Deng, Yingchao, 1903-1992

Deng Yingchao (simplified Chinese: 邓颖超; traditional Chinese: 鄧穎超; pinyin: Dèng Yǐngchāo; Jyutping: Dang6 Wing6-ciu1; 4 February 1904 – 11 July 1992) was a prominent Chinese revolutionary, politician, and women's rights advocate who played a significant role in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for over six decades. She served as Chairwoman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference from 1983 to 1988 and was the wife of Zhou Enlai, the first Premier of the People's Republic of China. Born in Guangxi in 1904, Deng emerged as a pioneering feminist leader in Tianjin around the 1920s, where she founded women's organizations and publications advocating for education, employment rights, and opposition to arranged marriage and foot-binding. After joining the Chinese Communist Party and marrying Zhou Enlai in 1925, she experienced the Long March and remained active in Party efforts through the Second Sino-Japanese War. Following the establishment of the People's Republic in 1949, she held influential positions and played key roles in drafting China's Marriage Law, promoting women's participation in land reform, and advocating birth control policies. In the Reform Era, she was appointed to the CCP Politburo and led international activities until her health declined in the late 1980s.