Jian Xianfo

Jian Xianfo was born in June 1916 in Chengguan Town, Cili County, Hunan Province. During her childhood, she received education at private schools and the Cili County Girls’ School. In 1932, she enrolled in the Art Teacher Training Class at Hengcui Girls’ School in Changsha and graduated in July 1934. Later that year, in December, she joined the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army. In the spring of 1935, she became a member of the Chinese Communist Youth League, and in December 1936, she officially joined the Chinese Communist Party.

During her participation in the Red Army, Jian Xianfo utilized her expertise to actively promote revolutionary ideas across various regions by creating propaganda posters and writing slogans. In November 1935, when the Red Army commenced the Long March, she, who was pregnant at the time, endured the march with her children. She resolutely completed the Long March and was known as one of the “Sisters in the Long March,” demonstrating a strong will alongside her sister Jian Xianren. In November 1936, she was transferred to work at the Propaganda Department of the Political Department of the Central Military Commission. The following year, she was assigned to work at the Diplomatic Intelligence Office of the Shaanxi-Gan-Ning Border Area Government.

After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, Jian Xianfo entered the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University in spring 1937 to study. During the chaos of war, she was engaged in underground party work until 1938, when she was transferred to the Organizational Department of the Central Bureau of Jinchaji. Subsequently, she served as the secretary of the Party School of the Northern Bureau and the head of the Organization Section of the Jizhong and Rehe districts’ Party committees. In spring 1944, she furthered her studies at the Central Party School, and in winter 1945, she returned to North China, active in cadre work within the Northern Bureau and the North China Central Bureau.

After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, Jian Xianfo held various positions from summer 1949 to summer 1972, including deputy director of the Organization Department of the Political Department of the Central South Military and Political University, deputy director of the Office of the Military Training Department of the Central Military Commission, and later, deputy director and director of the Cadre Department of the Power Industry Department of the State Council (which later became the Water Resources and Electric Power Department). She also served as head of the Political Department of the Water Resources and Electric Power Department. In 1978, she was elected as a member of the Fifth National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), and in the following year, she became deputy minister and party group member of the Ministry of Electric Power Industry. In 1982, she was elected as a member of the Central Discipline Inspection Commission of the Communist Party of China, and she retired in December 1990.

Jian Xianfo was a delegate to the Seventh and Thirteenth National Congresses of the Communist Party of China, a member of the Twelfth Central Discipline Inspection Commission, and a deputy to the Third National People’s Congress as well as a member of the Fifth National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. She passed away in Beijing on the evening of December 30, 2022, due to a lung infection, at the age of 106.

In her personal life, in 1935, with introductions by He Long and Ren Bishi, Jian Xianfo became partners with revolutionary comrade Xiao Ke. They had a son, Xiao Xinghua, born in 1939. Early in 1935, her sister Jian Xianren arranged for her delivery. During the Long March, her child was born in the wilderness and was named “Baosheng.” Throughout the Long March, she faced extreme hardships, including postpartum weakness and hunger, but persisted and completed the journey. Among her family members, including siblings, many lost their lives in the war of resistance and the revolution. Today, Jian Xianfo resides in Beijing, living a peaceful and simple life, rarely going out.