Pu Xixiu

Pu Xixiu was born on October 29, 1910, into a minor official family in Jiading County, Jiangsu Province (now Shanghai). Her father, Pu Youwu, was an accounting clerk at the Ministry of Transportation in Beiping (Beijing), and her mother, Huang Anxiu, was a homemaker who managed the household diligently. She grew up in Beiping and moved with her mother and elder sister, Pu Jiexiu, to Beiping when she was seven years old.

Pu Xixiu graduated in 1933 from the Chinese Literature Department of Beijing Normal University. After graduation, she taught at an affiliated elementary school of a women's normal university in Beiping, serving as a Chinese language teacher. In 1936, she joined the Nanjing-based "Xinminbao" as a reporter, gradually gaining prominence in the news industry. She firmly believed that a journalist needed knowledge, passion, conscience, a sense of justice, and perseverance.

During the wartime, Pu Xixiu engaged in journalism work in Nanjing and Chongqing. During the Anti-Japanese War, she chose not to relocate with her newspaper to Chongqing but remained in Nanjing to report on the war efforts. After the Marco Polo Bridge Incident in 1937, which led to Nanjing falling into chaos, she moved to Chongqing in the summer of 1938 and continued her journalism work, serving as the director of the reporting department at "Xinminbao." In 1941, she gained fame for her professional reporting on the Wannan Incident and the negotiations between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party.

In 1945, she reported on the Kuomintang-Communist negotiations and the Political Consultative Conference from Chongqing, interviewing multiple delegates and publishing personal interviews to objectively reflect the situation. She made three trips to the frontlines in Korea for coverage. During the war, she faced multiple violent assaults; notably, she was beaten by mobs during the "Xiaguan Incident," yet she persisted in completing her reports.

After the founding of New China, Pu Xixiu dedicated herself to journalism, recommended by the Chinese Communist Party, becoming a correspondent for "Wen Hui Bao" stationed in Beijing, and served as the director of the "Beijing Office." She held positions such as member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, member of the Central Committee of the Democratic League, and member of the All-China Women's Federation. She reported on numerous major events, including the Korean War (Support Korea, Aid Korea), the founding of the People's Daily, and Kuomintang-Communist negotiations, significantly improving journalistic standards. Her reporting style emphasized personal interviews and authentic portrayal of events, accumulating rich journalistic experience.

Pu Xixiu passed away on April 23, 1970. Her life bridged the two historical periods of the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China, leaving behind many important news reports and historical records. She was honored as one of the "Four Great Female News Personalities of the Backward Front," and her contributions had a profound impact on the development of Chinese journalism.