CHINA AVIATION NEGATIVES 李霞卿 FIRST LADY OF FLIGHT LI XIAQING CHINESE For Sale

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CHINA AVIATION NEGATIVES 李霞卿 FIRST LADY OF FLIGHT LI XIAQING CHINESE:
$3902.44

Two extremely rare 4x5 negatives from 1943 ofLee Ya-Ching or Li Xiaqing (Chinese: 李霞卿; pinyin: Lǐ Xiáqīng; 1912–1998), also known by her stage name Li Dandan (李旦旦), was a Chinese film actress and a pioneering aviator, as well as a philanthropist. She was the first Chinese woman to be granted a civil aviation license in China, in 1936, and also co-founded its first civilian flying school. As an actress, she starred in Romance of the Western Chamber, and played the lead in an early adaptation of Mulan for the screen. ACCOMPANIES WITH ORIGINAL PAPER NEGATIVE ENVELOPE SLEEVE FROM 1943
Lee Ya-Ching was a flying Good Will Ambassador for United China Relief during World War II. The daughter of a Hong Kong industrialist, Lee attended school in England in 1933 and she began her flight training at Switzerland\'s Contran École d\'Aviation, obtaining the first pilot\'s license ever granted by the school to a woman. She continued her training at the Boeing School of Aviation, In Oakland, California, where she learned blind flying, metallurgy and mechanics. In 1936, Lee returned to China where she made an air survey of 30,000 miles for the Chinese Army and was appointed instructor of the Shanghai Municipal Air School until the outbreak of war caused the school to close. From 1938 until 1943 Lee flew across the United States and then Latin America soliciting funds for the benefit of Chinese war victims.
ying 2,000 feet over San Francisco on a spring day in 1935, Lee Ya-Ching was enjoying her first aerobatic lesson in an open-cockpit trainer. As her instructor started a series of loops, wing-overs, and barrel rolls, Lee’s safety belt suddenly detached—and she found herself sliding out of the airplane. She later recounted in a radio interview, “I was too stupefied to act for a few seconds. Then, in a flash, I remembered all I had been told and pulled the ripcord. I made a perfect three-point landing—right in the middle of San Francisco Bay. But I treaded water, grunting and blowing like a porpoise, until a friendly launch came along and I was lifted aboard.”
FROM THIS STORYPHOTO GALLERY
RELATED CONTENTThe Father of Chinese AviationAviation wasn’t the obvious career choice for the charismatic Lee, who as a teenager had been one of China’s top silent film actresses. She starred in eight films, and fans bought anything bearing her image, from movie magazines to notepaper. Then, at age 16, she headed to England to continue her education.
It was watching an airshow in Paris that set Lee’s life on a new course; she determined to become China’s first female aviator. She told radio host Fred Reed in 1943, “When I was a tiny girl, I often listened to fairy tales at my grandmother’s knee. One of them was told to me often, and it impressed me greatly. It was the legend of a kind lady who flew through the clouds, helping the poor and the unfortunate, and it impressed me very much. I was back in China in 1931 after schooling in Europe, and I saw how ruthlessly Japan started her pattern of aggression. Then and there, I decided to do my bit for China…and began studying the fascinating art of flying. I knew even then that someday I would be able to help my homeland with this knowledge of aviation.”
More than any other figure—man or woman—Lee did exactly that, demonstrating her passion for flight throughout China at a time when her countrywomen weren’t even allowed to drive cars. In the decade before World War II, if you had asked anyone in China to name just one pilot, the answer you probably would have gotten would have been Lee Ya-Ching.
She earned her pilot’s license in 1933, in Geneva, after a memorable flight in a small, shaky airplane, possibly a Caudron. (“The pilot flew the trembling craft over the Alps and I had horrible visions of landing unceremoniously on Mont Blanc.”) By early 1935 she had relocated to Oakland, California, for advanced training at the Boeing School of Aeronautics. There, Lee flew Stinson and Stearman trainers, and a Ford Tri-motor transport. Her unpublished autobiography, dictated at the tender age of 27 to ghostwriter Elsie McCormick Dunn (and now in the National Air and Space Museum archives), summarized the period: “She struggles with intricate subjects—meteorology, mechanics, navigation, etc; doffs silk gowns for greasy overalls; gets up at 6 a.m. instead of noon to attend classes.” In a 1943 radio interview, Lee recalled: “The engine of a plane became as familiar to me as the palm of my hand. Yes, I got very greasy and dirty, and often I was disgusted at the drudgery connected with absorbing American aeronautic training. But now I am eternally grateful that I stuck to it and passed these courses. American aviation is rightly the envy of the world.”
Lee returned to Shanghai in late 1935, U.S. private pilot’s license in hand, eager to use her fame to promote civil aviation. But while the Shanghai Flying Club (part of the China Aviation League) embraced Lee, the Chinese government wasn’t inclined to grant a license to a woman. After intense lobbying, Lee was finally evaluated by a member of the Chinese air force and given a government pilot’s license—along with a special assignment. She flew 30,000 miles throughout China, evaluating airdromes and air routes in the interests of civil aviation. Once the task was complete, she helped organize China’s first civilian flying school, serving as the school’s sole female instructor. In honor of Chiang Kai-shek’s 50th birthday celebration in 1937, she performed an aerobatic routine—the first ever by a Chinese woman in her own country—before 150,000 spectators.
Lee continued to score more aviation firsts. Patti Gully’s book Sisters of Heaven notes that Lee planned to write a book on China’s civil air routes, and embarked on a fact-finding tour in a Junkers Ju 52. After being approached by the Southwestern Aviation Corporation, a government-owned airline flying between China and Europe, Lee did a stint as a transport pilot. On July 7, 1937, the Sino-Japanese War broke out. Lee offered her services as a combat pilot. When refused, she asked permission to fly as a ferry pilot or a courier. Both suggestions were rejected. Lee was grounded for the duration of the war, when all civilian flying was prohibited.
Intensely disappointed, she established a Red Cross hospital, using her own money. Lee recounted in a radio interview, “When war broke out, I helped to established refugee camps and an emergency hospital for our wounded soldiers. The Japanese put a price on my head. I heard about it and managed to escape from Shanghai several days after the Japanese occupied that city. I came to know the full fury of the war that the Japanese had inflicted on my people when I traveled between Canton and Hong Kong along a railroad line that was continually bombed. In 1938 I decided I could best serve my country by helping to enlist the aid of Americans in our cause.”
Lee had hoped that various American contacts—including wealthy socialites and film stars—would help her secure an airplane for a goodwill tour, which she would pilot herself. Putting up her own jewelry (worth more than $6,000) as collateral, Lee secured the loan of a Stinson SR-9B from the Beech Aircraft Company. In her aircraft, dubbed Spirit of New China, Lee began a goodwill tour, raising money for Chinese refugees. The tour was wildly successful. With help from relief organizations, socialites, and fellow aviators (including Louise Thaden) and film stars, the tour visited 40 cities in just three months.
In a 1939 letter, Lee described the overwhelming response to her Chicago arrival: “I had a wonderful reception both from the Chinese community and the American public. We had a big crowd of several thousand at the airport and I greeted them by broadcasting from the roof of a building. We had a parade of over one hundred cars with Chinese and American flags. The procession, headed by boy scouts and girl guides, extended for more than ten blocks.”
Hollywood was smitten with the diminutive pilot, and Paramount convinced her to take a supporting role in Disputed Passage, starring Dorothy Lamour. (Lee was cast as the “Chinese Aviatrix.”) Lee alternated between filming scenes and, on days she wasn’t needed on the set, continuing her goodwill tour. In a note dashed off during this time, Lee wrote: “May 4th. Went to see the rushes, they were not bad. Everyone at Paramount is so nice to me.” But the relentless pace was wearing, as her May 5 journal entry reveals: “I was preparing for bed when the phone rang, some Chinese want to see me, can’t I have some peace? I thought I could get to bed early for once & there they are, never fail. What can I do but to please them. However they were very sweet.”
From 1939 through the end of World War II, Lee raised funds throughout the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. She flew a Beechcraft C17R on behalf of China Relief and an Aeronca Super Chief 65 LB for Relief Wings, and promoted the Red Cross in New Orleans with Chinese-American film actress Anna Mae Wong. Lee was so famous as a flier that she appeared on a bubble gum card and as the heroine in a True Aviation comic book story.
By war’s end, a weary Lee was finally able to return to Shanghai. The conditions of the familiar city shocked her, and she fled to Hong Kong to stay with her father. There she tried to get involved with the aeronautical industry, but was rebuffed. Lee’s eight years of nonstop flying seemed over.
In the mid-1960s Hong Kong experienced an economic downturn and Lee returned to the United States, settling in the San Francisco Bay area. She promptly obtained a student pilot certificate, passing her written and flying exams in 1966, at the age of 54.
In Sisters of Heaven, Patti Gully relates that in the 1970s, while touring the California countryside, Lee “spotted a crop duster sitting in a farmer’s field and asked permission to take it aloft. She proceeded to put the old plane through its paces, performing a series of spins and complicated aerobatic maneuvers until its wires were screaming and its wings were shaking. And then, having taken the machine to the outer limits of its endurance, she calmly landed and politely thanked the astonished owners for their indulgence.”Li was born in the Canton province of China to a wealthy, patriotic family. She was given the nickname “Dandan,” a homophone for the Chinese word for “bomb,” because her family used her baby carriage to stealthily transport explosives.
At age 14, she wandered onto a movie set, and the director was smitten with her stunning looks. He offered her the opportunity to act in a silent film, and she thought it would be fun. Despite her lack of experience, Li, using the stage name Li Dandan, quickly won the admiration of audiences, which she capitalized on for six more films.
Her most famous role was the title character in Hua Mulan Joins the Army in 1928. Hua Mulan was the young girl who dressed as a boy to go to war, the basis for the Disney animated movie Mulan. In order to play the role convincingly, Li learned martial arts, archery, boxing, fencing and horseback riding.Li XiaQing as MulanThese new skills gave her an edge off the set as well and made her a hero to the production company. One night while they were on location, robbers snuck into the camp and stole the production money. Li jumped on a horse, prevented the thieves from crossing a bridge, and after fighting with them for a while, tossed them over the bridge into the river.
Li’s father wanted her to continue her education, so he sent her to Europe. He was also ready to pass off responsibility for her to a husband. He changed her name back to Li Xiaqing and hired a matchmaker. She picked Zheng Baifeng who was educated at the Sorbonne in Paris and worked for China’s Foreign Service. This seemed like a match made in heaven, and the couple was married in 1929 and made their first home in Geneva. Li was 17 years old and Zheng was almost 30.
By 1932, Li had become a mother to a son and a daughter. This new responsibility did not, however, interfere with her love of travel. In 1933, Li attended the Paris Air Show and was enamored by flying. Immediately upon returning to Geneva, she enrolled in flying lessons. One year later, Li made her first solo flight and was the first woman to receive a private pilot’s license in Geneva.
Li’s reason for learning to fly was patriotic: to help her country advance through aviation. In order to accomplish that, she needed to become a more proficient pilot and mechanic. She enrolled at the Boeing School of Aeronautics in Oakland, California for advanced training. By the time she graduated she could dismantle and reassemble an airplane engine and was versed in aerodynamics, meteorology, aircraft design and radiotelephony.
The biggest thrill in flight for Li was aerobatics. On May 15, 1935 she went up with instructor LeRoy B. Gregg over San Francisco Bay. At about 2,200 feet Gregg started a barrel roll and turned the plane upside down. When he looked back, he saw Li falling out of her seat trying to hang on. Then, in shock, he watched her fall. After a free fall of about 900 feet, Li remembered to pull the rip cord and activate the parachute she was wearing. This eased her splash down into the icy cold bay.
Li was an experienced swimmer, but her water-logged leather suit and the freezing water made it difficult for her to move. Gregg dropped life preservers, but Li couldn’t get to them. Luckily, airmen at the U.S. Naval Reserve Base in Alameda saw her fall and were on their way to rescue her in a Loening amphibious plane. Unfortunately, the pontoons were stuck on this aircraft, and Li had to continue to tread water until a second one could arrive. Li was in the water for 20 minutes until she climbed aboard the rescue aircraft. A credit to her gender, Li only had two complaints: she was cold, and she lost a shoe. In order to “get back on the horse,” Li went up over the Bay in the same stunt plane the following day. Apparently, the cause of Li’s involuntary ejection was a broken seat belt, although she admitted to a reporter many years later that it was possible she had forgotten to fasten it.
This harrowing experience earned Li membership in the Caterpillar Club, an exclusive organization of about 100,000 people with only one requirement to join. You must have saved your own life through an emergency parachute exit from an airplane.
On November 5, 1935, Li was the first woman to graduate from the prestigious Boeing School of aeronautics. With a diploma, private pilot’s license and impressive experience, she returned to China.
In 1934, General Chaing Kai-shek authorized private flying in China for the first time. After passing a demanding test, Li was the first woman to be issued a government pilot’s license, handed to her by General Chaing himself. With this honor came responsibility. She was given the use of a government plane and charged with inspecting all the airfields throughout China.
Li didn’t really have time for family, and didn’t live with her husband and children. This independence had consequences. In 1935 she divorced Zheng under the new constitutional laws which made Zheng lose face. As a result, Li had to forfeit seeing her children until they were adults.
Li wasn’t at a loss for romance, however. She had met Peter Doo when she was in Europe and they corresponded while she was lived Oakland. With Li finally a free woman, Doo went to work for her father to encourage a commitment from her. The most she was willing to commit to was a long distance romance for eight years.
In Shanghai, Li primarily taught flying and continued to be an example for women. For Chaing Kai-shek’s fiftieth birthday celebration she performed the first aerobatic flight by a woman. For the finale, she dove straight at the podium full of dignitaries and pulled up at last minute, just a few feet above their heads. Her popularity skyrocketed.
In 1937 Japan invaded China. Li saw this as the ultimate opportunity to use her skills to serve her country. She was crushed when she was told she would no longer be allowed to fly because she was a woman, not even on courier missions. But she found another way to serve, by founding the First Citizens’ Emergency Auxiliary and using her own money to convert a hotel into the Red Cross Emergency Hospital. She was driven, doing everything from administration work to assisting with surgery to organizing a refugee camp and orphanage to running the radio station that broadcast propaganda.
The Japanese were not so appreciative of Li’s contributions and they put her on their black list, forcing her to leave Shanghai. She ended up back in San Francisco where she started working on her idea to fly around the United States raising money to support China. She sold $7,000 worth of jewelry to buy an airplane and finance her excursions.
Everywhere she went, Li was given a grand reception. Audiences were surprised and captivated by her beauty and style. The Idaho Statesman in Boise described her outfit of sharkskin slacks, no hose, leather sandals, finger and toenails polished to match the lipstick and a carnation behind her ear. This flower became her trademark.
Hollywood noticed her, too. She revived her acting career as a Chinese aviatrix in the movie Disputed Passage starring Dorothy Lamour. She took time out of her flight schedule for the three-day job, and she did her own stunts, donating her earnings to the war refugee fund.
By 1939 Li had flown 10,000 miles and raised $10,000 for Chinese refugees. She extended her efforts to two fundraising tours of South America, returning to Shanghai in May 1946.
Back in Asia Li only flew for pleasure. She met international businessman Li GeorgeYixiang (no relation). Together they shared a love of travel, golf and horseback riding. They settled in Oakland near where Li had studied at Boeing. By this time, Li’s American pilot’s license had expired, and the Federal Aviation Administration would not recognize her license from Hong Kong. So, in 1966, at 54 years old, Li began flight instruction to become recertified.
Li never lost the thrill of flying. One day while she was out driving, she saw a crop duster in a field. She stopped and asked the farmer if she could take it for a spin. She did tricks and aerobatic maneuvers, pushing the plane to its limits. When she landed, she thanked the flabbergasted owner and walked away.
Li was 86 years old when she died in Oakland. For her final resting place she wanted to feel the same expanse she felt while flying. She had bought four adjacent plots in the Mountain View Cemetery and insisted that she be buried right in the center with lots of space around Ya-Ching or Li Xiaqing (Chinese: 李霞卿; pinyin: Lǐ Xiáqīng; 1912–1998), also known by her stage name Li Dandan (李旦旦), was a Chinese film actress and a pioneering aviator, as well as a philanthropist. She was the first Chinese woman to be granted a civil aviation license in China, in 1936, and also co-founded its first civilian flying school. As an actress, she starred in Romance of the Western Chamber, and played the lead in an early adaptation of Mulan for the screen.[1][2][3]Contents1 Aviator2 Filmography3 See also4 References5 External linksAviatorAt the age of sixteen, Li witnessed an airshow in Paris, which left a strong impression on her.[4] In 1943, looking back on the start of her flying career, she explained that she had been troubled by Japanese aggression towards China and decided that she could best serve her country through flying.[4] Li began training at the Contran É cole d\'Aviation in Switzerland, where she was the first female student to receive a pilot\'s license.[4] In 1935, she enrolled in the Boeing School of Aviation in Oakland, California for advanced training.[4] Later that year, she returned to China, where she was commissioned by the Chinese government to make a 30,000 mile survey of potential air routes.[4] Li also helped found the Shanghai Municipal Air School[1] and worked there as a flight instructor until civilian flights were grounded.[4]
Filmography
Cover of the Young Companion issue 7, 1926, featuring actress Li Dandan on the cover.Disputed Passage (1939) - Aviatrix (credited as Ya-Ching Lee)Don\'t Change Your Husband (1929)Five Avenging Women (1928)Mulan Joins the Army (1928) - Hua MulanA Wandering Songstress (天涯歌女) (1927) - Li LingxiaoRomance of the Western Chamber (西廂記) (1927) - HongniangA Poet from the Sea (1927) - Liu Tsan YingWhy Not Her (玉潔冰清) (1926) - Kong QiongxianThe God of Peace (和平之神) (1926) - Lin CuiweiLee Ya-Ching was a flying Good Will Ambassador for United China Relief during World War II. The daughter of a Hong Kong industrialist, Lee attended school in England in 1933 and she began her flight training at Switzerland\'s Contran École d\'Aviation, obtaining the first pilot\'s license ever granted by the school to a woman. She continued her training at the Boeing School of Aviation, In Oakland, California, where she learned blind flying, metallurgy and mechanics. In 1936, Lee returned to China where she made an air survey of 30,000 miles for the Chinese Army and was appointed instructor of the Shanghai Municipal Air School until the outbreak of war caused the school to close. From 1938 until 1943 Lee flew across the United States and then Latin America soliciting funds for the benefit of Chinese war 生平介绍2 明艳风采3 国难之危4 “东方蜻蜓”5 G atti G of H eaven：China’sBarnstorm ingA of H Ya-Ching (Chinese: 李霞卿; pinyin: Lǐ Xiáqīng; 16 April 1912 – 28 January 1998), also known by her stage name Li Dandan (李旦旦), was a Chinese film actress, pioneering aviator, and philanthropist. She was the first Chinese woman to be granted a civil aviation license in China, in 1936, and also co-founded its first civilian flying school. As an actress, she starred in Romance of the Western Chamber, and played the lead in an early adaptation of Mulan for the screen. Lee Ya-Ching is an Anglicized version of her Chinese name.[1][2][3]
AviatorAt the age of sixteen, Li witnessed an airshow in Paris, which left a strong impression on her.[4] In 1943, looking back on the start of her flying career, she explained that she had been troubled by Japanese aggression towards China and decided that she could best serve her country through flying. Li began training at the Contran École d\'Aviation in Switzerland, where she was the first female student to receive a pilot\'s license.[4]
In 1935, she enrolled in the Boeing School of Aviation in Oakland, California for advanced training. Later that year, she returned to China, where she was commissioned by the Chinese government to make a 30,000 mile survey of potential air routes.[4] Li also helped found the Shanghai Municipal Air School[1] and worked there as a flight instructor until civilian flights were grounded.[4]
Filmography
Cover of the Young Companion issue 7, 1926, featuring actress Li Dandan on the cover.The God of Peace (和平之神) (1926) - Lin CuiweiWhy Not Her (玉潔冰清) (1926) - Kong QiongxianA Wandering Songstress (天涯歌女) (1927) - Li LingxiaoA Poet from the Sea (海角诗人) (1927) - Liu Tsan YingRomance of the Western Chamber (西廂記) (1927) - HongniangFive Avenging Women (五女復仇) (1928)Mulan Joins the Army (木蘭從軍) (1928) - Hua MulanDon\'t Change Your Husband (情海重吻) (1929)Disputed Passage (1939) - Aviatrix (credited as Ya-Ching Lee)See alsoFung Joe GueyHazel Ying LeeHilda YenJohn Huang XinruiKwon Ki-ok
For a long time, people have believed that China\'s first female pilot was Qiu Jin\'s queen Guifen, but this statement has gradually been questioned by scholars. Professor Li Ming believes that Li Xiaqing was China\'s first female pilot and a popular star during the Republic of China. This statement caused controversy. Recently, Huacheng Publishing House published the book \"Flying Lady\", which truly records the flying career of this Guangdong beauty in the form of a biography, further confirming that Li Xiaqing is China\'s first female pilot.
　　flying dream
　　Li Xiaqing was born on April 16, 1912, which was the first year of the Republic of China. The Republic of China revolutionized the old and changed the traditional Xia calendar (lunar calendar) to the solar calendar. At a young age, Li Xiaqing knew that her father Li Yingsheng and uncle Li Peiji were both revolutionaries who followed Dr. Sun Yat-sen. Influenced by her family environment, Li Xiaqing has had a strong sense of national distress since she was a child.
　　Li Xiaqing\'s grandmother, Xu Mulan, was a member of the Tongmenghui. She did a lot of work for the Guangzhou Uprising of 1911 and cultivated many revolutionary patriots among her relatives. His sister Xu Zonghan was a prestigious female revolutionary in modern China and a member of the Tongmenghui. She participated in the Huanghuagang Uprising in Guangzhou and assisted Huang Xing in leading the revolution. Today, in the Zhuhai Museum, the full-length wax figures of Xu Mulan and Xu Zonghan stand for the world to admire. Li Xiaqing\'s uncle, Li Peiji, killed General Fengshan, the leader of the Qing army stationed in Guangzhou, in October 1911, and played a major role in the revolutionary army\'s capture of Guangzhou.
　　When Li Xiaqing was young, she lived in a big family in Guangdong. Li Xiaqing\'s grandmother often told her heroic mythological stories. She especially liked to listen to the stories of the flying fairies of Mount Emei. Xiaoxiaqing also hopes that one day she will be able to grow wings, fly into the blue sky, punish evil and promote good, and help the weak and support the poor. One day she ran out into the yard and climbed on some large rocks that surrounded the garden. She wants to fly. She spread her arms and jumped into the air, but fell heavily to the ground. Unconvinced, she got up and jumped again, but fell down. She was very disappointed, but she encouraged herself that this was just a temporary setback. She would not give up. One day, she would definitely fly into the sky.
　　The dream of flying has been with her growing up.
　　Accidental movie star
　　At the age of 14, Li Xiaqing starred in the first film \"Jade Clean Bingqing\" of the Shanghai Minxin Film Company founded by her father, playing a supporting role in it. As a result, Li Xiaqing, who had never made a movie before, was not camera-sick at all and her performance was very successful. The film was a sensation throughout Shanghai. From then on, Li Xiaqing became famous under her stage name Li Dandan and starred in more than ten films. With her outstanding performance, Li Dandan quickly became a dazzling new star in the Shanghai film industry. In the Mid-Autumn Festival of 1928, in the \"Full Moon and Stars\" mass selection event, this charming 16-year-old girl won Together with Hu Die, Wang Renmei, Zhou Xuan, Wang Ying, Gao Qianping, and Ruan Lingyu, they are known as the \"Seven Star Sisters\". In the late 1920s, her stills and life photos filled various newspapers and magazines. Li Dandan became one of the most popular movie stars in Shanghai in the 1920s.
　　During her study abroad trip, Li Xiaqing studied at a private school in the UK for nearly two years. She did not give up movies, but traveled between Britain, France, the United States and other countries, visited and studied the Western film industry, and made friends with many foreign movie stars (including the great comedy master Charlie Chaplin). She once served as the \"special host\" at one of Chaplin\'s private banquets, and she also co-starred in the world-famous play \"Jane Eyre\" with Hollywood superstar William Weir. Domestic audiences are very concerned about Li Dandan\'s whereabouts, so Minxin Company specially filmed a newsreel \"Li Dandan\'s Travel to Britain and the United States\" for her, which was screened in theaters in major cities in turn.
　　Despite this, Li Dandan\'s era as a Chinese movie star has come to an end, and the competitive woman has chosen a more challenging career: to soar to the top.
　　Flying for the first time
　　In 1933, Li Xiaqing signed up to participate in a test flight at Geneva Cointrin International Airport. When she took to the skies for the first time in the \"rickety\" biplane that was a surplus of World War I - possibly a French Gaudelon aircraft owned by local pilot Francis Dulav - Li Xiaqing There are also doubts about the wisdom of his decision. However, she couldn\'t resist the temptation and soon took to the sky again, this time in a much better-performing Tiger Moth biplane. Soaring in the blue sky, Li Xiaqing looked down and was deeply shocked by the scenery in front of her. The continuous peaks of the Alps are covered with snow and the highest peak, Mont Blanc, is so majestic and majestic. From a distance, Lake Geneva shines like a bright sapphire.
　　This experience was unforgettable, and Li Xiaqing suddenly realized that she had found the career she wanted to pursue in this life. She wants to become a pilot, return to her motherland, and arouse her compatriots\' attention to the aviation industry.
　　In the spring of 1934, the \"beauty from the East\" in the eyes of this flight instructor flew solo for the first time. Since then, her passion for flying has only grown and remains unwavering. When the weather is bad and she cannot fly, even if she only comes to the airport and is with her beloved plane, she feels extremely satisfied. When the haze in the sky dissipates and you can finally fly in the blue sky, the spiritual joy and satisfaction are indescribable.
　　Li Xiaqing really likes the feeling that flying brings to her, which is full of blood and is above everything else.
　　Li Xiaqing likes to fly at night, especially flying over Paris at night. Against the backdrop of the night, this beautiful city shines like a diamond on black velvet. The Arc de Triomphe with its shining lights looks bright against the night. So bright and charming.
　　However, Li Xiaqing’s decision to fly is not understandable to everyone. It is said that when she applied for the Cointrin Flying School in Geneva, an examiner asked her why she wanted to become a female pilot.
　　\"Beautiful lady, you are so beautiful, why did you choose to fly?\" the examiner asked.
　　Li Xiaqing replied: \"Because in ordinary people\'s minds, flying is a man\'s thing and seems to have no connection with women. I just want to do something that women rarely do.\"
　　The examiner then asked: \"It is said that in your country, women\'s feet are all disabled and deformed?\"
　　Li Xiaqing replied firmly: \"I am here to let the world know that Chinese women can not only walk on the ground, but also fly in the sky.\"
　　On August 6, 1934, Li Xiaqing passed the flight and theory examinations with excellent results and obtained a pilot license issued by the Swiss Aero Club. She became the first woman in the world to obtain a pilot license in Geneva, and the first woman to obtain a pilot license in Switzerland. There were only 10 women with pilot licenses at that time. In the Chinese aviation industry, Li Xiaqing is also the first person to obtain a pilot license in Switzerland. Since then, Europe has become Li Xiaqing\'s flight training base. From Geneva to Vienna, to London, or to Paris, she was so eye-catching everywhere she went. She stepped out of the cockpit gracefully, wearing a white flight suit and high heels. She looked so neat and tidy. It\'s like I just came out of the beauty salon.
　　When Europeans were talking about this \"beauty from the East\", Li Xiaqing decided to further her studies and signed up to be admitted to the world\'s first-class aviation school at that time - the Boeing Aviation School in Oakland, California, which had never When recruiting female students, Li Xiaqing was admitted to this flying school as an exception. In addition to her excellent test scores, what was more important was her sincerity. In January 1935, Li Xiaqing officially became a member of this famous flying school.
　　First time skydiving
　　On May 15, 1935, Li Xiaqing and Greg boarded a plane together, preparing to conduct aerobatic training over the San Francisco Bay. After taking off, the plane was flying at an altitude of about 2,200 feet over the San Francisco Bay. At this time, coach Greg signaled to Li Xiaqing that he was ready to start rolling practice. Then, the instructor suddenly pulled the steering column, and the nose of the aircraft was raised high and pushed back. At this time, Greg accidentally looked in the rearview mirror. He was so frightened by what he saw in the mirror that he broke into a cold sweat. He saw half of Li Xiaqing\'s body hanging outside the cockpit, and her hands struggling to hold on to the fuselage. What made the coach even more horrified was that he watched Li Xiaqing completely fall out of the cockpit. Her seatbelt broke! Greg only caught a glimpse of the shiny flying shoes on Li Xiaqing\'s feet, and then she disappeared.
　　The moment Li Xiaqing\'s seat belt broke, she was stunned by the sudden accident, but her strong desire to survive made her calm down. Good psychological quality played a role at critical moments. During the rapid descent, she grabbed her hands behind her back, overcame the impact of the strong airflow, and used her last strength to jerk the parachute lock. She even recalled at that moment a cold joke in the parachute company\'s advertising disclaimer: \"If the parachute cannot be opened normally, the company promises to refund the money.\" However, after opening the parachute, Li Xiaqing began to realize that this landing was not on the ground. The land is instead on the sea, so landing is much more difficult.
　　Fortunately, Li Xiaqing broke free from the rope of her parachute after falling into the sea. The parachute was washed to the shore by the rolling waves. A pilot stationed at a U.S. Naval Reserve base in Alameda County east of San Francisco Bay discovered this. A parachute with a bulging top soaked in sea water. Afterwards, the Naval Reserve sent a Lonin amphibious aircraft and two pilots to the rescue.
　　At this moment, Li Xiaqing struggled on the sea. When she fell into the sea, strong winds blew her parachute aside. She was thankful that she was not entangled in the rigging, but she found that the all-leather flight suit became bulky after entering the water. The flight suit has five zippers, making it impossible to take it off in the sea. In the sea, Li Xiaqing remained calm and kept stepping on the water. However, the cold water made her realize that danger was approaching. Although she was a good swimmer, she fell into the water more than half a mile from the shore, and the wet and heavy flight suit restricted her hands and feet. She couldn\'t even reach the life-saving equipment that coach Greg dropped nearby.
　　She had no choice but to try her best to stay afloat. To maintain her body temperature, she placed her feet on the parachute\'s pads and lifted herself as far out of the water as possible. She put her head up, leaned back, and kept paddling with her hands to save energy. She didn\'t panic at all, but quietly waited for rescuers to arrive.
　　Rescue workers quickly arrived at the scene of the accident. Just when Li Xiaqing was so cold that her teeth chattered, she heard the sound of the Navy Reserve\'s amphibious aircraft approaching. After a while, the plane was hovering above her, preparing to land at sea. All good things come soon. The pilot may have been overjoyed because he discovered Li Xiaqing, and somehow got the landing gear of the plane stuck, preventing the float from being lowered. The plane had to fly back to the base, leaving Li Xiaqing to continue soaking in the cold water. She began to feel desperate.
　　In the cold seawater, she could not move her limbs freely. The biting seawater kept pouring into her nose, eyes and ears, and her will began to weaken. She realized that she had to face this fact. Due to being soaked in sea water for a period of time, her limbs began to become numb and her strength became exhausted. However, Li Xiaqing was still ready to make a last ditch effort.
　　After God knows how long, the second Luoning amphibious aircraft left the base and flew towards Li Xiaqing\'s location. This time, the pilot successfully lowered the pontoon, and the pontoon fell to the sea next to Li Xiaqing, causing a splash of waves. At this time, Li Xiaqing\'s limbs were numb, and a bone-chilling cold penetrated her whole body. But when rescuers launched a rescue operation, she used all her strength to grab the float. She clung to the pontoon until Navy reservists dragged her inside. When the rescuers rescued Li Xiaqing, they were all shocked by the wet mermaid in front of them. They did not expect that the pilot who crashed into the sea was a woman, and she was also a woman from China. What surprised them even more was that the soaked survivor only said lightly that she regretted two things. One was that she felt a little cold, and the other was that she had lost one of her shoes.
　　U.S. Navy Reserve rescue personnel flew Li Xiaqing back to the base. Although her body was wrapped in a blanket, she was still smiling brightly.
　　On November 5, 1935, she became the first female student to graduate from the Boeing Aviation School in the United States with straight A\'s.
　　\"Spirit of New China\"
　　Before the Spring Festival of 1936, Li Xiaqing settled down in Shanghai. She was very ambitious and wanted to arouse the Chinese people\'s attention to the aviation industry. As soon as she returned to Shanghai, she joined the China Aviation Association in Shanghai. The association also welcomed Li Xiaqing\'s return to China after completing her studies and called her \"China\'s first female.\" pilot\".
　　Li Xiaqing boarded the Junkers three-engine aircraft of Eurasia Airlines and started the first stop of her flight inspection. On the plane, Li Xiaqing was not an ordinary passenger, but was allowed to ride in the cockpit with the captain and Eurasia\'s most experienced pilot Walther Lutz. Li Xiaqing had flown three-engine aircraft at Boeing flight school, so Captain Lutz agreed to let her fly this 16-seat Junkers 52 aircraft. The aircraft was well-equipped and equipped with a sophisticated radio direction finder. In the next few days, Li Xiaqing flew the Eurasia aircraft to more than ten cities Shanghai; the flight time reaches 20 hours. With full enthusiasm, Li Xiaqing flew over the motherland, setting the highest domestic long-distance flight record for Chinese women at that time.
　　\"Her hair was combed into hollow curls, which was the latest fashionable hairstyle in 1937.\" the female reporter wrote in the article. \"She was wearing an evening dress. The top and trousers were gray green with light red flowers. This outfit matched the light green patterned satin shawl. Her skin was delicate and smooth, with only a few small freckles. .She is extremely beautiful. She is so elegant, with an oval face, a water chestnut-like mouth, bright cherry lips, and slightly upturned eyebrows. As soon as you see her, you will know that she is a standard Cantonese beauty.\"
　　On the early morning of Thursday, March 23, 1939, Li Xiaqing and her co-flight partner Yan Yaqing arrived at the airport and began their great flight around the United States. The aircraft Li Xiaqing flew was a Stimson Rilliant monoplane with a fuselage painted in dazzling red and decorated with bright yellow edges. The aircraft was named \"Spirit of New China\".
　　During the flight around the United States, some cities will send planes to line up in the sky to welcome her arrival. When he arrived in Vancouver, a government plane and several private planes were in the air to greet him. Salt Lake City also sent 15 planes to greet him in the sky, a 20-minute flight away from the city. It was very grand, like a state guest.
　　Wherever Li Xiaqing went, she was warmly welcomed and entertained by local dignitaries and people, including local government dignitaries, senior consulate officials, heads of various organizations and local Chinese leaders. The team that came to greet Li Xiaqing at the airport was very large, and everyone was excited and excited. Li Xiaqing landed from the sky in the very conspicuous red and yellow \"Spirit of New China\". Those who went to the airport to get a glimpse of Li Xiaqing\'s face must have paid off. When the welcoming crowd saw the Chinese and American flags painted on the fuselage of Li Xiaqing\'s plane, the scene burst into applause.
　　Flying for entertainment in old age
　　In early May 1946, Li Xiaqing took a commercial flight from San Francisco to Shanghai to return to China. After a short stay in Shanghai, Li Xiaqing flew to Hong Kong to reunite with her father and settled down in Hong Kong. Her original wish to help rebuild China\'s aviation infrastructure was put on hold. Before the war, she spared no effort to promote aviation to save the country and achieved initial results. But now, China\'s aviation industry is backed by the powerful US government, so it obviously does not need individuals to get involved. Li Xiaqing was relieved to see the reality clearly. In the past eight years, Li Xiaqing had been working hard to raise funds for the Anti-Japanese War. She was like a professional pilot, living a flying life. Now, she can finally \"retire\" .
When New China was founded 　　in 1949 , Li Xiaqing\'s life in Hong Kong was not affected like many people who stayed on the mainland. She was able to retain her living habits and lifestyle, and she could continue to fly (in 1950, she obtained a private pilot license issued by the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department), but during this period, Li Xiaqing returned to the sky mainly for entertainment purposes, and sometimes On a whim, she would fly to Singapore, Bangkok and other places.
　　On January 24, 1998, Li Xiaqing died in the hospital due to acute pneumonia. She appeared to be in no pain and passed peacefully. Looking from the slope of her resting place, San Francisco Bay is looming. More than 60 years ago, a heroic female pilot fell from the sky like a fairy and fell into the cold and biting waters of San Francisco Bay.
Flying 2,000 feet over San Francisco on a spring day in 1935, Lee Ya-Ching was enjoying her first aerobatic lesson in an open-cockpit trainer. As her instructor started a series of loops, wing-overs, and barrel rolls, Lee’s safety belt suddenly detached—and she found herself sliding out of the airplane. She later recounted in a radio interview, “I was too stupefied to act for a few seconds. Then, in a flash, I remembered all I had been told and pulled the ripcord. I made a perfect three-point landing—right in the middle of San Francisco Bay. But I treaded water, grunting and blowing like a porpoise, until a friendly launch came along and I was lifted aboard.”
Aviation wasn’t the obvious career choice for the charismatic Lee, who as a teenager had been one of China’s top silent film actresses. She starred in eight films, and fans bought anything bearing her image, from movie magazines to notepaper. Then, at age 16, she headed to England to continue her education.AD
Report this adIt was watching an airshow in Paris that set Lee’s life on a new course; she determined to become China’s first female aviator. She told radio host Fred Reed in 1943, “When I was a tiny girl, I often listened to fairy tales at my grandmother’s knee. One of them was told to me often, and it impressed me greatly. It was the legend of a kind lady who flew through the clouds, helping the poor and the unfortunate, and it impressed me very much. I was back in China in 1931 after schooling in Europe, and I saw how ruthlessly Japan started her pattern of aggression. Then and there, I decided to do my bit for China…and began studying the fascinating art of flying. I knew even then that someday I would be able to help my homeland with this knowledge of aviation.”
More than any other figure—man or woman—Lee did exactly that, demonstrating her passion for flight throughout China at a time when her countrywomen weren’t even allowed to drive cars. In the decade before World War II, if you had asked anyone in China to name just one pilot, the answer you probably would have gotten would have been Lee Ya-Ching.
She earned her pilot’s license in 1933, in Geneva, after a memorable flight in a small, shaky airplane, possibly a Caudron. (“The pilot flew the trembling craft over the Alps and I had horrible visions of landing unceremoniously on Mont Blanc.”) By early 1935 she had relocated to Oakland, California, for advanced training at the Boeing School of Aeronautics. There, Lee flew Stinson and Stearman trainers, and a Ford Tri-motor transport. Her unpublished autobiography, dictated at the tender age of 27 to ghostwriter Elsie McCormick Dunn (and now in the National Air and Space Museum archives), summarized the period: “She struggles with intricate subjects—meteorology, mechanics, navigation, etc; doffs silk gowns for greasy overalls; gets up at 6 a.m. instead of noon to attend classes.” In a 1943 radio interview, Lee recalled: “The engine of a plane became as familiar to me as the palm of my hand. Yes, I got very greasy and dirty, and often I was disgusted at the drudgery connected with absorbing American aeronautic training. But now I am eternally grateful that I stuck to it and passed these courses. American aviation is rightly the envy of the world.”
Lee returned to Shanghai in late 1935, U.S. private pilot’s license in hand, eager to use her fame to promote civil aviation. But while the Shanghai Flying Club (part of the China Aviation League) embraced Lee, the Chinese government wasn’t inclined to grant a license to a woman. After intense lobbying, Lee was finally evaluated by a member of the Chinese air force and given a government pilot’s license—along with a special assignment. She flew 30,000 miles throughout China, evaluating airdromes and air routes in the interests of civil aviation. Once the task was complete, she helped organize China’s first civilian flying school, serving as the school’s sole female instructor. In honor of Chiang Kai-shek’s 50th birthday celebration in 1937, she performed an aerobatic routine—the first ever by a Chinese woman in her own country—before 150,000 spectators.AD
Report this adLee continued to score more aviation firsts. Patti Gully’s book Sisters of Heaven notes that Lee planned to write a book on China’s civil air routes, and embarked on a fact-finding tour in a Junkers Ju 52. After being approached by the Southwestern Aviation Corporation, a government-owned airline flying between China and Europe, Lee did a stint as a transport pilot. On July 7, 1937, the Sino-Japanese War broke out. Lee offered her services as a combat pilot. When refused, she asked permission to fly as a ferry pilot or a courier. Both suggestions were rejected. Lee was grounded for the duration of the war, when all civilian flying was prohibited.
Intensely disappointed, she established a Red Cross hospital, using her own money. Lee recounted in a radio interview, “When war broke out, I helped to established refugee camps and an emergency hospital for our wounded soldiers. The Japanese put a price on my head. I heard about it and managed to escape from Shanghai several days after the Japanese occupied that city. I came to know the full fury of the war that the Japanese had inflicted on my people when I traveled between Canton and Hong Kong along a railroad line that was continually bombed. In 1938 I decided I could best serve my country by helping to enlist the aid of Americans in our cause.”
Lee had hoped that various American contacts—including wealthy socialites and film stars—would help her secure an airplane for a goodwill tour, which she would pilot herself. Putting up her own jewelry (worth more than $6,000) as collateral, Lee secured the loan of a Stinson SR-9B from the Beech Aircraft Company. In her aircraft, dubbed Spirit of New China, Lee began a goodwill tour, raising money for Chinese refugees. The tour was wildly successful. With help from relief organizations, socialites, and fellow aviators (including Louise Thaden) and film stars, the tour visited 40 cities in just three months.
In a 1939 letter, Lee described the overwhelming response to her Chicago arrival: “I had a wonderful reception both from the Chinese community and the American public. We had a big crowd of several thousand at the airport and I greeted them by broadcasting from the roof of a building. We had a parade of over one hundred cars with Chinese and American flags. The procession, headed by boy scouts and girl guides, extended for more than ten blocks.”
Hollywood was smitten with the diminutive pilot, and Paramount convinced her to take a supporting role in Disputed Passage, starring Dorothy Lamour. (Lee was cast as the “Chinese Aviatrix.”) Lee alternated between filming scenes and, on days she wasn’t needed on the set, continuing her goodwill tour. In a note dashed off during this time, Lee wrote: “May 4th. Went to see the rushes, they were not bad. Everyone at Paramount is so nice to me.” But the relentless pace was wearing, as her May 5 journal entry reveals: “I was preparing for bed when the phone rang, some Chinese want to see me, can’t I have some peace? I thought I could get to bed early for once & there they are, never fail. What can I do but to please them. However they were very sweet.”AD
Report this adFrom 1939 through the end of World War II, Lee raised funds throughout the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. She flew a Beechcraft C17R on behalf of China Relief and an Aeronca Super Chief 65 LB for Relief Wings, and promoted the Red Cross in New Orleans with Chinese-American film actress Anna Mae Wong. Lee was so famous as a flier that she appeared on a bubble gum card and as the heroine in a True Aviation comic book story.
By war’s end, a weary Lee was finally able to return to Shanghai. The conditions of the familiar city shocked her, and she fled to Hong Kong to stay with her father. There she tried to get involved with the aeronautical industry, but was rebuffed. Lee’s eight years of nonstop flying seemed over.
In the mid-1960s Hong Kong experienced an economic downturn and Lee returned to the United States, settling in the San Francisco Bay area. She promptly obtained a student pilot certificate, passing her written and flying exams in 1966, at the age of 54.
In Sisters of Heaven, Patti Gully relates that in the 1970s, while touring the California countryside, Lee “spotted a crop duster sitting in a farmer’s field and asked permission to take it aloft. She proceeded to put the old plane through its paces, performing a series of spins and complicated aerobatic maneuvers until its wires were screaming and its wings were shaking. And then, having taken the machine to the outer limits of its endurance, she calmly landed and politely thanked the astonished owners for their indulgence.”
Li Xiaqing (April 16, 1912 - January 24, 1998) was a native of Panyu , Guangdong , and his ancestral home was Enping, Guangdong [1-2] . His father, Li Yingsheng, was a patriot who served as a senior translator in the patrol house of the French Concession in Shanghai. He later collaborated with film pioneer Li Minwei to establish the Shanghai Minxin Film Company. When she was a child, she traveled to Europe with her father and learned French. At the age of 14, she started acting under the stage name Li Dandan . He starred in many films and became a movie star. In 1929, after Minxin Film Company merged into Hualian Film Company, her career as a movie star ended. [1]In 1933, Li Xiaqing began flying lessons at the Cantana Flying School in Geneva, Switzerland. Two years later, she transferred to Boeing Aviation School in Oakland, California, for further studies and obtained her pilot\'s license. At the end of 1935, Li Xiaqing returned to China. The following year, she obtained a pilot license from the Chinese government and held a flight demonstration in Shanghai. In 1938, Li Xiaqing began a tour of flying and giving lectures in the United States and Canada to raise funds for China\'s Anti-Japanese War. He died of illness in the United States in 1998 at the age of 86. [1]His main works are \" The God of Peace \", \" The Cape Poet \", \"The Orphan at the End of the World\", \" The Revenge of the Five Daughters \", \" The Romance of the West Chamber \", and \" Mulan Joins the Army \".real nameLi XiaqingnationalityHan nationalityplace of birthPanyu, Guangdongdate of birthApril 16, 1912death dateJanuary 24, 1998graduated schoolBoeing Aviation School in Oakland, USAagencyminxin film co., ltd.representative work\"Jade Clean Bingqing\" etc.Professionactor, pilotAliasStage name: Li DandanTable of contents1 Biography2 Bright style3 national crisis4 \"Oriental Dragonfly\"5 Peaceful lifeBiographyedit broadcastLi Xiaqing, a native of Panyu, Guangdong, was born in Enping, Guangdong [1-2] . She was born into a wealthy businessman family rich in revolutionary tradition in Panyu, Guangdong. Li Xiaqing\'s father, Li Yingsheng, was a patriot. On October 25, 1911, Li Yingsheng and his brother Li Peiji killed General Fengshan, the leader of the Qing army stationed in Guangzhou, and played the first role in the revolutionary army\'s capture of Guangzhou. Li Xiaqing\'s grandmother, Xu Mulan, was the niece of Xu Run , a famous industrialist in modern China, and the sister of Xu Zonghan , a female revolutionary. My father once served as a senior translator in the patrol house of the French Concession in Shanghai. When I was a child, I went to Europe with my father and learned French. After returning to China, he studied at Chinese and Western schools in Hong Kong and Shanghai and became proficient in English. Influenced by her family and influenced by Eastern and Western cultures, she has an active mind, diverse hobbies, and extraordinary courage.Bright styleedit broadcastIn February 1926, Li Xiaqing\'s father Li Yingsheng cooperated with film pioneer Li Minwei to establish the film company Shanghai Minxin Company in Shanghai. Lai Minwei was responsible for the artistic aspects of the filming, and Li Yingsheng was responsible for the commercial aspects of the filming. Li Yingsheng served as the company\'s general manager and chairman of the board of directors.The first film produced by Shanghai Minxin Company was called \"Jade and Bingqing\", which showed the story of Huang Bojian, a son of a wealthy family, and his bitter love with Suxian, a fisherman\'s daughter. At that time, all the leading actors in the film crew had been finalized, but there was only a shortage of candidates for Suxian\'s sister Qiongxian in the film, because she was too young in the play, only fourteen or fifteen years old. Finally, Lin Chuchu, one of the leading actors in the movie and wife of Li Minwei, thought of Li Yingsheng\'s daughter Li Xiaqing. At that time, Li Xiaqing, who was studying in middle school, was only fourteen years old. She was lively and cute, and her age and personality matched the character. Li Yingsheng was hesitant at first, fearing that Li Xiaqing\'s lack of acting experience would lead to a poor performance. But under the persuasion of Li Minwei and others, Li Xiaqing was finally agreed to make a movie. As a result, Li Xiaqing, who has never made a movie and has a \"childlike face and a pigtail\", won the recognition of director Bu Wancang and screenwriter Ouyang Yuqian with her performance without stage fright. She also gave herself a stage name: Li Dandan. [1]\"Jade Bingqing\" became an instant hit after its release and caused a sensation in Shanghai. Movie star Hu Diedu praised her in a radio comment: \"Shanghai people are in a feast for the eyes. Sister Lin fell from the sky!\" She was only fourteen years old at the time and was studying in middle school. From then on, she also had her own stage name: Li Dandan . In the \"Full Moon and Stars\" mass selection event during the Mid-Autumn Festival in 1928, Li Xiaqing was named the \"Seven Star Star Sisters\" together with Hu Die , Ruan Lingyu and other stars. At that time, she was 16 years old [1] . Since then, he has played leading roles or important supporting roles in films such as \" The God of Peace \", \" Poet of the Cape \" , \" Orphans from the End of the World \", \" Five Women\'s Revenge \", \" The Romance of the West Chamber \", \" Mulan Joins the Army \", etc., and has become a famous movie star. . In 1929, after the Minxin Film Company merged into the Hualian Film Company, she ended her career as a movie star and went to Europe with her newlywed husband. She first studied at a private school in the UK and then studied flying at the Cantana Flying School in Geneva, Switzerland. [3]national crisisedit broadcastIn 1935, he transferred to the Boeing Aviation School in Oakland, United States, for further studies. Under the guidance of a famous instructor, she practiced hard and quickly mastered various complex flying techniques. On May 15, 1935, she was practicing a difficult somersault flight over Auckland Airport when her seat belt came loose and she was suddenly thrown out of the cabin. In critical moments, she was calm and decisive, quickly opened the life parachute on her back, landed in the nearby San Francisco Bay, and was rescued by the U.S. Navy, which became a sensation in the United States. She became a member of the American Women\'s Aviation Association and joined the Caterpillar Flying Club. After she became famous in the American aviation industry, she still did not forget her patriotism. In December of the same year, he returned to Shanghai. Later, he served as a trainee pilot with Southwest Airlines in Hong Kong, and soon resigned and returned to Shanghai.In 1936, she performed a wonderful flight display in Shanghai, which caused a sensation. In the same year, she made two long-distance flights in China from Shanghai to Zhanjiang and Peiping to Chengdu.In August 1937, the \"August 13\" Anti -Japanese War broke out in Songhu, and the war burned at her doorstep. She was also involved in the torrent of anti-Japanese and national salvation. Worked in a rescue school and a refugee camp.In early 1939, at the invitation of the U.S. Drug Administration for Aid to China, she flew the \"Spirit of New China\" monoplane light aircraft and visited large and medium-sized cities such as New York, Washington, Basso, San Diego, Salt Lake City, and Los Angeles to carry out extensive international aid. Chinese anti-Japanese activities. Everywhere I went, I was warmly welcomed by overseas Chinese and friendly local people. In 1940, she flew to some countries in South America to conduct anti-Japanese propaganda and fund-raising. In Peru, she flew a military aircraft for an hour-long flight show and raised 40,000 yuan. The Minister of Aviation of Peru went to watch, applauded her performance and presented her with a gold aviation badge.In March 1940, a reporter from the American Far East magazine conducted an exclusive interview with her and asked her whether it was risky to fly alone in a plane. She replied: \"In the face of aggression, China is enduring hardship in order to survive.\" \"All Chinese people, whether at home or around the world, rarely think of danger for the sake of the motherland.\" These words revealed the reason why she flew thousands of miles. [3]\"Oriental Dragonfly\"edit broadcastLi Xiaqing is a superstar in the history of Chinese women\'s aviation. Her name is included in the \"Encyclopedia of China, Aerospace Volume\". Her splendid life is like colorful clouds, projecting the brilliance and splendor of Chinese women in the long sky.There is this record about her:She is the first Chinese woman to skydive;She is the first person in the Chinese aviation industry to obtain a pilot license in Switzerland;She was the first female pilot to receive government permission to fly in China;She is the first female pilot in China’s civil aviation industry;She is the first Chinese female pilot to fly a military aircraft ;She is China’s first female pilot to set a domestic long-distance flight record;She is a Chinese female pilot who has made long-distance flights in North and South America.In 1928, a dazzling new star suddenly emerged in the Shanghai film world-Li Dandan. This girl made her first cry in the movie \"Broken Pure Jade\", and then she couldn\'t stop it. \"Mulan Joins the Army\", \"Songstress from the End of the World\", \"Poet from the End of the World\"...the sincere and innocent performances and the beautiful and charming image captivated the men and women on the beach in Shanghai and became a hotly discussed figure in the streets and alleys for a while.This famous Li Dandan, who is almost as famous as the actress Lin Chuchu, is Li Xiaqing. Li Xiaqing was only 16 years old at this time.Li Xiaqing\'s family is wealthy in Guangdong. When Li Xiaqing was a child, she traveled across the ocean with her father, traveled around Europe, and came into contact with the splendid Western civilization, which laid a bright foundation for her life. After returning to China, she studied in Hong Kong and Shanghai. She was deeply intoxicated by Tang poetry, Song lyrics, and Yuan opera, and she learned about the long-standing Chinese culture.Li Xiaqing swam in the long river of Chinese and Western cultures, which were the wings for her to take off in life. She has been smart, articulate, courageous, and naturally beautiful since she was a child. Her parents regarded this only daughter as the apple of their eye, but did not pamper her or do anything to restrict her character development.After achieving great success in the film industry, in 1930, 18-year-old Li Xiaqing said goodbye to her millions of fans and disappeared from the screen. She quietly came to Paris, France. By chance, she watched an air show in Paris. When the plane pulled up, roared off the ground, and soared into the sky, Li Xiaqing\'s whole body was throbbing. It wasn\'t fear, it wasn\'t shock. A kind of intense stimulation that she had never experienced before, a high sense of freedom where humans and gods blended together, struck Li Xiaqing at that moment.Immediately, Li Xiaqing decided to apply for the flight school in Geneva, Switzerland.The invigilator asked: \"Beautiful lady, you are so beautiful, why did you choose to fly?\"Li Xiaqing replied: \"Because in ordinary people\'s minds, flying is a man\'s thing and seems to have no connection with women. I just want to do something that women rarely do.\"The invigilator was very interested: \"It is said that in your country, women\'s feet are disabled and deformed?\"\"I came here to let the world know that Chinese women can not only walk on the ground, but also fly in the sky.\"It is not easy for a Chinese, especially a Chinese woman, to enter the foreign flying world. Li Xiaqing is often unable to schedule classes due to the lack of trainers. Stubborn, she was the first to arrive at the airport every day and the last to leave. She remained silent and stayed near the instructor, expressing her anger and protest with a sit-in.The instructor\'s discriminatory gaze gradually turned into appreciation, and he quietly increased Li Xiaqing\'s flight time. When she flew solo for the first time, the bearded instructor specially tied a long red ribbon on the tail of her aircraft. Following the signal to take off, Li Xiaqing pulled the steering column and jumped into the blue sky. The red ribbon was like A burning red glow danced in the sky.A year later, Li Xiaqing graduated from the Kontinan Flying School with \"all excellent\" grades and became the first Chinese to obtain a Swiss pilot\'s license. The coaches call her the \"Dragonfly of the East\" and are very proud to have such an outstanding student as her.On the morning of May 15, 1935, with clear blue sky and gentle wind, the figure of a light aircraft piloted by Li Xiaqing appeared over the Oakland Municipal Airport in the United States.Li Xiaqing felt relaxed and happy. After three turns, she entered the training subject - somersaults.Aerobatics is very suitable for her who is unwilling to be mediocre.The blood all over my body is boiling. She pulled the steering column sharply, raising the nose of the plane and pulling it back.\"ah-!\"She screamed as the seat belt broke and she was thrown out of the cabin.There was a burst of darkness and Venus splashed!The huge air flow was like ten thousand sharp knives, piercing Li Xiaqing\'s skin, facial features, and limbs, and her consciousness suddenly woke up.Is this how to say goodbye to life?23 spring and autumn, as a journey of life, is too short. She hadn\'t tasted all the ups and downs of life, and she hadn\'t had time to serve the motherland, so how could she end it like this? Her strong desire to survive suddenly made her calm. Good psychological quality played a role at critical moments.She grabbed her hands behind her back, overcame the impact of the strong airflow, and used her last strength to pull the umbrella lock fiercely.With a \"bang\" sound, the umbrella finally opened.In what seemed like only 30 seconds, the parachute took her into the sea. She broke free from the parachute ropes and floated calmly on the sea. Facing the sea and the land, she shouted loudly: \"I love you!\"Amphibious aircraft and speedboats dispatched by the U.S. Navy discovered Li Xiaqing on the sea. The reporter on board the boat was shocked by the wet mermaid. Her dream-like beautiful eyes were smiling happily without a trace of panic, as if she had just traveled through the Dragon Palace and completed a beautiful myth.This incident caused a sensation in the United States and became a legend.In December 1935, she returned to China after completing her studies. She was very ambitious and wanted to arouse women to create a new era of Chinese women\'s aviation. Therefore, as soon as she set foot on the land of her motherland, she decided to hold a flight show in Shanghai to arouse her compatriots and sisters\' interest in aviation. Notice.One day in March 1936, a monoplane appeared in the sky over Shanghai. It was orange-red and as bright as fire. It sometimes circled and soared, sometimes cruised at low altitude, and sometimes performed aerobatics. The eye-catching orange-red color stirred up the sky. Li Xiaqing flew around Shanghai three times, performed some stunts over the International Hotel, and then landed lightly. People came to her like a tide, and Li Xiaqing\'s sight was blocked by the tears that burst out of her eyes.In 1937, the \"August 13\" Anti-Japanese War broke out in Songhu, and Li Xiaqing immediately devoted himself to the work of resisting Japan and saving the nation. In view of the extreme shortage of medicines for rescue work at that time, Li Xiaqing was invited by the US Drug Administration to China to visit various countries in North and South America to solicit donations. In early 1939, Li Xiaqing once again crossed the Pacific and came to the United States. She flew an orange-red \"New China Spirit\" monoplane light aircraft and began a patriotic fundraising flight to \"resist Japan and save the country, and it is everyone\'s duty\".On a bright spring day, thousands of overseas Chinese gathered at San Francisco\'s Melos Airport. Their eyes were raised to 800 feet in the sky.In the blue sky, after an orange-red plane performed various flying stunts, Li Xiaqing climbed out of the cabin.\"Oh! God, that\'s a woman!\"A woman in the crowd screamed.Li Xiaqing stood on the high gangway, greeted the crowd with a smile, and began to speak: \"My dear compatriots, dear American friends, I owe you so much for your warmth and kindness, and I will never forget your gratitude. China is being ravaged, and the Chinese people are suffering. Struggling in a pool of blood and flames of war. The national crisis was imminent, and emergency rescue efforts were launched. The little girl flew around the Americas to publicize the anti-Japanese war, solicit donations, and served on the battlefield to fulfill the common man\'s duty to save the country.\"The speech was interrupted again and again by excited applause. The donation signature sheet is densely packed.Li Xiaqing then flew to San Diego, Los Angeles and other cities, and was hailed as a \"flying messenger\" and \"China\'s special goodwill envoy\" by foreign reporters. The news media also followed up the interview and rushed to report on it. At one time, there was a \"Li Xiaqing fever\" sweeping the United States, which made her fundraising activities a great success. [1]Peaceful lifeedit broadcastAfter the end of the Anti-Japanese War, Li Xiaqing arrived in Hong Kong. In mid-1960, she moved from Hong Kong to the United States and lived in the San Francisco Bay Area. She died in San Francisco in 1998 at the age of 86. The statement that \"Li Xiaqing died in a plane crash during a fund-raising flight show when she was 28 years old\" is Park in Jiangmen City, Guangdong Province——On the flat land backed by green mountains, star sculptures stand scattered. These are all stars whose ancestral home is Jiangmen. One of the statues holds a book in her hand and looks ahead with joy. She is the legendary movie star and female pilot Li Xiaqing of the Republic of China. Li Xiaqing stands tall in Jiangmen Starlight Park, which means that this strange woman who has created one \"myth\" after another in the Chinese film industry and aviation industry has been officially recognized as a native surname by the Jiangmen City Government.There was no shortage of famous actors in the Republic of China, but there was only one person like Li Xiaqing whose every important journey in life was filled with admiration, rumors and suspicion from others. Not only that, but when the worldly glitz and grand narratives shrouded in Li Xiaqing are removed, what is revealed to the world is a wife who is looking for independence in marriage, a mother who is looking for flesh and blood in separation, and a woman who is looking for power in the old era. From birth, to transformation, to death, part of Li Xiaqing\'s legend turned into a riddle, and another part of the legend turned into a legend.Li Xiaqing’s birthThe controversy about Li Xiaqing began with her birth year. Li Xiaqing\'s father, Li Yingsheng, was a senior translator in the patrol house of the French Concession in Shanghai in his early days. In 1926, he formed the Shanghai Minxin Film Company with Chinese film pioneer Li Minwei . He was an important figure in the history of early Chinese film. Dramatist Ouyang Yuqian described Li Yingsheng as a \"shrewd, capable, overseas Chinese-type character.\" In fact, in addition to doing business, Li Yingsheng was also an early revolutionary pioneer. He once cooperated with his younger brother Li Peiji to bomb the Qing Dynasty general stationed in Guangzhou, Fengshan. Li Xiaqing\'s birth controversy is related to this bombing.After the failure of the Huanghuagang Uprising in Guangzhou , revolutionary Li Peiji planned an assassination to avenge the revolutionary martyrs. Later, the target was selected, Fengshan, a general stationed in Guangzhou during the Qing Dynasty. He opened a foreign goods store where Fengshan passed by and stored bombs. Finally one day the opportunity came true. Zou Haibin, a veteran of the Revolution of 1911, once wrote the article \"A Biography of Ms. Li Dandan\" and mentioned the assassination process: \"Ms. Dandan was named Dandan. She was still in her infancy when Fengshan was bombed. Her father had already planned the bombing, and Chang had ambitions. A baby is playing outside to avoid detection, but the baby is not him, that is, a lady.\" \" Li Dandan \" was Li Xiaqing\'s stage name when she later made movies. Feng Qun, a professor at the School of Liberal Arts at Wuyi University and an expert on early Chinese filmmakers, believes that Li Xiaqing is described here as \"still in his infancy\", which is inconsistent with the facts. In fact, the explosion occurred on October 25, 1911. Li Xiaqing was not yet born at that time, so it could not be used as a \"blind cover\" to cover the explosion.Li Xiaqing was born in Guangdong in 1912. Her tombstone in California clearly states that her birthday is \"April 16, 1912.\" But this \"born in 1911\" theory is widely circulated. The San Francisco News of May 15, 1935 adopted this statement. As of 1985, an article titled \"Movie Star, Pilot—Li Dandan\" in the domestic magazine \"Movie World\" still followed this statement.Li Xiaqing is an only child. Her mother died when she was four years old. She lived with her father when she was a child. There are not only misinformation about Li Xiaqing\'s birth date, but also differences in her ancestral origin.In fact, there is no clear historical data that directly explains where Li Xiaqing\'s ancestral home is. Among the rumors circulating, \"Li Xiaqing\'s ancestral home is in Haifeng County, Shanwei City \" is widely circulated and quoted on many websites. Huang Dayi, director of the Haifeng County Archives Bureau: \"I have seen it before (the introduction that Li Xiaqing is from Haifeng), but it has yet to be clarified.\" On the \"Haifeng Archives Information Network\" affiliated to the Haifeng County Archives Bureau, \"Haifeng Archives Information Network\" There is no information about Li Xiaqing in the column \"Fengming Famous Historical Materials\". But on Shanwei City’s official website, Shanwei City People’s Government Network, in the “Celebrity Biography” column, Li Xiaqing’s biography is listed, called “From Movie Star to Pilot: Haifeng Overseas Chinese Li Xiaqing.”In 1988, the late Guanzhong, an aviation history expert from Enping City, Jiangmen, Guangdong Province, proposed that Li Xiaqing\'s ancestral home was Enping City, Jiangmen, Guangdong Province. At that time, Guanzhong people saw a picture of Li Peiji assassinating Fengshan on display in the Enping County (today\'s Enping City) Museum, indicating that Li Peiji was from Enping, Guangdong. Later, this fact was confirmed in the Guangdong Provincial Museum . Later, Feng Qun, a professor at the School of Liberal Arts at Wuyi University and an expert on early Chinese filmmakers, confirmed that Li Yingsheng and Li Peiji were brothers. This can prove that Li Yingsheng is also from Enping, Guangdong, which further leads to the conclusion that \"Li Xiaqing\'s ancestral home is in Enping City, Jiangmen, Guangdong.\"Next to the sculpture of Li Xiaqing in Xingguang Park in Jiangmen City, the sign clearly states that Li Xiaqing\'s \"ancestral home is Enping\". The construction of Jiangmen Starlight Park is led by the Jiangmen Municipal Government. This is equivalent to Jiangmen City officially recognizing the statement that \"Li Xiaqing\'s ancestral home is in Enping City, Jiangmen, Guangdong.\"\"Sister Lin fell from the sky\"Due to accidental reasons, Li Xiaqing embarked on the road of acting and once changed her name to the stage name \" Li Dandan \".In February 1926, Li Xiaqing\'s father Li Yingsheng cooperated with film pioneer Li Minwei to establish the film company Shanghai Minxin Company in Shanghai. Lai Minwei was responsible for the artistic aspects of the filming, and Li Yingsheng was responsible for the commercial aspects of the filming. Li Yingsheng served as the company\'s general manager and chairman of the board of directors.The first film produced by Shanghai Minxin Company was called \"Jade and Bingqing\", which showed the story of Huang Bojian, a son of a wealthy family, and his bitter love with Suxian, a fisherman\'s daughter. At that time, all the leading actors in the film crew had been finalized, but there was only a shortage of candidates for Suxian\'s sister Qiongxian in the film, because she was too young in the play, only fourteen or fifteen years old. Finally, Lin Chuchu , one of the leading actors in the movie and wife of Li Minwei , thought of Li Yingsheng\'s daughter Li Xiaqing. At that time, Li Xiaqing, who was studying in middle school, was only fourteen years old. She was lively and cute, and her age and personality matched the character. Li Yingsheng was hesitant at first, fearing that Li Xiaqing\'s lack of acting experience would lead to a poor performance. But under the persuasion of Li Minwei and others, Li Xiaqing was finally agreed to make a movie. As a result, Li Xiaqing, who has never made a movie and has a \"childlike face and a pigtail\", won the recognition of director Bu Wancang and screenwriter Ouyang Yuqian with her performance without stage fright . She also gave herself a stage name: Li Dandan .\"Jade Bingqing\" became an instant hit after its release and caused a sensation in Shanghai. The movie star Hu Diedu praised her in a radio comment: \"Shanghai people are in a feast for the eyes. Sister Lin fell from the sky!\" From then on, she couldn\'t stop and starred in \"Poet of the Cape\", \"The Romance of the West Chamber\", \"Mulan\" He performed well in films such as \"Join the Army\" and became one of the most popular movie stars in Shanghai in the 1920s, as famous as Li Minwei \'s wife Lin Chuchu .There is one thing that reflects Li Xiaqing\'s influence at that time. In the \"Full Moon and Stars\" mass selection event during the Mid-Autumn Festival in 1928, Li Xiaqing was named the \"Seven Star Star Sisters\" together with Hu Die , Ruan Lingyu and other stars. At that time, she was only 16 years old.Regarding Li Xiaqing\'s appearance in his youth, a reporter who interviewed Li Xiaqing in 1937 described it this way: \"The skin is very delicate, with a few freckles, which makes it more and more beautiful. The posture of the mouth is like a first-ripened cherry, Also like a pair of water chestnuts, an oval face, curved eyebrows, and a long body, it is obvious at a glance that she is a typical Cantonese woman.\" In the movie \"The West Chamber\", you can also see the expression of this silent film actress. She has a typical face of a Republic of China actress: round and powdery.The mystery of Li Xiaqing’s deathWhat is surprising is that in 1928, when her acting career was at its peak, Li Xiaqing suddenly offer farewell to the film industry and went to study in the UK. It was only two years since she started her acting career.There is a rumor about Li Xiaqing\'s death. Late one night while filming the movie \"Mulan Joins the Army\", Shanghai Minxin Company was robbed by gangsters and a lot of money was stolen. Li Xiaqing fought bravely against the gangsters, knocked down two gangsters in a row, and pushed the bandit leader into the Huangpu River. Afterwards, in order to commend his daughter, Li Yingsheng added an episode of \"Pegasus chasing the enemy\" to the plot of \"Mulan Joins the Army\". After filming the movie, Li Yingsheng asked Li Xiaqing to change her original name from Li Dandan back to her original name and temporarily stop filming. Feng Qun, a professor at the School of Liberal Arts at Wuyi University and an expert on early Chinese filmmakers, believes that this plot has no historical basis and is a fabricated plot. \"The relationship between Li Yingsheng and gang boss Du Yuesheng is extraordinary. How can ordinary gangsters dare to offend?\"However, Patti Gully (hereinafter referred to as Patti), a Canadian female writer and an expert on early female pilots in China, believes that safety issues are the reason why Li Yingsheng let Li Xiaqing retire. “She is very famous, and her father is concerned about her personal safety and worries that she will be kidnapped. .”Feng Qun believed that Li Xiaqing\'s death was due to love. At that time, Zheng Yuxiu, an old comrade-in-arms of Li Yingsheng in the Revolution of 1911 and a strange woman of the Republic of China, introduced his nephew Zheng Baifeng to Li Xiaqing, and they met and fell in love. Zheng Baifeng was the secretary of the League of Nations at the time and lived in France. Li Xiaqing stopped making movies in China in order to be with Zheng Baifeng.There is an intriguing incident that reflects Li Xiaqing’s mentality towards movies. In 1937, a reporter interviewed Li Xiaqing in Shanghai. At that time, she was already a well-known female pilot. At the end of the interview, the reporter asked her if she was still interested in making an \"aviation\" film to promote national defense and the aviation industry. The reporter\'s answer was: \"Please don\'t mention this.\" The reporter described her expression when she said this: \"She suddenly blushed and became unhappy, as if it was a huge insult to her.\" Patti analyzed that Li Xiaqing took her passion away from her. The performance shifted to flying, probably embarrassed by her former enthusiasm for movies.But Li Xiaqing did not give up on movies completely, nor did she get tired of it. While overseas, she continued to work in news documentaries. In her spare time, she studies new Western film technologies so that they can be applied to the Chinese film industry. In 1939, while flying in the United States, she appeared in a Hollywood film called Disputed Passage. In it, she played a Chinese female pilot. The plane she performs on is the same plane she flies on tours with. She donated her performance fees to the China Relief Fund.Female pilot wanted by Japan\"After the threat of the Japanese Empire arrived, my mother continued to use her tenacious efforts to resist the invasion. She opened three hospitals and a school in Shanghai. The Japanese wanted to arrest my mother at that time, and she later came to the United States.\" Recently, Li Xiaqing\'s son Zheng Baishi told Nandu reporters over the phone about his mother\'s resistance against Japan. Baishi Zheng and his lover Susan live on a farm in Weatherford, Texas, USA, adjacent to Fort Worth, USA. They walked horses, raised donkeys, and raised fish in ponds there, living a leisurely pastoral life. Before retiring, Zheng Baishi worked as a wallpaper poster and lived in California, USA. After retiring, he moved to this Texas farm.In 1933, Li Xiaqing began flying lessons at the Cantana Flying School in Geneva, Switzerland. Two years later, she transferred to Boeing Aviation School in Oakland, California, for further studies and obtained her pilot\'s license. An unpublished autobiography describes her enthusiasm for learning to fly in the United States: \"She diligently studied various complex courses such as meteorology, mechanics, and navigation. She took off her silk dress and put on a Grease-stained overalls, getting up at 6 a.m. to go to class every morning instead of at noon.\" In a 1943 radio interview, she reflected on this crazy time: \"I was as familiar with the plane engine as I was with the palm of my hand. Same.\"A widely circulated theory is that the reason why Li Xiaqing became obsessed with flying was because she watched an air show in Paris, France. According to a 1943 radio interview, the idea of ​​flying had been with her since childhood. During the interview she told the radio host: \"When I was a little girl, I used to sit on my grandmother\'s knee and listen to fairy tales. There was one story about a kind-hearted woman who flew through the clouds to help the poor and Unfortunate ones. This story stuck with me.\"At the end of 1935, Li Xiaqing returned to China. The following year, she obtained a pilot license from the Chinese government and held a flight demonstration in Shanghai, when she was only 24 years old.In 1937, after the Battle of Songhu broke out, Li Xiaqing wanted to participate in the war for China as a fighter pilot, but was not approved. She established hospitals, refugee camps and schools in Shanghai to treat injured Chinese soldiers. For this reason, she was wanted by the Japanese army. In a radio interview, she recounted the danger at the time: \"The Japanese put a bounty on my head. When I heard the news, I fled just a few days after the Japanese occupied Shanghai.\" In 1938, Li Xiaqing began to work in the United States and He flew and lectured in Canada, and also hosted many fundraising rallies to raise funds for China\'s war of resistance. She was hailed as a \"flying messenger\" by foreign reporters. After that, she also flew to South America and the Caribbean to raise funds for China’s war of resistance.\"China\'s first female pilot\"In the mid-1930s, after Li Xiaqing learned how to fly and returned to China, newspapers in Shanghai and the United States called her \"China\'s first female pilot.\" In fact, many years before her, there was a woman who was considered \"China\'s first female pilot.\" The first person to raise the issue of \"China\'s first female pilot\" was an American newspaper. On November 7, 1919, the \"San Francisco Bugle and Post\" stated that Mrs. George Lu, the sister-in-law of the famous aviator Tan Gen, was \"China\'s first female pilot.\" This statement kicked off decades of debate on this issue.The question of \"who was China\'s first female pilot\" has generated the most protracted debate in the history of Chinese aviation, with more than a dozen opinions existing. Amid the divergent opinions, Li Xiaqing has always been one of the candidates for this \"first\" battle. Other women who have been widely discussed include Qiu Jin\'s queen Guifen and Zhu Mufei. In addition, there is the aforementioned woman Mrs. Lu George.In the 1930s, Shanghai\'s Shenbao reported that Qiu Jin\'s daughter Wang Guifen was China\'s first female pilot. Wang Guifen was born in Hunan in 1901. She lost her mother when she was young. Her character has the \"chivalrous spirit\" of her mother Qiu Jin. In 1928, she went to the Department of Aeronautics of New York University in the United States, specializing in aeronautical engineering. In 1930, she returned to China after completing her studies, but failed to develop her expertise and switched to aviation education and translation work. In fact, Wang Guifen studied manufacturing and aviation knowledge at the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at New York University for two years, rather than learning flight technology. In the mid-1930s, a women\'s magazine in Shanghai published Wang Guifen\'s autobiography and a reporter\'s interview with her. Neither article mentioned that she had learned to fly. The late Guan Zhongren, an aviation history expert from Enping City, Jiangmen, Guangdong, believed that the identification of Wang Guifen as \"China\'s first female pilot\" was not accurate.Another woman, Zhu Mufei, was born in 1897. She was the daughter of Zhu Zhuowen, the former aviation director of the Guangdong Military Government, and a native of Zhongshan, Guangdong. The 1965 \"Manuscript of the History of Modern Chinese Aviation\" considered Zhu Mufei \"the first female pilot trained in China\" for the first time. The 11th issue of \"Aviation History Research\" in 1986 analyzed that Zhu Mufei had learned to fly in the United States before February 1922, and served as a pilot in the revolutionary aircraft fleet after returning to China.If we define it solely in terms of \"the time it took to learn to fly\", it is generally accepted that China\'s first female pilot was the aforementioned Mrs. Lu George. Mrs. George Lu\'s name is Anna Peter Lu. She is the sister-in-law of Chinese aircraft engineer Tan Gen. Her native place may be Kaiping, Guangdong. When Mrs. Lu was studying at the University of California in the United States , she learned to fly from her brother-in-law Tan Gen. Later, when Tan Gen returned to China, she studied with an American instructor and finally completed the course.Guanzhong people once produced a \"Profile List of Modern Chinese Female Pilots\", which listed 21 female pilots in modern China. On this list, Mrs. George Lu ranks first, learning to fly in 1915. Zhu Mufei ranked third and learned to fly around 1922. Li Xiaqing is only ranked seventeenth on the list, and she learned to fly in 1935. \"In fact, there may have been 30 women flying before her.\" Patti Gully, a Canadian female writer and an expert on early female pilots in China, said.Patti believes that the reference to \"China\'s first female pilot\" is just a propaganda tool. The reason why Li Xiaqing received this title was \"because of her reputation as an actress and her wealth. Compared with other female pilots of the same period, she attracted more public attention.\" However, Patti believes that from many From a different perspective, Li Xiaqing is \"China\'s first female pilot\": \"She was the first female graduate of the world\'s best Boeing Aviation School. At that time, no other women had received such advanced training. In 1936, China The government issued her a license to fly anywhere, a position no other woman had ever been granted. She was a female instructor at the Shanghai Flight School, training China\'s first sky defenders. In 1937, there were almost no women in the world With the status of a commercial pilot, Li Xiaqing flew passengers on dangerous routes operated by Guangxi Southwest Airlines within six weeks.\"Li Xiaqing’s “Death”\"(One day in 2005) I went to pay my respects to Ms. Li\'s grave. I drove through the chaotic rush hour traffic, and it took me a while to find the exact direction in the middle of the huge cemetery. Finally, when I looked When I arrived at her grave, I felt so excited that my legs became weak and I couldn\'t stand upright.\" Patti described her feelings when she first visited Li Xiaqing\'s grave in California, USA. The reason why she was so excited was because the tombstone clearly stated that Li Xiaqing\'s birth and death dates were \"April 16, 1912 to January 24, 1998.\" Previously, it had been rumored that Li Xiaqing\'s death was in the 1940s, half a century earlier. \"When I first started my research, there was only a small amount of material on the Internet about Ms. Lee, all of which said she was killed during the war, so I\'m pleased to be able to correct this misinformation.\"As early as May 16, 1946, the magazine \"China\'s Air Force\" published an article titled \"Women Enter the Gate of Aviation\". The article said vaguely: \"I don\'t know if it was the 33rd year of the Republic of China (1944). In 1945 (1945), the female pilot (Li Xiaqing) crashed in a flight, ending her life. People who had warmly praised her in the past reported her sad news to each other with sadness.\" This is about Li Xia. An early version of the rumor about Qing\'s accident. Some speculate that the reason for this rumor is that the media mistakenly confused Li Xiaqing with another Chinese-American female pilot Li Yueying. Li Yueying and Li Xiaqing are similar in age. After the outbreak of World War II, they flew transport planes in the US Air Force and often flew over the Atlantic Ocean. During a flight mission in 1944, her plane collided with a training aircraft below, causing the aircraft to crash and killing everyone.The late Guanzhong, an aviation history expert from Enping City, Jiangmen, Guangdong, also accepted the rumor. In an article titled \"A Preliminary Exploration of Some Historical Issues of Li Xiaqing\" published in \"Aviation History Research\" in 1988, he concluded: \"It is unlikely that she died in a flight crash as late as 1944 or 1945.\"In fact, this situation of spreading rumors is rooted in the occlusion of information. Because as early as 1958, when the new runway of Hong Kong Kai Tak Airport was opened, 46-year-old Li Xiaqing attended the opening ceremony and personally flew a plane to perform a demonstration. Hong Kong\'s \"Industrial and Commercial Daily\" and other newspapers reported on it that year.In the 1960s, when Hong Kong\'s economy was in decline, Li Xiaqing returned to the United States and settled near the San Francisco Bay until her death.While in the United States, the woman continued to showcase her free-spirited personality. In the book Sisters of Heaven: China\'s Barnstorming A viatrixes, written by Patti, a plot is described. In the 1970s, while traveling in the California countryside, Li Xiaqing discovered a small pesticide-spreading plane parked in a farmland. She asked her owner to allow her to fly it into the air. She flew the plane in the air and performed a series of spins and complicated stunts until the plane\'s endurance reached its limit before landing safely and politely thanking the stunned owner for allowing her indulgence.However, my time in the United States was generally uneventful. Li Xiaqing\'s main daily life is playing mahjong with her friends. In addition, she travels and shops, and supports charities of her choice. \"At that time, it seemed that no challenge could excite her,\" Patti said.Li Xiaqing behind the haloBehind all the glorious honors and titles is Li Xiaqing, who has experienced twists and turns in her love life.According to Li Xiaqing\'s son Zheng Baishi, his mother Li Xiaqing\'s love life was not satisfactory after she married his father Zheng Baifeng. \"My father was the secretary of the League of Nations at the time and liked to study at home. My mother was pampered by the family since she was a child and she liked to go out for parties. My mother wanted to return to Hong Kong to live, but my father was unwilling to go there. They have different interests. , and then they got divorced.\" Zheng Baishi later heard that this was the first divorce case in Chinese history, and it was still an immoral thing at the time. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Zheng Baifeng got married again and gave birth to a son and a daughter. Li Xiaqing later married twice and gave birth to a daughter. Li Xiaqing and Zheng Baifeng had a daughter before. In this way, there are five brothers and sisters of Zheng Baishi.Zheng Baishi was born in Geneva, Switzerland in 1931. Around 1937, his parents officially divorced. \"When I was three years old, I was separated from my mother. My father wouldn\'t let my mother visit me. He first arranged for me to live with an acquaintance in Hong Kong. Then, when he heard that my mother had also come to Hong Kong, he sent me away When I arrived in Shanghai, I lived with my aunt Zheng Yuxiu for many years. My mother suffered a lot after she left me. When she was in Hong Kong, she secretly visited me twice. Every time she came to see me, she spent a lot of money She had to pay money and bribe the maid at home to see me. Every time she came to see me, she would cry when she saw me.\" Zheng Baoshi recalled the past like this.Zheng Baishi went to primary school in Shanghai. After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, when the Japanese arrested his mother Li Xiaqing, he hid in the World Primary School on Xiafei Road (today\'s Huaihai Middle Road) for eight years. Later, after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, his father Zheng Baifeng and his stepmother came to pick him up and stayed in Cuba for four years. Later he went to the United States to study. It was not until Zheng Baishi and Li Xiaqing came to the United States that they met again, which was already 20 years later. When we reunited, time had diluted the family affection. \"We had a meal together and stayed for more than an hour. At the dinner table, we just said some social words such as \'hello and thank you\', just like friends. The atmosphere was very light, without the joy and sorrow of family members reunited. It’s a feeling, no emotion.” Zheng Baishi said.When they lived in California, USA, Zheng Baishi and Li Xiaqing lived just over an hour\'s drive apart, but they didn\'t have much contact. \"Zheng Baishi knows that his mother is famous. He is proud of her, but he does not love her. She (Li Xiaqing) does not recognize him (Zheng Baishi) in public and does not recognize him as her child.\" Patti said.But the family love in the blood still defeated everything. In 1997, the year before Li Xiaqing\'s death, Zheng Baishi heard that there was a statue of his mother in a place in Beijing and went to look for it. However, he was told that the statue had gone to a traveling exhibition and he never saw it. Before Li Xiaqing died, she left all her photos, documents and newspapers to Zheng Baoshi, totaling ten boxes. Robert Cheng gave many of the archives to the Smith National Air and Space Museum. They are classified and organized there and are ready for researchers\' reference.Li Xiaqing has been married three times in total. In her second marriage, she married a doctor named Xu. In her third marriage, she married a man named Li. This marriage accompanied her to the end of her life. The man named Li loved her very much. \"After Li Xiaqing passed away, his life collapsed.\" Patti said.In 1998, Li Xiaqing died of acute pneumonia in Oakland, California, at the age of 86, and was buried there after her death. \"Smart\" is the word that Zheng Baishi can think of to sum up his mother. \"Although I know more about her than the other two female pilots (referring to the female pilots described in the book Sisters of Heaven) combined, she is still a mystery to me.\" In a conversation with Zheng Baishi , Patti expressed her confusion about Li Xiaqing in this way.Flying for the first timeIn 1933, Li Xiaqing signed up to participate in a test flight at Geneva Cointrin International Airport. When she took to the skies for the first time in the \"rickety\" biplane that was a surplus of World War I - possibly a French Gaudelon aircraft owned by local pilot Francis Dulav - Li Xiaqing There are also doubts about the wisdom of his decision. However, she couldn\'t resist the temptation and soon took to the sky again , this time in a much better-performing Tiger Moth biplane. Soaring in the blue sky , Li Xiaqing looked down and was deeply shocked by the scenery in front of her. The continuous peaks of the Alps are covered with snow and the highest peak, Mont Blanc, is so majestic and majestic. From a distance, Lake Geneva shines like a bright sapphire.This experience was unforgettable, and Li Xiaqing suddenly realized that she had found the career she wanted to pursue in this life. She wants to become a pilot, return to her motherland, and arouse her compatriots\' attention to the aviation industry.In the spring of 1934, the \"beauty from the East\" in the eyes of this flight instructor flew solo for the first time. Since then, her passion for flying has only grown and remains unwavering. When the weather is bad and she cannot fly, even if she only comes to the airport and is with her beloved plane, she feels extremely satisfied. When the haze in the sky dissipates and you can finally fly in the blue sky, the spiritual joy and satisfaction are indescribable.Li Xiaqing really likes the feeling that flying brings to her, which is full of blood and is above everything else.Li Xiaqing likes to fly at night, especially flying over Paris at night. Against the backdrop of the night, this beautiful city shines like a diamond on black velvet. The Arc de Triomphe with its shining lights looks bright against the night. So bright and charming.However, Li Xiaqing’s decision to fly is not understandable to everyone. It is said that when she applied for the Cointrin Flying School in Geneva, an examiner asked her why she wanted to become a female pilot.\"Beautiful lady, you are so beautiful, why did you choose to fly?\" the examiner asked.Li Xiaqing replied: \"Because in ordinary people\'s minds, flying is a man\'s thing and seems to have no connection with women. I just want to do something that women rarely do.\"The examiner then asked: \"It is said that in your country, women\'s feet are all disabled and deformed?\"Li Xiaqing replied firmly: \"I am here to let the world know that Chinese women can not only walk on the ground, but also fly in the sky.\"On August 6, 1934, Li Xiaqing passed the flight and theory examinations with excellent results and obtained a pilot license issued by the Swiss Aero Club. She became the first woman in the world to obtain a pilot license in Geneva, and the first woman to obtain a pilot license in Switzerland. There were only 10 women with pilot licenses at that time. In the Chinese aviation industry, Li Xiaqing is also the first person to obtain a pilot license in Switzerland. Since then, Europe has become Li Xiaqing\'s flight training base. From Geneva to Vienna, to London, or to Paris, she was so eye-catching everywhere she went. She stepped out of the cockpit gracefully, wearing a white flight suit and high heels. She looked so neat and tidy. It\'s like I just came out of the beauty salon.While Europeans were talking about this \"beauty from the East\", Li Xiaqing decided to further her studies and signed up to be admitted to the world\'s leading aviation school at that time - the Boeing Aviation School in Oakland, California, which never admitted women. Student, Li Xiaqing was admitted to this flying school by exception. In addition to her excellent test scores, more importantly, she was sincere. In January 1935, Li Xiaqing officially became a member of this prestigious flying school.First time skydivingOn May 15, 1935, Li Xiaqing and Greg boarded a plane together, preparing to conduct aerobatic training over the San Francisco Bay. After taking off, the plane was flying at an altitude of about 2,200 feet over the San Francisco Bay. At this time, coach Greg signaled to Li Xiaqing that he was ready to start rolling practice. Then, the instructor suddenly pulled the steering column, and the nose of the aircraft was raised high and pushed back. At this time, Greg accidentally looked in the rearview mirror. He was so frightened by the scene in the mirror that he broke into a cold sweat. He saw half of Li Xiaqing\'s body hanging outside the cockpit, and her hands struggling to hold on to the fuselage. What made the coach even more horrified was that he watched Li Xiaqing completely fall out of the cockpit. Her seatbelt broke! Greg only caught a glimpse of the shiny flying shoes on Li Xiaqing\'s feet, and then she disappeared.The moment Li Xiaqing\'s seat belt broke, she was stunned by the sudden accident, but her strong desire to survive made her calm down. Good psychological quality played a role at critical moments. During the rapid descent, she grabbed her hands behind her back, overcame the impact of the strong airflow, and used her last strength to pull the parachute lock. She even remembered at that moment a cold joke in the parachute company\'s advertising disclaimer: \"If the parachute cannot open normally, the company promises to refund the money.\" However, after opening the parachute, Li Xiaqing began to realize that this landing was not on land. It\'s over the sea, so landing is much more difficult.Fortunately, Li Xiaqing broke free from the rope of her parachute after falling into the sea. The parachute was washed to the shore by the rolling waves. A pilot stationed at a U.S. Naval Reserve base in Alameda County east of San Francisco Bay discovered this. A parachute with a bulging top soaked in seawater. Afterwards, the Naval Reserve sent a Lonin amphibious aircraft and two pilots to the rescue.At this moment, Li Xiaqing struggled on the sea. When she fell into the sea, strong winds blew her parachute aside. She was thankful that she was not entangled in the rigging, but she found that the all-leather flight suit became bulky after entering the water. The flight suit has five zippers, making it impossible to take it off in the sea. In the sea, Li Xiaqing remained calm and kept stepping on the water. However, the cold water made her realize that danger was approaching. Although she was a good swimmer, she fell into the water more than half a mile from the shore, and the wet and heavy flight suit restricted her hands and feet. She couldn\'t even reach the life-saving equipment that coach Greg dropped nearby.She had no choice but to try her best to stay afloat. To maintain her body temperature, she placed her feet on the parachute\'s pads and lifted herself as far out of the water as possible. She put her head up, leaned back, and kept paddling with her hands to save energy. She didn\'t panic at all, but quietly waited for rescuers to arrive.Rescue workers quickly arrived at the scene of the accident. Just when Li Xiaqing was so cold that her teeth chattered, she heard the sound of the Navy Reserve\'s amphibious aircraft approaching. After a while, the plane was hovering above her, preparing to land at sea. All good things come soon. The pilot may have been overjoyed because he discovered Li Xiaqing, and somehow got the landing gear of the plane stuck, preventing the float from being lowered. The plane had to fly back to the base, leaving Li Xiaqing to continue soaking in the cold water. She began to feel desperate.In the cold seawater, she could not move her limbs freely. The biting seawater kept pouring into her nose, eyes and ears, and her will began to weaken. She realized that she had to face this fact. Due to being soaked in sea water for a period of time, her limbs began to become numb and her strength became exhausted. However, Li Xiaqing was still ready to make a last ditch effort.After God knows how long, the second Luoning amphibious aircraft left the base and flew towards Li Xiaqing\'s location. This time, the pilot successfully lowered the pontoon, and the pontoon fell to the sea next to Li Xiaqing, causing a splash of waves. At this time, Li Xiaqing\'s limbs were numb , and a bone-chilling cold penetrated her whole body. But when rescuers launched a rescue operation, she used all her strength to grab the float. She clung to the pontoon until Navy reservists dragged her inside. When the rescuers rescued Li Xiaqing, they were all shocked by the wet mermaid in front of them. They did not expect that the pilot who crashed into the sea was a woman, and she was also a woman from China. What surprised them even more was that the soaked survivor only said lightly that she regretted two things. One was that she felt a little cold, and the other was that she had lost one of her shoes.U.S. Navy Reserve rescue personnel flew Li Xiaqing back to the base. Although her body was wrapped in a blanket, she was still smiling brightly.On November 5, 1935, she became the first female student to graduate from the Boeing Aviation School in the United States with straight A\'s.\"Spirit of New China\"Before the Spring Festival of 1936, Li Xiaqing settled down in Shanghai. She was very ambitious and wanted to arouse the Chinese people\'s attention to the aviation industry. As soon as she returned to Shanghai, she joined the China Aviation Association in Shanghai. The association also welcomed Li Xiaqing\'s return to China after completing her studies and called her \"China\'s first female.\" pilot\".Li Xiaqing boarded the Junkers three-engine aircraft of Eurasia Airlines and started the first stop of her flight inspection. On the plane, Li Xiaqing was not an ordinary passenger, but was allowed to ride in the cockpit with the captain and Eurasia\'s most experienced pilot Walther Lutz. Li Xiaqing had flown three-engine aircraft at Boeing flight school, so Captain Lutz agreed to let her fly this 16-seat Junkers 52 aircraft. The aircraft was well-equipped and equipped with a sophisticated radio direction finder. In the next few days, Li Xiaqing flew the Eurasia aircraft to more than ten cities Shanghai; the flight time reaches 20 hours. With full enthusiasm, Li Xiaqing flew over the motherland, setting the highest domestic long-distance flight record for Chinese women at that time.\"Her hair was combed into hollow curls, which was the latest fashionable hairstyle in 1937.\" the female reporter wrote in the article. \"She was wearing an evening dress. The top and trousers were gray green with light red flowers. This outfit matched the light green patterned satin shawl. Her skin was delicate and smooth, with only a few small freckles. .She is extremely beautiful. She is so elegant, with an oval face, a water chestnut-like mouth, bright cherry lips, and slightly upturned eyebrows. As soon as you see her, you will know that she is a standard Cantonese beauty.\"On the early morning of Thursday, March 23, 1939, Li Xiaqing and her co-flight partner Yan Yaqing arrived at the airport and began their great flight around the United States. The aircraft Li Xiaqing flew was a Stimson Rilliant monoplane with a fuselage painted in dazzling red and decorated with bright yellow edges. The aircraft was named \"Spirit of New China\".During the flight around the United States, some cities will send planes to line up in the sky to welcome her arrival. When he arrived in Vancouver, a government plane and several private planes were in the air to greet him. Salt Lake City also sent 15 planes to greet him in the sky, a 20-minute flight away from the city. It was very grand, like a state guest.Li Xiaqing was warmly welcomed and entertained by local dignitaries and people wherever he went, including local government dignitaries, senior consulate officials, heads of various organizations and local Chinese leaders. The team that came to greet Li Xiaqing at the airport was very large, and everyone was excited and excited. Li Xiaqing landed from the sky in the very conspicuous red and yellow \"Spirit of New China\". Those who went to the airport to get a glimpse of Li Xiaqing\'s face must have paid off. When the welcoming crowd saw the Chinese and American flags painted on the fuselage of Li Xiaqing\'s plane, the audience burst into applause.Flying for entertainment in old ageIn early May 1946, Li Xiaqing took a commercial flight from San Francisco to Shanghai to return to China. After a short stay in Shanghai, Li Xiaqing flew to Hong Kong to reunite with her father and settled down in Hong Kong. Her original wish to help rebuild China\'s aviation infrastructure was put on hold. Before the war, she spared no effort to promote aviation to save the country and achieved initial results. Now, China\'s aviation industry is backed by the powerful US government, so it is obvious that there is no need for individuals to get involved. Li Xiaqing was relieved to see the reality clearly. In the past eight years, Li Xiaqing had been working hard to raise funds for the Anti-Japanese War. She was like a professional pilot, living a flying life. Now, she can finally \"retire\" .When New China was founded in 1949, Li Xiaqing\'s life in Hong Kong was not affected like many people who stayed on the mainland. She was able to retain her living habits and lifestyle, and she could continue to fly (in 1950, she obtained a private pilot license issued by the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department ), but during this period, Li Xiaqing returned to the sky mainly for entertainment purposes, and sometimes On a whim, she would fly to Singapore, Bangkok and other places.On January 24, 1998, Li Xiaqing died in the hospital due to acute pneumonia . She appeared to be in no pain and passed peacefully. Looking from the slope of her resting place, San Francisco Bay is looming. More than 60 years ago, a heroic female pilot fell from the sky like a fairy and fell into the cold and biting waters of San Francisco Bay. Li Xiaqing\'s cemetery is located in Oakland, California, USA. 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