Post-1980 Remembrances of Female Wartime Experiences as Communist Underground Operatives During the Chinese Civil War (1945–1949)

Abstract

This article investigates a selection of post-1980 life writings—autobiographies, memoirs and remembrances—by and about Chinese women and their experiences as underground operatives for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) between 1945 and 1949. It aims to uncover what women’s wartime stories were, as well as why and how they were constructed, considering the broader context in which these narratives were made. A premise of this article is that these published life writings were used as an ideological tool for the men and women who narrated them and for their acquaintances who were fellow underground operatives. It argues that the success of female underground operatives in both the pre-1949 and post-Mao periods depended to a considerable extent on how effective they were in mobilizing dominant, normative female roles, attributes, and norms. This article adds to our understanding regarding pre-1949 CCP clandestine activities and the nuanced relationship between the CCP and Chinese women.