kai-shek, and, arguably, one of the most notable sisters for her contributions to the war efforts against Japan, her publicized mission in the United States, and her crucial role to Chiang Kai-shek as an interpreter during post-WW2 peace talks.

The author crafts the extraordinary story through writings of many people who knew them at the time. Her books have been translated into over 40 languages and sold more than 15 million copies outside Mainland China, where they are banned. 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. Red Sister, Ching-ling, married Sun Yat-sen, founding father of the Chinese republic, and later became Mao’s vice-chair.

Her earlier subjects included Dowager Empress Cixi, Mao Zedong, Madame Sun Yat-sen, and her own family. There was a strong bond between the sisters, who were alone together getting an education at Wellesley College. Author Jung Chang does a clear and compelling job at showing how their parents' and their childhood in various places informed life choices, while keeping the threads of family bonds in place no matter how far they traveled. Setelah berdirinya RRC, tradisi kuno spt foot binding juga sudah dilarang dan perlahan-lahan banyak praktek poligami yg tadinya umum di Cina menjadi dicemooh. If you are interested in this topic it is a good place to start; for those who know the story of the Soong’s there is new information and perspective.

There is Little Sister, May-ling, who would marry the nationalist leader of pre-Communist China Chiang Kai-shek and as first lady insert much influence and there is Big Sister, Ei-ling who again exerted much influence over Chiang Kai-shek and controversially through undoubted corruption (ably supported by her husband who himself became President of the Republic of China) became one of China’s richest women. A former imperial concubine, this extraordinary woman had seized power through a palace coup after her husband’s death in 1861, whereupon she had begun to bring the medieval country into the modern age. Seagrave offers a more negative take on the Soong family while Chang is in turns neutral or complimentary. Krn semua tokohnya juga sudah meninggal, author mengumpulkan data dari buku-buku, epistolary (korespondensi) yg dilakukan mereka kpd teman-teman terdekat mereka, sehingga kita diberi cukup banyak ttg pandangan mereka ttg Cina dan ideologi mereka yg bertentangan.

Little Sister married Chiang, an avaricious, womaniser, and ambitious man with little scruples – exactly like Sun, his mentor. The sisters involvement in and influence on government figures and policy was extraordinary and compelling (the male leaders of China didn’t exactly come out smelling like a rose that’s for sure!