Xie Bingying

In 1918, she was accepted into the Datong Girls School in Changsha city, and according to her autobiographies, she was only allowed to attend after she threatened suicide.

It was at this time that she started her autobiographical works, and segments of her writings (which were formatted as letters in a diary) were published in the Nationalist Party newspaper, the Central Daily News, in 1927.

Her literary reputation started with her military diaries and letters, some of which were translated into English by Lin Yutang and published first serially in 1927 and then in book form in 1930.

For a short while, she resigned herself to domestic chores and duties, until she was offered a teaching position at the Datong Girls School.

Fortunately, her older brother sent her money to move to Beijing and take supplementary courses so that she could eventually enroll in the Woman's Normal University in Tianjin.

During this time, she served as the editor of Women's Light, a weekly newspaper, and joined the Shanghai Writers Association of National Salvation to Resist Japan.

This time, when she went to Japan she was arrested and imprisoned for three weeks because she refused to welcome Puyi and acknowledge the Japanese-controlled state of Manchukuo in Northeastern China.

She created the Hunan Women's War Zone Service Corps, which provided first aid on the front lines, and continued her work in propaganda.

During this time she also edited the monthly magazine Huanghe, and published essays, fiction, and more autobiographical writings with various presses.