One loved money, one loved power, and one loved her country.

just watched The Soong Sisters on DVD. The movie was not bad...not great...but was amazed by how compelling the material was. Am quite slack in my knowledge of China's history so this was a nice mini crash course in what of the greatest periods of upheaval in China - when Sun Yat Sen was trying to build a new China, when Chiang Kai Shek was wrestling with internal strife while fending off the invading Japanese and finally the fateful separation of Communist China and Nationalist Taiwan.

What was really amazing was how intimately the lives of 3 sisters were tied into this historical moment. Everything starts off with Charlie Soong, a Hainan man who converts to Christianity in America and returns to China as a missionary of sorts, publishing BIbles. Along the way, thanks to the Western connections he made, he becomes rich, marries a Christian Chinese woman and raises 3 daughters in the faith. The girls are educated in the West and go on to become truly remarkable women who played key roles in the lives of their powerful husbands and thus the life of China itself.

the quote about "One loved money, one loved power, and one loved her country." refers to how Soong Ai Ling marries HH Kung, the richest man in China who becomes the finance minister,
Soong Ching Ling marries Sun Yet Sen, the Father of modern China.
Soong May Ling marries Chiang Kai Shek, Sun's successor.

All along I kept wondering how much of their faith featured in the decisions these women made?

Was very intrigued by the decision of the family to allow May Ling to marry Chiang as long as he divorced his present wife and converted to Christianity. I wonder if Chiang ever converted truly? Was Ching Ling's devotion to unity in China based on her devotion to Christ or her late husband's ideals?

Am so going to find a biography of the Soongs to read. And for that matter, I wanna know more about the whole Nationalist Party vs. Communist Party thing especially now that the Taiwan/China fiasco is still unresolved. Sun Yet Sen is like China's Gandhi in terms of stature....seems a shame that I dont know much about the guy.

New mission to Chinese-ify myself. Have also made a promise to learn a couple of Chinese songs for karaoke in a maiden attempt to retain my roots. haha. have already targeted a couple of Jay Chou, Faye Wong stuff. Must not be "banana"!

For more reading: Concise writeup about the Soong Sisters from their Alma Mater, Weslleyan College. Pretty cool.