Xiang Suyun

Xiang Suyun, born in 1931 in Shanghai, grew up in a family whose background and her parents’ revolutionary activities were closely linked to her early life. Her parents were Xiang Ying and Zhang Liang, both involved in the revolutionary cause, so she was raised in a special environment from an early age. To protect her identity, in childhood she was placed in the Workers’ Kindergarten in Shanghai founded by Tao Xingzhi, which later was renamed an orphanage. During her schooling, she studied at Xinan Elementary School under the alias "Zhang Suyun," and her educational experience ran in parallel with the separation between her name and her identity. In 1938, after the Party organization confirmed her identity, she was sent to Yan’an to continue her education and training. In Yan’an, during the years there, in 1938 she first met her father Xiang Ying; the father and daughter had only twelve days together. Xiang Ying at that time was a member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Central Committee’s Political Bureau and the deputy commander of the New Fourth Army; during their brief meeting he gave her a fountain pen and encouraged her to study. In 1941, the Wannan Incident occurred, Xiang Ying was killed in battle, and Xiang Suyun was immediately taken in by the Party organization to be cared for, continuing to be educated under the orphanage’s care. Thereafter, Xiang Suyun’s specific deeds are not further documented in public texts; her family relations and educational experiences are described above as the main thread.