Liu Yaxiong

During her youth, Liu Yaxiong was motivated by her father, Liu Shaobai [zh], and engaged in the student movement while attending the Taiyuan Women's Normal School [zh] (now Taiyuan Foreign Language School). In 1923, she enrolled at the Beijing Women's Normal University [zh], where she served as a leader of the student union.^[5] From 1924 to 1926, she played a pivotal role in initiating and leading the resistance against the administration of the Women's Normal University and the Ministry of Education under the Beiyang Warlords' Government, garnering support from figures such as Lu Xun and Feng Yuxiang, ultimately achieving victory. In early 1926, Liu Yaxiong became a member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and in September 1926, the CCP sent her to pursue studies at Moscow Sun Yat-sen University in the Soviet Union.^[6] By the end of 1928, she returned to China and participated in CCP clandestine activities under the guidance of Zhou Enlai, the then head of the Organization Department of the Chinese Communist Party.^[7]

In February 1931, Liu Yaxiong was appointed secretary-general of the Hebei Provincial Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. In April 1931, she was apprehended and incarcerated in Tianjin due to a traitor's informant, enduring severe torture before her release. In January 1933, she assumed the role of secretary-general of the Publicity Department of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. Following the arrest and heroic death of her husband, Chen Yuandao, at Yuhuatai, Nanjing, in April 1933, Liu Yaxiong entrusted her surviving son, Chen Jiyuan, to his father, Liu Shaobai, for upbringing. In September 1935, she operated clandestinely within the Shanxi Special Committee.^[8]

In October 1936, the Northern Bureau of the CCP Central Committee [zh] established the Open Working Committee of Shanxi Province, appointing Bo Yibo as secretary. As a committee member, she participated in overseeing the Sacrifice for National Salvation League [zh] and the Shanxi Youth Anti-Enemy Death Squad [zh]. In January 1937, she joined the women's company of the military and political training class in Taiyuan, which aimed to consolidate national anti-Japanese and salvation women's activists, serving as the company's instructor.^[9]

Following the commencement of the Second Sino-Japanese War, she primarily focused on the organization and leadership of the Shanxi New Army's armed forces; in September 1937, Liu Yaxiong reached the Wutai Mountain front and established a guerrilla unit inside the First Column, assuming the role of teacher. As the guerrilla force expanded, it was integrated into the First Guerrilla unit, where she assumed the role of political commissar of the leading unit.^[10] The troops operated in Shijiazhuang–Taiyuan railway, Datong–Puzhou railway, Yuci, Qixian, Taigu, Pingyao, establishing the Ludong anti-Japanese county government, while the Eighth Route Army repelled the Japanese nine-way siege.^[11]

In March 1939, she was appointed chairwoman and secretary of the party group at the Southeast Jin Women's Relief Association. Following the loss of the Baigui-Jincheng railway [zh] in July, she was reassigned to Taihang District with the Women's Relief Association.^[12] In 1940, Liu Yaxiong was designated director of the Ludong Office of the Third Specialized Department of Shanxi and head of the armed forces. Subsequently, she became the commissioner of the Third Specialized Department of the Taihang Bureau in the Jin, Hebei, and Henan Border Region, and the first female commissioner of the anti-Japanese base area behind enemy lines.^[13] The third special administrative office is situated in the heart of Taihang, serving as the headquarters for the Eighth Route Army and the command of the 129th Division, as well as the site of the food supply depot for the Eighth Route Army. During the frequent Japanese incursions, she spearheaded the resistance against the adversary, actively engaged the populace, organized agricultural production, and facilitated the reduction of rents and interest rates, uniting individuals from diverse backgrounds to combat the Japanese and support the war of resistance.^[14]

In the winter of 1942, she was dispatched by the CCP Central Committee to the Central Party School in Yan'an to engage in Yan'an Rectification Movement. In 1945, she was elected as a delegate to the 7th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party and subsequently represented the women's sector, preparing for and participating in the establishment of the Preparatory Committee for the Conference of People's Representatives of the People's Liberation Areas of China.^[15]

In August 1945, following Japan's surrender, the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party dispatched several cadres to the Northeast to initiate operations. In October of the same year, Liu Yaxiong was appointed as the secretary of the municipal party committee in Shuangliao, the headquarters of the Northeast Manchuria Branch.^[16] Upon assuming office, she eradicated banditry and intimidation, while educating the populace, resulting in a swift improvement in the region's operational conditions and support for the Battle of Siping. In early 1947, she was designated as the organizing minister of the CCP Nenjiang Provincial Committee, and in 1948, she became a member of the Women's Committee of the Northeast Bureau and the deputy secretary of the Party Committee of the organization, among other roles. Subsequent to the Liaoshen campaign, the CCP's policy transitioned from rural areas to urban centers. She was a member of the Shenyang Municipal Military Management Committee and the Shenyang Municipal Party Committee, where she engaged in the Northeast Bureau's Urban Work Study Group, examining the operations of major cities and large companies.^[17][18]

In April 1949, she participated in the inaugural All-China Women's Federation and was elected as an executive member. From July 1949 to 1952, she held the position of the inaugural Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee of Changchun, a municipality directly governed by the central government, and was instrumental in facilitating the swift recovery and advancement of all operational facets in Changchun, thereby providing robust support for the entire civil war and the ensuing Korean War ahead.^[19][20]

In September 1949, she served as a delegate to the 1st National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and took part in the Proclamation of the People's Republic of China. Following the establishment of the People's Republic of China, Liu Yaxiong was appointed to the All-China Women's Federation in 1952 as Deputy Secretary of the Central Women's Committee and Director of the Urban Workers' Department. In early 1953, she transitioned to the Ministry of Labor of China [zh] as Executive Vice Minister, responsible for addressing employment issues, enhancing the political and technical competencies of workers, and overseeing vocational education for workers.^[21] In 1963, she was elected to the Supervisory Committee of the CCP Central Committee and became leadership of the Supervision Group of the Central Supervisory Commission inside the Ministry of Transport in 1964. During the Cultural Revolution, she faced persecution. Following the conclusion of the Cultural Revolution, the Organization Department of the Chinese Communist Party rehabilitated her.^[22]

Liu Yaxiong served as a delegate to the 7th and 8th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, a deputy to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd National People's Congresses, a member of the Standing Committee of the 3rd National People's Congress, and a member of the Standing Committee of the 5th and 6th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.^[23]

She died in Beijing on February 21, 1988, at the age of 87.^[24]