Soong Ai-ling

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Soong.

Nancy Soong Ai-ling
Born	14 June 1890(1890-06-14) Shanghai, Qing China
Died	18 October 1973(1973-10-18) (aged 83) New York City, New York,  United States
Spouse	Kung Hsiang-hsi (1881-1967), married 1914
Children	Kung Ling-i Kung Ling-kai Kung Ling-chun Kung Ling-chieh (Louis C. Kung)
Parents	Charlie Soong Ni Kwei-Tseng

Soong Ai-ling (traditional Chinese: 宋藹齡; simplified Chinese: 宋蔼龄; pinyin: Sòng Àilíng), or Eling Soong (July 15, 1889 – October 18, 1973), eldest of the Soong sisters, was the wife of H. H. Kung (Kung Hsiang-Hsi), who was the richest man in the early 20th century Republic of China. The first character of her given name is written as 靄 (same pronunciation) in some texts. Her Christian name was Nancy.

Born in Shanghai, Soong arrived in the United States at the Port of San Francisco, CA on June 30, 1904 aboard the SS Korea at the age of 14 to begin her education at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia. She returned to China in 1909 after her graduation. In late 1911, she worked as a secretary for Sun Yat-sen, a job later succeeded by her sister, Soong Ching-ling. She met her future husband, Kung Hsiang Hsi, in 1913, and married the following year in Yokohama. After marrying, Soong taught English for a while and engaged in child welfare work.

She went to the United States in the 1940s, and died later at the age of 83 on October 18, 1973 in the New York-Presbyterian Hospital, New York.

Her children were:

• Kung Ling-i (孔令儀), female
• Kung Ling-kai (孔令侃), male
• Kung Ling-chun (孔令俊), also known as Kung Ling-wei (孔令偉), female
• Kung Ling-chieh (孔令傑), male, also known as Louis C. Kung, was later an American oil executive and married to actress Debra Paget (1964–1980) with one son Gregory Teh-chi Kung (b. 1964, businessman); died in Houston, Texas 1996^[1]

Media portrayal

In the 1997 Hong Kong movie The Soong Sisters (宋家皇朝), she was portrayed by actress Michelle Yeoh.

See also

	China portal
	Biography portal

• History of the Republic of China
• Soong Ching-ling
• Soong May-ling

Further reading

• Seagrave, Sterling. The Soong Dynasty. Corgi Books, 1996. ISBN 0-552-14108-9.

References

1. ^ http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2003/05/12/story2.html

Persondata
Name	Soong, Ai-Ling
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	June 14, 1890
Place of birth	Shanghai, China
Date of death	New York City, NY USA
Place of death	New York City, New York