A book containing 407 letters handwritten by Soong Ching-ling, former honorary president of China and wife of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, will be published, Beijing Daily reported on Saturday.

These letters, written by Soong between 1942 and 1981 when she died, were sent to her relatives and friends at home and abroad.

Exchanging letters with relatives and friends was one of most important things during Soong's late years, and she used to write about a dozen letters one day sometimes, said He Dazhang, deputy director of a study center under the Soong Ching-ling Foundation.

Specifically, letters helped relieve her pain in her late life when she suffered from serious diseases, He said.

Soong, born in Shanghai in 1893, was the widow of famous Chinese revolutionary forerunner Dr. Sun Yat-sen, who led the overthrow of China's last feudal dynasty, the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

Soong also was an outstanding stateswoman and a renowned activist in public affairs. She contributed a lot to the reunification of the motherland, to China's socialist modernization drive, and to the welfare of Chinese women and children.
 
(Xinhua News Agency March 8, 2004)