Chinese Servicewomen Striding Proudly Forward in the World: Servicewomen after the Founding of the Republic(1949— )

Dancing in the Sky with Colored Ribbons: Women in the Air Force

Oct.1,1949 Witnessed the founding of the People's Republic of China.

In 1951, the young Air Force of the Chinese People's Liberation Army recruited the first batch of aviatrixes of New China. The total number was 14. At that time, there were people whispering: "Women are going up to the sky!"

Servicewomen in times of war won peace and victory with their life and blood and achieved their long cherished goal of transforming women from being subservient in the old society to masters of the nation, society and family. Chinese women who had been slaves in domestic circles from generation to generation began to feel proud and elated. "Chinese women can join the army, fight and fight successfully.Why cannot they go up to the sky?" Such was the reasoning of women then. On March 8,1952, Zhu De, commander in chief of the PLA, Deng Yingchao, vice-chairwoman of the National Women's Federation, and other leaders of the Party, the Government and the Army came personally to the airport in the western suburbs, and together with over 7.000 women from various walks of life of the Capital, held for the first

batch of aviatrixes of China a grand taking-off ceremony.

At one o'clock sharp p.m., the aircraft, in the formation of single planes following one another, flew over Tian'anmen Square for inspection by the people of the country. Just then, Mao Zedong,Who was attending a meeting in the office of Zhongnanhai, came out, and looking up at the sky, said in a mild and humorous tone: "The first batch of aviatrixes have flown by over our heads!"

From then to now, 290 aviatrixes in 6 batches have been up to the sky. They have not only mastered such complex skills as flight, pilotage, communications, engineering, parachute jumping, and glide, some of them have become test pilots, aircraft commanders, and

special-class pilots.

Thirty years ago, a girl student from Tai'an No.1 Middle School of Shandong was selected as one of the third batch of aviatrixes of China. As the was leaving home, her parents, both miners, accompanied their beloved daughter league after league before parting, urging again and again: "Do your best in the armed forces and fly up to the blue skies as soon as possible so as to bring credit to us labouring people and win honour for our homeland!" Keeping her parents' exhortation in mind, the young girl became a special-class pilot and was then promoted to the office of deputy division commander in charge of flying of a certain unit of the air arm of the Air Force. Her name is Yue Xicui. She has piloted successively five types of aircraft, flying safely for over 5,200 hours and covering a distance of close to 2,000,000 kilometres. She has been constantly accompanied by the intensity and hardship of urgent airlift, military maneuvers, scientific experiments, rescue and relief work, artificial raining and a series of other commonly unbearable experiences. In 1978, Yue Xicui, then an aircraft commander, successfully carried out the task of extensive artificial snowing for the first time, filling in a gap in the history of our aeronautical meteorology. In May 1993, leading 3 flight crews, she flew to Shanghai and conducted China's first test of artificial termination of rain.

Behind almost each of the aviatrixes is there a commonly incomparable record. The prices they have paid are also commonly unimaginable. Compared with the vast expanse of the blue skies, human beings are insignificant and lonely. Few of these aviatrixes are talkative. "What to say? What do you want to know?" To each visitor they put such questions. Only when you have chatted with them, and chatted congenially, can you get a smattering of their life in the sky. Liu Huafeng and Li You-e said that there was no toilet on the An-26 that they piloted. men could make do with a bucket, but it was troublesome for women. So they dared not drink water before each flight. Wu Dongzheng and Liu Xiaolian said that, as women, they really felt sad when their children but that they had few opportunities to show love to their children who were kept away from them from childhood on. Wang Chun and Cheng Xiaojian said that they didn't have to fly in their menstrual period according to the rule, but they rarely stuck to this rule. Some of their sisters performed missions even during pregnancy.

"Why?"

"Ask the bus skies."

They loved the blue skies and they loved flying. when forbidden to fly any more, they felt bad indeed. So said the earliest aviatrixes. They presented to the loved skies not only youth and domestic happiness, some even laid down their lives. Let's bear in mind their

names: Chen Zhiying, Han Shunu, Pan Juanru and Yang Yancai.

Challenging the upper air one batch after another ,the aviatrixes have put down one successful record after another on their curriculums vitae and on the dreadful high altitude.

Among the sixth batch of aviatrixes, there was a tall girl by the name of Liu Yuhuan. She thus introduced herself to others: "Both my parents are pilots. They named me Yuhuan (meaning 'space surrounding')so that I could carry on their flying cause. I Know that being a pilot means a life of hardships and difficulties, it means the sacrifice of youth, and it means even death. Now that I have taken over my parents' control stick, I'm ready to take over all these."

It is hard to check whether there are other cases of both mother and daughter being aviatrixes in the world, but in China it is certain that there is only one case: Dong Suozhen and Liu Yuhuan . Let's listen to the talk between mother and daughter about soaring in the blue skies from their correspondence:

Dear Mom:

Today is Oct. 21. At this moment you must be blessing your daughter for her 20th birthday. But what I want to tell you is that today, I, Being one of the first batch, took a solo flight!

Early in the morning, when you were still in your sweet dream, I was already seated in the cabin. I breathed deeply and calmed my heart which was about to jump out of my chest. "Take off, 109 (code name for my plane)," at last came the word of command through the earphones. I put off the brakes, opened the throttle, and the plane got out of the runway as swift as the wind and as quick as lightning. With the feeling of a shake of the wings and a drop of my body, the plane left the land! At this moment, a strong feeling of happiness and pride suddenly welled up in my mind.

Mom, your daughter, on her 20th birthday, took over the control stick from your hands. Reading this, you must have smiled. Flying up in the clouds, I felt so close to you in my heart and I understood you so deeply. Mom, do you still remember the little girl who, afraid that mom would go and fly, quietly hid away her flying kit? Today she herself, bright and brave, has flown in the blue skies. Mom, having written here, I cannot help shedding some tears, tears of happiness....

Yuhuan, my dear daughter:

Seeing your letter, mom really smiled and shed tears of happiness like you, feeling as if I were soaring in the blue skies like before. Being one of the second batch of aviatrixes of our country in the 50s, mom never dreamed that 35 years later, her only daughter, on her 20th birthday, would fly up in the blue skies like her.

Yet, as a veteran aviatrix, mom now must tell you: never indulge in pride. You must remember that an aviatrix is not a flower to be appreciated by herself or others. Rather she is a fighter up in the air. The motherland has to spend a great deal of money in training a pilot. You must fly better than mom did....

In ancient China there was the story of the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon. But that was a beautiful legend of oppressed Chinese women seeking freedom. in today's China, dancing in the blue skies with colored ribbons are not only women pilots but also women parachuters. On Aug. 16, 1987, servicewomen of a certain new recruit training brigade of the parachute landing force succeeded in field parachuting

for the first time after the establishment of the organizational system. At 8:30 a.m., with the rise of a green signal flare, the first plane carrying women parachuters rose up to the high altitude of 800 metres. Just then, however, Heaven was not cooperative: postrain air currents kept tossing the plane about. With the ringing of the preparatory bell for jumping, the girls quickly stood up and did various warming-up exercises in good order. With the sound of a long tick, they, one after another, bravely aimed at the cabin door and leapt out. These women parachuters, coming from 8 provinces and cities of the country, had been, when back home, textile women workers, hotel waitresses, shop assistants, or students just out of the school. Each morning they exercised themselves in a 5 kilometre cross-country race. In the scorching midsummer, they practiced jumping from the aircraft and landing in very high temperature. There was a girl by the name of Wang Lin, who even dared not go outside at night before enlistment. But now she jumped out from the high altitude of 800 metres, meeting the set requirements the very first time. After that, the women parachuters, having completed training in field parachute jumping of 7 different subjects, threw themselves into integrated training and survival training in field operations.