--- description: Xiang Jingyu is one of the leaders, innovators, activists, entertainers, athletes and artists who defined the last century. title: Xiang Jingyu: 100 Women of the Year image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9f97ec2da52e99ff/698a0afb457a524e90d639e9/social-1922_Xiang-Jingyu.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 1922: Xiang Jingyu Mar 5, 2020 11:32 AM CUT  Buy the cover art→ Buy the cover art→Illustration by Jeff Haines; Xinhua/Newscom by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 5, 2020 11:32 AM CUT Xiang Jingyu rejected traditional gender roles, instead committing herself to the cause of the [Chinese Communist Party](https://time.com/longform/shanghai-diary/ "undefined"). Some records suggest Xiang became the first director of the Chinese Communist Women’s Bureau in 1922, as well as the first female member of the CCP Central Committee, though official party histories are unclear on her precise role. Undeniably she was one of the foremost revolutionaries of her time, advocating for women’s education rights and organizing mass labor strikes. After her execution in 1928, she was better remembered as a martyr than an activist, but her vision of women’s liberation impacted those around her—including [Mao Zedong](https://time.com/4329308/cultural-revolution-history-totalitarianism/ "undefined"), who later proclaimed that “women hold up half the sky.” _—Suyin Haynes_ [**Buy the cover art→**](https://fineartamerica.com/featured/xiang-jingyu-1922-time.html "undefined") --- _This article is part of_ [_100 Women of the Year_](https://time.com/100-women-of-the-year/ "undefined")_, TIME’s list of the most influential women of the past century. Read more_ [_about the project_](https://time.com/5793734/time-100-women-of-the-year-issue/ "undefined")_, explore the_ [_100 covers_](https://time.com/5793732/time-100-women-of-the-year-covers/ "undefined") _and sign up for our_ [_Inside TIME newsletter_](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/newsletters?newsletter%5Fname=INSIDE%5FTIME&source=article-woy-footer "undefined") _for more._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5792627/xiang-jingyu-100-women-of-the-year/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5792627/xiang-jingyu-100-women-of-the-year/"},"headline":"1922: Xiang Jingyu","datePublished":"2020-03-05T11:32:58.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T08:19:55.173Z","description":"Xiang Jingyu is one of the leaders, innovators, activists, entertainers, athletes and artists who defined the last century.","url":"https://time.com/5792627/xiang-jingyu-100-women-of-the-year/","keywords":["Women of the Year"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9f97ec2da52e99ff/698a0afb457a524e90d639e9/social-1922_Xiang-Jingyu.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9f97ec2da52e99ff/698a0afb457a524e90d639e9/social-1922_Xiang-Jingyu.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"SOCIAL - Women of the Year: 1922_Xiang-Jingyu","caption":"","creditText":"","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5792627/xiang-jingyu-100-women-of-the-year/","name":"1922: Xiang Jingyu"}}]}] ```