Loyalty, secrecy and revolutionary work: female underground operatives and narratives about Chinese female spies before and after 1949

Thesis

This thesis is a study of civilian women mobilised by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and their wartime activities prior to the 1949 Communist takeover of China. Specifically, it investigates the kind of clandestine activities civilian women were mobilised to do – such as the gathering of intelligence and enemy sabotage, how civilian women came to be involved in the first place, and the reasons behind their mobilisation, especially according to CCP Woman-Work officials. It also considers wh...

Expand abstract

Authors: Zhang, A

• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: Chinese Communist Party; Chinese Civil War; Civilian Women; Espionage; Narratives; Clandestine activities; Female Spies; Intelligence; Sino-Japanese War; Gender norms
• Subjects: Sino-Japanese War, 1937-1945; Social history; Women's history; Modern Chinese history