Pu Daiying

Pu Daiying was born on February 5, 1911, corresponding to the seventh day of the first lunar month in the third year of the Qing Xuantong era, at Shangbao Street in Xuanwei County, Yunnan Province. Her father was Pu Zaiting, a successor of Yunnan Xuanwei ham, known as “Yun Ham.” Her original name was Pu Daiying; in 1937, during the Yan'an period, she changed her name to Pu Daiying to avoid association with Lin Daiyu from "Dream of the Red Chamber," replacing the character “Dai” with “Dai.” She was eighth in the Pu family hierarchy and was also called “Elder Sister Eight.”

In terms of education, Pu Daiying began attending the affiliated elementary school of Yunnan Provincial Girls’ Middle School in 1926, later entering Yunnan Provincial Girls’ Middle School (renamed Yunnan Provincial Kunhua Girls’ Middle School in 1932). During her studies, she joined the Chinese Communist Youth League. After graduating from middle school in 1935, she joined the Chinese National Front Vanguard in 1936.

In April 1937, Pu Daiying traveled to Yan'an to study at the Red Army University, Class 13 (later renamed the Chinese People's Anti-Japanese Military and Political University). That same year, she joined the Chinese Communist Party and completed her studies, after which she was assigned to serve as an interpreter at Xinhua News Agency. In December 1937, she married Le Shaohua, a senior commander of the Red Army from Xiaogang, Zhenhai, Ningbo. In early 1944, she was transferred to work at the Central Hospital, and later in 1947, she went to Northeast China to study at Jixi Military Medical University. In 1948, she was appointed as director of Harbin Military Industry Workers’ Hospital.

In 1953, Pu Daiying was transferred to the Health Department of the Second Machinery Industry Ministry in Beijing; the following year, she became director of the Dalian Military Industry Sanatorium. In 1958, she moved to the Kunming station of the Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences (later renamed the Kunming Botanical Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences), serving as deputy director and Party branch secretary. During the Cultural Revolution, she was affected by political campaigns, and later that same year, she retired and settled in the Gance School Rest Home in Xi'an.

In May 1979, Pu Daiying returned to Beijing and settled in Muxidi. At the end of that year, she submitted a request to the Central Organization Department for a review of Le Shaohua’s case; on May 30, 1980, the Central Committee decided to restore Le Shaohua’s honor. Starting in 1996, she began writing her memoirs, which were published in January 1999 under the title "Years of No Regret."

Pu Daiying passed away in May 2001 at the age of 90. Her main work is her memoir "Years of No Regret," which reflects on her life and that of her sisters, Pu Shiying and Zhuolin, as well as their growth and struggles during nearly a century of China's historical changes.