CHARLES JONES SOONG
HAN CHAO-SHUN
1866-1918
The Beginning
• Charles was born on the Chinese island of
Hainan in 1866
• His birth name was Han-Chao-Shun
• Went to work as a servant for relatives at
the age of 9
• Han tired of the situation, set off to assist
his uncles Chinese apparel shop in Boston
The Transition
• After working in Boston Han met two Chinese
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cousins B.C. Wen and S.C. New
The cousins were from Shanghai sent to get an
American education.
The boys convinced Han that education was the
key to success.
Han decided that was what he wanted and
informed his uncle that he was leaving to pursue
an education.
The Travels
• One year after going to Boston at the age of 13
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Han set off.
He stowed away on a ship and met the Captain
Eric Gabrielson a faithful Christian man.
The captain decided that Han-Chao-Shun was
too long so he changed it to Charlie Sun.
Charlie convinced the captain he was 15,
became a paid member of the crew and moved
to North Carolina with Gabrielson.
The Missionary
• Once in North Carolina Charlie had his name
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modified one last time to Charles Jones Soong.
Charles became involved in the Methodist church
and they embraced him. Seeing in him the
potential to be a great missionary with the right
education.
Julian Carr a Tobacco Baron provided the
finances to send Charles to Duke University
(Trinity College).
Charles finished his work at Vanderbilt University
in 1885 and returned to China to begin his
Missionary work.
The Family
• Once in China Charles met up with the two
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cousins from Boston. They introduced him to
their sister-in-law Ni Kwei-Tseng, a very wealthy
western scholar.
Charles became a member of the “Red Gang” a
secret society who controlled the power in
Shanghai.
In 1887 Charles married the sister, had their first
child and realized that Missionary salary was not
going to support his family.
The New Business
• Charles had acquired many connections over the
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years between his travels, and came to the
conclusion that he wanted to be a Businessman.
Charles recognized that the sale of bibles to the
poor Chinese was problematic. The bibles were
much too expensive for most the population.
With the help of his wives wealth, and funds
from Julian Carr, Charles started his own
printing business focusing on printing Bibles.
In no time Charles had become very wealthy
from this brilliant business venture.
The New Career
• Since Charles had spent so much time in the U.S. he was
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recognized as a commodity to any company in China
doing business with the U.S.
Kou-Koong was a Noodle business trying to interface
with America.
Charles was fluent in both languages but more
importantly his character created a strong understanding
of both cultures.
Charles was the perfect candidate to represent the Kou
Koong Family interests.
He took and kept this position for the rest of his life,
which added greatly to his wealth, and connections.
Family Dynasty
• Charles and his wife had 3 girls and 3 boys, who all
achieved and dominated success in the future of China.
Three daughters “The Soong Sisters”
• Ai-Ling
• Ching-Ling
• May-Ling
Three Brothers
• T.V. Soong
• T.L. Soong
• T.A. Soong
The Soong Sisters
• “Once upon a time there were 3 sisters: One
Loved Power, One Loved Money, and One Loved
China.”
• The oldest Ai-Ling married into a wealthy banking family.
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It was said that “if she had been born a man, she would
have been running China.” She dominated the family
destiny.
Ching-Ling married her fathers close friend and leader in
the revolutionary movement, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen. She
became Vice-Chairman of Mao Tse-Tsung’s Peoples
Republic.
May-Ling, married Chiang Kai-Shek, leader of Nationalist
China a bitter rival of Mao Tse-tung. Loved by Americans
she was recognized among the 10 most popular and
respected people on earth.
The Soong Brothers
• T.V. Soong became Prime Minister of the
Nationalist China and for some time was
considered the “richest man on earth.”
• T.L. Soong and T.A. Soong not as
notorious as the rest of the family, T.L.
Operated a family bank in New York, while
T.A. operated a bank in San Francisco.
The End
• Charles died in 1918 at the age of 52
• Recognized as one of the greatest
merchant financiers of all time.
• A very resourceful man, was able to
collect wealthy people and networks of
influential contacts. He had an ability to
get support from people that in the end
he could convert into profitable ventures.