Wang Yiwei (1905-1993), also known as Wang Naiyi, a native of Minhou, Fujian Province, was a leading Chinese journalist and publisher of women’s publications during the Republican era and early years of the People’s Republic.
Wang attended the Shanghai Girls' Middle School (now Shanghai No. 3 Girls' Middle School), which was run by an American church with the aim of spreading Christianity to Chinese women. However, because she did not accept the teaching style and the fact that most of the students at the school came from rich families, Wang dropped out and completed her studies through self-learning. She then enrolled in China's first co-educational school founded by Feng Yuxiang, a general of the National Revolutionary Army.
After graduation, Wang was first admitted to the Department of History of Nanjing University, and soon transferred to the Department of Journalism at Fudan University, which had begun accepting female students, and she aspired to be the first generation of female journalists in China.
After graduation in 1932, at the invitation of one of her classmates at Fudan University, Wang Yiwei worked as a field reporter for the women's section of the Morning Post, specializing in interviews with prominent women, during which she came to know Liu-Wang Liming, then president of the China Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. They decided to co-found the independent women's publication The Women's Voice, aiming at encouraging women to seek their own liberation as well as the liberation of the nation.
Due to differences of opinion between the two, in 1934 the magazine declared its independence and stopped receiving funding from the China Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. In order to raise funds, Wang Yiwei held charity events and sales, and solicited individual donations through her personal connections and the magazine’s network of supporters.
Because of its left-leaning stance and its sharp criticism of KMT policies, the magazine was severely censored and suppressed by the KMT authorities. According to Wang Yiwei's own account, she heard from a friend that her name was on a government blacklist. In 1935, The Women's Voice had to cease publication.
After the war against Japan broke out, Wang initially worked at the post office, but in order to continue her involvement in the revolution, she resigned and moved to Guangdong, where she was invited by Lu Suying, the director of the Cultural Department of the Women's Association of the Guangdong Provincial Government, to become the editor-in-chief of Guangdong Women. Shortly afterward, the provincial government moved to Guangxi to escape the Japanese army, and Guangdong Women ceased publication. Wang returned to Shanghai and became the editor of the women's section of the Damei Weekly, writing her own articles to encourage women to join the resistance against Japan. Later, the editor-in-chief of the publisher was assassinated by the Japanese and the newspaper was closed down.
After the victory against Japan in 1945, The Women's Voice resumed publication and Wang Yiwei continued to serve as its editor-in-chief. Due to continued persecution by the KMT, the publication eventually ceased operation in 1947 under both political and economic pressure. Wang Yiwei worked as a family teacher for a while. In 1962, she became a member of the Shanghai Research Institute of Culture and History, an honorary research institution with united front purposes established by the CCP to house pre-1949 intellectuals.
In interview with Wang Zheng, Professor Emeritus of Women's and Gender Studies and History at the University of Michigan, in her later years, Wang Yiwei said she was a strong believer in the CCP's ideology, but after CCP took power in 1949, she saw the inconsistency between its words and deeds, and realized that CCP was merely taking advantage of the women's movement.
For more information about the magazine, please see: Wang Yiwei, “Me and the ‘Women's Voice’: A Tribute to March 8 Women's Day” on the website of Wang Zheng, Professor Emeritus of Women's and Gender Studies and History at the University of Michigan.
Wang attended the Shanghai Girls' Middle School (now Shanghai No. 3 Girls' Middle School), which was run by an American church with the aim of spreading Christianity to Chinese women. However, because she did not accept the teaching style and the fact that most of the students at the school came from rich families, Wang dropped out and completed her studies through self-learning. She then enrolled in China's first co-educational school founded by Feng Yuxiang, a general of the National Revolutionary Army.
After graduation, Wang was first admitted to the Department of History of Nanjing University, and soon transferred to the Department of Journalism at Fudan University, which had begun accepting female students, and she aspired to be the first generation of female journalists in China.
After graduation in 1932, at the invitation of one of her classmates at Fudan University, Wang Yiwei worked as a field reporter for the women's section of the Morning Post, specializing in interviews with prominent women, during which she came to know Liu-Wang Liming, then president of the China Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. They decided to co-found the independent women's publication The Women's Voice, aiming at encouraging women to seek their own liberation as well as the liberation of the nation.
Due to differences of opinion between the two, in 1934 the magazine declared its independence and stopped receiving funding from the China Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. In order to raise funds, Wang Yiwei held charity events and sales, and solicited individual donations through her personal connections and the magazine’s network of supporters.
Because of its left-leaning stance and its sharp criticism of KMT policies, the magazine was severely censored and suppressed by the KMT authorities. According to Wang Yiwei's own account, she heard from a friend that her name was on a government blacklist. In 1935, The Women's Voice had to cease publication.
After the war against Japan broke out, Wang initially worked at the post office, but in order to continue her involvement in the revolution, she resigned and moved to Guangdong, where she was invited by Lu Suying, the director of the Cultural Department of the Women's Association of the Guangdong Provincial Government, to become the editor-in-chief of Guangdong Women. Shortly afterward, the provincial government moved to Guangxi to escape the Japanese army, and Guangdong Women ceased publication. Wang returned to Shanghai and became the editor of the women's section of the Damei Weekly, writing her own articles to encourage women to join the resistance against Japan. Later, the editor-in-chief of the publisher was assassinated by the Japanese and the newspaper was closed down.
After the victory against Japan in 1945, The Women's Voice resumed publication and Wang Yiwei continued to serve as its editor-in-chief. Due to continued persecution by the KMT, the publication eventually ceased operation in 1947 under both political and economic pressure. Wang Yiwei worked as a family teacher for a while. In 1962, she became a member of the Shanghai Research Institute of Culture and History, an honorary research institution with united front purposes established by the CCP to house pre-1949 intellectuals.
In interview with Wang Zheng, Professor Emeritus of Women's and Gender Studies and History at the University of Michigan, in her later years, Wang Yiwei said she was a strong believer in the CCP's ideology, but after CCP took power in 1949, she saw the inconsistency between its words and deeds, and realized that CCP was merely taking advantage of the women's movement.
For more information about the magazine, please see: Wang Yiwei, “Me and the ‘Women's Voice’: A Tribute to March 8 Women's Day” on the website of Wang Zheng, Professor Emeritus of Women's and Gender Studies and History at the University of Michigan.
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