Kang Keqing
Kang Keqing | |
---|---|
Spouse of the Head of State of China (de facto)[note 2] | |
In office 17 January 1975[note 1] – 6 July 1976 | |
Chairperson of the All-China Women's Federation | |
In office 1978–1988 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Kang Guixiu (Chinese: 7 September 1911 |
Died | 22 April 1992 | (aged 80)
Spouse | Zhu De |
Parent | Kang Niangou (Chinese: |
Kang Keqing (K'ang K'e-ching; Chinese:
Early life[edit]
Kang was born to a Hakka fishing family in the township of Luotangwan (Chinese: 罗塘
Revolution[edit]
In 1924, the Wan'an County Communist member arrived in Kang's village as part of the Northern Expedition and set up various activities to promote revolution, including plays and a night school.[3] The member also promulgated concepts of gender equality and freedom in marriage.[3] At approximately age 14, Kang became a member of the Red Army.[2] She would later promulgate the idea that feudalism, imperialism, and bureaucratic capitalism were the main enemies of the female labourer.[2]
She was elected permanent secretary of the Luotangwan Village Women's Association (Chinese: 罗塘
Agnes Smedley's biography of Zhu describes her as follows:
″Up from the Wanan district to the west came a delegation of Peasant Partisans, and among them was the woman leader Kang. She carried a rifle as if it were a part of her and, like the men, she walked with lithe decision and certainty. A woman in her middle twenties, of medium height and shingled hair, she wore the usual clean blue jacket and long loose trousers of the peasant woman. Her face was pock-marked and men said that because of this she was not beautiful. But they admitted that her large black eyes were beautiful and shone with the fire of conviction, and when she smiled, two rows of white teeth gleamed between beautiful red lips. Illiterate she was indeed, for she had been the slave of a rich landlord who had bought her in childhood and used her a field laborer. Though she could recognise but a few written characters, still she was very intelligent so that men said of her: ″'Her thoughts are as clear and direct as bullets fired from a machine-gun.'″[6]
Kang married Zhu De on 30 December 1930.[5] In 1932, she was made leader of a newly created branch of women volunteers, who were trained in the Red Army School.[5]
Long March[edit]
She became a women's leader in the Red Army and was one of a small number of women who were on the Long March.[7] In the division of the Fourth Red Army, Kang was sent with Zhu De and Zhang Guotao.
In October 1935, Kang fell ill after Zhang Guotao's disastrous attempt to establish a communist base in Sichuan. Zhang reportedly kept Kang separated from her husband and attempted to leave her behind when the Fourth Red army moved to Shaanxi, but Zhu managed to bring a doctor and ensured Kang was carried on a stretcher through the Gold Mountains.[4]
Yan'an[edit]
Kang was interviewed by the American journalist Helen Foster Snow during her stay in Yan'an. She commented on the military situation, telling Foster Snow that the army's numbers were a problem, but the issue of weaponry was urgent.[8] Kang maintained contact with Foster Snow after this, even giving a speech at a 1991 conference congratulating her on being made Friendship Ambassador to China.[8]
People's Republic of China[edit]
Kang served as vice chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), chairman of the All-China Women's Federation, and president of Soong Ching-ling Foundation.
Cultural Revolution[edit]
During the Cultural Revolution, Kang was under house arrest. She was later rehabilitated.
Rehabilitation[edit]
After the fall of the Gang of Four, Kang was instated as the head of the All-China Women's Federation and is credited with centralising the organisation's bureaucracy.[9] She was a member of the 11th and 12th Central Committees of the Communist Party of China (1977-1987).
Women's Rights[edit]
Kang's ideology in the fight for women's liberation is embodied in the slogan 'Seek liberation in war, seek equality in production' (Chinese:
At the first meeting of the China Women's Committee in 1949, Kang made a speech advocating the liberation of women's labour and economic development.
Notes[edit]
- ^ Zhu De was re-elected as Chairman of the NPCSC.
- ^ The position of Chairman of the PRC was officially abolished in 1975 and the functions of head of State were formally transmitted to the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress until Song Qingling became Honorary President in 1981.
References[edit]
- ^ Nicholas D. Kristof (23 April 1992). "Kang Keqing, 80, Women's Aide And Veteran of the Long March". The New York Times. p. D 26. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
- ^ a b c d Chuan
傳 , Yan 妍 (1992). "康 克 清 妇女解放 思想 初 探 " [Preliminary examination of Kang Keqing's female liberation ideology]. Funü Yanjiu Luncong 妇女研究 论丛 (2): 30–32. - ^ a b c d e f g Li
李 , Kuiyuan 奎原 (2016). "上世 纪三 十 年代 客 家 女性 革命 史 研究 ——以康克 清 等 三 人 为例" [Research on the revolution history of Hakka women in the 1930s: Kang Keqing and two other cases]. Dangshi Bocai党 史博 采 (11): 9–10. - ^ a b Cui
崔 , Jun 军 (2011). "长征中 的 朱 德和 康 克 清 " [Zhu De and Kang Keqing on the Long March]. New Hunan Review新 湘评论 (6): 53–54. - ^ a b c Geng 耿, Yanpeng 艳鹏 (2012). "
康 克 清 :学 而时习之" [Kang Keqing: study and practice on a regular basis]. Fujian Monthly on the Party History福建 党 史 月刊 (6): 21–23. - ^ Smedley, Agnes. The Great Road: The Life and Times of Chu Teh. Monthly Review Press 1956. Page 137
- ^ Smedley, The Great Road, pages 272
- ^ a b Ye
叶 , Meijuan梅 娟 (2015). "康 克 清 与 海 伦・斯诺的 友 谊" [The friendship between Kang Keqing and Helen Snow]. Bolan Qunshu博 览群书 (1): 113–116. - ^ Luo 罗, Qiong 琼 (2002). "Mianhuai jing'ai de Kang Keqing dajie 缅怀
敬 爱的康 克 清 大 姐 [Respectful commemoration of elder sister Kang Keqing]". Zhongguo Fuyun中国 妇运 (5): 11–12.
- First ladies of the People's Republic of China
- 1911 births
- 1992 deaths
- Zhu De family
- All-China Women's Federation people
- People's Republic of China politicians from Jiangxi
- Politicians from Ji'an
- Women in war in China
- Chinese politicians of Hakka descent
- Chinese Communist Party politicians from Jiangxi
- Vice Chairpersons of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
- Burials at Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery