Soong Ching Ling

Shane left on a Saturday morning, and that Sunday I decided to visit the former home of Soong Ching Ling, the wife of Sun Yat-sen and Chinese revolutionary in her own right.  Visiting places like this make me heartily wish I had taken some Chinese history in high school or college, because I feel like I'm visiting blind.  I had heard of Sun Yat-sen before my visit, and knew that he was involved with overthrowing the last emperors, but that's about it, and I knew next to nothing about his wife.  When I visit historic places, I feel like I only pick up tidbits that can fit into the extremely sketchy historical framework I possess, and if I had more of a framework my visits would be more meaningful.  I also feel like I risk falling for government propaganda when I don't have independent scholarship to support me.

Qianhai Lake, right outside Soong Ching Ling's house

Regardless, I thought Soong Ching Ling's house and museum were really well done.  The museum walked visitors chronologically through her life from birth to death, and by the time I finished, I felt like I really knew her!  I actually shed a tear or two viewing pictures of her at her funeral and of the nation in mourning.  I had no idea that she had attended college in Alabama, but this was instrumental in her life as a revolutionary and activist as she maintained friendships with Americans throughout her life and did much of her revolutionary work in English.  She was able to really spread the message to the world about the Chinese people struggling to overthrow the emperors in a way that would not have been possible without fluency reading and writing in English.

A picture of her college in Alabama, along with some Vermont syrup she brought
home from the States on vacation!

The pistol Sun Yat-Sen gave her as a wedding present...not exactly what I
hope to receive on my wedding day!

I also thought it was interesting that during the years of the Cultural Revolution and the years of opening to the world that followed, the museum really managed to portray her life without mentioning that time period.  Its amazing how you can fill in gaps with trivial activities which still make people look fantastic - her activities according to the museum during that time were humanitarian and focused around China's schoolchildren and orphans.  This is where I most keenly felt my lack of outside knowledge about her and her life.

I think this is a statue of Sun Yat-sen

About 20 years ago, the government gave her the house near Qianhai lake in the hutongs of Beijing, and she lived there until her death.  The furniture and rooms are preserved well and the signage is again superb, allowing visitors to imagine her reading, working, and entertaining in the various rooms.  The gardens were also very pretty, as they used to belong to a Ming courtier before her.  On the whole, I felt like I learned about an admirable women in Chinese history during my visit, but I need to do some additional research to really understand her role.

Garden outside her house, with a picture of her visible through the
trees on a poster.