Xie Fei (revolutionary)

For other uses, see Xie Fei.

Xie Fei^[a] (simplified Chinese: 谢飞; traditional Chinese: 謝飛; pinyin: Xiè Fēi; 3 February 1913 – 14 February 2013)^[1] was a Chinese revolutionary and politician. She participated in the Long March during the Chinese Civil War and was the third wife of Liu Shaoqi.

Xie Fei
谢飞
Born	(1913-02-03)February 3, 1913 Wenchang, Hainan, China
Died	February 14, 2013(2013-02-14) (aged 100) Beijing, China
Occupation	Politician
Political party	Chinese Communist Party
Spouse	Liu Shaoqi ​ ​ (m. 1935; div. 1940)​

Early life

She was born Xie Qiongxiang (Chinese: 謝瓊香) in Wenchang, Hainan Province. She was a revolutionary from the age of 13,^[2] and became a member of the Chinese Communist Party in 1927.^[3] After exile to Hong Kong and undercover work in Singapore, she returned to China in 1932,^[3] where she worked in Fujian Province before going to Ruijin in 1934.^[4] In her time in Fujian, on several occasions she boiled and ate sensitive documents to keep them from Kuomintang agents, leading to lifelong stomach problems.^[5]

Chinese Civil War

During the Chinese Civil War, Xie was one of thirty women participants of the Long March from 1934 to 1935.^[3] In October 1935,^[6] she married Liu Shaoqi, who later became Chairman of the People's Republic of China, as his third wife.^[7] Their marriage has been described as "brief, mysterious, and apparently childless,"^[8] and ended in divorce in January 1939.^[6] or in 1941.^[9]

In 1937, Xie studied at the Central Party School of the Chinese Communist Party in Yan'an^[10] and then served as party functionary at various levels.^[1]

Later life

After the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Xie became director of a special course at Renmin University of China and, in 1956, deputy principal of the Central Political and Legal Cadre School.^[11][1] She was sent to work on a pig farm in 1959.^[11] During the Cultural Revolution, Xie was imprisoned as a former close associate of Liu Shaoqi;^[9] she was rehabilitated in 1978.^[11] She became the deputy principal of the People's Public Security University of China^[11] and retired in February 2000.^[1] She died of illness in Beijing on 14 February 2013, at the age of 100.^[10]

Notes

1. In this Chinese name, the family name is Xie.