Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister: Three Women at the Heart of Twentieth-Century China

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One of the great challenges for authors writing biographies is their relationship to their subjects. They risk either putting them on a pedestal and explaining away their foibles, or demonizing them and finding evil intent behind every action. Jung Chang has swung to both horns of this dilemma in the past. In Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China, she interpreted the historical evidence to claim that rather than the hidebound reactionary she is often portrayed to be, Cixi was a progressive visionary who, had she not been thwarted, would have presided over a golden age of Chinese democracy. On the other hand, in Mao: The Unknown Story , Chang and co-author Jon Halliday so thoroughly and unskeptically demonized Mao that they achieved the unlikely effect of bringing sinologists to write a book about their book itself, Was Mao Really a Monster? Once upon a time, a wealthy man lived in Shanghai with his devoutly Christian wife, with whom he had three sons and three daughters. The girls grew up to be educated, cultured and stylish, and their family’s money and status attracted many aspiring suitors. In an era when China was experiencing significant political upheaval, each sister married an influential man and secured her position at the top of society. Their selection of husbands appeared to crystallize an essential aspect of each woman’s character, as summed up by an oft-repeated saying: “One loved money, one loved power and one loved China.” The complicated history of China during this period is little-known to most Westerners, so this readable book helps fill a gap. By hooking it onto personalities, Jung Chang has been able to chart a comprehensible way through these decades and an immense mass of information that could otherwise be difficult to digest.” — Washington Times

The best-known modern Chinese fairy tale is the story of three sisters from Shanghai who, for most of the 20th century, were at the centre of power in China. It was sometimes said that ‘one loved money, one loved power and one loved her country’, but there was far more to the Soong sisters than these caricatures. As China battled through a hundred years of wars, revolutions and seismic transformations, each sister played an important, sometimes critical role and left an indelible mark on history. I would recommend this book for anyone with an interest in early 20th Century China. Using the three sisters it brings the politics of the period to life. You will get most out of it if you already have some knowledge of this period because you will then be able to appreciate just how controversial Chang is on occasion – and also weigh up more independently whether you think she is right or wrong in her judgements. It is these judgements – which for me come across as superficial and / or misguided on critical points – that prevent a good book from being a great one. The book also stood out for me in its slightly left-field take on some well known events. So for example the “warlord period” of Chinese history – broadly speaking the 1920s – is for Chang an unfairly maligned episode: while there were multiple armies across the country all fighting each other, they weren’t really trying that hard – “Fatalities were low” – and “At the first drop of rain, fighting stopped and the umbrellas were opened, turning the battlegrounds into fields of colourful mushrooms.” Presumably if it had rained all the time no-one would have died at all. Double plusses Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister, written in a compulsive style that sweeps the story along, is much the fullest account of their remarkable lives available in English… The warts-and-all portrait of “the Father of the Republic” is a welcome corrective to They were the most famous sisters in China. As the country battled through a hundred years of wars, revolutions and seismic transformations, the three Soong sisters from Shanghai were at the centre of power, and each of them left an indelible mark on history.They were the most famous sisters in China. As the country battled seismic transformations these three women left an indelible mark on history. Chang’s early insertions of Mao into the narrative are there for the sake of fact and transparency (which is what makes her such a celebrated historian), but because of just who Mao is, they have the added effect of foreshadowing a villain, like those fleeting moments in a horror film where something unknown darts past the camera. Chang seamlessly chronicles the lives and marriages of the Soong sisters in this captivating triple biography. . . . This juicy tale will satisfy readers interested in politics, world affairs, and family dynamics.”— Publishers Weekly A fascinating tale of the three Soong sisters who played a significant role in the making of 20th-century China…[ told] with lacerating honesty. Donal O'Donoghue, RTE Guide A major new biography from the internationally bestselling author of Wild Swans, Mao and Empress Dowager Cixi: a gripping story of sisterhood, revolution and betrayal, and three women who helped shape the course of modern Chinese history.

I suppose that's a matter of personal taste. Seagrave offers a more negative take on the Soong family while Chang is in turns neutral or complimentary. Chang also grew up in China during Mao's regime while Seagrave was a foreigner. Chang's book is also shorter and her writing style may appeal more to certain readers than others. So ultimately, I think both books have their good/bad sides.Outstanding... As with her previous books, most famously Wild Swans, it is Chang’s sympathetic, storyteller’s eye — her attention to deeply human detail during the most extraordinary circumstances — that makes her work remarkable. Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister is another triumph. William Moore, Evening Standard The book’s strongest point is its nuanced sympathy for the sisters. Ailing and Meiling, in particular, have been periodically lambasted for seeking profit and indulgence, and abetting Chiang’s brutal dictatorship, during the agonies of the second world war. Although Chang records Meiling’s extravagance and addiction to comfort, “little sister” also comes over as surprisingly affectionate and loyal, especially to her family. Ailing – conventionally denounced as a ruthless profiteer – is described as a devoted sister who saw it as her responsibility to provide financially for her less practically minded siblings. In Chang’s account, Qingling is the least appealing: a hard-headed Comintern convert, whose political convictions overrode feelings for her family. If Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister were fiction, it would be criticized as farfetched. The attraction of the Soong sisters’ story is their completely implausible connections to just about everyone of celebrity or importance in modern China. The three husbands of the Soong sisters are there, of course – Sun Yatsen, Chiang Kaishek, and KMT finance minister HH Kung – but also Mao, Zhou Enlai, Eleanor Roosevelt, and even Elvis Presley makes an appearance. In almost every scene of China’s recent history, the Soong sisters appear. The author's youthfulness helps to assure the inevitable comparison with the Anne Frank diary although over and above the sphere of suffering shared, and in this case extended to the death march itself, there is no spiritual or emotional legacy here to offset any reader reluctance.

After documenting the life and career of Mao Zedong, and making Empress Dowager Cixi an almost household name, filling in the gap between Cixi’s reign and Mao’s rise made perfect sense, and that’s what Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister proves to be. May-ling preferred the gossip and glamour of Shanghai social life to politics or business, but Ei-ling convinced her to marry Chiang Kai-shek, the dour Generalissimo. In 1928, Chiang became president of the right-wing military regime, with Ei-ling’s husband serving as a government minister. In 1942, charming, English-speaking May-ling was instrumental in winning international support for her husband Chiang’s nationalist government, although flight from his enemies also caused her to miscarry. Meanwhile Ei-ling and her husband profited from “colossally corrupt” sales to the regime both before and during the Second World War, eventually causing President Truman to denounce them as “thieves”. Getting close to in this case means giving the dirty laundry a good airing. Sun Yat-sen, the bad father of China Her breathtaking new triple biography restores these “tiger-willed” women to their extraordinarily complex humanity. I was constantly reminded of the Mitford sisters as I read of their witty, affectionate sibling bonds, glamorous lives, fiercely opposed political ideologies and privileged detachment from the street-level impact of those beliefs.

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The three sisters became a modern Chinese fairytale. They were much talked about and fanciful gossip about them was often passed around.