From a poster series of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution:
Xiang Xiuli was born in 1933 into a poor working-class family in Guangzhou. By the age of seven she was working as a servant to a landowner who treated her like a slave. At 13, she found work in the creche of a pharmaceuticals factory. Thanks to the education received from the Party, after the Liberation Xiang Xiuli became an active trade unionist and was a member of both the factory and the district branches of her trade union, with responsibility for female workers. In 1954. she joined the New Democratic Youth League and in 1958 became a candidate for the Chinese Communist Party. On several occasions she received praise and recognition for her work as well as an "Exemplary Worker" award. Initially, her factory was still a private company and she vigorously campaigned under the guidance of the Party against the illegal activities of the capitalists. In December 1958 fire broke out in the factory. The presence of inflammable sodium meant that the blaze quickly spread. In order to save her comrades and state property, Xiang Xiuli bravely fought the flames, suffering severe burns. After 33 days, she lost her battle for life. In 1959 she was posthumously elected to full membership of the Chinese Communist Party by the Central Guangzhou district committee of the Party.
Artist: Mao Fengde
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