Soong Mayling and Wartime China, 1937-1945

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).

• List of ImagesNote on the Romanization of Chinese WordsAcknowledgmentsINTRODUCTIONPART I. SOONG MAYLING’S MILITARY CONTRIBUTIONS DURING CHINA’S WAR OF RESISTANCE (1937-1945)1Soong Mayling and the Chinese Air Force 2 Soong Mayling and Wartime Contributions in Partnership with the Christian CommunityPARTII. WOMEN’S WORK: THE WOMEN’S ADVISORY COUNCIL, WAR RELIEF, AND NATIONAL RECONSTRUCTION 3Soong Mayling as Mother of China: Women’s Organization, Mobilization, and Networks through the Women’s Advisory Council (WAC)4Encouraging China’s Women and Educating China’s Youth: Soong Mayling’s Rhetorical and Emotional LaborPART III. DIPLOMACY AT HOME AND ABROAD5Diplomacy at Home6Diplomacy Abroad: Soong Mayling, Sino-Indian, and Sino-British Relations7Diplomacy Abroad: Soong Mayling and U. S.-China RelationsCONCLUSION. Soong Mayling’s Legacy AppendixBibliography

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.