Editing Soong sisters (section)

=== Early life ===
[[File:Song's old home.JPG|thumb|Ancestral home of the Soong family in [[Wenchang]], Hainan]]
[[Charlie Soong]], the father of the Soong sisters, was born in [[Wenchang]], [[Hainan]], in 1866, with the birth name Han Chiao Shun. He initially traveled to [[Java]] with his brother before being adopted by his uncle, who took them to [[Boston]], United States, where Charlie worked as a shop assistant. His name was misunderstood by Americans as Charlie Soon and later became Charlie Soong.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last= |date=2015-03-09 |title=宋氏家族之父与美国海岸警卫队 |url=https://archive-share.america.gov/zh-hans/charlie-soong/ |access-date=2024-11-25 |website=ShareAmerica |publisher=U.S. Department of State |language=zh-hans}}</ref>

In Boston, Charlie met New Shan-chow and {{Ill|Wen Bingzhong|zh|溫秉忠}}, frequent visitors to the shop, who encouraged him to pursue further education. In 1879, he fled the store and boarded the [[USS Albert Gallatin|USS ''Albert Gallatin'']] of the [[United States Revenue Cutter Service]], where he was adopted by Captain Eric Gabrielson. Charlie became a Christian in [[Wilmington, North Carolina|Wilmington]] in 1880, becoming the first [[Baptism|baptised]] Chinese person in [[North Carolina]]. With the support of a local church, he studied at [[Trinity College, Duke|Trinity College]] and later [[Vanderbilt University]].<ref name=":1" />
[[File:Family portrait of the Soong family in Shanghai in 1917.jpg|thumb|The Soong family in 1917]]
He returned to China as a missionary in 1885 and later married [[Ni Kwei-tseng]], a match arranged by Wen Bing-chung.<ref name=":1" /> The couple initially engaged in missionary work and business in [[Kunshan]], later continuing their missionary efforts in [[Chuansha County|Chuansha]].<ref name="'倪桂珍余姚">{{cite web |date=2010-10-20 |title=“宋家王朝”的余姚巾帼倪桂珍 |url=http://cul.cn.yahoo.com/ypen/20101020/55137.html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130115120137/http://cul.cn.yahoo.com/ypen/20101020/55137.html |archivedate=2013-01-15 |accessdate=2011-12-29 |website=Yahoo China |publisher= |language=zh-hans}}</ref> Their first daughter, Ai-ling, was born on 15 July 1889 in Kunshan,{{Sfn|Zhang|2019|p=39}} followed by two more daughters, Ching-ling and Mei-ling, as well as three sons, Tse-ven (T. V.), Tse-liang (T. L.) and Tse-an (T. A.).{{Sfn|Zhang|2019|p=39}} Charlie resigned from the mission in 1892, due to insufficient fund to support his family and became a successful businessperson for printing the [[Bible]].{{Sfn|Zhang|2019|p=39}}