The Soong Dynasty

by Sterling Seagrave

‘Fast paced and jammed with racy details’ – New York Times Book Review The Soong Dynasty is the first full behind-the-scenes account of the extraordinary Soong family whose power and wealth dominated China and American policy towards Asia in the twentieth century. Descendants of a runaway, the sisters grew up in America under the protection of the Methodist church and returned to their homeland to make a fortune selling Western bibles. From there, each sister rose meteorically through the political ranks to take their place at the tables of power in China. Older sister Ai-ling married the richest man in China and, alongside her husband, came to exert significant influence on the policies of the government in the 1930s and 40s. Holding positions in the upper echelons of government, middle sister Ching-ling became the new republic's Vice Chairman. Married to Sun Yat-sen, the first President of the Republic of China and legendary "Father of the Nation", she wielded significant power before and after 1949. May-ling, the youngest sister, lived until 105, her life crossing three centuries. Working to unite the country against Japanese invasion, she was often in the USA lobbying on behalf of her country in her position as First Lady of the Republic of China, through her marriage to the infamous Generalissimo and President, Chiang Kai-shek. Spanning decades and continents, The Soong Dynasty is a fascinating and acclaimed analysis of three women who held immense power in the 20th century. Praise for The Soong ‘Seagrave knows China … he has shed light into so many dark places, and turned a difficult piece of history into an engrossing narrative’ - Daily Telegraph ‘Brings much pungent material to light … [it is] a story unravelled with fluency and flair’ - TIME ‘A gripping book. Seagrave has tackled a mighty subject with resourcefulness and spirit’ - Washington Post ‘Seagrave is a fine investigative reporter — digging up information from a multitude of sources, much of it original, and piecing together a gripping account of epochal events’ – Wall Street Journal Sterling Seagrave, who grew up on the China-Burma border in the 1940s (his father was Dr Gordon Seagrave, author of Burma Surgeon), is the author of Yellow Rain, The Marcos Dynasty, Dragon Lady, and Lords of the Rim and has written many articles for major newspapers and magazines. In preparing The Soong Dynasty, he drew on half a lifetime in Asia and on many sources, including the files of TIME, the National Archives, many individuals, and the FBI, to produce a riveting and revealing narrative of major historical importance supplemented with much new material.

Genres: History, China, Nonfiction, Biography, Asia, Politics, War

509 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Seagrave was an American writer, investigative journalist, and historian, his particular focus being topics of the far east.

Reviews

[Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very essential book for China watchers, of which I'm quite regretful that I hadn't read years ago...

The Soong Dynasty is particularly essential if interested in Taiwan. Charlie Soong and his children were instrumental in the history of the Republic of China era, and Chiang Kai-Sheck - who of course married a Soong sister - is a major character in the book as well. Eventually, this story leads up to the ROC losing the war and moving to Taiwan. Spoiler alert of sorts, if you don't know basic Asian history.

The basics may be well-known, but it's the details that make this a thrilling read. Author Sterling Seagrave seeks to tell the honest truth and it is often brutal. Charlie Soong was apparently a fraud in his early years. Sun Yat-Sen was a lucky historical figure in a way, who just kept under the radar enough to not get associated and then be the last one standing to get credit as the inspiration for the first 1911 revolution. Then there's the drama of when Soong's daughter married the revolutionary leader.

What is most interesting are the revelations on the incredible corruption of the early Republic of China years. Chiang Kai-Sheck in particular steals the spotlight from the Soong sisters, after marrying his way into "royalty". He was connected to the Green Gang's organized crime network and his petty dictatorship did a terrible job during the Japanese invasion, squandering American support and all but guaranteeing that the people would turn against his regime. And don't forget the other Soong sister, married into the wealthy Confucian descendants the Kungs.

Not to say the book is pro-Communist, as it doesn't underplay any of Maoism's horrors. But that is not the book's focus, and it is worth learning about the failures of the Republic in order to understand why they lost the war to the Communists which then led to further suffering for China. And the Republic had a lot of failures indeed.

The book is not aiming to objective, but to be informative. It has a very strong point-of-view, which is backed up by copious footnotes. It reads almost more like creative nonfiction, with descriptive language about the hardships of life for the women and peasants of turn-of-the century China. It was a most difficult time.

History buffs and casual readers charmed by East Asia alike should read The Soong Dynasty, in order to understand the history of the 20th century and what led a billion people to live under the eventual People's Republic. I happen to live in democratic and free Taiwan, which is a place that acknowledges its sordid past under Chiang's dictatorship. But even still I only knew about it superficially, and I think now I'm starting to truly get it.

In the end, real life often has no good guys to root for, no happy ending. That's the lesson, at least when it comes to the Chinese civil war (and frankly, when it comes to the entire history of fascism vs communism). Positive change comes from gradual incrementalism, and such freedom has finally come to much of the world. But what a long and horrible path history had to take to get there, and even that only goes for this one island nation, when it comes to what grew out of those former dreams and nightmares of the Republic of China.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Riveting, harrowing, tragic. Rarely do I exclaim, "My god! Oh my god!" or "Jesus Christ!" over and over while I read a book, sometimes more than once on a single page, but I did with this one. What else can do you when you encounter sentences like “He was no match for military men whose troops enjoyed disemboweling young girls and winding their intestines around their naked bodies while they were still conscious”?

I'm just so flabbergasted. I'm not a complete ignoramus when it comes to China: I was a Mormon missionary in Taiwan in the 1980s, for starters. The Taiwan part was not by choice, even if the missionary part was: I volunteered to be a missionary, but I had no interest in Asia; I wanted to go to France or Italy. But missionaries have no say in where they serve, so when I got a letter informing that I would be going to Taiwan and learning Mandarin, I got out a map and thanked the powers that be that at least I wasn’t going to Alabama.

I didn't learn much about Chinese history during my 18 months as a missionary except for the existence of Double 10 Day and who both Chiang Kai-Chek and Sun Yat-Sen were. The cult of personalty surrounding both thoroughly freaked me out. OK, I also learned that there were people who HATED CKC; I had a friend whose uncle was incarcerated in a notorious prison, convicted of the crime of sedition for fighting against CKC when he showed up after WWII and took over the island with help from the US. And I became fluent in Mandarin and grew to understand certain Chinese sensibilities.

In the early 1990s I went to Shanghai to teach English and HATED IT. The Mainland was just awful after Taiwan: my bosses and colleagues were so mean! I couldn't understand why at first.

Then I saw things like the sign on the Bund declaring its famous park off-limits to dogs and Chinese. Or the palatial homes Westerners built for themselves while the locals lived in squalid huts. I started to understand why.

Reading The Soong Dynasty, I really understand why.

Much of The Soong Dynasty is set in Shanghai, because it was where foreign powers held most sway. Then and now, that is one of the reasons for Shanghai’s wealth—and the fact that so much of that wealth was concentrated in the hands of foreigners and Chinese unwilling to share with the average 中国人 was one reason said average 中国人hated them.

The city grew along the river and sprawled across the countryside. It ate slums in its path and spat out more on its flanks. Small nineteenth-century buildings along the Bund were replaced by stone towers housing the Chartered Bank, the Hong Kong-Shanghai Bank, and banks from New York and London; other new buildings housed international oil companies, and the noble houses of the taipans. The first Chinese department stores came into existence, floor after floor jammed with dry goods and foreign luxuries. The Nanking Road glittered like Broadway at night. Motorcars replaced horse-drawn carriages and pushed through crowds like rhinos at a waterhole; around them rickshaws swirled like herds of long-horned antelope. The old British Club, with its gin-soaked verandah facing the river, was replaced by a stone club that would have pleased an West End Tory.

But there was another side to this prosperity—the long hours, the poor wages, and the grim conditions for the Chinese who lived and died in the factories. Boys and girls less than ten years old worked as slaves thirteen hours a day and dropped in exhaustion to sleep on rags beneath the machines. They were sold to factories and could not leave the guarded grounds night or day. Everywhere in the streets lay bodies of the destitute, corpses of starved children and unwanted babies. In any year from 1920 to 1940, as many as 29,000 bodies were picked out of the city’s alleys, fished from the sewers, canals, and rivers.

This isn't the first book I've read about Chinese history, though I admit I haven't read many: I read Stilwell and the American Experience in China, 1911-45 by Barbara Tuchman in the late 1990s, though I read it as much because I love Tuchman as because it had anything to do with understanding China. I read Life and Death in Shanghai by Nien Cheng about four or five years ago. And I read The Soong Dynasty mostly because it has been on my shelf for decades and I wanted to get rid of it—I figured I’d read it and pass it on to a used bookstore.

It’s such an appalling tale of the triumph of cruelty, corruption and incompetence. Some reviewers here complain that they find the book less than credible because it’s clear that Seagrave has an agenda: he wants to speak for those who were brutalized by the KuoMinTang, a goal that frankly doesn’t seem so bad. Based on what I know—which I admit is limited—I found the book very credible, all the more so because it explains things I never previously understood.

Why, for instance, I always wondered, did the Communist Revolution involve such brutality against any Chinese who had even a taint of foreignness about them? Why were Mao et al so vicious in their retribution? Well, given that foreigners and foreign-educated Chinese were helping CKC and his cronies systematically plunder the country, you can understand that, even as it continues to horrify you.

China had enough of its own problems that it could spread misery among its people easily enough by itself, but there’s little question that instead of helping, we actually made things worse by propping up a government that did not have the best interest of the country at heart.

And the really funky thing in all of this for me is how much the paternalistic, proprietary attitudes of western missionaries and former missionaries to China enabled our meddling.

One more reason the whole enterprise of Christian missionary work in China was a big nasty mistake.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of the Soong family could not have been invented. Amid the chaos of China in the fifty years of the last century, one daughter (Ching-ling) married Sun Yat Sen, another (May-ling) became the famous Madame Chiang Kai-Shek, and a third (Ai-ling) became the wife of H. H. Kung, who for a long period ran (and in Sterling Seagraves' account, ruined) the national economy. (The names are confusing enough that I unfortunately find myself resorting to using the marriages for identification). When Kung was not Finance Minister, the eldest Soong son, T.V., was. And they could not have come from a less auspicious background. The paterfamilias, Charlie Soong (not his real name, as Seagraves points out) was the ne'er-do-well son of a family dedicated to sea trading and probably smuggling on Hainan Island, descended from the Hakka people, Northern Chinese displaced by the catastrophic demise of the Ming Dynasty. Charlie stowed away to the United States and went back to China as a Christian missionary, a task at which he seems not to have excelled. However, in a society with few books, he had the genius to become a printer of Bibles and the patriotism to support the revolutionary movement of Sun Yat Sen. Sun comes off, in Seagraves' account, as something of a bumbler, whose coups all failed, and although he was not directly involved in the movement that finally toppled the Manchus, he was given credit for persistence. His administrative skills did not match his reputation. Neither Sun Yat Sen nor Charlie Soong lived to see the brunt of the violence and corruption that the latter's son-in-law Chiang Kai Shek visited upon their nation and its largely rural and poor population. Chiang has his defenders and the Hoover Institute, for one, issued a scathing rebuttal of the charges of failing to resist the Japanese, cooperate with the Communists in said resistance, looting the Treasury and complicity with Shanghai gangsters. There may be something to this; Seagraves provides excessive details about the daughters' college careers in the United States, but there is precious little information about the resistance to the Japanese and virtually none about the Civil War. For Seagraves, Chiang was more worried about Communists than the Japanese and used the war to shake free unmonitored foreign assistance from the administrative of Franklin Roosevelt. Madame Chiang comes off as manipulative, imperious, and unhappily married; the fabled Flying Tigers of Claire Chenault are for Seagraves an ineffective sideshow. But much of Seagraves' account of the war period takes place in the United States, where T.V. and Madame Chiang tried to maintain the flow of dollars, a good portion of which remained with them. Harry Truman is given credit for standing up to the substantial China Lobby, which perhaps feeds in a perverse way into the McCarthyite claim that China was lost by a failure to support it. In Seagraves' view, it was Chiang and his cronies who looted and then lost China, and the old China hands that the McCarthyites blamed for the fiasco were in fact the people brave enough to tell the truth. Still, there is too little material on wartime China to make a proper evaluation (except for the McCarthyites, who have been sufficiently discredited elsewhere). Seagraves does assemble convincing evidence of massive graft; it is the failure to fight the Japanese and put up a sufficient defense against the Maoists that is missing from the picture. Chiang's association with the Shanghai underworld, the Green Gang and its picturesquely-named capos, Pockmarked Huang, Curio Chang (from his antiquities trading), and especially Big-Eared Tu, is well-known and his use of them to massacre leftists and labor activists in the twenties is covered in great detail (it also shows up in Andre Malraux's novels set in the period). Oddly enough, the daughter who married Sun Yat Sen remained aloof from the families depredations and remained an icon of the Communists for some time after they took control, until the Red Guards of the Cultural Revolution focussed on her. For all its defects, Seagraves' book in convincing where it is thorough, and represents a powerful argument that it was Chiang and his cronies, including most of the Soongs and the Green Gang, who lost China. The Communists did not so much win as expose a political structure so rotted that it collapsed of its own weight.

[Charlie Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone that sets out to understand the reasons for America’s disastrous foreign policy vis-à-vis Asia in the twentieth century (and I am thinking especially of the Vietnam War) will eventually find his research leading to the massive events in China triggered by the fall of the Manchu dynasty in 1913. David Halberstam says (in The Best and the Brightest, p. 379) “The job of Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs is a crucial one, perhaps on the subject of Vietnam the most crucial one. If there were doubts on Vietnam, they should have been voiced first of all by State…if the doubts and pessimism of the lower-level State people did not filter through to the principals in Vietnam (and they did not), it was primarily the fault of the Assistant Secretary...For it was not American arms and American bravery or even American determination that failed in Vietnam, it was American political estimates…If, perhaps, there had been no McCarthy period, no ravaging of the precious-little expertise, the Assistant Secretary might have been someone very different.” To understand the McCarthy period, one must understand the Soong family who were the hard financial core of the China Lobby that made McCarthy possible.

The Soong sisters: “One loved money, one loved power, and one loved China”—Ai-ling Soong married H.H. Kung, the richest man in China, May-ling married Chiang Kai-shek of the Kuomintang, and Ching-ling married Sun Yat-sen, denounced the corruption of the Kuomintang, and became one of the three non-communist leaders chosen as Vice Chairmen of the People’s Republic in the 1950’s. The brothers T.V. Soong, T.A. Soong, and T.L. Soong were prominent bankers and financiers. T.V. was Prime Minister under the Kuomintang.

Sterling Seagrave probes deeply into the genesis of the Chinese revolution. In the process he looks closely at Chiang Kai-shek, who rose to power as a member of Shanghai’s Green Gang which controlled the opium concession in southern China. It is doubtful that America’s foreign policy has ever been so strongly linked to a champion of such dubious character. Wanted for murder by the British in Shanghai, lacking a policy other than personal aggrandizement, Chiang with the collusion of all the Soong children bar Ching-ling took the United States for billions of dollars of aid money. It is hard to prove but considered likely that Ai-ling and T.V. between them controlled more assets than anyone on the planet—assets looted from programs like Lend-Lease. When, in 1949, the Kuomintang retreated to Formosa the China Lobby launched a media campaign in the United States (funded with large sums controlled by the Soongs) that was a major factor in the Communist witch hunts spawned in that era—helped along by powerful and willing allies like Henry Luce and odd characters like Patrick Hurley. The potent events precipitated by “the loss of China” blew most of the Far East talent right out of the State Department—notably John Paton Davies and John Service, but there were many others whose careers were destroyed. The damage was not limited to the State Department; knowledgeable military officers (Colonel David Barrett, General Joseph Stillwell) had truncated careers also. The price we paid was (among other things) the Vietnam War.

This book is worth reading for the wealth of historical information that is not widely available elsewhere. It is also a well-written narrative of the witch’s brew of intrigue that was China in the first half of the 20th century; it makes it a book that can be re-read many times with pleasure.

Here, Seagrave profiles the relationship of Ai-ling Soong with Tu Yueh-sheng, leader of the Green Gang in Shanghai:

“ As one might expect, Big-eared Tu had some very interesting friends. Of the few that he evidently considered his equal in guile and cunning there was a woman—one with a remarkable gift for high finance and backroom intrigue. Her name was Ai-ling Soong, now known to strangers as Madame Kung.
On many Sundays, after Ai-ling had been to the Young J. Allen Methodist Church, the gang leader arrived to her home on the Route de Seiyes for a quiet conversation while his bodyguards kept vigil on all sides. Their children grew up together.
This curious gathering on the Kung lawn combined the resources of the Kung banking empire, the leverage of the Soong family, and the mammoth clout of the Green Gang. They joined forces to make a series of stunning investments and takeovers during the years from 1916 to 1940. The Christian image of the Soong clan (with its collegiate veneer) was magic with foreigners, and the dark participation of Big-eared Tu intimidated any Chinese who might otherwise be stubborn. If the message was not clear, Big-eared Tu sent the offending party his usual warning—an ornate Chinese coffin. A positive change of heart could be expected momentarily.
At the opposite end of the Shanghai social scale, Big-eared Tu enjoyed visiting the famous Blue Villa and cruising the other Green Gang brothels in the Blue Chamber District with a young, ill-tempered bravo by the name of Chiang Kai-shek.”

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, this one certainly filled in some gaps in my own scant knowledge about the world in which we live. I am old enough to remember the homage that was paid to Chiang Kai-shek and his Dragon Lady post WWII in this country--the big photo spreads in all those Luce publications, as well as the exaggerated depictions of the evil threat posed by Mao and the demonic "Red Terror." All those poor, starving Chinese about to lose their only shot at democracy. Ha! As usual, the U.S. was hoodwinked. Surprise, Surprise. Will we ever get it right? The machinations of the Generalissimo and his conniving mega-rich Soong in-laws make the transgressions of Stalin and Hitler seem tame by comparison. They at least shared some scraps of the war booty with their own people. The Kuomintang were not only uniquely savage butchers and thugs, but--as Truman so aptly noted--a pack of lying, cheating thieves as well. Another fine mess you've gotten us into, Ollie.

[Tocotin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mostly horrifying, sometimes uplifting account of one family's influence on Chinese politics (and therefore the world politics). The credit for few uplifting moments goes to Soong Ching-ling aka Madame Sun Yat-sen. The credit for the overwhelmingly horrifying parts, to her younger sister Soong May-ling aka Madame Chiang, and her husband Chiang Kai-shek.

I'm not sure what to think about Soong Ai-ling, whom Seagrave presents as a competent monster (the Chiang pair are incompetent ones), because she moved behind the scenes and not much is known about her, but when I read the depiction of her early years, I gained a lot of respect for her.

The book is very long and a bit saggy in the middle, but it picks up the pace, and is well worth the read, especially if you are interested in the post-Qing and pre-Communist China. I am, and I'm glad I read it. Please note that it's extremely disturbing, and if you have any sympathy for China – or indeed for human and non-human beings at all – your heart will ache constantly for them.

[Sea Plan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lucid history that really helped me understand China 1870 - 1949 (roughly speaking) from the purview of the Soong Family, Chiang Kai Shek, the KMT, and the operators who supported them (from Luce to Donnovan to Chenault to the Green Gang). Wild stuff. Clears the fog of war from this side of modern human history. Eager to read more by Seagrave and his wife.

[Ayleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rag to riches story of a chineese boy who finds his confidence in the west through a Christian education, gains riches through "convenient" connections and expands his wealth through (very) questanble relationships. Though it goes beyond the story of the protagonist and follows the life of his offspring.

The book reads somewhat like an academic piece, strange, but the author has a way of making it feel like a novel. I would not necessarily recommend the book, - nothing wrong with it - it's just not an exciting read. I read it to pass time.

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is extremely well-researched and written in an entertaining manner that compelled me to get through it as quickly as possible. I cannot give it 5 stars, however, for two reasons. First, I don’t think the book is very balanced. First of all, the author is very derisive of Chaing Kai-shek and often condescending of May-ling, and he clearly leans heavily on Stillwell’s papers (or Barbara Tuchman’s biography of Joseph Stillwell) to support his opinion of the Chaings. I must say that I am completely in agreement with the author’s assessment of the Chaings, but the reportage here does feel slanted. Secondly and more importantly, there is a surprising dearth of first-hand information on the Soongs, so the author has to write about the political world around them, and we cannot really get to know any of them very well. He states that Charlie Soong’s children mastered the art of selectively letting themselves be known, controlling their own reflections, and that Ai-ling managed to not leave a reflection at all. Seagrave does not mince words about Ai-ling’s supposed treachery, even against her own siblings, and through his investigation he procured a fabulous FBI dossier written by a US foreign agent with access to people close to Ai-ling. However, Seagrave does appear to have a begrudging respect for her intellect and abilities (everyone seems to believe her husband was hapless and out of his depth as a finance minister). Seagrave, as do I, reserves his admiration and sympathy for Ching-ling. Again, however, there is not a lot to go on once she moves back to China following her brief Russian exile. Instead, he imagines what life must have been like for her as he recounts events such as the KMT’s expulsion of Communists in 1927, when she and others of many nationalities fled to Moscow, Chiang’s execution of Deng Yanda (possibly the only man she might have considered relinquishing widowhood for), and her harassment during the Cultural Revolution which ceased due to intervention by Zhou Enlai.

The Soong sibling who emerges most fully here is T.V. Soong. (I have to differentiate ‘sibling’ here, because the Soong whose life was most illuminated by Seagrave & team’s exhaustive research is father Charlie, whose early Western life was documented by Christian missionaries/philanthropists.) There were three Soong brothers, all of whom are eclipsed by their sisters (and brothers-in-law). The younger two, T.L. and T.A., also had their hands in the honeypot and could substitute for T.V. in the KMT government if T.V. was unable (for reasons as varied as nerves, guilty conscience or distance) could not fulfill a task or role. However, they were mere bankers, not political forces. T.V., however, could have been a great man. As portrayed by Seagrave, it seems that he started his public life more simpatico with Ching-ling/Dr. Sun, but sometime after the Shanghai Massacre of 1927 he got rattled, pulled back into the KMT/Green Gang fold by Chaing, or more likely in my opinion, Ai-ling. After that I can never quite trust what he did, and Seagrave lays out a pretty convincing case that the Soong brothers, Chiang, and their gangster friends were siphoning off U.S. aid and stealing Lend/Lease shipments the moment they his Chinese soil. T.V. could have been a truly great leader if had someone like Ai-ling or May-ling behind him rather than over him. He was a fierce negotiator with none other than Stalin, and does not appear to be thought of as an unfortunate joke the way many Allies thought of Chiang.

I have wanted to read this book for several years, ever since I visited Ching-ling’s house in the French Concession. Seagrave really brings the period to life, and he spends a great deal of time on the Shanghai triads. I was already aware of “Big-Eared” Du Yuesheng but had no idea how much influence he had over Chiang Kai-shek, or that he was buddies with Ai-ling. I was not aware of “Pockmarked” Huang Jinrong or “Curio” Zhang Xiaolin, but have since found additional sources of information on these fascinating gangsters.

On the other end of the political spectrum, I also learned about Communists such as Soviet advisor to the pre-1927 KMT, Mikhail Borodin, and the American writers Agnes Smedley and Anna Louise Strong. I also learned about Chinese leftists Wang Jingwei (who ultimately collaborated with the Japanese in their puppet capital of Nanjing), and Eugene Chen, Dr. Sun’s foreign minister who fled to Moscow with Ching-ling.

And then there’s publishing tycoon Henry Luce, whose pro-Christianizing sensibilities caused him to promote the Chaings’ agenda tirelessly, to China’s and the U.S.’s detriment, and to Luce’s eventual embarrassment.

This book is a great example of how a few people can completely ruin a country. Throughout the book I wondered what China could have been if Chaing had not come to power, or if he had not married May-ling and gained a cunning mouthpiece/manipulator of the West. And when the wars were over, the Soongs fled with all the money. The destruction of the world’s greatest nation was just a giant cash grab to them.

[Alex Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This period of Chinese history was not well known to me, although I knew the basic outlines. As an ethnic Chinese-American, with a mother who loved history, I was heavily influenced by any comments on China, along with seeing textbook maps in elementary school and High School. I remember the clips and the lessons. This book provides a detailed account of that time period following the actions of a family, the Soong family, from the start of the 20th century to the mid 20th century.

I won't recount the events but I am impressed by the corruption, the thievery and the suffering of the Chinese people through the opportunism of their leaders. In some sense, this book outlines the Chinese desire for a strong central authority to ward off foreigners and corruption. The relevancy of this book is that the grandchild of its main characters are still alive today, running around with money and property taken by those who were self-appointed as the authority of a country with no functional traditional government.

Seagrave's work is hugely impressive, although much of the details are lost because there were no record. He goes through innumerable sources for clips, interviews, biographies and media examining how political, economic and cultural contexts allowed these sisters who have such different views of life, of different values take over the largest population in the world and spin such heavy tragedy in favor of their own personal gain.

[Jerjonji · Rating 1 out of 5]

It took me weeks to finish this book. I lost it behind the couch, left it at my Dad's, and read a few pages at night before I fell asleep. The author had an personal agenda and it took me a long time to figure out where his biase was coming from, and with that he doesn't share much of his personal history with the Soongs, but he obviously had one. Overall, it was a good background book for modern Chinese/American history and introduced all the major players with their foibles and weaknesses. Now I need to find a less biased book to see where he was on target and where he let his personal interest carry him away.

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

Seagrave writes a comprehensive biography of the Song Sisters: three women who helped shape the destiny of modern China (Meiling, Qingling, and Ailing). However Seagrave also has a clear bias towards Song Chingling and his rather heavy-handed treatment of the other two sisters and their husbands (Chiang Kai-shek and H. H. Kung) shows, and lets down Seagrave's otherwise good writing.

A good read though for an introduction to one of modern China's most powerful political families, though more recent scholarship is probably better for the serious reader's further study.

[Arvin Tampus · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book a long time ago, I started reading it again on the eve of 2020. And this interesting clan deserves a Netflix series. I wish Seagrave would write an in-depth story of Ching-ling Soong, her radical disregard for her family's greed is a book in itself. This book, nonetheless, has done more to convince me of how China deals with its domestic and foreign partners. The Soong family, in many ways, is a microcosm of China. Reading their story is a study of China's social and political sphere.

[Bahman Bahman · Rating 4 out of 5]

baraye kesayi ke tarikhe chin ro doost daran ya ketabe "fatehan"az malraux ro khoondan ,hatman in ketab jaleb khahad bood.

[William Kee · Rating 4 out of 5]

ถ้าจะเข้าใจประวัติศาสตร์จีนสมัยใหม่ การมองผ่านตระกูลซ่งย่อมเป็นอะไรที่น่าสนใจที่สุด นับตั้งแต่รุ่นพ่อผู้หนีออกจากบ้านไปอเมริกา กลับมาเซี่ยงไฮ้ในฐานะหมอสอนศาสนานิกายเมโธดิสท์ กลายเป็นนักธุรกิจผู้ร่ำรวยและสหายปฏิวัติของซุนยัตเซ็น พร้อมกับลูกทั้งสี่ผู้กลายเป็นตัวแสดงสำคัญในประวัติศาสตร์จีนยุคนานกิง บุตรชายกลายเป็นมือเศรษฐกิจของรัฐบาลเจียงไคเช็ก บุตรสาวคนโตเป็นภรรยานายธนาคาร สตรีที่กุมอำนาจเบื้องหลังรัฐบาลจีน คนกลางคือภรรยามหาบุรุษเดินตามอุดมการณ์สามีของตน และคนเล็กคือภรรยาจอมเผด็จการผู้เป็นหน้าตาของประเทศจีนบนเวทีโลก ทุกคนล้วนเป็นฟันเฟืองสำคัญที่นำพาสาธารณรัฐจีนไปสู่ความรุ่งเรืองและตกต่ำได้อย่างน่าสนใจ

Seagrave สร้างภาพของตระกูลซ่งขึ้นมาใหม่ให้หลุดออกจากภาพเดิมที่เต็มไปด้วยงานสดุดีความดีงาม อำนาจ เงินตรา อุดมการณ์ และความแตกแยกของครอบครัว ตลอดจนความฟอนเฟะ การคอรัปชั่น ฉ้อราษฎรบังหลวง คือ สิ่งที่ Seagrave ชี้ให้เห็นตลอดการอธิบายความเป็นไปของตระกูลซ่ง ผ่านการอธิบายในรูปแบบกึ่งวิชาการ ใช้ทั้งเอกสารชั้นต้นชั้นรองในการอธิบายกิจกรรมและการกระทำของสมาชิกครอบครัวนี้ที่ส่งผลต่อประวัติศาสตร์การเมืองจีน และสามารถอธิบายได้น่าติดตามน่าสนใจ ไม่มีความน่าเบื่อ และยังบรรยายให้เห็นตัวละครอื่น ๆ ที่เข้ามาเกี่ยวพันกับตระกูลซ่งด้วย ซึ่งเป็นบุคคลสำคัญในประวัติศาสตร์จีนสมัยใหม่ที่ไม่ได้ถูกกล่าวถึงในประวัติศาสตร์ทางการ และชาวต่างชาติคนสำคัญที่มีบทบาทต่อความเป็นไปของประเทศจีน หนังสือเล่มนี้จึงสามารถอธิบายได้อย่างมีรายละเอียดที่รุ่มรวยและสามารถสร้างภาพบรรยากาศของจีนสมัยใหม่ได้อย่างชัดเจน ด้่วยจังหวะการนำเสนอที่เร้าใจ

เรื่องที่ Seagrave สนใจคือการฟอร์ม Soong Dynasty ที่หมายถึงตระกูลซ่งของชาร์ลี ซ่งขึ้นมา ตลอดจนการสานต่อของลูก ๆ ว่าก้าวขึ้นมาเป็นตระกูลที่ทรงอำนาจที่สุดในประเทศจีนได้อย่างไร ซึ่งก็มีทั้งภาพที่ดีและไม่ดี (ค่อนไปทางไม่ดีเสียมากกว่า) จากการสร้างเครือข่าย การสั่งสมทุนด้วยวิธีต่าง ๆ การแตกหักของความสัมพันธ์ในครอบครัวที่สำคัญต่อภูมิทัศน์ประวัติศาสตร์จีน การสร้างเครือข่ายธุรกิจ การร่วมมือกับอั้งยี่เจ้าพ่อเซี่ยงไฮ้ การปราบปรามและร่วมมือกับคอมมิวนิสต์ ความสัมพันธ์ของตระกูลซ่งกับสหรัฐอเมริกาช่วงสงครามโลกครั้งที่สองที่นำมาสู่การทุจริตเงินสนธิสัญญาเช่ายืมกับสหรัฐอเมริกาที่นำมาสู่ความพ่ายแพ้ต่อพรรคคอมมิวนิสต์ในสงครามกลางเมืองจีนจนต้องอพยพไปยังไต้หวันเพราะขาดแรงสนับสนุนจากต่างประเทศ

แม้ว่าหนังสือเล่มนี้จะมีไบแอสและจุดประสงค์การเขียนที่เห็นได้ชัดเจนจากการเกริ่นของผู้เขียน ที่ดูไม่ชอบพอตระกูลซ่งเท่าใดนัก แต่ในการทำความเข้าใจภาพรวมและสถานการณ์ทางการเมือง เศรษฐกิจ และสังคม หนังสือเล่มนี้สามารถทำความเข้าใจเรื่องดังกล่าวไม่ยากเกินไปนัก สามารถสร้างพื้นฐานเพื่อทำความเข้าใจจีนก่อนคอมมิวนิสต์ได้ดีพอสมควร

[John J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't be put off by three-star ratings, backed with no justifications. This is a 'must read' for anyone who desires to understand U.S. policy towards Asia during the 20th Century -- and, even, today. It is mind-boggling how the Soong family managed to con the highest levels of our government and steal billions, which were supposedly being spent on arms to combat the Japanese and, later, the Chinese Communists. The State Department experts were not only ignored, but their reports were suppressed, because their content ran counter to the propaganda of the "China Lobby". The same happened to the most knowledgeable military on the scene (General Stilwell) and in the Pentagon. These same experts -- who called the shots with great accuracy -- were then pilloried for having "lost" China. In how many areas in the world are we seeing this same situation today? Where U.S. policy is determined by a well-financed "lobby"-- and we go it alone -- with disastrous consequences? If you were a fan of Joe McCarthy, Henry Luce, or Joe Alsop, don't read this. But, if you really want to know how bamboozled we were and would like to reflect how we might finally do better, it would be hard to pick a better book.

[Krista Goon · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amazing book which tells the story of the 3 famous Soong sisters of China. Powerful, influential and yet each one takes on a different role in history. I was set on a path to read more books about China after finishing this book because Seagrave made history come alive. I wished my history lessons were as exciting as this book. It also gave me an entirely different view of Chiang Kai Shek and the political turn of events in China after the Emperor was brought down by the revolution. And I find that having a Western perspective on Chinese events is a change from the usual Chinese authors who write (albeit sometimes with too much melodrama) about the motherland. I for one found it refreshing to see history unfold from a Westerner's eyes.

[Ning-Jia Ong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellently written, the author skillfully weaves together a tapestry of history enriched with references to mythology, Greek philosophy, biblical figures, and more, infusing these narratives with familiar references. A compelling narrative arc threads through the sequential storytelling, rendering every decision within the book with a surreal quality.

Despite these events unfolding nearly a century ago, they provoke introspection on the contemporary geopolitics shaping our world today. It offers a glimpse into the trials endured by my ancestors before embarking on their journey to Malaysia.

Ultimately, the timeless themes of greed, lust, and pride depicted within resonate as universal truths, reflective of humanity's enduring struggles.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Soong Dynasty

I picked up this book based on a list in the “Crazy Rich Asians” series. You could see how the Soongs could serve as a model for that cast of characters who created a web of families, related and addicted to the constant growth of their wealth, power, and influence.

Unfortunately, I found the political complexities challenging to follow and was unable to appreciate the influence that American had on the Soongs and the Soongs on America. It will definitely make you wonder if there’s more to this story given America’s continued relationship with Taiwan.

Regardless, I’ll walk away with the quote about the three sisters as perfectly representative of this history - one who loved money, one who loved, power, and one who loved China.

[Gabriel Stein · Rating 1 out of 5]

More a sensationalist hatchet job than a scholarly work

I bought this book because I'm interested in the Soong family and in Chinese history. But while the early part of the book is indeed the story of Charlie Soong, the founder of the family, the book then detours into becoming a hatchet job on the Soongs, on the Kuomintang and on Chiang Kai-shek. Nothing is too evil, too corrupt or too contemptible for them, with no redeeming features whatsoever. The only exception is Qingling Soong, wife and later widow of Sun Yat-sen. She, on the other hand, can do no wrong. The book is so one-sided as to become unbelievable and I would not recommend it.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF - Pretty good story telling, about the Soongs, a family who dominated Chinese politics and finance in the early 1900s. Tells the story of Charlie Soong, who founded the family. His children included a daughter who married Sun Yat Sen, one who married Chiang Kai-shek, and one married one of the richest men in China. Their brother, TV Soong, was also an important banker and financier.

I didn't finish because to understand this period, you need a lot of background of the Chinese history, which the author supplies. Since I was already familiar with much of the background, I got a bit bored.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A journalistic perspective of the chaotic and often horrific history of China from the late 19th century to about 1949. Although the title focuses on Charlie Soong and his six American-educated children, the individuals often get lost in the broader scope of the story. This edition’s cover features his three daughters, but Charlie Soong also had three sons, the eldest of which, T. V., was a financial genius and at least as influential as his sisters. It is clear that the amount of research for the book was tremendous and there is a useful bibliography, but no notes or references.

[Elle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an engaging read for a history book and never a dull moment. It is so easy to grasp for someone who doesn't know much history and you really follow a family's story but also their genius deception of anywhere to general populace of china to Global leaders, even stealing billions of funds from US citizens. I never knew such in depth history could be told so eloquently. The investigative work of Sterling Seagrave unravels such incredible morsels of this story I can hardly believe how in depth but also so understandable this work is! Cannot praise this book enough. 11/10

[Chris Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book exposes a multitude of attacks on humanity, political, military, economic, and foreign relations perpetrated by the Soong family 'dynasty' on behalf of Chiang Kai-Shek and their own pocketbooks. Mr. Seagrave has done a masterful job of pulling together resources from across the order to show the corruption and blindness of that corruption by their 'useful idiots' who blindly supported them. Anyone concerned about the machinations of the People's Republic of China would do well to read this book.

[Laura Koerber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating. The book is heavy on detail and slow-moving, so those in search of a thriller are reading the wrong book. This is an unusually character-driven history as well as a very detailed description of the cynical, power-seeking, Machiavellian in-fighting between the anti-Manchu revolutionaries that eventually provided Mao with an opportunity. No heroes in this narrative, and few likeable people--but tragedy on top of tragedy. In spite of the seriousness of the subject matter, the text is often funny due to the author's wry commentary on the characters.

[Benjamin Bookman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a long read. Took me many weeks, getting though often only a portion of a chapter at a time. Not because it was hard, in fact it was fascinating, but just the topic was one I had so little experience with that I had to really think about what I was learning. Despite being factual, it was so well written that it often read like a story. I not only learned a lot of important history, but I looked forward to coming back to this book day after day for the next part of the story.

[Hilarie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2. Was interesting hearing about a single family (that felt a bit like the Chinese equivalent of the Mitford sisters) that had such a significant impact both on China and the United States as well. I do wish the book had focused more on the family members. It got lost in the weeds sometimes of all the details of the power struggles.

[Nathalie J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lecture indispensable pour comprendre l'histoire de Chine depuis la fin du XVIIIe siècle jusqu'à l'arrivée du KMT à Taiwan. On suit la famille Soong, depuis la naissance de la dynastie par Charly qui fit fortune en étant le 1er à imprimer la Bible en chinois, jusqu'au destin étonnant de ses filles, dont une épouse Sun Yat Sen et une autre Chiang Kai Chek.
Histoire dense mais passionante.

[Great Famine · Rating 1 out of 5]

If a writer wants to write a book on history, then citing untrustworthy and even untrue sources certainly is not respectable, especially when the book is about important historical figures. This book is more like a fiction book than history book.

[Pachara Naripthaphan · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing history to the crucial geopolitical sensitive time

This book reminded me of how ignorant I am towards modern geopolitical scrimmage. The source of multipolar identity crisis; faith, identity and politic. Amazing read.