Women in Politics; The Soong Sisters and Chinese History in the 20th Century

This research focuses on the Soong sisters in the twentieth century in order to analyze women’s impact on politics in China. Women’s contributions are often overlooked, leading to a lack of women’s stories in historical narratives. It identifies that to produce a less biased historical narrative there needs to be more diversity within the historiographers and the narratives portrayed. The research provides solutions to combating the existing biases present in historical narratives and an attempt to apply them through an analysis of the lives of the Soong sisters. The sisters Ai-ling, Qing-ling, and Mei-ling were the wives of powerful men such as Sun Yat-sen, Chiang Kai-shek, and H.H. Kung. Furthermore, Qing-ling after the passing of her husband became a trustee of Mao Zedong. The sisters had opposing political ideologies that had significant influence over the development of China in the Twentieth century, however, for all of their contributions more often than not it is the men they interacted with that are remembered. Upon further research, it can be concluded that these women had an equal impact on Chinese politics as the men they were close to, but their stories are often forgotten. This phenomenon is what the research tries to combat.