Smoking photography

In the eyes of many people, Song Meiling and Soong Ching Ling are both elegant and noble representatives of modern women. They have also studied abroad and received higher education, and they are all elegant in front of everyone, but this does not prevent them from having the habit of smoking, and they are very addicted to cigarettes.

During 1959, Soong Ching Ling smoked with Queen Elizabeth of Belgium. The photographer took this scene, which is a rare publicity of Soong Ching Ling's secret history of smoking. Soong Ching Ling's smoking may be related to the habit of studying abroad. A whirlwind of popular female smoking has been set off in the United States and spread to the west. In addition, during the Republic of China, when Soong Ching Ling and Song Meiling were living, the then tobacco company entered China.

At that time, advertisements of cigarette beauties were everywhere in the streets of old Shanghai, which stimulated many female consumers to buy cigarettes. Many ladies in the upper class are eager to try, taking smoking as a fashion and becoming a fashion vane. Song Meiling's hobby is also smoking. Although Chiang Kai-shek advised her to quit smoking many times, she never quit. Both Song Meiling and Soong Ching Ling have a hobby of smoking, which has little to do with whether they have received higher education.

As rich women, they did not live in boudoir like ordinary ladies when they were young, but went abroad to study, accepted western ideas and culture, and learned to smoke in social occasions.

It is said that Song Meiling smokes because of skin diseases. During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression period, after the fall of Nanjing, Chiang Kai-shek moved to Chongqing, and Song Meiling came to Chongqing together. Due to the humid environment, Song Meiling contracted urticaria. Because of urticaria, the skin is very itchy when it attacks. Later, Song Meiling found a waitress with a pack of cigarettes in her pocket. Like it or not, she lit a cigarette and took a drag. She found that smoking can refresh her mind and eliminate itchy skin. From then on, Song Meiling learned to smoke and became addicted.

To sum up, Soong Ching Ling and Song Meiling are addicted to smoking because of their specific cultural background and personal habits, which has little to do with whether they have received higher education or not. They are purely personal hobbies.