Wang Huiwu facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Wang Huiwu
Born	May 1898 Jiaxing, Zhejiang, Qing China
Died	20 October 1993 (aged 95)
Spouse(s)	Li Da (divorced)
Children	three, including Li Xintian
Parent(s)	Wang Yanchen (father)

Wang Huiwu (Chinese: 王会悟; May 1898 – 20 October 1993) was an important Chinese woman who worked for big changes in society. She helped organize women in the early days of the Communist Party of China (CCP). She also strongly believed that women should have equal rights and freedom.

Wang Huiwu managed the first magazine supported by the Communist Party that was mostly written and edited by women. Her husband was Li Da, who was one of the people who started the CCP. He also helped spread ideas about Marxist Philosophy.

Wang Huiwu's Early Life and Education

Wang Huiwu was born in Jiaxing County, Zhejiang province, in Qing China. Her father was a school teacher, and her mother could not read or write. Wang's father, Wang Yanchen, owned a local school and taught her when she was young.

Sadly, her father died too soon, which made her family very poor. Even so, she kept studying at the Jiaxing Women's Normal School. She also went to the Hujun Academy for Girls, which was run by Christian Missionaries. There, she learned English and became a Christian.

Student Protests and New Ideas

At Hujun, Wang Huiwu joined student protests against the Paris Peace Conference. While she became very good at English, she also learned about the ideas of the May Fourth Movement. This movement encouraged people to challenge old traditions. It inspired her to become a leader in the movement for women's rights.

After finishing school, she moved to Shanghai. Her cousin, Shen Yanbing (who later became the famous writer Mao Dun), introduced her to people who followed Marxist ideas. In the autumn of 1920, she married Li Da, a Marxist thinker who also believed in women's rights. They even shared an apartment with Chen Duxiu and his wife, Gao Junman.

Wang and Li later moved to Changsha, where they had a son in 1924 and a daughter in 1925. After 1927, they lived in Shanghai and Beijing. In July 1937, when Japan invaded northern China, they had to escape. They lived in Guilin and Guiyang before finally reaching Chongqing, which was the capital during the war. Later, they divorced.

Wang Huiwu's Important Work

Wang Huiwu was one of the first women activists in the Communist organization in Shanghai, along with Gao Junman. She and her husband, Li Da, both cared deeply about women gaining freedom and equality. They were known as "May Fourth intellectuals." After World War I, they wrote many articles about women's rights in popular magazines.

In 1921, Wang Huiwu helped at the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China. She worked as a guard during this important meeting. In 1922, she started the Shanghai Commoners' (Pingmin) Girls' School. Many important women, like Ding Ling, Qian Xijun, Wang Jianhong, and Wang Yizhi, went to this school.

Wang Huiwu was also the editor of a magazine called Women's Voice (Funü Sheng). This magazine came out every two months and was one of the first to publish political writings by women.

In 1949, after the PRC was founded, she moved to Beijing. She worked for the Legal Committee of the central government. She also took part in the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the CCP.

Wang Huiwu's Family Life

Wang Huiwu and her husband Li Da had three children. Their oldest daughter, Li Xintián, sadly died from an illness during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Their second daughter was Li Xinyi. Their only son was Li Xintian, who later became a very important person in the field of medical psychology in China.

Later Life and Legacy

In her last years, Wang Huiwu was described as "frail and sickly." This was because she had worked very hard for many years. Wang Huiwu passed away on October 10, 1993, at her home in Beijing. She was 95 years old. She died due to sickness and old age.

To honor Wang Huiwu's important work for women in China, a special memorial was built. It is located in Wuzhen, a beautiful town in northern Zhejiang Province that is recognized as a World Heritage site.

Images for kids

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  Wang Huiwu, a social reformer and women's rights activist.