In 1927, Soong Meiling and Chiang Kai-shek tied the knot, and this wedding attracted widespread attention from the society at that time. Chiang Kai-shek wrote in his diary: "I am glad that we have a heart for each other, and this joy of life is hard to come by." ”
Although both Soong Meiling and Chiang Kai-shek claimed to have married out of affection, many people objected, especially Soong Meiling's sister Soong Ching-ling, who believed that the marriage was nothing more than a union of two selfish people with no real love in it.
Despite Soong Ching-ling's opposition, Soong Meiling remained firmly united with Chiang Kai-shek. After marriage, in order to cater to Chiang Kai-shek's preferences, she devoted herself wholeheartedly to one thing.
So, what exactly is she doing?
In March 1897, Song Meiling was born in Shanghai and was born into a family full of legends. Her father, Song Jiashu, was originally the son of a poor peasant, but through his own efforts and wisdom, he eventually became a well-known wealthy merchant in Shanghai, and also used his wealth to fund the revolutionary movement to overthrow the Qing Dynasty.
Song Jiashu has three sons and three daughters, three of whom are known as the "Three Song Sisters". Among the three sisters, Song Meiling is the most beloved one by her parents.
When Song Meiling was five years old, she insisted on going to school with her sister, and Song Jiashu respected the child's ideas very much, so Song Meiling was able to successfully enter the Maktiye Girls' School.
Song Jiashu and his wife have advanced vision, they not only sent their son to study abroad, but also sent their three daughters abroad. In those days, very few families would send their children abroad, let alone girls.
Therefore, when Song Meiling was only 9 years old in 1907, she followed her sister Song Qingling to study in the United States.
Soong Meiling completed her studies in the United States from elementary school to university, and her values and way of thinking are deeply influenced by Western ideas. "I rarely speak Chinese, I'm not used to eating Chinese food, I don't look like a Chinese anymore, the only thing that looks like an Oriental is my face." ”
She wrote in a letter to a friend. Although Song Meiling resembles an American in terms of living habits and other aspects, usually wearing American shoes and skirts similar to those of other classmates, she has not forgotten that she is Chinese.
When the Song sisters are together, they usually choose to wear cheongsams with Chinese characteristics.
In 1917, Soong Meiling graduated from Wellesley Women's University in the United States with outstanding performance, and she was the longest-educated child of the Song family in the United States. "I've toured the whole of the United States, in fact, every state. ”
For someone like Soong Meiling, who is deeply influenced by American culture, returning to China is not of her own volition. However, out of deep longing for his daughter, his father Song Jiashu repeatedly wrote letters urging Song Meiling to return to China.
After Song Meiling returned to China, she initially showed great discomfort with the domestic way of life and the backwardness of Chinese society.
She looked at China's backwardness and the ignorance of her compatriots with a critical eye, even blaming her father for not buying a bigger house in order to have a party in it.
In daily life, Song Meiling still retains the habit of Western-style clothing, but as time goes by, she begins to try to wear Chinese-style clothing, not copying the old style, but integrating the characteristics of Western clothing into Chinese-style clothing, making her dress look very fashionable and foreign.
In China, women have limited clothing choices, and cheongsam is their common attire. Song Meiling is a special case, she cleverly cut the waist of the cheongsam to fit more closely, so as to perfectly show off her graceful figure.
During her study in the United States, Song Meiling's lively and cheerful personality made her feel like a fish in water in various social activities, and she continued to maintain it after returning to China. The affluence of the Song family allowed her to live a luxurious life in Shanghai, frequently attending social gatherings and enjoying the pleasures of life to the fullest.
Song Meiling is very keen on social activities, and whenever family members have birthdays, she is always the host of banquets, and thus has become an active figure in Shanghai's social circles.
In these social activities, Soong Meiling showed her outstanding political talent, and she boldly expressed her political understanding in front of her father, believing that only by practicing power politics can the people be united.
Therefore, she is also very cautious about marital issues, and once said that only heroes deserve to be her partner. As a woman of the Song family, Song Meiling is not short of wealth, but she is eager for power and eager to show herself in the political arena, so when choosing a partner, she attaches more importance to the other party's power background.
Because she has not found a satisfactory partner, Song Meiling's marriage has been delayed, and finally spent ten years waiting.
In 1922, Chiang Kai-shek attended a ** teaching party at Sun Yat-sen's home, and this party led him to meet Soong Meiling. Soong Meiling's outstanding charm and elegant temperament quickly attracted the attention of Chiang Kai-shek.
He once mentioned in a love letter to Song Meiling that her talent and beauty are unforgettable. In addition to his admiration for Soong Meiling, Chiang Kai-shek paid more attention to the family background behind Soong Meiling.
He hopes to win Sun Yat-sen's trust with the help of marriage, so as to become Sun Yat-sen's **person. Soong Meiling's elder brother, Soong Ziwen, was influential in the American church, and he could get Western support through Soong Ziwen.
And Song Meiling's brother-in-law Kong Xiangxi is a well-known chaebol. In order to gain political and economic advantages, Chiang Kai-shek's marriage with the Song family appeared to be very advantageous.
Chiang Kai-shek was ten years older than Soong Meiling and had two wives and one concubine. Despite this, Chiang Kai-shek still hoped to introduce Soong Meiling to him as his wife, but this was resolutely opposed by Soong Ching-ling, who said that she would rather see her sister die than marry a man who had at least two ** in the city of Guangzhou.
In the face of difficulties, Chiang Kai-shek did not give up, but maintained a correspondence with Soong Meiling for the next five years. When Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Meiling met, he was just a figure who did not have a prominent position in the Kuomintang.
Soong Meiling, as a woman who aspired to make a difference in politics, apparently did not have any interest in Chiang Kai-shek.
Within five years, Chiang Kai-shek's popularity had risen dramatically, and British and American magazines praised him as the youngest revolutionary leader. This kind of widespread praise made Song Meiling have a deep affection for him.
Under the mediation of her sister Song Ailing, the two traveled together, and after more than ten days of getting along, Song Meiling finally accepted Chiang Kai-shek. However, this marriage was not all smooth sailing, not only was it opposed by Song Qingling, but also by Song Meiling's mother Ni Guizhen.
Under the strong persuasion of Song Ailing and Song Ziwen, Song's mother finally agreed to Jiang Song's marriage. Before the wedding, Chiang Kai-shek divorced his original wife and sent away two other wives.
On December 1, 1927, Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Meiling held a grand wedding at the Majestic Hotel, attracting more than 1,000 celebrities and dignitaries from their country to congratulate them.
The wedding was seen as an unprecedented event, but it was also a clever combination of power and wealth that had a profound impact on modern Chinese society.
Chiang Kai-shek gained wide recognition and support from the international community through this marriage, and Soong Meiling also achieved a major change in her life through this marriage.
When Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Meiling settled in Nanjing, the living conditions in Nanjing were slightly less than those in Shanghai, and the social and entertainment activities were not as rich as in Shanghai. Therefore, many *** wives choose to stay in Shanghai and get together with their husbands regularly.
However, Song Meiling resolutely stayed in Nanjing. With her excellent communication skills, Soong Meiling quickly became Chiang Kai-shek's right-hand man. Over time, Soong Meiling developed her own unique diplomatic style.
In order to better adapt to the role, Song Meiling also adjusted her image. She cut off her curly hair, combed it in a traditional bun, and wore a cheongsam instead of a dress.
Soong Meiling's love for cheongsam was not accidental, but was influenced by her husband Chiang Kai-shek. Chiang Kai-shek believed that the most beautiful dress for a woman was the cheongsam, or the traditional long skirt, and the skirt had to go above the knee, and once the thighs were exposed, it would cause him to be dissatisfied.
Chiang Kai-shek, in addition to disliking women wearing short skirts, did not appreciate them wearing long trousers, which he believed would lose the charm of women. Under the guidance of such an ideology, Song Meiling will wear all kinds of cheongsams every day in order to do what she likes, so as to show the charm of women.
In diplomatic activities, Song Meiling often chooses cheongsam as her dress. In one speech, she wore a long black cheongsam with a split near the knee, black hair slightly curled at the nape of her neck, ornate jewelry, and light high heels.
Such an elegant image of her attracted all the American congressmen present. Song Meiling has extremely high requirements for clothing, even in the hot summer, she does not allow a little sweat stain on her cheongsam, and if it appears, she will immediately put on a new one.
The bad weather is like wind and rain, and she doesn't allow a little sludge on her cheongsam. For this purpose, she hired a "housekeeper" who was responsible for matching her clothes.
In order to pursue high-quality cheongsam, Song Meiling is looking for an exclusive tailor. On the recommendation of a friend, she chose Zhang Ruixiang, a tailor who lives near Xinhua Gate in Nanjing.
The cheongsams provided by Zhang Ruixiang's private tailor shop were so popular with Soong Meiling that they not only fit but were exquisitely made, so she transferred Zhang Ruixiang to her official residence so that she could continue to receive his professional services.
Zhang Ruixiang is a craftsman who specializes in making cheongsams and creates beautiful cheongsams for customers 364 days a year. Every time he makes a cheongsam, it takes two or three days to make it carefully, and after he finishes it, he will proudly take the cheongsam to Song Meiling, hoping to get her approval.
However, Song Meiling praised Zhang Ruixiang's cheongsam, but only let his works be numbered by color and texture and put them in her closet.
Although she did not wear Zhang Ruixiang's cheongsam, her recognition and respect for his work was enough to make him feel satisfied and proud.
Zhang Ruixiang's loyalty to Song Meiling was touching, and she insisted on making cheongsam for Song Meiling many times on her hospital bed, and she still remembered the unfinished piece until her death.
Over the past 20 years, Zhang Ruixiang has made more than 2,400 cheongsams for Song Meiling, although most of the cheongsams Song Meiling has not worn, she will often open the wardrobe to admire the collection of cheongsam.
Since Soong Meiling is Chiang Kai-shek's wife, there is an endless stream of people giving gifts to her. Everyone knows that Song Meiling likes cheongsam, so they gave her all kinds of high-end fabrics.
However, despite receiving a lot of precious clothes, Song Meiling may not like them all, and these valuable clothes have been sealed in her room. In her bedroom, there are two wardrobes dedicated to high-quality cheongsams, while the other is dedicated to ordinary clothes.
Song Meiling has countless clothes, but she often wears only a few, most of which she may never wear, or only try on once or twice. When Ms. Soong moved to the United States in her later years, she took with her more than 90 suitcases of luggage, about 50 of which were her cheongsams and fabrics.
There is a classic line in the movie "The Three Sisters of the Song Family": "The eldest sister loves money, the second sister loves the country, and the younger sister loves power." However, in fact, Song Meiling is not only fond of power, her pursuit of wealth is equally passionate.
Song Meiling has been tirelessly pursuing wealth all her life, and the life she lives can be said to be extremely luxurious. It is said that Song Meiling buys cosmetics from France worth 4 million yuan every year, and each toilet paper** she uses that is processed and manufactured by foreign drug solutions is as high as 20 yuan.
Song Meiling even has a pair of shoes studded with diamonds, worth 800,000 yuan, and a coat, worth 500,000 yuan. In that era of relative material scarcity, Song Meiling's life was undoubtedly extremely luxurious.
The intimate relationship between Song Meiling and her eldest sister Song Ailing is well known. While the Kong family obtained a lot of wealth with the help of the Jiang family, it also brought rich returns to Song Meiling.
After the outbreak of the Pacific War, China borrowed $500 million from the United States, of which $100 million was sold as public bonds. However, after the sales reached 50 million US dollars, Kong Xiangxi suddenly ordered to stop the sales, and the remaining 50 million US dollars were embezzled by him and Song Meiling, and they made huge profits.
Even after Chiang Kai-shek retreated to Taiwan, Soong Meiling's standard of living did not decline in the slightest. Once, when the king of Saudi Arabia visited Taiwan, he gave Soong Meiling a diamond necklace of great value.
However, Song Meiling felt that this necklace was too tacky and never wore it, so she only treasured it. Song Meiling has an outstanding appearance, and in order to maintain her beauty, she pays great attention to her diet.
She always has a small scale in her bedroom, and every day she checks her weight, and if she exceeds the norm, she immediately adjusts her diet to eat only vegetable salad until her weight returns to normal.
Song Meiling's insistence on beauty is not only reflected in her love for cheongsam, but also in her strict requirements for her figure. In order to maintain a slender figure and wear a cheongsam to be more charming, Song Meiling has maintained a good figure for decades.
Her weight has always been controlled at around 50 kilograms, and even decades-old cheongsams do not need to be modified. Even in her later years, she was still able to wear the cheongsam of decades ago and greet every sunrise and sunset with grace.
In addition to her love for cheongsam, Song Meiling's pursuit of beauty has never stopped. She paid attention to the delicacy of makeup all her life, and it is said that even Chiang Kai-shek had never seen her without makeup.
She insists on applying her own makeup and meticulously creates the perfect look. Even when she is over 100 years old, she still dresses up with fine jewelry, a formal cheongsam, and her hair is neatly tied.
Song Meiling's beauty is not only external, but also internal. Her love and pursuit of beauty has allowed her to always maintain elegance and charm in her life. Her persistence and perseverance let us see women's pursuit and persistence in beauty, as well as their love and persistence in life.
Soong Meiling has lived in the United States for a long time, and in order to take care of her, the Taiwan authorities have assigned three administrative staff and two drivers, and dispatched medical personnel. The annual expenditure is as high as 10 million yuan.
However, despite her thorough care, Soong Meiling died in the United States in 2003 at the age of 106.
Song Meiling's life is like a legend, she is a veritable "cheongsam lady". In order to gain power, she married Chiang Kai-shek. After marriage, in order to please Chiang Kai-shek, Song Meiling gave up her favorite dress and replaced it with a cheongsam.
In order to always maintain the proper fit of the cheongsam, she has maintained her figure all her life. For decades, she has always insisted on wearing cheongsam, which has become an integral part of her life.