Soong Mayling and Wartime China, 1937-1945 - by Esther T Hu (Hardcover)

About the Book

This book provides a historically informed perspective of First Lady of China Soong Mayling's legacy within the context of World War II history, international cultural and military affairs, and transnational geopolitics inflected through gender.

Book Synopsis

Soong Mayling and Wartime China, 1937-1945: Deploying Words as Weapons focuses on the First Lady of China's timely and critical contributions in the areas of war, women's work, and diplomacy during China's War of Resistance as inflected through gender. This book explores Soong Mayling through her own words by examining her speeches, essays, letters, telegrams, and news reports during the war period. How did Madame Chiang Kai-shek's gender identity shape her interactions with other Chinese women, the male military and political leadership in the Republic of China, and the broader global public? How did Confucianism's cardinal virtues and Chinese Christianity converge in Soong Mayling's work and worldview? What were her main contributions as Secretary-General of the Chinese Air Force? Drawing on Chinese archival materials such as Chiang Kai-shek's diaries and other records around the world, Esther Hu provides a historically informed perspective of the First Lady's legacy within the context of World War II history, international cultural and military affairs, and transnational geopolitics.

Review Quotes

"Soong Mayling, or Madame Chiang Kai-shek, was one of the most influential and controversial women of the twentieth century and Esther T. Hu's careful study of her wartime activities is sure to further elevate her stature. This history recovers Mayling's eloquence and passion in rallying the Chinese people, especially its women, to resist Japanese aggression. It is no wonder that millions of Americans came to understand China's global mission through its first lady." --Gordon H. Chang, Stanford University, USA

"In most English-language historical writing on wartime China, Soong Mayling appears as an interesting footnote, rather than a central figure. Esther Hu's book provides a new perspective, revealing Soong Mayling's important contributions as an orator, writer, and organizer who worked tirelessly to rally the Chinese people during a national crisis." --Peter Worthing, Texas Christian University, USA

"This compelling and meticulously researched study delves into the many dimensions of Soong Mayling's contributions to wartime China from 1937 to 1945. Drawing on archival records, newly released sources, and contemporary scholarship, it brings Soong Mayling vividly to life with clear and engaging prose. A must-read for scholars and students of WWII history and modern China, as well as for general readers captivated by the legacy of Soong Mayling and the complex era of wartime China." --Peter Chen-Main Wang, Fu-jen Catholic University, Taiwan

"Soong Mayling was the most influential woman of the Second World War, not just in China but anywhere. In Soong Mayling and Wartime China, 1937-1945 Esther Hu uses Soong Mayling's radio addresses, public speeches, and letters as well as archival documents from around the world to illuminate her contributions to the war effort. Soong Mayling headed the Chinese air force, mobilized China's women for the war effort, looked after the many thousands of orphans, and shaped allied relations and strategy by participating as an interpreter and interlocutor in meetings of her husband, president Chiang Kaishek, with other allied leaders. Hu insightfully compares Soong Mayling to Churchill, who through his persona and speeches mobilized Britain as Soong Mayling did China. This is the most detailed and by far the fairest account of a life that should be far better remembered." --Hans van de Ven, University of Cambridge, UK

About the Author

Esther T. Hu is an Assistant Professor at Boston University, Senior Fellow at the International History Institute, and Associate in Research at the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies at Harvard University. She has published many essays, book reviews, and encyclopedia entries and is the English translator of Soong Mayling's Chinese-language pictorial biography, A Legacy of Grace and Resilience: Soong Mayling and her Era (2023; 2nd Ed. 2024). She is the author of Soong Mayling and Wartime China, 1937-1945: Deploying Words as Weapons (2025).