Description: Two extremely rare 4x5 negatives from 1943 of Lee Ya-Ching or Li Xiaqing (Chinese: 李霞卿; pinyin: Lǐ Xiáqīng; 1912–1998), also known by her stage name Li Dandan (李旦旦), was a Chinese film actress and a pioneering aviator, as well as a philanthropist. She was the first Chinese woman to be granted a civil aviation license in China, in 1936, and also co-founded its first civilian flying school. As an actress, she starred in Romance of the Western Chamber, and played the lead in an early adaptation of Mulan for the screen. ACCOMPANIES WITH ORIGINAL PAPER NEGATIVE ENVELOPE SLEEVE FROM 1943 Lee Ya-Ching was a flying Good Will Ambassador for United China Relief during World War II. The daughter of a Hong Kong industrialist, Lee attended school in England in 1933 and she began her flight training at Switzerland's Contran École d'Aviation, obtaining the first pilot's license ever granted by the school to a woman. She continued her training at the Boeing School of Aviation, In Oakland, California, where she learned blind flying, metallurgy and mechanics. In 1936, Lee returned to China where she made an air survey of 30,000 miles for the Chinese Army and was appointed instructor of the Shanghai Municipal Air School until the outbreak of war caused the school to close. From 1938 until 1943 Lee flew across the United States and then Latin America soliciting funds for the benefit of Chinese war victims. ying 2,000 feet over San Francisco on a spring day in 1935, Lee Ya-Ching was enjoying her first aerobatic lesson in an open-cockpit trainer. As her instructor started a series of loops, wing-overs, and barrel rolls, Lee’s safety belt suddenly detached—and she found herself sliding out of the airplane. She later recounted in a radio interview, “I was too stupefied to act for a few seconds. Then, in a flash, I remembered all I had been told and pulled the ripcord. I made a perfect three-point landing—right in the middle of San Francisco Bay. But I treaded water, grunting and blowing like a porpoise, until a friendly launch came along and I was lifted aboard.” FROM THIS STORY PHOTO GALLERY RELATED CONTENTThe Father of Chinese AviationAviation wasn’t the obvious career choice for the charismatic Lee, who as a teenager had been one of China’s top silent film actresses. She starred in eight films, and fans bought anything bearing her image, from movie magazines to notepaper. Then, at age 16, she headed to England to continue her education. It was watching an airshow in Paris that set Lee’s life on a new course; she determined to become China’s first female aviator. She told radio host Fred Reed in 1943, “When I was a tiny girl, I often listened to fairy tales at my grandmother’s knee. One of them was told to me often, and it impressed me greatly. It was the legend of a kind lady who flew through the clouds, helping the poor and the unfortunate, and it impressed me very much. I was back in China in 1931 after schooling in Europe, and I saw how ruthlessly Japan started her pattern of aggression. Then and there, I decided to do my bit for China…and began studying the fascinating art of flying. I knew even then that someday I would be able to help my homeland with this knowledge of aviation.” More than any other figure—man or woman—Lee did exactly that, demonstrating her passion for flight throughout China at a time when her countrywomen weren’t even allowed to drive cars. In the decade before World War II, if you had asked anyone in China to name just one pilot, the answer you probably would have gotten would have been Lee Ya-Ching. She earned her pilot’s license in 1933, in Geneva, after a memorable flight in a small, shaky airplane, possibly a Caudron. (“The pilot flew the trembling craft over the Alps and I had horrible visions of landing unceremoniously on Mont Blanc.”) By early 1935 she had relocated to Oakland, California, for advanced training at the Boeing School of Aeronautics. There, Lee flew Stinson and Stearman trainers, and a Ford Tri-motor transport. Her unpublished autobiography, dictated at the tender age of 27 to ghostwriter Elsie McCormick Dunn (and now in the National Air and Space Museum archives), summarized the period: “She struggles with intricate subjects—meteorology, mechanics, navigation, etc; doffs silk gowns for greasy overalls; gets up at 6 a.m. instead of noon to attend classes.” In a 1943 radio interview, Lee recalled: “The engine of a plane became as familiar to me as the palm of my hand. Yes, I got very greasy and dirty, and often I was disgusted at the drudgery connected with absorbing American aeronautic training. But now I am eternally grateful that I stuck to it and passed these courses. American aviation is rightly the envy of the world.” Lee returned to Shanghai in late 1935, U.S. private pilot’s license in hand, eager to use her fame to promote civil aviation. But while the Shanghai Flying Club (part of the China Aviation League) embraced Lee, the Chinese government wasn’t inclined to grant a license to a woman. After intense lobbying, Lee was finally evaluated by a member of the Chinese air force and given a government pilot’s license—along with a special assignment. She flew 30,000 miles throughout China, evaluating airdromes and air routes in the interests of civil aviation. Once the task was complete, she helped organize China’s first civilian flying school, serving as the school’s sole female instructor. In honor of Chiang Kai-shek’s 50th birthday celebration in 1937, she performed an aerobatic routine—the first ever by a Chinese woman in her own country—before 150,000 spectators. Lee continued to score more aviation firsts. Patti Gully’s book Sisters of Heaven notes that Lee planned to write a book on China’s civil air routes, and embarked on a fact-finding tour in a Junkers Ju 52. After being approached by the Southwestern Aviation Corporation, a government-owned airline flying between China and Europe, Lee did a stint as a transport pilot. On July 7, 1937, the Sino-Japanese War broke out. Lee offered her services as a combat pilot. When refused, she asked permission to fly as a ferry pilot or a courier. Both suggestions were rejected. Lee was grounded for the duration of the war, when all civilian flying was prohibited. Intensely disappointed, she established a Red Cross hospital, using her own money. Lee recounted in a radio interview, “When war broke out, I helped to established refugee camps and an emergency hospital for our wounded soldiers. The Japanese put a price on my head. I heard about it and managed to escape from Shanghai several days after the Japanese occupied that city. I came to know the full fury of the war that the Japanese had inflicted on my people when I traveled between Canton and Hong Kong along a railroad line that was continually bombed. In 1938 I decided I could best serve my country by helping to enlist the aid of Americans in our cause.” Lee had hoped that various American contacts—including wealthy socialites and film stars—would help her secure an airplane for a goodwill tour, which she would pilot herself. Putting up her own jewelry (worth more than $6,000) as collateral, Lee secured the loan of a Stinson SR-9B from the Beech Aircraft Company. In her aircraft, dubbed Spirit of New China, Lee began a goodwill tour, raising money for Chinese refugees. The tour was wildly successful. With help from relief organizations, socialites, and fellow aviators (including Louise Thaden) and film stars, the tour visited 40 cities in just three months. In a 1939 letter, Lee described the overwhelming response to her Chicago arrival: “I had a wonderful reception both from the Chinese community and the American public. We had a big crowd of several thousand at the airport and I greeted them by broadcasting from the roof of a building. We had a parade of over one hundred cars with Chinese and American flags. The procession, headed by boy scouts and girl guides, extended for more than ten blocks.” Hollywood was smitten with the diminutive pilot, and Paramount convinced her to take a supporting role in Disputed Passage, starring Dorothy Lamour. (Lee was cast as the “Chinese Aviatrix.”) Lee alternated between filming scenes and, on days she wasn’t needed on the set, continuing her goodwill tour. In a note dashed off during this time, Lee wrote: “May 4th. Went to see the rushes, they were not bad. Everyone at Paramount is so nice to me.” But the relentless pace was wearing, as her May 5 journal entry reveals: “I was preparing for bed when the phone rang, some Chinese want to see me, can’t I have some peace? I thought I could get to bed early for once & there they are, never fail. What can I do but to please them. However they were very sweet.” From 1939 through the end of World War II, Lee raised funds throughout the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. She flew a Beechcraft C17R on behalf of China Relief and an Aeronca Super Chief 65 LB for Relief Wings, and promoted the Red Cross in New Orleans with Chinese-American film actress Anna Mae Wong. Lee was so famous as a flier that she appeared on a bubble gum card and as the heroine in a True Aviation comic book story. By war’s end, a weary Lee was finally able to return to Shanghai. The conditions of the familiar city shocked her, and she fled to Hong Kong to stay with her father. There she tried to get involved with the aeronautical industry, but was rebuffed. Lee’s eight years of nonstop flying seemed over. In the mid-1960s Hong Kong experienced an economic downturn and Lee returned to the United States, settling in the San Francisco Bay area. She promptly obtained a student pilot certificate, passing her written and flying exams in 1966, at the age of 54. In Sisters of Heaven, Patti Gully relates that in the 1970s, while touring the California countryside, Lee “spotted a crop duster sitting in a farmer’s field and asked permission to take it aloft. She proceeded to put the old plane through its paces, performing a series of spins and complicated aerobatic maneuvers until its wires were screaming and its wings were shaking. And then, having taken the machine to the outer limits of its endurance, she calmly landed and politely thanked the astonished owners for their indulgence.” Li was born in the Canton province of China to a wealthy, patriotic family. She was given the nickname “Dandan,” a homophone for the Chinese word for “bomb,” because her family used her baby carriage to stealthily transport explosives. At age 14, she wandered onto a movie set, and the director was smitten with her stunning looks. He offered her the opportunity to act in a silent film, and she thought it would be fun. Despite her lack of experience, Li, using the stage name Li Dandan, quickly won the admiration of audiences, which she capitalized on for six more films. Her most famous role was the title character in Hua Mulan Joins the Army in 1928. Hua Mulan was the young girl who dressed as a boy to go to war, the basis for the Disney animated movie Mulan. In order to play the role convincingly, Li learned martial arts, archery, boxing, fencing and horseback riding. Li XiaQing as Mulan These new skills gave her an edge off the set as well and made her a hero to the production company. One night while they were on location, robbers snuck into the camp and stole the production money. Li jumped on a horse, prevented the thieves from crossing a bridge, and after fighting with them for a while, tossed them over the bridge into the river. Li’s father wanted her to continue her education, so he sent her to Europe. He was also ready to pass off responsibility for her to a husband. He changed her name back to Li Xiaqing and hired a matchmaker. She picked Zheng Baifeng who was educated at the Sorbonne in Paris and worked for China’s Foreign Service. This seemed like a match made in heaven, and the couple was married in 1929 and made their first home in Geneva. Li was 17 years old and Zheng was almost 30. By 1932, Li had become a mother to a son and a daughter. This new responsibility did not, however, interfere with her love of travel. In 1933, Li attended the Paris Air Show and was enamored by flying. Immediately upon returning to Geneva, she enrolled in flying lessons. One year later, Li made her first solo flight and was the first woman to receive a private pilot’s license in Geneva. Li’s reason for learning to fly was patriotic: to help her country advance through aviation. In order to accomplish that, she needed to become a more proficient pilot and mechanic. She enrolled at the Boeing School of Aeronautics in Oakland, California for advanced training. By the time she graduated she could dismantle and reassemble an airplane engine and was versed in aerodynamics, meteorology, aircraft design and radiotelephony. The biggest thrill in flight for Li was aerobatics. On May 15, 1935 she went up with instructor LeRoy B. Gregg over San Francisco Bay. At about 2,200 feet Gregg started a barrel roll and turned the plane upside down. When he looked back, he saw Li falling out of her seat trying to hang on. Then, in shock, he watched her fall. After a free fall of about 900 feet, Li remembered to pull the rip cord and activate the parachute she was wearing. This eased her splash down into the icy cold bay. Li was an experienced swimmer, but her water-logged leather suit and the freezing water made it difficult for her to move. Gregg dropped life preservers, but Li couldn’t get to them. Luckily, airmen at the U.S. Naval Reserve Base in Alameda saw her fall and were on their way to rescue her in a Loening amphibious plane. Unfortunately, the pontoons were stuck on this aircraft, and Li had to continue to tread water until a second one could arrive. Li was in the water for 20 minutes until she climbed aboard the rescue aircraft. A credit to her gender, Li only had two complaints: she was cold, and she lost a shoe. In order to “get back on the horse,” Li went up over the Bay in the same stunt plane the following day. Apparently, the cause of Li’s involuntary ejection was a broken seat belt, although she admitted to a reporter many years later that it was possible she had forgotten to fasten it. This harrowing experience earned Li membership in the Caterpillar Club, an exclusive organization of about 100,000 people with only one requirement to join. You must have saved your own life through an emergency parachute exit from an airplane. On November 5, 1935, Li was the first woman to graduate from the prestigious Boeing School of aeronautics. With a diploma, private pilot’s license and impressive experience, she returned to China. In 1934, General Chaing Kai-shek authorized private flying in China for the first time. After passing a demanding test, Li was the first woman to be issued a government pilot’s license, handed to her by General Chaing himself. With this honor came responsibility. She was given the use of a government plane and charged with inspecting all the airfields throughout China. Li didn’t really have time for family, and didn’t live with her husband and children. This independence had consequences. In 1935 she divorced Zheng under the new constitutional laws which made Zheng lose face. As a result, Li had to forfeit seeing her children until they were adults. Li wasn’t at a loss for romance, however. She had met Peter Doo when she was in Europe and they corresponded while she was lived Oakland. With Li finally a free woman, Doo went to work for her father to encourage a commitment from her. The most she was willing to commit to was a long distance romance for eight years. In Shanghai, Li primarily taught flying and continued to be an example for women. For Chaing Kai-shek’s fiftieth birthday celebration she performed the first aerobatic flight by a woman. For the finale, she dove straight at the podium full of dignitaries and pulled up at last minute, just a few feet above their heads. Her popularity skyrocketed. In 1937 Japan invaded China. Li saw this as the ultimate opportunity to use her skills to serve her country. She was crushed when she was told she would no longer be allowed to fly because she was a woman, not even on courier missions. But she found another way to serve, by founding the First Citizens’ Emergency Auxiliary and using her own money to convert a hotel into the Red Cross Emergency Hospital. She was driven, doing everything from administration work to assisting with surgery to organizing a refugee camp and orphanage to running the radio station that broadcast propaganda. The Japanese were not so appreciative of Li’s contributions and they put her on their black list, forcing her to leave Shanghai. She ended up back in San Francisco where she started working on her idea to fly around the United States raising money to support China. She sold $7,000 worth of jewelry to buy an airplane and finance her excursions. Everywhere she went, Li was given a grand reception. Audiences were surprised and captivated by her beauty and style. The Idaho Statesman in Boise described her outfit of sharkskin slacks, no hose, leather sandals, finger and toenails polished to match the lipstick and a carnation behind her ear. This flower became her trademark. Hollywood noticed her, too. She revived her acting career as a Chinese aviatrix in the movie Disputed Passage starring Dorothy Lamour. She took time out of her flight schedule for the three-day job, and she did her own stunts, donating her earnings to the war refugee fund. By 1939 Li had flown 10,000 miles and raised $10,000 for Chinese refugees. She extended her efforts to two fundraising tours of South America, returning to Shanghai in May 1946. Back in Asia Li only flew for pleasure. She met international businessman Li GeorgeYixiang (no relation). Together they shared a love of travel, golf and horseback riding. They settled in Oakland near where Li had studied at Boeing. By this time, Li’s American pilot’s license had expired, and the Federal Aviation Administration would not recognize her license from Hong Kong. So, in 1966, at 54 years old, Li began flight instruction to become recertified. Li never lost the thrill of flying. One day while she was out driving, she saw a crop duster in a field. She stopped and asked the farmer if she could take it for a spin. She did tricks and aerobatic maneuvers, pushing the plane to its limits. When she landed, she thanked the flabbergasted owner and walked away. Li was 86 years old when she died in Oakland. For her final resting place she wanted to feel the same expanse she felt while flying. She had bought four adjacent plots in the Mountain View Cemetery and insisted that she be buried right in the center with lots of space around her. 长期以来,人们认定中国第一位女飞行员乃秋瑾之女王桂芬,而这一说法逐渐遭到学者质疑。李铭教授认为,李霞卿是中国首位女飞行员,也是民国时期炙手可热的明星。这一说法引起争论。近日,花城出版社出版《飞天名媛》一书,以传记形式真实记录下这位广东美女的飞行生涯,进一步证实,李霞卿是中国首位女飞行员。 飞天梦想 李霞卿出生于1912年4月16日,这一年正是民国元年,民国革故鼎新,将传统的夏历(阴历)改为阳历。小小年纪的李霞卿就知道自己的父亲李应生、叔父李沛基都曾是追随孙中山先生的革命党人。受家庭环境影响,李霞卿从小就有着强烈的民族忧患意识。 李霞卿的祖母徐慕兰为同盟会会员,为辛亥广州起义做了大量工作,在亲属中培养了许多革命志士。其胞妹徐宗汉为中国近代颇有声望的女革命家,同盟会会员,曾参加广州黄花岗起义,协助黄兴领导革命。今天,在珠海博物馆内,伫立着徐慕兰、徐宗汉两人的全身蜡像,供世人瞻仰。李霞卿的叔父李沛基,于1911年10月炸死了清朝驻广州军队的头领凤山将军,为革命军攻占广州立下头功。 幼年李霞卿生活在广东一个大家庭里,李霞卿祖母就经常给她讲那些英勇的神话故事,她尤其喜欢听峨眉山飞天仙女的故事。小霞卿也希望着,自己有一天能长出双翅,飞上蓝天,惩恶扬善,济弱扶倾。有一天,她跑到院子里,爬到围着花园的几块大石头上。她想飞。她展开双臂,腾空跃起,但却重重地摔到了地上。她不服气,爬起来再跳,但还是摔了下来。她非常失望,但却对自己打气说这不过是暂时的挫败而已,她不会认输,终有一天,她一定会飞上天。 飞天的梦想一直伴随着她的成长。 偶然成影星 14岁时,李霞卿出演了由父亲创办的上海民新电影公司的第一部电影《玉洁冰清》,在里面演一个配角。结果一次也没拍过电影的李霞卿,一点也不晕镜头,表演十分成功。此片当时轰动整个上海滩,从此,李霞卿以艺名李旦旦声名鹊起,又主演了十余部影片。凭着出色的表演,李旦旦很快便成为上海影坛一颗耀眼的新星,以至于1928年中秋,在“圆月繁星”群众评选活动中,这位年仅16岁的娇娇女,与胡蝶、王人美、周璇、王莹、高倩萍、阮玲玉一起被誉为“星级七姐妹”。在20年代末期,她的剧照及生活照充斥于各报纸杂志。李旦旦成为上个世纪20年代沪上最走红的电影明星之一。 在游学国外期间,李霞卿在英国的一家私立学校学习了近两年时间。她并没有放弃电影,而是往来于英、法、美等国之间,参观学习西方电影工业,结交了不少外国影星(包括伟大的喜剧大师查理·卓别林)。她曾在卓别林的一次私人宴会上担任“特别主持人”,她还与好莱坞超级巨星威廉·威尔同台合演过世界名剧《简·爱》。国内广大观众对李旦旦的去向十分关心,因此民新公司特为她拍摄了一部新闻片《李旦旦放洋赴英美纪念》,在各大城市影院轮流放映。 尽管如此,李旦旦作为中国影星的时代还是终结了,争强好胜的她选择了更具挑战性的事业:扶摇青云,振翅翱翔。 第一次飞天 1933年,李霞卿报名参加日内瓦科因特林国际机场进行的试飞。当她乘坐那架“摇摇晃晃”的作为一战剩余物资的双翼机──有可能是当地飞行员弗朗西斯·杜拉弗拥有的一架法国高德隆飞机──第一次飞上天空时,李霞卿还对自己的决定是否明智存有疑虑。但是,她抵制不住那种诱惑,很快再一次飞上了蓝天,这一次,她乘坐的是一架性能要好得多的虎蛾双翼机。翱翔在蓝天之上,李霞卿俯望下去,她被眼前的景色深深地震撼了。阿尔卑斯山连绵的山峰上一片银装素裹,白雪皑皑,最高峰勃朗峰是那样壮丽巍峨。远望去,日内瓦湖就像一颗璀璨的蓝宝石,熠熠生辉。 这一经历令人难忘,李霞卿突然意识到,她已经找到了她这一生要追求的事业。她要成为一位飞行家,回到祖国,唤起同胞对航空事业的关注。 1934年春,这位飞行教练眼中“来自东方的美人”第一次单飞。之后,她对飞行的热情与日俱增,而且矢志不渝。天气恶劣无法飞行时,哪怕只来到机场,与心爱的飞机相伴,她也感到无比的满足。当天空阴霾散去,终于可以驾机翱翔蓝天时,那种精神上的愉悦和满足是无以言表的。 李霞卿非常喜欢飞行带给她的那种血脉贲张、凌驾于一切之上的那种感觉。 李霞卿喜欢夜间飞行,特别是在夜晚飞过巴黎上空,在夜色的衬托下,这座美丽的城市就像黑天鹅绒上的一块钻石,熠熠生辉,那闪耀着灯火的凯旋门,在夜色下显得如此璀璨迷人。 然而,李霞卿选择飞行的决定并不是人人都能理解的。据说,当初她报考日内瓦科因特林飞行学校时,一位考官曾问她为什么想成为一名女飞行员。 “漂亮的女士,你如此美貌,为什么选择飞行?”考官问到。 李霞卿答道:“因为在一般人的观念里,飞行是男人的事,似乎与女人无缘,我就是想做女人不大做的事。” 考官接着问道:“据说在你们的国家,女人的脚都是残疾变形的?” 李霞卿坚定地答道:“我来到这里,就是让全世界知道,中国女性不但能在地上走,而且能在天上飞。” 1934年8月6日,李霞卿以优异的成绩通过飞行和理论考试,拿到了瑞士航空俱乐部颁发的飞行执照,成为世界上在日内瓦拿到飞行执照的第一位女性,而在整个瑞士拿到飞行执照的女性当时也不过10人。在中国航空界,李霞卿也是在瑞士取得飞行执照的第一人。从那以后,欧洲成了李霞卿的飞行训练基地。从日内瓦到维也纳,到伦敦,或到巴黎,每到一处,她都是那样引人注目,只见她优雅地步出驾驶舱,一身白色的飞行套装和高跟鞋显得她是那样地整洁素净,就好像刚从美容院出来一样。 当欧洲人正在为这位来自“东方的美人”而津津乐道时,李霞卿决定去深造,报名投考当时世界上一流的航空学校———美国加州奥克兰的波音航空学校,这所学校从不招收女学员,李霞卿是破格被这所飞行学校录取的,除了优异的考试成绩,更主要的是她的精诚所至,1935年1月,李霞卿正式成为这所飞行名校的一员。 第一次跳伞 1935年5月15日,李霞卿与格雷格一同登上了飞机,准备在旧金山湾上空进行飞行特技训练。飞机起飞后在旧金山湾约2200英尺的高空飞行,这时教练格雷格示意李霞卿他准备开始横滚练习。随后,教练猛地一拉驾驶杆,机头昂然而起,向后扣去。这时,格雷格无意中望了一下后视镜,他被镜中的景象吓出了一身冷汗,只见李霞卿的半个身体悬在座舱外,她的手在奋力地抓着机身。随后让教练更惊恐的是,他看着李霞卿完全掉出了座舱。她的安全带断了!格雷格只瞟到了一眼李霞卿脚上穿的锃亮的飞行鞋,然后就不见了她的踪影。 在李霞卿座椅皮带断裂的那一刻,她被这突如其来的事故吓呆了,但强烈的求生欲望让她一下子镇定了下来。良好的心理素质在关键时刻发挥了作用。在急速下降过程中,她的手向背后抓去,克服着强大气流的冲击,拼尽了最后的力气,猛地拉动降落伞的伞锁。她甚至在那一刻还想起了降落伞公司在广告免责条款中的一句冷笑话:“如果降落伞不能正常打开,本公司承诺退款。”不过,打开降落伞后,李霞卿开始意识到这次降落不是在陆地而是在海面上,因此降落难度要大得多。 幸运的是,李霞卿坠入大海后挣脱了降落伞的绳索,降落伞被滚滚的海浪冲到了岸边,驻扎在旧金山湾以东阿拉米达县的美国海军预备队某基地的一位飞行员发现了这顶被海水浸泡得胀鼓鼓的降落伞。之后,海军预备队派出了一架洛宁型水陆两用飞机和两名飞行员前往救援。 而就在此时,李霞卿在海面上奋力挣扎。坠入大海时,强风把她的降落伞吹到了一边,她庆幸自己没有被索具缠住,但是,她发现全皮的飞行服入水后变得笨重不堪。这套飞行服安有五处拉链,想在海里把它脱掉是不可能的。在海里,李霞卿镇定自若,脚下不停地踩着水,不过,冰冷的海水让她意识到危险正在临近。虽然她的游泳技术好,但是她落水的位置距岸边还有半英里多的距离,而且湿重的飞行服也束缚了她的手脚。她甚至连教练格雷格就近扔下来的救生设备都没法够着。 她无计可施,只能尽力浮在海面上。为保持体温,她把双脚放在降落伞的垫子上,尽可能地抬离海面。她头朝上,身体后仰,双手不停地划水,以节省体力。她没有一丝惊慌,而是静静地等待救援人员的到来。 救援人员很快来到了出事地点。就在李霞卿被冻得牙齿打战时,她听到了海军预备队水陆两用飞机驶近的声音。不一会儿,飞机在她头顶盘旋,准备在海上着陆。好事多磨。那位飞行员可能是因为发现了李霞卿而高兴得过了头,不知怎么就把飞机的起落架卡着了,浮筒无法放下来。飞机只好飞回基地,剩下李霞卿继续泡在冰冷的海水里,她开始感到绝望。 在冰冷的海水里,她无法自由地活动四肢,刺骨的海水不断地往她的鼻子、眼睛和耳朵里面灌,她的意志开始松懈。她意识到自己不得不面对这一事实,由于在海水中浸泡了一段时间,她的四肢开始麻木,体力感到不支。不过,李霞卿还是准备作最后的一搏。 天知道过了多久,第二架洛宁水陆两用飞机离开基地,朝李霞卿所在的地点飞来。这一次,飞行员顺利地放下了浮筒,浮筒坠落在李霞卿旁边的海面上,溅起了一阵浪花。此时李霞卿已经四肢麻木,彻骨的寒冷沁入全身。但是在救援人员展开救援时,她使出了全身的力气,奋力抓住了浮筒。她紧紧抓住浮筒,直到海军预备队员将她拖到里面去。当救援人员把李霞卿救上来时,他们都被眼前这位湿淋淋的美人鱼震惊了。他们没有想到坠入大海的飞行员是个女人,而且还是一个来自中国的女人。更让他们吃惊不已的是,这位浑身湿透的幸存者只是轻描淡写地说了两件让她感到遗憾的事,一是她觉得有点冷,二是她的一只鞋丢了。 美国海军预备队救援人员载着李霞卿飞回了基地。虽然身体用毯子包裹着,但是她依然灿烂地笑着。 1935年11月5日这一天,她以全优的成绩成为美国波音航空学校毕业的第一位女学员。 “新中国精神号” 1936年春节前,李霞卿在上海定居了下来。踌躇满志的她一心想唤起国人对航空事业的关注,回到上海的第一时间她就加入了上海中国航空协会,而协会也非常欢迎李霞卿学成归国,称其为“中国第一位女飞行员”。 李霞卿登上了欧亚航空公司的容克斯三引擎飞机开始了她飞行考察的第一站。在飞机上,李霞卿不是一般的乘客,而是获准与机长、欧亚公司经验最丰富的飞行员沃尔瑟·鲁茨同乘驾驶舱。李霞卿在波音飞行学校曾驾驶过三引擎飞机,因此鲁茨机长同意由她来驾驶这架16座容克斯52型机。这架飞机装配精良,机上配有精密的无线电定向仪,在接下来的几天,李霞卿驾驶着欧亚公司的这架飞机飞往十余个城市(北京-太原-郑州-武汉-南京-上海;上海-南京-郑州-西安-成都-昆明),飞行时间达到20小时。凭借着满腔热情,李霞卿在祖国上空飞旋,创造了当时中国女子国内长途飞行的最高纪录。 “她的头发梳成了空心卷,这是1937年最新潮的发式。”女记者在文中记述道。“她身穿一套晚装,上装和长裤是灰绿色的,上有淡红色的花朵。这套装束与那条淡绿色图案的缎子披肩相互映衬。她的皮肤细腻光滑,只有几个小雀斑。她美艳无比。她是那么的优雅,椭圆的脸庞,菱角般的嘴,灿若樱桃的唇,略微上翘的眉毛,只要一见她,你就知道她是一个标准的广东美女。” 1939年3月23日星期四的清晨,李霞卿和她的联合飞行伙伴颜雅清来到机场,开始了她们伟大的环美飞行之旅。李霞卿驾驶的飞机是一架史汀生·瑞连特型单翼机,机身漆涂了耀眼的红色并饰以艳黄色的边,该机起名为“新中国精神号”。 在环美飞行过程中,有些城市会派出飞机在空中列队欢迎她的到来。在飞抵温哥华时,一架政府派出的飞机和几架私人飞机在空中迎候;盐湖城还派出15架飞机在离该市20分钟航程的上空迎接,十分隆重,俨如国宾。 李霞卿所到之处都受到当地政要名流以及民众的热烈欢迎和热情款待,这其中包括当地政府要人、领事馆高官、各团体组织的负责人和当地华人领袖。前来机场迎接李霞卿的队伍十分庞大,大家群情激昂,兴奋异常。李霞卿驾驶着那架非常显眼的红黄两色“新中国精神号”从空中降落,那些费尽心思来到机场准备一睹李霞卿芳容的人是一定不虚此行的。当欢迎的人群望见李霞卿座机机身上漆涂的中美两国国旗时,现场顿时掌声雷动。 晚年飞行当娱乐 1946年5月初,李霞卿搭乘由旧金山飞往上海的商务航班回国。在上海稍作停留后,李霞卿即飞往香港与父亲团聚,并在香港定居下来,她原本帮助重建中国航空基础设施的美好愿望也就此搁浅。战前,她曾经不遗余力地宣传航空救国并且初见成效,而如今,中国的航空事业有强大的美国 政府作后盾,因而显然不需要个人来染指。看清现实也让李霞卿松了一口气,过去的8年,李霞卿一直在为抗战募捐奔波劳碌,她就像个职业飞行员,过着飞人般的生活,而如今,她终于可以“退休”了。 1949年新中国建立,李霞卿在香港的生活并未像许多留在大陆的人那样受到影响。她得以保留自己的生活习性和方式,而且她还可以继续飞行(1950年,她获得香港民航处颁发的私人飞行执照),不过在此期间,李霞卿重上云霄主要是出于娱乐目的,有时一时兴起她会驾机飞往新加坡、曼谷等地。 1998年1月24日,李霞卿因急性肺炎在医院辞世。她看上去没有痛苦,走得很安详。她安息之所的斜坡处远望去,旧金山湾若隐若现,60多年前,一位英勇的女飞行员像仙女一般从天而降,落进旧金山湾那冰冷刺骨的海水里。 长期以来,人们认定中国第一位女飞行员乃秋瑾之女王桂芬,而这一说法逐渐遭到学者质疑。李铭教授认为,李霞卿是中国首位女飞行员,也是民国时期炙手可热的明星。这一说法引起争论。近日,花城出版社出版《飞天名媛》一书,以传记形式真实记录下这位广东美女的飞行生涯,进一步证实,李霞卿是中国首位女飞行员。 飞天梦想 李霞卿出生于1912年4月16日,这一年正是民国元年,民国革故鼎新,将传统的夏历(阴历)改为阳历。小小年纪的李霞卿就知道自己的父亲李应生、叔父李沛基都曾是追随孙中山先生的革命党人。受家庭环境影响,李霞卿从小就有着强烈的民族忧患意识。 李霞卿的祖母徐慕兰为同盟会会员,为辛亥广州起义做了大量工作,在亲属中培养了许多革命志士。其胞妹徐宗汉为中国近代颇有声望的女革命家,同盟会会员,曾参加广州黄花岗起义,协助黄兴领导革命。今天,在珠海博物馆内,伫立着徐慕兰、徐宗汉两人的全身蜡像,供世人瞻仰。李霞卿的叔父李沛基,于1911年10月炸死了清朝驻广州军队的头领凤山将军,为革命军攻占广州立下头功。 幼年李霞卿生活在广东一个大家庭里,李霞卿祖母就经常给她讲那些英勇的神话故事,她尤其喜欢听峨眉山飞天仙女的故事。小霞卿也希望着,自己有一天能长出双翅,飞上蓝天,惩恶扬善,济弱扶倾。有一天,她跑到院子里,爬到围着花园的几块大石头上。她想飞。她展开双臂,腾空跃起,但却重重地摔到了地上。她不服气,爬起来再跳,但还是摔了下来。她非常失望,但却对自己打气说这不过是暂时的挫败而已,她不会认输,终有一天,她一定会飞上天。 飞天的梦想一直伴随着她的成长。 偶然成影星 14岁时,李霞卿出演了由父亲创办的上海民新电影公司的第一部电影《玉洁冰清》,在里面演一个配角。结果一次也没拍过电影的李霞卿,一点也不晕镜头,表演十分成功。此片当时轰动整个上海滩,从此,李霞卿以艺名李旦旦声名鹊起,又主演了十余部影片。凭着出色的表演,李旦旦很快便成为上海影坛一颗耀眼的新星,以至于1928年中秋,在“圆月繁星”群众评选活动中,这位年仅16岁的娇娇女,与胡蝶、王人美、周璇、王莹、高倩萍、阮玲玉一起被誉为“星级七姐妹”。在20年代末期,她的剧照及生活照充斥于各报纸杂志。李旦旦成为上个世纪20年代沪上最走红的电影明星之一。 在游学国外期间,李霞卿在英国的一家私立学校学习了近两年时间。她并没有放弃电影,而是往来于英、法、美等国之间,参观学习西方电影工业,结交了不少外国影星(包括伟大的喜剧大师查理·卓别林)。她曾在卓别林的一次私人宴会上担任“特别主持人”,她还与好莱坞超级巨星威廉·威尔同台合演过世界名剧《简·爱》。国内广大观众对李旦旦的去向十分关心,因此民新公司特为她拍摄了一部新闻片《李旦旦放洋赴英美纪念》,在各大城市影院轮流放映。 尽管如此,李旦旦作为中国影星的时代还是终结了,争强好胜的她选择了更具挑战性的事业:扶摇青云,振翅翱翔。 第一次飞天 1933年,李霞卿报名参加日内瓦科因特林国际机场进行的试飞。当她乘坐那架“摇摇晃晃”的作为一战剩余物资的双翼机──有可能是当地飞行员弗朗西斯·杜拉弗拥有的一架法国高德隆飞机──第一次飞上天空时,李霞卿还对自己的决定是否明智存有疑虑。但是,她抵制不住那种诱惑,很快再一次飞上了蓝天,这一次,她乘坐的是一架性能要好得多的虎蛾双翼机。翱翔在蓝天之上,李霞卿俯望下去,她被眼前的景色深深地震撼了。阿尔卑斯山连绵的山峰上一片银装素裹,白雪皑皑,最高峰勃朗峰是那样壮丽巍峨。远望去,日内瓦湖就像一颗璀璨的蓝宝石,熠熠生辉。 这一经历令人难忘,李霞卿突然意识到,她已经找到了她这一生要追求的事业。她要成为一位飞行家,回到祖国,唤起同胞对航空事业的关注。 1934年春,这位飞行教练眼中“来自东方的美人”第一次单飞。之后,她对飞行的热情与日俱增,而且矢志不渝。天气恶劣无法飞行时,哪怕只来到机场,与心爱的飞机相伴,她也感到无比的满足。当天空阴霾散去,终于可以驾机翱翔蓝天时,那种精神上的愉悦和满足是无以言表的。 李霞卿非常喜欢飞行带给她的那种血脉贲张、凌驾于一切之上的那种感觉。 李霞卿喜欢夜间飞行,特别是在夜晚飞过巴黎上空,在夜色的衬托下,这座美丽的城市就像黑天鹅绒上的一块钻石,熠熠生辉,那闪耀着灯火的凯旋门,在夜色下显得如此璀璨迷人。 然而,李霞卿选择飞行的决定并不是人人都能理解的。据说,当初她报考日内瓦科因特林飞行学校时,一位考官曾问她为什么想成为一名女飞行员。 “漂亮的女士,你如此美貌,为什么选择飞行?”考官问到。 李霞卿答道:“因为在一般人的观念里,飞行是男人的事,似乎与女人无缘,我就是想做女人不大做的事。” 考官接着问道:“据说在你们的国家,女人的脚都是残疾变形的?” 李霞卿坚定地答道:“我来到这里,就是让全世界知道,中国女性不但能在地上走,而且能在天上飞。” 1934年8月6日,李霞卿以优异的成绩通过飞行和理论考试,拿到了瑞士航空俱乐部颁发的飞行执照,成为世界上在日内瓦拿到飞行执照的第一位女性,而在整个瑞士拿到飞行执照的女性当时也不过10人。在中国航空界,李霞卿也是在瑞士取得飞行执照的第一人。从那以后,欧洲成了李霞卿的飞行训练基地。从日内瓦到维也纳,到伦敦,或到巴黎,每到一处,她都是那样引人注目,只见她优雅地步出驾驶舱,一身白色的飞行套装和高跟鞋显得她是那样地整洁素净,就好像刚从美容院出来一样。 当欧洲人正在为这位来自“东方的美人”而津津乐道时,李霞卿决定去深造,报名投考当时世界上一流的航空学校———美国加州奥克兰的波音航空学校,这所学校从不招收女学员,李霞卿是破格被这所飞行学校录取的,除了优异的考试成绩,更主要的是她的精诚所至,1935年1月,李霞卿正式成为这所飞行名校的一员。 第一次跳伞 1935年5月15日,李霞卿与格雷格一同登上了飞机,准备在旧金山湾上空进行飞行特技训练。飞机起飞后在旧金山湾约2200英尺的高空飞行,这时教练格雷格示意李霞卿他准备开始横滚练习。随后,教练猛地一拉驾驶杆,机头昂然而起,向后扣去。这时,格雷格无意中望了一下后视镜,他被镜中的景象吓出了一身冷汗,只见李霞卿的半个身体悬在座舱外,她的手在奋力地抓着机身。随后让教练更惊恐的是,他看着李霞卿完全掉出了座舱。她的安全带断了!格雷格只瞟到了一眼李霞卿脚上穿的锃亮的飞行鞋,然后就不见了她的踪影。 在李霞卿座椅皮带断裂的那一刻,她被这突如其来的事故吓呆了,但强烈的求生欲望让她一下子镇定了下来。良好的心理素质在关键时刻发挥了作用。在急速下降过程中,她的手向背后抓去,克服着强大气流的冲击,拼尽了最后的力气,猛地拉动降落伞的伞锁。她甚至在那一刻还想起了降落伞公司在广告免责条款中的一句冷笑话:“如果降落伞不能正常打开,本公司承诺退款。”不过,打开降落伞后,李霞卿开始意识到这次降落不是在陆地而是在海面上,因此降落难度要大得多。 幸运的是,李霞卿坠入大海后挣脱了降落伞的绳索,降落伞被滚滚的海浪冲到了岸边,驻扎在旧金山湾以东阿拉米达县的美国海军预备队某基地的一位飞行员发现了这顶被海水浸泡得胀鼓鼓的降落伞。之后,海军预备队派出了一架洛宁型水陆两用飞机和两名飞行员前往救援。 而就在此时,李霞卿在海面上奋力挣扎。坠入大海时,强风把她的降落伞吹到了一边,她庆幸自己没有被索具缠住,但是,她发现全皮的飞行服入水后变得笨重不堪。这套飞行服安有五处拉链,想在海里把它脱掉是不可能的。在海里,李霞卿镇定自若,脚下不停地踩着水,不过,冰冷的海水让她意识到危险正在临近。虽然她的游泳技术好,但是她落水的位置距岸边还有半英里多的距离,而且湿重的飞行服也束缚了她的手脚。她甚至连教练格雷格就近扔下来的救生设备都没法够着。 她无计可施,只能尽力浮在海面上。为保持体温,她把双脚放在降落伞的垫子上,尽可能地抬离海面。她头朝上,身体后仰,双手不停地划水,以节省体力。她没有一丝惊慌,而是静静地等待救援人员的到来。 救援人员很快来到了出事地点。就在李霞卿被冻得牙齿打战时,她听到了海军预备队水陆两用飞机驶近的声音。不一会儿,飞机在她头顶盘旋,准备在海上着陆。好事多磨。那位飞行员可能是因为发现了李霞卿而高兴得过了头,不知怎么就把飞机的起落架卡着了,浮筒无法放下来。飞机只好飞回基地,剩下李霞卿继续泡在冰冷的海水里,她开始感到绝望。 在冰冷的海水里,她无法自由地活动四肢,刺骨的海水不断地往她的鼻子、眼睛和耳朵里面灌,她的意志开始松懈。她意识到自己不得不面对这一事实,由于在海水中浸泡了一段时间,她的四肢开始麻木,体力感到不支。不过,李霞卿还是准备作最后的一搏。 天知道过了多久,第二架洛宁水陆两用飞机离开基地,朝李霞卿所在的地点飞来。这一次,飞行员顺利地放下了浮筒,浮筒坠落在李霞卿旁边的海面上,溅起了一阵浪花。此时李霞卿已经四肢麻木,彻骨的寒冷沁入全身。但是在救援人员展开救援时,她使出了全身的力气,奋力抓住了浮筒。她紧紧抓住浮筒,直到海军预备队员将她拖到里面去。当救援人员把李霞卿救上来时,他们都被眼前这位湿淋淋的美人鱼震惊了。他们没有想到坠入大海的飞行员是个女人,而且还是一个来自中国的女人。更让他们吃惊不已的是,这位浑身湿透的幸存者只是轻描淡写地说了两件让她感到遗憾的事,一是她觉得有点冷,二是她的一只鞋丢了。 美国海军预备队救援人员载着李霞卿飞回了基地。虽然身体用毯子包裹着,但是她依然灿烂地笑着。 1935年11月5日这一天,她以全优的成绩成为美国波音航空学校毕业的第一位女学员。 “新中国精神号” 1936年春节前,李霞卿在上海定居了下来。踌躇满志的她一心想唤起国人对航空事业的关注,回到上海的第一时间她就加入了上海中国航空协会,而协会也非常欢迎李霞卿学成归国,称其为“中国第一位女飞行员”。 李霞卿登上了欧亚航空公司的容克斯三引擎飞机开始了她飞行考察的第一站。在飞机上,李霞卿不是一般的乘客,而是获准与机长、欧亚公司经验最丰富的飞行员沃尔瑟·鲁茨同乘驾驶舱。李霞卿在波音飞行学校曾驾驶过三引擎飞机,因此鲁茨机长同意由她来驾驶这架16座容克斯52型机。这架飞机装配精良,机上配有精密的无线电定向仪,在接下来的几天,李霞卿驾驶着欧亚公司的这架飞机飞往十余个城市(北京-太原-郑州-武汉-南京-上海;上海-南京-郑州-西安-成都-昆明),飞行时间达到20小时。凭借着满腔热情,李霞卿在祖国上空飞旋,创造了当时中国女子国内长途飞行的最高纪录。 “她的头发梳成了空心卷,这是1937年最新潮的发式。”女记者在文中记述道。“她身穿一套晚装,上装和长裤是灰绿色的,上有淡红色的花朵。这套装束与那条淡绿色图案的缎子披肩相互映衬。她的皮肤细腻光滑,只有几个小雀斑。她美艳无比。她是那么的优雅,椭圆的脸庞,菱角般的嘴,灿若樱桃的唇,略微上翘的眉毛,只要一见她,你就知道她是一个标准的广东美女。” 1939年3月23日星期四的清晨,李霞卿和她的联合飞行伙伴颜雅清来到机场,开始了她们伟大的环美飞行之旅。李霞卿驾驶的飞机是一架史汀生·瑞连特型单翼机,机身漆涂了耀眼的红色并饰以艳黄色的边,该机起名为“新中国精神号”。 在环美飞行过程中,有些城市会派出飞机在空中列队欢迎她的到来。在飞抵温哥华时,一架政府派出的飞机和几架私人飞机在空中迎候;盐湖城还派出15架飞机在离该市20分钟航程的上空迎接,十分隆重,俨如国宾。 李霞卿所到之处都受到当地政要名流以及民众的热烈欢迎和热情款待,这其中包括当地政府要人、领事馆高官、各团体组织的负责人和当地华人领袖。前来机场迎接李霞卿的队伍十分庞大,大家群情激昂,兴奋异常。李霞卿驾驶着那架非常显眼的红黄两色“新中国精神号”从空中降落,那些费尽心思来到机场准备一睹李霞卿芳容的人是一定不虚此行的。当欢迎的人群望见李霞卿座机机身上漆涂的中美两国国旗时,现场顿时掌声雷动。 晚年飞行当娱乐 1946年5月初,李霞卿搭乘由旧金山飞往上海的商务航班回国。在上海稍作停留后,李霞卿即飞往香港与父亲团聚,并在香港定居下来,她原本帮助重建中国航空基础设施的美好愿望也就此搁浅。战前,她曾经不遗余力地宣传航空救国并且初见成效,而如今,中国的航空事业有强大的美国 政府作后盾,因而显然不需要个人来染指。看清现实也让李霞卿松了一口气,过去的8年,李霞卿一直在为抗战募捐奔波劳碌,她就像个职业飞行员,过着飞人般的生活,而如今,她终于可以“退休”了。 1949年新中国建立,李霞卿在香港的生活并未像许多留在大陆的人那样受到影响。她得以保留自己的生活习性和方式,而且她还可以继续飞行(1950年,她获得香港民航处颁发的私人飞行执照),不过在此期间,李霞卿重上云霄主要是出于娱乐目的,有时一时兴起她会驾机飞往新加坡、曼谷等地。 1998年1月24日,李霞卿因急性肺炎在医院辞世。她看上去没有痛苦,走得很安详。她安息之所的斜坡处远望去,旧金山湾若隐若现,60多年前,一位英勇的女飞行员像仙女一般从天而降,落进旧金山湾那冰冷刺骨的海水里。 Lee Ya-Ching or Li Xiaqing (Chinese: 李霞卿; pinyin: Lǐ Xiáqīng; 1912–1998), also known by her stage name Li Dandan (李旦旦), was a Chinese film actress and a pioneering aviator, as well as a philanthropist. She was the first Chinese woman to be granted a civil aviation license in China, in 1936, and also co-founded its first civilian flying school. As an actress, she starred in Romance of the Western Chamber, and played the lead in an early adaptation of Mulan for the screen.[1][2][3] Contents1Aviator2Filmography3See also4References5External linksAviatorAt the age of sixteen, Li witnessed an airshow in Paris, which left a strong impression on her.[4] In 1943, looking back on the start of her flying career, she explained that she had been troubled by Japanese aggression towards China and decided that she could best serve her country through flying.[4] Li began training at the Contran É cole d'Aviation in Switzerland, where she was the first female student to receive a pilot's license.[4] In 1935, she enrolled in the Boeing School of Aviation in Oakland, California for advanced training.[4] Later that year, she returned to China, where she was commissioned by the Chinese government to make a 30,000 mile survey of potential air routes.[4] Li also helped found the Shanghai Municipal Air School[1] and worked there as a flight instructor until civilian flights were grounded.[4] Filmography Cover of the Young Companion issue 7, 1926, featuring actress Li Dandan on the cover.Disputed Passage (1939) - Aviatrix (credited as Ya-Ching Lee)Don't Change Your Husband (1929)Five Avenging Women (1928)Mulan Joins the Army (1928) - Hua MulanA Wandering Songstress (天涯歌女) (1927) - Li LingxiaoRomance of the Western Chamber (西廂記) (1927) - HongniangA Poet from the Sea (1927) - Liu Tsan YingWhy Not Her (玉潔冰清) (1926) - Kong QiongxianThe God of Peace (和平之神) (1926) - Lin Cuiwei Lee Ya-Ching was a flying Good Will Ambassador for United China Relief during World War II. The daughter of a Hong Kong industrialist, Lee attended school in England in 1933 and she began her flight training at Switzerland's Contran École d'Aviation, obtaining the first pilot's license ever granted by the school to a woman. She continued her training at the Boeing School of Aviation, In Oakland, California, where she learned blind flying, metallurgy and mechanics. In 1936, Lee returned to China where she made an air survey of 30,000 miles for the Chinese Army and was appointed instructor of the Shanghai Municipal Air School until the outbreak of war caused the school to close. From 1938 until 1943 Lee flew across the United States and then Latin America soliciting funds for the benefit of Chinese war victims. 李霞卿(1912年4月16日-1998年1月24日),生于1912年,广东省海丰县人,其父李应生是位爱国志士,曾在上海法国租界巡捕房中担任高级翻译,后与他人共同组建上海民新影片公司。童年时,她随父到过欧洲,学过法语,14岁便以李旦旦的艺名从影。 先后在多部影片中出演角色,成为影星。1929年,民新影片公司并入华联影片公司后,她结束影星生涯,和新婚丈夫一道去欧洲,先在英国一间私立学校读书,后入瑞士日内瓦康塔纳飞行学校学飞行,被誉为“中国第一位女飞行员”。一生共经历了三次婚姻,1998年因病在美国去世,终年86岁。中文名李霞卿别 名艺名:李旦旦出生日期1912年4月16日逝世日期1998年职 业演员、飞行员毕业院校美国奥克兰波音航空学校代表作品《玉洁冰清》等主要成就演员、飞行员生涯目录1 生平介绍2 明艳风采3 国难之危4 “东方蜻蜓”5 平和一生生平介绍编辑李霞卿,生于广东省海丰县一个富有革命传统的富商家庭。李霞卿父亲李应生是位爱国志士。1911年10月25日,李应生和胞弟李沛基炸死了清朝驻广州军队的头领凤山将军,为革命军攻占广州立下头功。李霞卿的祖母徐慕兰就是中国近代著名事业家徐润之侄女,女革命家徐宗汉之胞姐。父亲曾在上海法国租界巡捕房中担任高级翻译。童年时,随父到过欧洲,学过法语。回国后在香港及上海中西文学校读书,精通英语。受家庭的影响和东西方文化的熏陶,她思想活跃,爱好多样,胆识过人。明艳风采编辑1926年,其父在上海与他人共同组建上海民新影片公司。李霞卿在民新影片公司拍摄的第一部影片《玉洁冰清》中担任女主角的妹妹,演出很成功。此后,在《和平之神》、《海角诗人》、《天涯孤女》、《五女复仇》、《西厢记》、《木兰从军》等影片中担任主角或重要配角,成为名噪一时的影星。李霞卿李霞卿 [1]1929年,民新影片公司并入华联影片公司后,她便结束影星生涯,和新婚丈夫一道去欧洲,先在英国一间私立学校读书,后入瑞士日内瓦康塔纳飞行学校学飞行。国难之危编辑1935年转到美国奥克兰波音航空学校深造。在名教练指导下,她刻苦学练,很快掌握各种复杂的飞行技术。1935年5月15日,她在奥克兰机场上空练习难度较大的翻筋斗飞行,因座椅皮带松开,突然把她抛出机舱之外。在危急时刻,她冷静果敢,迅速打开背上的救生伞,降落在附近的旧金山海湾里,为美国海军救出,在美国轰动一时。她因此成为美国妇女航空协会会员,并加入卡特皮勒飞行俱乐部。她在美国飞行界成名之后,仍不忘爱国。同年12月,归国到上海。后到香港西南航空公司任见习驾驶员,不久辞职返沪。1936年,她在上海作精彩的飞行表演,引起轰动。同年,她又在国内作了从上海到湛江、北平到成都的两次长途飞行。1937年8月,“八一三”淞沪抗战爆发,战火烧到家门口,她亦被卷进抗日救亡的洪流之中。先后在救护学校和难民营工作。1939年初,应美国援华药物局的邀请,她驾驶“新中国精神号”的单翼轻型飞机,访问纽约、华盛顿、巴梳、圣地亚哥、盐湖市、洛杉矶等大中城市,开展广泛的国际援华抗日活动。每到一处,都受到华侨和当地友好人士的热烈欢迎。1940年,她驾机飞往南美洲一些国家进行抗日宣传募捐。在秘鲁,她驾驶军用飞机作了长达1个小时的飞行表演,募捐4万元。秘鲁航空部长前往观看,为她的演技拍手叫好,并赠给她一枚航空金质徽章。1940年3月,美国《远东》杂志记者对她进行专访,问她驾机单独远飞是否是冒险的问题,她回答:“面对侵略,中国为了图存,我们正在忍受着苦难”。“所有的中国人,不论在国内或在世界各地,为了祖国,是很少想到危险的。”这些话,道出了她万里飞行的原因。“东方蜻蜓”编辑李霞卿是中国妇女航空史中的一颗巨星,虽然只有28李霞卿驾机在美国芝加哥机场降落李霞卿驾机在美国芝加哥机场降落年的人生历程,但她登上了人生的制高点,她的名字被载入《中国大百科全书·航空航天卷》。她绚丽的生命如五彩云霞,在漫漫长空投射出中国女性的灿烂与辉煌。 关于她,有这样的记载: 她是中国女子跳伞第一人; 她是中国航空界在瑞士取得飞行执照的第一人; 她是第一个获得政府许可在中国表演飞行的女飞行员; 她是中国民航第一位女驾驶员; 她是第一个驾驶军用飞机表演飞行的中国女飞行员; 她是中国第一个创国内长途飞行纪录的女飞行员; 她是唯一曾在南北美洲作长途飞行的中国女飞行员。 1928年,上海影坛骤然升起一颗耀眼的新星——李旦旦。这位少李霞卿李霞卿女在影片《冰清玉洁》中啼声初试,接下来一发而不可收。《木兰从军》《天涯歌女》《海角诗人》……真挚纯情的表演,清丽可人的形象,倾倒了上海滩上的男男女女,一时间成为街头巷尾争相议论的人物。 这位名噪一时,几乎与影后林楚楚齐名的李旦旦,正是李霞卿。此时的李霞卿年仅16岁。 李霞卿的家庭为广东富豪,童年的李霞卿便随父漂洋过海,周游欧洲,接触了灿烂的西方文明,为她的人生铺上了亮丽的底色。回国后,她在香港、上海读书,唐诗、宋词、元曲又令她深深陶醉,补上源远流长的中国文化这一课。 李霞卿在中西文化的长河里畅游,这是她人生腾飞的翅膀。她自幼聪颖敏慧,口齿伶俐,胆识过人,又天生丽质,父母视这个独生女儿为掌上明珠、却不宠不娇、不做任何约束她性格发展的事情。 在影坛获得极大成功后,1930年,18岁的李霞卿告别了她千千万万个影迷,从银幕上消失。她悄然来到了法国巴黎。一个偶然的机会,她观看了巴黎的飞行表演。在飞机拉起,呼啸着离开地面,直冲云霄的刹那,李霞卿浑身悸动。不是惧怕,不是震惊,一种从未体验过的强烈刺激,人神交融的高度自由感,在那一瞬间向李霞卿袭来。 随即,李霞卿决定投考瑞士日内瓦科恩梯南飞行学校。 监考官问:“漂亮的女士,你如此美貌,为什么选择飞行?” 李霞卿答:“因为在一般人观念里,飞行是男人的事,似乎与女人无缘,我就是想做女人不大做的事。” 监考官大感兴趣:“据说在你们的国家,女人的脚都是残疾变形的?” “我来到这里,就是让世界知道,中国女性不但能在地上走,而且能在天上飞。” 一个中国人,尤其是中国女人,跻身国外的飞行世界中并中国首位女飞行李霞卿中国首位女飞行李霞卿非容易。李霞卿常常因教练机少而排不上课目。倔强的她每天第一个来到机场,最晚一个退场,沉默地不离教官左右,以静坐表示她的愤怒和抗议。 教官歧视的目光渐而转变为欣赏,不动声色地增加了李霞卿的飞行时间。在她第一次放单飞时,大胡子教官特意在她的飞机尾翼上扎了一条长长的大红飘带,随着开飞的信号,李霞卿一拉驾驶杆,跃入碧空,红色飘带如一抹燃烧的红霞,在天际飞舞。 一年后,李霞卿以“全优”成绩毕业于科恩梯南飞行学校,成为第一个拿到瑞士飞行执照的中国人。教练们称她为“东方的蜻蜓”,深为有她这样出色的学员而感到自豪。 1935年5月15日上午,碧空如洗,惠风和畅,美国奥克兰市机场上空出现了李霞卿驾驶的轻型飞机的身影。 李霞卿心旷神怡,三转弯之后,进人训练课目——翻筋斗。 特技飞行对于不甘平庸的她,太对胃口了。 周身的热血在沸腾。她猛地一拉驾驶杆,机头昂然而起,向后扣去。 “啊—!” 她惊叫一声,座椅的皮带断裂,她猛地被甩出机舱。 一阵黑黝,金星飞溅! 巨大的气流有如万把锋利的尖刀,刺着李霞卿的皮肤、五官、四肢,她的意识突然苏醒了。 就这样向人生告别了吗? 23个春秋,作为人生的旅程,太短太短了。她还没有把人生的酸甜苦辣全部品尽,她还没有来得及报效祖国,怎么就此了结了呢?强烈的求生欲望使她一下子镇静了。良好的心理素质在关键时刻发挥了作用。 她的手向背后抓去,克服着强大气流的冲击,拼尽了最后的力气,猛地拉动伞锁。 “砰”地一声,伞终于张开了。 似乎只有30秒,降落伞带着她坠入大海。她挣脱了降落伞的绳索,镇定自若地在海上浮游,对着大海,对着陆地,她高声喊着:“我爱你!” 美国海军派出的水陆两用飞机和快艇在大海上发现了李霞卿。随艇记者被这湿淋淋的美人鱼震惊了。她那梦一样美丽的眼睛欢笑着,没有一丝惊慌,仿佛她刚刚遨游了龙宫,完成了一个美好的神话。 此事一时轰动美国,传为佳话。 1935年12月,她学成回国,踌躇满志的她一心想唤起妇女开创中国妇女航空的新纪元,因此当她一踏上祖国的土地,便决定在上海举行飞行表演,以唤起同胞姐妹对航空事业的注意。 1936年3月的一天,上海的天空出现了一架单翼型飞机,橙红色,亮丽如火,时而盘旋翱翔,时而低空巡航,时而做特技飞行,夺目的橙红色搅起满天霞光。李霞卿绕上海市飞了3圈,又在国际饭店上空做了一番特技,而后轻盈地落地了。人们像潮水般地向她涌来,李霞卿的视线被夺眶而出的泪水挡住了。 1937年,“八一三”淞沪抗战爆发,李霞卿随即投身于抗日救亡的李霞卿李霞卿工作。鉴于当时救护工作中的药品极度缺乏,李霞卿应美国援华药物局之邀,赴南北美洲各国访问,征求募捐。1939年初,李霞卿再次跨越太平洋来到美国,她驾驶着橙红色“新中国精神号”单翼轻型飞机,开始了“抗日救国、匹夫有责”的爱国募捐飞行。 一个明媚的春日,三藩市美洛斯机场聚集着成千上万的华侨,他们的眼睛一齐举向800英尺上空。 蓝天上,一架橙红色飞机表演了各种飞行特技之后,李霞卿从机舱中爬了出来。 “噢!上帝,那是一个女人!” 人群中一个妇女尖叫了起来。 李霞卿站在高高的舷梯上,微笑着向人群致意,开始演讲:“我亲爱的骨肉同胞,亲爱的美国朋友们,多蒙你们热情厚义,感佩难忘。现在中国正受蹂躏,中国人民正在战火血泊中挣扎。国难当头,应急图拯救,小妹环飞美洲宣传抗日,征求募捐,效力疆场,以尽匹夫救国之责。” 演讲被激奋的掌声一次次打断。捐款的签名单上密密麻麻。 李霞卿接着又飞访了圣地亚哥、洛杉矶等城市,被外国记者誉称“飞行使者”、“中国一位亲善特使”。新闻媒体也追踪采访,争相报道,一度出现了席卷全美的“李霞卿热”,这使她的募捐活动取得了极大的成功。1940年,李霞卿又飞往南美洲各国宣传募捐。没想到的是,在1940年的一次募捐表演时,因飞机失事,李霞卿不幸殉难。 噩耗传回祖国,举国悲恸。 李霞卿,以碧血完成了她人生画卷的最后一笔。(误传) [2] 平和一生编辑在抗战结束后,李霞卿到了香港,1960年中从香港迁居美国,住在旧金山湾区,并於1998年辞逝於旧金山,享年86年。 “李霞卿28岁时在一次募捐飞行表演中飞机失事,不幸罹难”的说法乃误传。———————————————————————————————————————————————广东江门市星光公园———只见背倚青山的平地上,一座座明星雕塑错落而立,这些都是祖籍江门的明星。其中一个雕像手里拿着书本,面带喜悦地眺望前方,她就是民国传奇影星、女飞行员李霞卿。李霞卿屹立江门星光公园,意味着这位在中国电影界和航空界,制造了一个又一个“神话”的奇女子正式被江门市政府认可为本土人氏。民国不缺少名伶,但像李霞卿这样,生命中的每个重要历程,都充斥着别人的惊叹、讹传和猜疑的,仅此一人。不只如此,拂去笼罩在李霞卿身上的尘世浮华与宏大叙事,展现在世人面前的,是一位在婚姻中寻觅独立的妻子,在分离中寻觅骨肉的母亲,在旧时代寻觅权利的女人。从出生、到转型、再到死亡,李霞卿的一部分传奇变成了谜语,另一部分传奇则变成了传说。李霞卿的出生关于李霞卿的争议从她的出生年月开始。李霞卿的父亲李应生,早期是上海法租界巡捕房高级翻译,1926年,与中国电影先驱黎民伟一起,合组了上海民新电影公司,是中国早期电影史上的重要人物。戏剧家欧阳予倩描述李应生是“精明能干的、华侨型的人物”。事实上,除了做生意,李应生还是早期的革命先驱,曾与弟弟李沛基合作,炸死了清朝派驻广州的将军凤山。李霞卿的出生争议,正是与这次爆炸案有关。当年广州黄花岗起义失败后,革命人士李沛基想谋划一次刺杀,给革命烈士复仇。后来目标选中了清朝派驻广州的将军凤山,在凤山路过的地方开了一家洋货店,储存了炸弹等候。终于有一天等到了机会成事。当年辛亥革命元老邹海滨曾写了《李旦旦女士小传》一文,提到了这次刺杀经过:“女士名旦旦,炸凤山时,女士尚在襁褓。其父既定谋行炸,常抱负一乳儿嬉游门外以避侦者目,乳儿非他,即女士也。”“李旦旦”是李霞卿后来拍电影时的艺名。五邑大学文学院教授、中国早期电影人研究专家凤群认为,这里将李霞卿说成了“尚在襁褓”,与事实不符。事实上,这次爆炸案发生的时间,是1911年10月25日,当时李霞卿还没有出生,也就不可能作为掩护爆炸的“障眼物”。李霞卿于1912年才在广东出生。她在美国加州的墓碑上明白无误地写着她的生日是“1912年4月16日”。但这个“1911年出生”的说法流传甚广。1935年5月15日的《旧金山新闻》采用了这种说法。时至1985年,国内杂志《电影世界》中一篇名为《影星、飞行员———李旦旦》的文章,仍沿袭了这种说法。李霞卿是个独生女,四岁时母亲就去世了,小时候和父亲一起生活。李霞卿的出生,不但在时间上有误传,在祖籍归属上,也有至今存在的分歧。事实上,没有明确的史料,直接讲明李霞卿的祖籍在何处。坊间流传的说法中,“李霞卿祖籍在汕尾市海丰县”一说流传较广,至今多处网站引用。海丰县档案局局长黄大毅:“以前也看到过(有关李霞卿是海丰人的介绍),但还有待弄清楚。”在海丰县档案局所属的“海丰档案信息网”上,“海丰名人史料”栏目里,并没有李霞卿的资料。但在汕尾市官方网站“汕尾市人民政府网”上,“名人传记”栏目里,李霞卿的传记列入其中,名叫《从电影明星到飞行家:海丰侨胞李霞卿》。在1988年,已故广东省江门恩平市航空史专家关中人提出,李霞卿的祖籍在广东省江门恩平市。当时,关中人在恩平县(今恩平市)博物馆,看到展出了李沛基刺杀凤山的图片,注明李沛基是广东恩平人。之后,这个事实在广东省博物馆得到了证实。后来,五邑大学文学院教授、中国早期电影人研究专家凤群证实,李应生与李沛基是亲兄弟。这可以证明,李应生也是广东恩平人,从而进一步得出“李霞卿的祖籍在广东江门恩平市”的结论。在江门市星光公园内的李霞卿雕塑旁,标示牌上明确写着李霞卿“祖籍恩平”。江门市星光公园由江门市政府主导建设。这等于江门市官方认可了“李霞卿的祖籍在广东江门恩平市”的说法。“天上掉下个林妹妹”因为偶然的原因,李霞卿踏入了演艺的路途,并一度使自己的名字变成了艺名“李旦旦”。1926年2月,李霞卿的父亲李应生和电影先驱黎民伟合作,在上海成立了电影公司上海民新公司。黎民伟负责影片拍摄的艺术方面,李应生负责影片拍摄的商业方面。李应生担任了公司总经理兼董事会主席。上海民新公司拍摄的第一部电影名为《玉洁冰清》,表现富家子弟黄伯坚与渔民女儿素仙苦恋的故事。当时,剧组主演均已敲定,只缺片中素仙的妹妹琼仙的人选,因为她在剧中的年龄太小,只有十四五岁。最后,电影主演之一、黎民伟的夫人林楚楚,想到了李应生的女儿李霞卿。当时,在中学读书的李霞卿,只有十四岁,活泼可爱,年龄、性格均与角色吻合。李应生开始还犹豫,怕李霞卿缺少表演经验,演戏演砸。但在黎民伟等的劝说下,最终同意李霞卿去拍电影。结果,从未拍电影、“满脸稚气、一条辫子”的李霞卿,以不怯场的本色表演,赢得了导演卜万苍和编剧欧阳予倩的肯定。她也给自己起了艺名:李旦旦。《玉洁冰清》上映后一炮打响,在上海引起了轰动。影星胡蝶都在电台评论时对她赞叹不已:“上海人大饱眼福,从天上掉下个林妹妹来了!”从此她一发不可收,又主演了《海角诗人》、《西厢记》、《木兰从军》等影片,均有不俗表现,成为上世纪二十年代上海最红的影星之一,与黎民伟的夫人林楚楚齐名。有件事可反映李霞卿当时的影响力。在1928年中秋的“圆月繁星”群众评选活动中,李霞卿与胡蝶、阮玲玉等明星一起被评为“星级七姐妹”。当时,她年仅16岁。关于李霞卿青年时代的外貌,1937年,一位采访过李霞卿的记者这样描述:“皮肤很细腻,微有几粒雀斑,愈显得秀丽非凡。口的姿式像一颗初熟的樱桃,又像一双菱角,瓜子脸儿,弯弯的眉毛,身体硕长,一望而知是位典型式的广东女子。”在电影《西厢记》中,也可以看到这位默片女星的神态。她长着一张典型的民国女星脸庞:圆润、粉扑扑的。李霞卿息影之谜让人惊诧的是,1928年,演艺生涯风头正劲时,李霞卿突然告别影坛,去了英国留学。此时距她开始演艺生涯,仅仅过了两年。关于李霞卿息影有一个传闻。在拍电影《木兰从军》时的一天深夜,上海民新公司遭歹徒洗劫,许多钱款被抢。李霞卿勇斗歹徒,一连击倒两个歹徒,又将匪首推入黄浦江。事后,李应生为表彰女儿,在《木兰从军》情节中,加了一段“飞马追敌”的插曲。拍完电影后,李应生让李霞卿由李旦旦改回原名,暂时息影。五邑大学文学院教授、中国早期电影人研究专家凤群认为,这个情节没有史料依据,属于编造的情节,“李应生与黑帮老大杜月笙关系非同一般,一般歹徒哪敢得罪?”不过,加拿大女作家、中国早期女飞行员研究专家Patti G ully(以下简称Patti)认为,安全问题是李应生让李霞卿息影的原因,“她非常著名,她父亲挂念她的个人安全,担心她被绑架。”凤群则认为,李霞卿息影,是因为爱情的缘故。当时,李应生辛亥革命的老战友、民国奇女子郑毓秀,将自己的侄子郑白峰介绍给了李霞卿,他们相识并相爱。郑白峰当时任国际联盟的秘书,住在法国。李霞卿为了和郑白峰在一起,就停止了在国内拍电影。有一件耐人寻味的事,折射了李霞卿对电影的心态。1937年,一位记者在上海采访了李霞卿。当时,她已经是一位闻名遐迩的女飞行员。在采访的最后,记者问她是否还有意拍一部“航空”的影片,来提倡国防,来宣传航空事业。记者得到的回答是:“请你别提这事吧”。记者描述了她说这话时的神态:“她突然面红过耳,愀然不乐,好像对她有了一种绝大的侮辱似的。”Patti分析认为,李霞卿把她的激情从表演转移到了飞行上,大概为她从前对电影的狂热感到难为情。但李霞卿并没有彻底放弃电影,也没有厌倦它。在海外的时候,她继续出现在新闻纪录片当中。她在业余时间研究西方新的电影技术,以使它们能应用到中国的电影业中。1939年,在美国飞行的时候,她在一部名为《争议通道》(D isputedPassage)的好莱坞电影中露脸了。在里面,她扮演了一个中国女飞行员。她表演用的飞机,就是她飞行巡游所用的那架飞机。她把表演报酬捐给了中国救济基金。被日本通缉的女飞行员“日本帝国的威胁到来之后,我母亲继续用她坚韧的努力来反抗侵略。她在上海开了三个医院和一个学校。当时日本人要抓我母亲,她后来到美国去了。”近日,李霞卿的儿子郑柏士通过电话,向南都记者讲述了他母亲当年抗日的事。郑柏士目前和爱人Susan住在美国德克萨斯州威德福的一个农场,毗邻美国沃思堡市。他们在那里遛马、养驴,还在池塘里养鱼,过着悠闲的田园生活。退休前,郑柏士从事一份贴墙纸的工作,住在美国加州。退休后,他搬到了这个得州农场。1933年,李霞卿在瑞士日内瓦的康塔纳飞行学校开始了飞行课程的学习。两年后,她转到了美国加州奥克兰市的波音航空学校深造,并取得了飞行执照。一份未公开出版的自传,描述了她在美国学习飞行时的狂热劲头:“她勤勉地学习气象学、机械学、导航学等各类复杂课程,脱掉丝绸做的女礼服,换上了沾满油脂的工作服,每天早上6点起床去上课,而不是在中午。”在1943年的一次电台采访中,她回顾了这段疯狂岁月:“我对飞机引擎的熟悉程度和对我的手掌一样。”流传较广的说法是,李霞卿迷上飞行的原因,是因为在法国巴黎看了一次飞行表演。根据1943年的一次电台采访,飞行的想象在童年就印在了她心中。在采访中她告诉电台主持人:“当我是个小女孩的时候,我经常坐在祖母的膝盖上听童话故事。其中有一个故事,讲述了一个善良的女子,飞翔着穿越云层,帮助穷人和不幸者。这个故事使我印象深刻。”1935年底,李霞卿回国。次年,她获得了中国政府的飞行执照,并在上海举行了飞行表演,当时她年仅24岁。1937年,淞沪会战爆发后,李霞卿想作为一个战斗机飞行员为中国参战,但没有被批准。她就在上海建立了救护受伤中国士兵的医院、难民营和学校。为此,她受到了日军通缉。在一次电台采访中,她讲述了当时的险情:“日本人悬赏我的脑袋,我听到这个消息,就在日本人占领上海几天后逃离了。”1938年,李霞卿开始了在美国和加拿大的巡回飞行和演讲,还多次主持募捐集会为中国抗战筹款。她被外国记者誉为“飞行使者”。此后,她还驾机飞往南美和加勒比海地区,为中国抗战募捐。“中国第一位女飞行员”20世纪30年代中期,李霞卿学成飞行归国后,上海及美国报纸称她是“中国第一位女飞行员”。事实上,早于她好多年,就有女性被认为是“中国第一位女飞行员”。最早提出“中国第一位女飞行员”问题的,是一家美国报纸。1919年11月7日,《三藩市号角邮报》说,著名飞行家谭根的内妹卢佐治夫人是“中国第一位女飞行员”。此说拉开了这个问题数十年之争的序幕。关于“谁是中国第一位女飞行员”的问题,产生了中国航空史上最旷日持久的争论,有十几种说法存在。在众说纷纭之中,李霞卿一直是这场“第一”之争的人选之一。其他讨论较广泛的女性,主要有秋瑾之女王桂芬和朱慕飞,此外,还有前述的女性卢佐治夫人。20世纪30年代的上海《申报》介绍说,秋瑾的女儿王桂芬是中国第一个女飞行家。王桂芬1901年生于湖南,自幼丧母,性格中有她母亲秋瑾的“侠气”。1928年,她到美国纽约大学航空科,专攻航空工程。1930年,她学成回国,但未能发挥专长,改做航空教育、编译工作。事实上,王桂芬是在纽约大学航空科学习制造和航空知识两年,而不是学习飞行技术。在20世纪30年代中期,上海一份妇女杂志曾刊登了王桂芬的自述和一篇记者对她的专访稿,两篇文章都没有提到她学过飞行。已故广东江门恩平市航空史专家关中人据此认为,将王桂芬认作“中国第一位女飞行员”的提法并不确切。另一位女性朱慕飞,生于1897年,是曾任广东军政府航空局长的朱卓文之女,广东中山人。1965年的《中国近代航空史稿》,第一次认为朱慕飞“是国内训练的第一个女飞行员”。1986年的《航空史研究》第11期分析认为,朱慕飞在1922年2月前即已在美国学习飞行,回国后曾任革命飞机队的飞行员。如果单就“学成飞行的时间”来界定,目前比较广泛接受的说法,中国第一位女飞行员是前述的女性卢佐治夫人。卢佐治夫人名叫安娜·彼·卢,是中国飞机工程师谭根的内妹,籍贯可能是广东开平。卢佐治夫人在美国加州大学学习期间,曾跟随姐夫谭根学习飞行,后来谭根回国,她又跟随美国教练学习,最终学成。关中人曾制作了一张“中国近代女飞行员概况表”,列举了中国近代21名女飞行员的概括。在这张表上,卢佐治夫人排名第一,学飞时间在1915年。朱慕飞排名第三,学成飞行的时间约在1922年。李霞卿只在表上排到第十七位,学成飞行的时间在1935年。“其实可能有30位女性在她前面飞行了。”加拿大女作家、中国早期女飞行员研究专家P atti G ully说。Patti认为,“中国第一位女飞行员”的提法,只是个宣传手段。李霞卿当初之所以能获得这个称号,“是因为她作为女演员的名望,以及她的财产。相对于其他同期的女飞行员,她吸引了更多的公众注意力。”不过Patti认为,从许多角度看,李霞卿都是“中国第一位女飞行员”:“她是世界上最好的波音航空学校的第一位女性毕业生,当时没有其他女性受过这么先进的训练。在1936年,中国政府颁发给她可以飞到任何地方的执照,没有其他女性被授予过这个职权。她是上海飞行学校的唯一女性教师,培育了中国的第一批天空保卫者。在1937年,世界上几乎没有女性拥有商业飞行员的地位,但李霞卿在六周内,载客飞遍了广东西南航空公司经营的危险线路。”李霞卿的“被死亡”“(2005年的一天)我去拜祭李女士的墓地。我驾车穿过高峰期的混乱交通,然后花了好一阵子,才在巨大的公墓中间,找到确切的方位。最后,当我看到她的坟墓的时候,我感觉非常激动,以至于两腿发软,不能直立。”Patti描述了自己第一次去位于美国加州的李霞卿坟墓时的感受。造成她如此激动的原因,是因为墓碑上明确写着李霞卿的生卒年月是“1912年4月16日至1998年1月24日”。而此前,一直流传的李霞卿的去世时间,是20世纪40年代,整整提前了半个世纪。“当我第一次开始我的研究时,网络上只有少量关于李女士的材料,所有的材料都说她在战争期间遇难了,所以我很高兴能纠正这个错误信息。”早在1946年5月16日,《中国的空军》杂志就刊登了一篇名为《女性进入航空之门》的文章,文中语焉不详地说:“不知道是(民国)33年(1944年)还是34年(1945年),这位女飞行员(李霞卿)飞行失事,结束了她的生命。以前对她热烈赞许的人,又都以悲切的心情互报她的噩耗。”这是关于李霞卿失事讹传的早期版本。有推测认为,造成这种讹传的原因,是媒体误将李霞卿与另一位美籍华人女飞行员李月英混为一谈。李月英与李霞卿年龄相仿,二战爆发后,在美国空军驾驶运输机,经常往来于大西洋上空。在1944年的一次飞行任务中,她的飞机与下方的练习机相撞,机毁人亡。已故广东江门恩平市航空史专家关中人,也接受了讹传的说法。他在1988年发表于《航空史研究》的一篇名为《李霞卿的若干历史问题初探》的文章中推断说:“她飞行失事殉难的时间不大可能迟至1944年或1945年。”事实上,这种以讹传讹的情况,根源于信息的闭塞。因为早在1958年,香港启德机场新跑道启用时,四十六岁的李霞卿出现在了启用典礼上,还亲自驾机做了示范表演。当年的香港《工商日报》等报纸做了报道。在20世纪60年代,香港经济下滑的时候,李霞卿回到了美国,在旧金山湾附近定居了下来,一直到去世。在美国的时候,这位女性继续展现了她奔放不羁的个性。在Patti所著的Sisters of H eaven:China’sBarnstorm ingA viatrixes(《天空的姐妹:中国的巡回演出女飞行员》)一书中,描述了一个情节。在20世纪70年代,一次在加州乡下旅行的时候,李霞卿发现了一架停放在农田里的撒药小飞机。她请求主人允许自己驾驶它升空。她驾机在空中表演了一系列旋转和复杂的特技,直到飞机的承受力达到极限时才安然着陆,并礼貌地感谢惊呆了的主人,允许自己的放纵。不过,在美国的日子总体上平淡无奇。李霞卿主要的日常生活,是和朋友打麻将。此外,还外出旅行和逛商店,也支持她自己选择的慈善事业。“那时候,好像没有什么挑战能激发她了。”Patti说。光环背后的李霞卿在种种光鲜的荣誉和头衔背后,是一个感情生活历经波折的李霞卿。据李霞卿的儿子郑柏士说,当年他母亲李霞卿与父亲郑白峰结婚后,感情生活并不如意。“我父亲当时是国际联盟的秘书,喜欢在家里读书。我母亲从小被家里宠,她喜欢到外面开party。我母亲想回香港居住,我父亲却不愿意到那里去。他们两人兴趣不同,后来就离婚了。”郑柏士后来听说,这是中国历史上第一宗离婚案,在当时还是伤风败俗的事情。抗战胜利后,郑白峰又结婚了,生了一个儿子和一个女儿。李霞卿后来结过两次婚,生了一个女儿。李霞卿与郑白峰此前还生了一个女儿。这样,郑柏士兄弟姐妹共五个人。郑柏士1931年生于瑞士日内瓦。1937年前后,他的父母正式离婚。“我三岁的时候,就与我母亲分开了。我父亲不让我母亲来看我。他先把我安排在香港熟人处,之后,听到我母亲也到香港来了,就把我送到了上海,跟姑婶郑毓秀住在一起,住了好多年。我母亲离开我后,吃了好多苦。在香港的时候,她偷偷看过我两次。每次来看我,都要花很多钱,贿赂家里的佣人,才能见上我一面。她每次来看我,一见我就哭。”郑柏士这样回忆往事。郑柏士是在上海读的小学。抗战爆发后,日本人抓捕他母亲李霞卿的时候,他在位于霞飞路(今淮海中路)的世界小学躲了起来,一躲八年。后来,抗战胜利后,他父亲郑白峰和他的继母来接他,到古巴待了四年。之后他到了美国留学。直到郑柏士和李霞卿都到美国的时候,他们才再次见面,这已经是20年后的事情了。重逢的时候,时间已经冲淡了亲情。“我们在一起吃了顿饭,待了一个多小时。我们在饭桌上,只是说些‘你好、谢谢’之类的应酬话,和朋友一样。气氛很淡,没有亲人重逢时的大喜大悲的感觉,没有感情。”郑柏士说。在美国加州生活的时候,郑柏士和李霞卿居住的地方,相隔只有一个多小时的车程,但来往并不多。“郑柏士知道他母亲很著名。他为她骄傲,但并不爱她。她(李霞卿)在公开场合不认他(郑柏士),不承认他是自己的孩子。”Patti说。但血液里的亲情,还是战胜了一切。1997年,也就是李霞卿去世前一年,郑柏士听说北京一个地方有他母亲的造像,还特地来找,却被告知造像参加巡回展览去了,最终没有看到。李霞卿去世前,给郑柏士留下了自己所有的照片、文件和报纸,总共有十大箱。郑柏士把其中的许多档案送给了史密斯国家航空航天博物馆。它们在那里被分类整理,现在已经可以供研究者参考了。李霞卿总共经历了三次婚姻。第二次婚姻,她嫁给了一位姓徐的医生。第三次婚姻,她与一位姓李的男人结婚。这次婚姻伴随她到了生命的终点。这位姓李的男人非常爱她。“李霞卿去世后,他的生命崩溃了。”Patti说。1998年,李霞卿因急性肺炎,在美国加州奥克兰市去世,终年86岁,死后葬在那里。“聪明”,这是郑柏士概括他母亲能想到的词汇。“虽然我对她的了解,比对另外两个女飞行员(指Sisters of H eaven一书描述的女飞行员)加起来都多,但她对我依旧是一个谜。”在一次和郑柏士的谈话中,Patti这样表达自己对李霞卿的迷惑不解之情。第一次飞天1933年,李霞卿报名参加日内瓦科因特林国际机场进行的试飞。当她乘坐那架“摇摇晃晃”的作为一战剩余物资的双翼机──有可能是当地飞行员弗朗西斯·杜拉弗拥有的一架法国高德隆飞机──第一次飞上天空时,李霞卿还对自己的决定是否明智存有疑虑。但是,她抵制不住那种诱惑,很快再一次飞上了蓝天,这一次,她乘坐的是一架性能要好得多的虎蛾双翼机。翱翔在蓝天之上,李霞卿俯望下去,她被眼前的景色深深地震撼了。阿尔卑斯山连绵的山峰上一片银装素裹,白雪皑皑,最高峰勃朗峰是那样壮丽巍峨。远望去,日内瓦湖就像一颗璀璨的蓝宝石,熠熠生辉。这一经历令人难忘,李霞卿突然意识到,她已经找到了她这一生要追求的事业。她要成为一位飞行家,回到祖国,唤起同胞对航空事业的关注。1934年春,这位飞行教练眼中“来自东方的美人”第一次单飞。之后,她对飞行的热情与日俱增,而且矢志不渝。天气恶劣无法飞行时,哪怕只来到机场,与心爱的飞机相伴,她也感到无比的满足。当天空阴霾散去,终于可以驾机翱翔蓝天时,那种精神上的愉悦和满足是无以言表的。李霞卿非常喜欢飞行带给她的那种血脉贲张、凌驾于一切之上的那种感觉。李霞卿喜欢夜间飞行,特别是在夜晚飞过巴黎上空,在夜色的衬托下,这座美丽的城市就像黑天鹅绒上的一块钻石,熠熠生辉,那闪耀着灯火的凯旋门,在夜色下显得如此璀璨迷人。然而,李霞卿选择飞行的决定并不是人人都能理解的。据说,当初她报考日内瓦科因特林飞行学校时,一位考官曾问她为什么想成为一名女飞行员。“漂亮的女士,你如此美貌,为什么选择飞行?”考官问到。李霞卿答道:“因为在一般人的观念里,飞行是男人的事,似乎与女人无缘,我就是想做女人不大做的事。”考官接着问道:“据说在你们的国家,女人的脚都是残疾变形的?”李霞卿坚定地答道:“我来到这里,就是让全世界知道,中国女性不但能在地上走,而且能在天上飞。”1934年8月6日,李霞卿以优异的成绩通过飞行和理论考试,拿到了瑞士航空俱乐部颁发的飞行执照,成为世界上在日内瓦拿到飞行执照的第一位女性,而在整个瑞士拿到飞行执照的女性当时也不过10人。在中国航空界,李霞卿也是在瑞士取得飞行执照的第一人。从那以后,欧洲成了李霞卿的飞行训练基地。从日内瓦到维也纳,到伦敦,或到巴黎,每到一处,她都是那样引人注目,只见她优雅地步出驾驶舱,一身白色的飞行套装和高跟鞋显得她是那样地整洁素净,就好像刚从美容院出来一样。当欧洲人正在为这位来自“东方的美人”而津津乐道时,李霞卿决定去深造,报名投考当时世界上一流的航空学校———美国加州奥克兰的波音航空学校,这所学校从不招收女学员,李霞卿是破格被这所飞行学校录取的,除了优异的考试成绩,更主要的是她的精诚所至,1935年1月,李霞卿正式成为这所飞行名校的一员。第一次跳伞1935年5月15日,李霞卿与格雷格一同登上了飞机,准备在旧金山湾上空进行飞行特技训练。飞机起飞后在旧金山湾约2200英尺的高空飞行,这时教练格雷格示意李霞卿他准备开始横滚练习。随后,教练猛地一拉驾驶杆,机头昂然而起,向后扣去。这时,格雷格无意中望了一下后视镜,他被镜中的景象吓出了一身冷汗,只见李霞卿的半个身体悬在座舱外,她的手在奋力地抓着机身。随后让教练更惊恐的是,他看着李霞卿完全掉出了座舱。她的安全带断了!格雷格只瞟到了一眼李霞卿脚上穿的锃亮的飞行鞋,然后就不见了她的踪影。在李霞卿座椅皮带断裂的那一刻,她被这突如其来的事故吓呆了,但强烈的求生欲望让她一下子镇定了下来。良好的心理素质在关键时刻发挥了作用。在急速下降过程中,她的手向背后抓去,克服着强大气流的冲击,拼尽了最后的力气,猛地拉动降落伞的伞锁。她甚至在那一刻还想起了降落伞公司在广告免责条款中的一句冷笑话:“如果降落伞不能正常打开,本公司承诺退款。”不过,打开降落伞后,李霞卿开始意识到这次降落不是在陆地而是在海面上,因此降落难度要大得多。幸运的是,李霞卿坠入大海后挣脱了降落伞的绳索,降落伞被滚滚的海浪冲到了岸边,驻扎在旧金山湾以东阿拉米达县的美国海军预备队某基地的一位飞行员发现了这顶被海水浸泡得胀鼓鼓的降落伞。之后,海军预备队派出了一架洛宁型水陆两用飞机和两名飞行员前往救援。而就在此时,李霞卿在海面上奋力挣扎。坠入大海时,强风把她的降落伞吹到了一边,她庆幸自己没有被索具缠住,但是,她发现全皮的飞行服入水后变得笨重不堪。这套飞行服安有五处拉链,想在海里把它脱掉是不可能的。在海里,李霞卿镇定自若,脚下不停地踩着水,不过,冰冷的海水让她意识到危险正在临近。虽然她的游泳技术好,但是她落水的位置距岸边还有半英里多的距离,而且湿重的飞行服也束缚了她的手脚。她甚至连教练格雷格就近扔下来的救生设备都没法够着。她无计可施,只能尽力浮在海面上。为保持体温,她把双脚放在降落伞的垫子上,尽可能地抬离海面。她头朝上,身体后仰,双手不停地划水,以节省体力。她没有一丝惊慌,而是静静地等待救援人员的到来。救援人员很快来到了出事地点。就在李霞卿被冻得牙齿打战时,她听到了海军预备队水陆两用飞机驶近的声音。不一会儿,飞机在她头顶盘旋,准备在海上着陆。好事多磨。那位飞行员可能是因为发现了李霞卿而高兴得过了头,不知怎么就把飞机的起落架卡着了,浮筒无法放下来。飞机只好飞回基地,剩下李霞卿继续泡在冰冷的海水里,她开始感到绝望。在冰冷的海水里,她无法自由地活动四肢,刺骨的海水不断地往她的鼻子、眼睛和耳朵里面灌,她的意志开始松懈。她意识到自己不得不面对这一事实,由于在海水中浸泡了一段时间,她的四肢开始麻木,体力感到不支。不过,李霞卿还是准备作最后的一搏。天知道过了多久,第二架洛宁水陆两用飞机离开基地,朝李霞卿所在的地点飞来。这一次,飞行员顺利地放下了浮筒,浮筒坠落在李霞卿旁边的海面上,溅起了一阵浪花。此时李霞卿已经四肢麻木,彻骨的寒冷沁入全身。但是在救援人员展开救援时,她使出了全身的力气,奋力抓住了浮筒。她紧紧抓住浮筒,直到海军预备队员将她拖到里面去。当救援人员把李霞卿救上来时,他们都被眼前这位湿淋淋的美人鱼震惊了。他们没有想到坠入大海的飞行员是个女人,而且还是一个来自中国的女人。更让他们吃惊不已的是,这位浑身湿透的幸存者只是轻描淡写地说了两件让她感到遗憾的事,一是她觉得有点冷,二是她的一只鞋丢了。美国海军预备队救援人员载着李霞卿飞回了基地。虽然身体用毯子包裹着,但是她依然灿烂地笑着。1935年11月5日这一天,她以全优的成绩成为美国波音航空学校毕业的第一位女学员。“新中国精神号”1936年春节前,李霞卿在上海定居了下来。踌躇满志的她一心想唤起国人对航空事业的关注,回到上海的第一时间她就加入了上海中国航空协会,而协会也非常欢迎李霞卿学成归国,称其为“中国第一位女飞行员”。李霞卿登上了欧亚航空公司的容克斯三引擎飞机开始了她飞行考察的第一站。在飞机上,李霞卿不是一般的乘客,而是获准与机长、欧亚公司经验最丰富的飞行员沃尔瑟·鲁茨同乘驾驶舱。李霞卿在波音飞行学校曾驾驶过三引擎飞机,因此鲁茨机长同意由她来驾驶这架16座容克斯52型机。这架飞机装配精良,机上配有精密的无线电定向仪,在接下来的几天,李霞卿驾驶着欧亚公司的这架飞机飞往十余个城市(北京-太原-郑州-武汉-南京-上海;上海-南京-郑州-西安-成都-昆明),飞行时间达到20小时。凭借着满腔热情,李霞卿在祖国上空飞旋,创造了当时中国女子国内长途飞行的最高纪录。“她的头发梳成了空心卷,这是1937年最新潮的发式。”女记者在文中记述道。“她身穿一套晚装,上装和长裤是灰绿色的,上有淡红色的花朵。这套装束与那条淡绿色图案的缎子披肩相互映衬。她的皮肤细腻光滑,只有几个小雀斑。她美艳无比。她是那么的优雅,椭圆的脸庞,菱角般的嘴,灿若樱桃的唇,略微上翘的眉毛,只要一见她,你就知道她是一个标准的广东美女。”1939年3月23日星期四的清晨,李霞卿和她的联合飞行伙伴颜雅清来到机场,开始了她们伟大的环美飞行之旅。李霞卿驾驶的飞机是一架史汀生·瑞连特型单翼机,机身漆涂了耀眼的红色并饰以艳黄色的边,该机起名为“新中国精神号”。在环美飞行过程中,有些城市会派出飞机在空中列队欢迎她的到来。在飞抵温哥华时,一架政府派出的飞机和几架私人飞机在空中迎候;盐湖城还派出15架飞机在离该市20分钟航程的上空迎接,十分隆重,俨如国宾。李霞卿所到之处都受到当地政要名流以及民众的热烈欢迎和热情款待,这其中包括当地政府要人、领事馆高官、各团体组织的负责人和当地华人领袖。前来机场迎接李霞卿的队伍十分庞大,大家群情激昂,兴奋异常。李霞卿驾驶着那架非常显眼的红黄两色“新中国精神号”从空中降落,那些费尽心思来到机场准备一睹李霞卿芳容的人是一定不虚此行的。当欢迎的人群望见李霞卿座机机身上漆涂的中美两国国旗时,现场顿时掌声雷动。晚年飞行当娱乐1946年5月初,李霞卿搭乘由旧金山飞往上海的商务航班回国。在上海稍作停留后,李霞卿即飞往香港与父亲团聚,并在香港定居下来,她原本帮助重建中国航空基础设施的美好愿望也就此搁浅。战前,她曾经不遗余力地宣传航空救国并且初见成效,而如今,中国的航空事业有强大的美国政府作后盾,因而显然不需要个人来染指。看清现实也让李霞卿松了一口气,过去的8年,李霞卿一直在为抗战募捐奔波劳碌,她就像个职业飞行员,过着飞人般的生活,而如今,她终于可以“退休”了。1949年新中国建立,李霞卿在香港的生活并未像许多留在大陆的人那样受到影响。她得以保留自己的生活习性和方式,而且她还可以继续飞行(1950年,她获得香港民航处颁发的私人飞行执照),不过在此期间,李霞卿重上云霄主要是出于娱乐目的,有时一时兴起她会驾机飞往新加坡、曼谷等地。1998年1月24日,李霞卿因急性肺炎在医院辞世。她看上去没有痛苦,走得很安详。她安息之所的斜坡处远望去,旧金山湾若隐若现,60多年前,一位英勇的女飞行员像仙女一般从天而降,落进旧金山湾那冰冷刺骨的海水里。 她是红极一时的电影明星,也是第一个拿到瑞士飞行执照的中国人。她曾架机在国内进行长途飞行,刮起一阵“红色龙卷风”。抗日战争时期,她更是飞赴世界各地为中国筹得募捐款项。她是谁?她就是李霞卿。 李霞卿:从电影明星到“航空之花” 红极一时的电影明星 1911年,李霞卿出生于广东海丰一个富有革命传统的富商家庭。她的祖母徐慕兰是中国近代著名实业家徐润之侄女,女革命家徐宗汉之胞姐。李霞卿从小天资聪慧,骑马、驾车、游泳、舞蹈等无不精通。14岁时,她已通晓唐诗三百首,并稔熟英语、法语,是上海中西女校知名的“高材生”。李霞卿幼年随父留学欧洲,后定居上海。由于受到中西文化的熏陶,她个性活泼,思想开放,多才多艺,而且胆识过人。 李霞卿的父亲李应生不但是一位进步的革命者,同时还是中国最早的电影人之一,他于1926年在上海创立影片公司。此后,李应生引导女儿李霞卿拍电影,还为她取了个艺名叫“李旦旦”。 李霞卿参加演出的第一部电影是《玉洁冰清》,在剧中充当一个配角,饰孔琼仙。没拍过电影的李霞卿,一点也不怯场,表演得十分成功,使导演卜万苍、编剧欧阳予倩特别满意。此片当时轰动整个上海滩,从此李旦旦声誉鹊起。 此后,李霞卿连续主演了《和平之神》(1926年,饰林翠薇)、《海角诗人》(1927年,饰柳翠影)、《天涯歌女》(1927年,饰李凌霄)、《西厢记》(1927年,饰红娘)、《木兰从军》(1928年,饰花木兰)等影片,被誉为“天天向上的李旦旦”。 由于自然真挚的表演和清丽的形象,李霞卿迷倒了一众上海人,成为1920年代末期家喻户晓的著名女星。她的剧照及生活照,充斥于报纸、杂志。 当人们以为李旦旦将沿着星光大道走下去的时候,却发生了一件意外之事。 一天深夜,李家的民新公司遭歹徒袭击,不但抢劫了存放几十万存款的保险箱,连会计也被用汽车绑架走了。李旦旦闻讯,纵马追去,歹徒们逃到外白渡口桥畔时被她截住。歹徒首领见对手单枪匹马,又是个小小女子,毫不在意。岂知李旦旦一连击倒两个歹徒,又趁匪首不备,将其推入黄浦江,然后打开车门,跳上驾驶室,火速驰往警局报案。 因此事影响颇大,李应生之后嘱李旦旦改名为李霞卿,息影银幕。 李霞卿:从电影明星到“航空之花” “来自东方的蜻蜓” 之后,李霞卿嫁给了在日内瓦“国联”当秘书的郑白峰,留居法国。 一个偶然的机会,李霞卿观看了巴黎的飞行表演。飞机的魅力深深吸引着她。从此,李霞卿便与蓝天结下不解之缘。之后,李霞卿考入瑞士日内瓦科康塔纳飞行学校。这并不是一所妇女航空学校,她是破格被这所飞行学校录取的,除了优异的考试成绩,更主要的是她的精诚所至: 监考官问:“漂亮的女士,你如此美貌,为什么选择飞行?” 李霞卿答:“因为在一般人观念里,飞行是男人做的事,似乎与女人无缘,我就是想做女人不大做的事。” 监考官大感兴趣:“据说在你们的国度里,女人的脚都是残废变形的?” “我到这里来,就是让世界知道,中国女性不但能在地上走,而且能在天上飞。” 一年后,李霞卿以“全优”的成绩毕业于科康塔纳飞行学校,成为第一个拿到瑞士飞行执照的中国人。随后,李霞卿又考入美国奥克兰市波音航空学校深造。波音空校是美国很有名望的学校,教官多是参加过第一次世界大战的王牌飞行员,李霞卿在该校将训练科目安排得满满的,航线、战斗、盲飞、霞雾飞、特技……她一个科目一个科目地完成,成绩斐然。教练们称她为“来自东方的蜻蜒”,深为有如此出色的学生而自豪。 1935年5月15日,李霞卿在奥克兰机场上空作特技飞行时,因座椅皮带松动被甩出机舱,从2000米英尺高空掉下来。幸运的是,她头脑冷静、临危不乱。她沉着打开救生伞,安然降落于三藩市海湾,被营救脱险,此事一时轰动美国。她也因此成为美国妇女航空协会会员,加入了卡特皮勒飞行俱乐部。 在国内刮起“红色龙卷风” 1935年12月,李霞卿学成回国,被介绍到西南航空公司任见习驾驶员,不久辞掉该公司工作。为了唤起同胞姐妹对航空的注意,她决定去上海举行飞行表演。 1936年3月,她驾着自己那架橙红色的单翼轻型飞机,在上海上空翱翔。碧空中那亮丽如火的一点,惊动了上海市民倾巢而出,万人空巷,在跑马场大世界一带更是挤得水泄不通。这位“飞天仙女”在上海上空飞了3圈,又在国际饭店上空做了一番特技表演,而后轻盈降落。李霞卿以搏击蓝天的真实行动,解脱了千万上海女子的精神枷锁———女人不仅可以做女明星,还可以做女飞行员! 数日后,李霞卿又在国内作长途飞行,从上海飞到南疆的边陲城市湛江,又从北平飞到天府之国的成都。“红色龙卷风”在祖国上空飞旋,创造了当时中国女子国内长途飞行的最高纪录。以后,李霞卿驾机飞南京、洛阳、成都、西安、昆明、贵阳、太原、北平等城市,还撰写了一部20万字的《改革中国航空的建议》。 李霞卿:从电影明星到“航空之花” 环飞全球为抗日募捐 1937年“八·一三事变”后,李霞卿迁居香港。1939年,正当祖国陷于水深火热的抗日救亡之中,满怀爱国热情的李霞卿应美国援华药物局之邀,驾驶着橙红色“新中国精神号”单翼轻型飞机,赴南北美洲各国访问,环飞300多城市,开始了“抗日救国,匹妇有责”的爱国募捐飞行。 所到之处,李霞卿受到华侨及美国航空界人士的热烈欢迎和热情款待。盐湖城派出15架飞机到离该市20分钟航程的上空迎接,十分隆重,俨如迎接国宾。接着,李霞卿又飞访了美国巴梳、圣地亚哥、贝市、洛杉矶等许多城市。各地报纸追踪采访,争相报道。她被外国记者誉为“飞行使者”、“中国一位亲善特使”。美国还一度出现了“李霞卿热”,这使她的募捐活动取得了极大的成功,曾创下飞行一小时募得捐款4万元的辉煌记录。李霞卿对美国记者说:“我国人民永远有坚强的勇气保卫祖国,祖国利益高于一切。” 一位对李霞卿留下深刻印象的银行家这样赞扬她:“你为了我们的共同事业的出色工作,应当受到我们所有同盟国人民的高度赞誉。”他写了一张大数目的支票捐款,以此来证明他的赞赏。 在美国,李霞卿还接受派拉蒙影业公司邀请,参加了以中国抗日战争为背景的影片《歧路》的演出。 1940年,李霞卿又飞往南美洲各国宣传募捐。在秘鲁,她驾驶一架军用飞机表演飞行,长达一小时之久。这在秘鲁航空史上前所未有,引起极大的轰动,秘鲁政府授予李霞卿一枚航空金质奖章,并由航空部长亲自为其佩戴…… 长期以来,一些书刊错误传抄李霞卿于1940年(或1944年)在一次飞行事故中“结束了年青的生命”,而实际上她于1998年在美国逝世。 Lee Ya-Ching (Chinese: 李霞卿; pinyin: Lǐ Xiáqīng; 16 April 1912 – 28 January 1998), also known by her stage name Li Dandan (李旦旦), was a Chinese film actress, pioneering aviator, and philanthropist. She was the first Chinese woman to be granted a civil aviation license in China, in 1936, and also co-founded its first civilian flying school. As an actress, she starred in Romance of the Western Chamber, and played the lead in an early adaptation of Mulan for the screen. Lee Ya-Ching is an Anglicized version of her Chinese name.[1][2][3] AviatorAt the age of sixteen, Li witnessed an airshow in Paris, which left a strong impression on her.[4] In 1943, looking back on the start of her flying career, she explained that she had been troubled by Japanese aggression towards China and decided that she could best serve her country through flying. Li began training at the Contran École d'Aviation in Switzerland, where she was the first female student to receive a pilot's license.[4] In 1935, she enrolled in the Boeing School of Aviation in Oakland, California for advanced training. Later that year, she returned to China, where she was commissioned by the Chinese government to make a 30,000 mile survey of potential air routes.[4] Li also helped found the Shanghai Municipal Air School[1] and worked there as a flight instructor until civilian flights were grounded.[4] Filmography Cover of the Young Companion issue 7, 1926, featuring actress Li Dandan on the cover.The God of Peace (和平之神) (1926) - Lin CuiweiWhy Not Her (玉潔冰清) (1926) - Kong QiongxianA Wandering Songstress (天涯歌女) (1927) - Li LingxiaoA Poet from the Sea (海角诗人) (1927) - Liu Tsan YingRomance of the Western Chamber (西廂記) (1927) - HongniangFive Avenging Women (五女復仇) (1928)Mulan Joins the Army (木蘭從軍) (1928) - Hua MulanDon't Change Your Husband (情海重吻) (1929)Disputed Passage (1939) - Aviatrix (credited as Ya-Ching Lee)See alsoFung Joe GueyHazel Ying LeeHilda YenJohn Huang XinruiKwon Ki-ok For a long time, people have believed that China's first female pilot was Qiu Jin's queen Guifen, but this statement has gradually been questioned by scholars. Professor Li Ming believes that Li Xiaqing was China's first female pilot and a popular star during the Republic of China. This statement caused controversy. Recently, Huacheng Publishing House published the book "Flying Lady", which truly records the flying career of this Guangdong beauty in the form of a biography, further confirming that Li Xiaqing is China's first female pilot. flying dream Li Xiaqing was born on April 16, 1912, which was the first year of the Republic of China. The Republic of China revolutionized the old and changed the traditional Xia calendar (lunar calendar) to the solar calendar. At a young age, Li Xiaqing knew that her father Li Yingsheng and uncle Li Peiji were both revolutionaries who followed Dr. Sun Yat-sen. Influenced by her family environment, Li Xiaqing has had a strong sense of national distress since she was a child. Li Xiaqing's grandmother, Xu Mulan, was a member of the Tongmenghui. She did a lot of work for the Guangzhou Uprising of 1911 and cultivated many revolutionary patriots among her relatives. His sister Xu Zonghan was a prestigious female revolutionary in modern China and a member of the Tongmenghui. She participated in the Huanghuagang Uprising in Guangzhou and assisted Huang Xing in leading the revolution. Today, in the Zhuhai Museum, the full-length wax figures of Xu Mulan and Xu Zonghan stand for the world to admire. Li Xiaqing's uncle, Li Peiji, killed General Fengshan, the leader of the Qing army stationed in Guangzhou, in October 1911, and played a major role in the revolutionary army's capture of Guangzhou. When Li Xiaqing was young, she lived in a big family in Guangdong. Li Xiaqing's grandmother often told her heroic mythological stories. She especially liked to listen to the stories of the flying fairies of Mount Emei. Xiaoxiaqing also hopes that one day she will be able to grow wings, fly into the blue sky, punish evil and promote good, and help the weak and support the poor. One day she ran out into the yard and climbed on some large rocks that surrounded the garden. She wants to fly. She spread her arms and jumped into the air, but fell heavily to the ground. Unconvinced, she got up and jumped again, but fell down. She was very disappointed, but she encouraged herself that this was just a temporary setback. She would not give up. One day, she would definitely fly into the sky. The dream of flying has been with her growing up. Accidental movie star At the age of 14, Li Xiaqing starred in the first film "Jade Clean Bingqing" of the Shanghai Minxin Film Company founded by her father, playing a supporting role in it. As a result, Li Xiaqing, who had never made a movie before, was not camera-sick at all and her performance was very successful. The film was a sensation throughout Shanghai. From then on, Li Xiaqing became famous under her stage name Li Dandan and starred in more than ten films. With her outstanding performance, Li Dandan quickly became a dazzling new star in the Shanghai film industry. In the Mid-Autumn Festival of 1928, in the "Full Moon and Stars" mass selection event, this charming 16-year-old girl won Together with Hu Die, Wang Renmei, Zhou Xuan, Wang Ying, Gao Qianping, and Ruan Lingyu, they are known as the "Seven Star Sisters". In the late 1920s, her stills and life photos filled various newspapers and magazines. Li Dandan became one of the most popular movie stars in Shanghai in the 1920s. During her study abroad trip, Li Xiaqing studied at a private school in the UK for nearly two years. She did not give up movies, but traveled between Britain, France, the United States and other countries, visited and studied the Western film industry, and made friends with many foreign movie stars (including the great comedy master Charlie Chaplin). She once served as the "special host" at one of Chaplin's private banquets, and she also co-starred in the world-famous play "Jane Eyre" with Hollywood superstar William Weir. Domestic audiences are very concerned about Li Dandan's whereabouts, so Minxin Company specially filmed a newsreel "Li Dandan's Travel to Britain and the United States" for her, which was screened in theaters in major cities in turn. Despite this, Li Dandan's era as a Chinese movie star has come to an end, and the competitive woman has chosen a more challenging career: to soar to the top. Flying for the first time In 1933, Li Xiaqing signed up to participate in a test flight at Geneva Cointrin International Airport. When she took to the skies for the first time in the "rickety" biplane that was a surplus of World War I - possibly a French Gaudelon aircraft owned by local pilot Francis Dulav - Li Xiaqing There are also doubts about the wisdom of his decision. However, she couldn't resist the temptation and soon took to the sky again, this time in a much better-performing Tiger Moth biplane. Soaring in the blue sky, Li Xiaqing looked down and was deeply shocked by the scenery in front of her. The continuous peaks of the Alps are covered with snow and the highest peak, Mont Blanc, is so majestic and majestic. From a distance, Lake Geneva shines like a bright sapphire. This experience was unforgettable, and Li Xiaqing suddenly realized that she had found the career she wanted to pursue in this life. She wants to become a pilot, return to her motherland, and arouse her compatriots' attention to the aviation industry. In the spring of 1934, the "beauty from the East" in the eyes of this flight instructor flew solo for the first time. Since then, her passion for flying has only grown and remains unwavering. When the weather is bad and she cannot fly, even if she only comes to the airport and is with her beloved plane, she feels extremely satisfied. When the haze in the sky dissipates and you can finally fly in the blue sky, the spiritual joy and satisfaction are indescribable. Li Xiaqing really likes the feeling that flying brings to her, which is full of blood and is above everything else. Li Xiaqing likes to fly at night, especially flying over Paris at night. Against the backdrop of the night, this beautiful city shines like a diamond on black velvet. The Arc de Triomphe with its shining lights looks bright against the night. So bright and charming. However, Li Xiaqing’s decision to fly is not understandable to everyone. It is said that when she applied for the Cointrin Flying School in Geneva, an examiner asked her why she wanted to become a female pilot. "Beautiful lady, you are so beautiful, why did you choose to fly?" the examiner asked. Li Xiaqing replied: "Because in ordinary people's minds, flying is a man's thing and seems to have no connection with women. I just want to do something that women rarely do." The examiner then asked: "It is said that in your country, women's feet are all disabled and deformed?" Li Xiaqing replied firmly: "I am here to let the world know that Chinese women can not only walk on the ground, but also fly in the sky." On August 6, 1934, Li Xiaqing passed the flight and theory examinations with excellent results and obtained a pilot license issued by the Swiss Aero Club. She became the first woman in the world to obtain a pilot license in Geneva, and the first woman to obtain a pilot license in Switzerland. There were only 10 women with pilot licenses at that time. In the Chinese aviation industry, Li Xiaqing is also the first person to obtain a pilot license in Switzerland. Since then, Europe has become Li Xiaqing's flight training base. From Geneva to Vienna, to London, or to Paris, she was so eye-catching everywhere she went. She stepped out of the cockpit gracefully, wearing a white flight suit and high heels. She looked so neat and tidy. It's like I just came out of the beauty salon. When Europeans were talking about this "beauty from the East", Li Xiaqing decided to further her studies and signed up to be admitted to the world's first-class aviation school at that time - the Boeing Aviation School in Oakland, California, which had never When recruiting female students, Li Xiaqing was admitted to this flying school as an exception. In addition to her excellent test scores, what was more important was her sincerity. In January 1935, Li Xiaqing officially became a member of this famous flying school. First time skydiving On May 15, 1935, Li Xiaqing and Greg boarded a plane together, preparing to conduct aerobatic training over the San Francisco Bay. After taking off, the plane was flying at an altitude of about 2,200 feet over the San Francisco Bay. At this time, coach Greg signaled to Li Xiaqing that he was ready to start rolling practice. Then, the instructor suddenly pulled the steering column, and the nose of the aircraft was raised high and pushed back. At this time, Greg accidentally looked in the rearview mirror. He was so frightened by what he saw in the mirror that he broke into a cold sweat. He saw half of Li Xiaqing's body hanging outside the cockpit, and her hands struggling to hold on to the fuselage. What made the coach even more horrified was that he watched Li Xiaqing completely fall out of the cockpit. Her seatbelt broke! Greg only caught a glimpse of the shiny flying shoes on Li Xiaqing's feet, and then she disappeared. The moment Li Xiaqing's seat belt broke, she was stunned by the sudden accident, but her strong desire to survive made her calm down. Good psychological quality played a role at critical moments. During the rapid descent, she grabbed her hands behind her back, overcame the impact of the strong airflow, and used her last strength to jerk the parachute lock. She even recalled at that moment a cold joke in the parachute company's advertising disclaimer: "If the parachute cannot be opened normally, the company promises to refund the money." However, after opening the parachute, Li Xiaqing began to realize that this landing was not on the ground. The land is instead on the sea, so landing is much more difficult. Fortunately, Li Xiaqing broke free from the rope of her parachute after falling into the sea. The parachute was washed to the shore by the rolling waves. A pilot stationed at a U.S. Naval Reserve base in Alameda County east of San Francisco Bay discovered this. A parachute with a bulging top soaked in sea water. Afterwards, the Naval Reserve sent a Lonin amphibious aircraft and two pilots to the rescue. At this moment, Li Xiaqing struggled on the sea. When she fell into the sea, strong winds blew her parachute aside. She was thankful that she was not entangled in the rigging, but she found that the all-leather flight suit became bulky after entering the water. The flight suit has five zippers, making it impossible to take it off in the sea. In the sea, Li Xiaqing remained calm and kept stepping on the water. However, the cold water made her realize that danger was approaching. Although she was a good swimmer, she fell into the water more than half a mile from the shore, and the wet and heavy flight suit restricted her hands and feet. She couldn't even reach the life-saving equipment that coach Greg dropped nearby. She had no choice but to try her best to stay afloat. To maintain her body temperature, she placed her feet on the parachute's pads and lifted herself as far out of the water as possible. She put her head up, leaned back, and kept paddling with her hands to save energy. She didn't panic at all, but quietly waited for rescuers to arrive. Rescue workers quickly arrived at the scene of the accident. Just when Li Xiaqing was so cold that her teeth chattered, she heard the sound of the Navy Reserve's amphibious aircraft approaching. After a while, the plane was hovering above her, preparing to land at sea. All good things come soon. The pilot may have been overjoyed because he discovered Li Xiaqing, and somehow got the landing gear of the plane stuck, preventing the float from being lowered. The plane had to fly back to the base, leaving Li Xiaqing to continue soaking in the cold water. She began to feel desperate. In the cold seawater, she could not move her limbs freely. The biting seawater kept pouring into her nose, eyes and ears, and her will began to weaken. She realized that she had to face this fact. Due to being soaked in sea water for a period of time, her limbs began to become numb and her strength became exhausted. However, Li Xiaqing was still ready to make a last ditch effort. After God knows how long, the second Luoning amphibious aircraft left the base and flew towards Li Xiaqing's location. This time, the pilot successfully lowered the pontoon, and the pontoon fell to the sea next to Li Xiaqing, causing a splash of waves. At this time, Li Xiaqing's limbs were numb, and a bone-chilling cold penetrated her whole body. But when rescuers launched a rescue operation, she used all her strength to grab the float. She clung to the pontoon until Navy reservists dragged her inside. When the rescuers rescued Li Xiaqing, they were all shocked by the wet mermaid in front of them. They did not expect that the pilot who crashed into the sea was a woman, and she was also a woman from China. What surprised them even more was that the soaked survivor only said lightly that she regretted two things. One was that she felt a little cold, and the other was that she had lost one of her shoes. U.S. Navy Reserve rescue personnel flew Li Xiaqing back to the base. Although her body was wrapped in a blanket, she was still smiling brightly. On November 5, 1935, she became the first female student to graduate from the Boeing Aviation School in the United States with straight A's. "Spirit of New China" Before the Spring Festival of 1936, Li Xiaqing settled down in Shanghai. She was very ambitious and wanted to arouse the Chinese people's attention to the aviation industry. As soon as she returned to Shanghai, she joined the China Aviation Association in Shanghai. The association also welcomed Li Xiaqing's return to China after completing her studies and called her "China's first female." pilot". Li Xiaqing boarded the Junkers three-engine aircraft of Eurasia Airlines and started the first stop of her flight inspection. On the plane, Li Xiaqing was not an ordinary passenger, but was allowed to ride in the cockpit with the captain and Eurasia's most experienced pilot Walther Lutz. Li Xiaqing had flown three-engine aircraft at Boeing flight school, so Captain Lutz agreed to let her fly this 16-seat Junkers 52 aircraft. The aircraft was well-equipped and equipped with a sophisticated radio direction finder. In the next few days, Li Xiaqing flew the Eurasia aircraft to more than ten cities (Beijing-Taiyuan-Zhengzhou-Wuhan-Nanjing- Shanghai; Shanghai-Nanjing-Zhengzhou-Xi'an-Chengdu-Kunming), the flight time reaches 20 hours. With full enthusiasm, Li Xiaqing flew over the motherland, setting the highest domestic long-distance flight record for Chinese women at that time. "Her hair was combed into hollow curls, which was the latest fashionable hairstyle in 1937." the female reporter wrote in the article. "She was wearing an evening dress. The top and trousers were gray green with light red flowers. This outfit matched the light green patterned satin shawl. Her skin was delicate and smooth, with only a few small freckles. .She is extremely beautiful. She is so elegant, with an oval face, a water chestnut-like mouth, bright cherry lips, and slightly upturned eyebrows. As soon as you see her, you will know that she is a standard Cantonese beauty." On the early morning of Thursday, March 23, 1939, Li Xiaqing and her co-flight partner Yan Yaqing arrived at the airport and began their great flight around the United States. The aircraft Li Xiaqing flew was a Stimson Rilliant monoplane with a fuselage painted in dazzling red and decorated with bright yellow edges. The aircraft was named "Spirit of New China". During the flight around the United States, some cities will send planes to line up in the sky to welcome her arrival. When he arrived in Vancouver, a government plane and several private planes were in the air to greet him. Salt Lake City also sent 15 planes to greet him in the sky, a 20-minute flight away from the city. It was very grand, like a state guest. Wherever Li Xiaqing went, she was warmly welcomed and entertained by local dignitaries and people, including local government dignitaries, senior consulate officials, heads of various organizations and local Chinese leaders. The team that came to greet Li Xiaqing at the airport was very large, and everyone was excited and excited. Li Xiaqing landed from the sky in the very conspicuous red and yellow "Spirit of New China". Those who went to the airport to get a glimpse of Li Xiaqing's face must have paid off. When the welcoming crowd saw the Chinese and American flags painted on the fuselage of Li Xiaqing's plane, the scene burst into applause. Flying for entertainment in old age In early May 1946, Li Xiaqing took a commercial flight from San Francisco to Shanghai to return to China. After a short stay in Shanghai, Li Xiaqing flew to Hong Kong to reunite with her father and settled down in Hong Kong. Her original wish to help rebuild China's aviation infrastructure was put on hold. Before the war, she spared no effort to promote aviation to save the country and achieved initial results. But now, China's aviation industry is backed by the powerful US government, so it obviously does not need individuals to get involved. Li Xiaqing was relieved to see the reality clearly. In the past eight years, Li Xiaqing had been working hard to raise funds for the Anti-Japanese War. She was like a professional pilot, living a flying life. Now, she can finally "retire" . When New China was founded in 1949 , Li Xiaqing's life in Hong Kong was not affected like many people who stayed on the mainland. She was able to retain her living habits and lifestyle, and she could continue to fly (in 1950, she obtained a private pilot license issued by the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department), but during this period, Li Xiaqing returned to the sky mainly for entertainment purposes, and sometimes On a whim, she would fly to Singapore, Bangkok and other places. On January 24, 1998, Li Xiaqing died in the hospital due to acute pneumonia. She appeared to be in no pain and passed peacefully. Looking from the slope of her resting place, San Francisco Bay is looming. More than 60 years ago, a heroic female pilot fell from the sky like a fairy and fell into the cold and biting waters of San Francisco Bay. Flying 2,000 feet over San Francisco on a spring day in 1935, Lee Ya-Ching was enjoying her first aerobatic lesson in an open-cockpit trainer. As her instructor started a series of loops, wing-overs, and barrel rolls, Lee’s safety belt suddenly detached—and she found herself sliding out of the airplane. She later recounted in a radio interview, “I was too stupefied to act for a few seconds. Then, in a flash, I remembered all I had been told and pulled the ripcord. I made a perfect three-point landing—right in the middle of San Francisco Bay. But I treaded water, grunting and blowing like a porpoise, until a friendly launch came along and I was lifted aboard.” Aviation wasn’t the obvious career choice for the charismatic Lee, who as a teenager had been one of China’s top silent film actresses. She starred in eight films, and fans bought anything bearing her image, from movie magazines to notepaper. Then, at age 16, she headed to England to continue her education. AD Report this adIt was watching an airshow in Paris that set Lee’s life on a new course; she determined to become China’s first female aviator. She told radio host Fred Reed in 1943, “When I was a tiny girl, I often listened to fairy tales at my grandmother’s knee. One of them was told to me often, and it impressed me greatly. It was the legend of a kind lady who flew through the clouds, helping the poor and the unfortunate, and it impressed me very much. I was back in China in 1931 after schooling in Europe, and I saw how ruthlessly Japan started her pattern of aggression. Then and there, I decided to do my bit for China…and began studying the fascinating art of flying. I knew even then that someday I would be able to help my homeland with this knowledge of aviation.” More than any other figure—man or woman—Lee did exactly that, demonstrating her passion for flight throughout China at a time when her countrywomen weren’t even allowed to drive cars. In the decade before World War II, if you had asked anyone in China to name just one pilot, the answer you probably would have gotten would have been Lee Ya-Ching. She earned her pilot’s license in 1933, in Geneva, after a memorable flight in a small, shaky airplane, possibly a Caudron. (“The pilot flew the trembling craft over the Alps and I had horrible visions of landing unceremoniously on Mont Blanc.”) By early 1935 she had relocated to Oakland, California, for advanced training at the Boeing School of Aeronautics. There, Lee flew Stinson and Stearman trainers, and a Ford Tri-motor transport. Her unpublished autobiography, dictated at the tender age of 27 to ghostwriter Elsie McCormick Dunn (and now in the National Air and Space Museum archives), summarized the period: “She struggles with intricate subjects—meteorology, mechanics, navigation, etc; doffs silk gowns for greasy overalls; gets up at 6 a.m. instead of noon to attend classes.” In a 1943 radio interview, Lee recalled: “The engine of a plane became as familiar to me as the palm of my hand. Yes, I got very greasy and dirty, and often I was disgusted at the drudgery connected with absorbing American aeronautic training. But now I am eternally grateful that I stuck to it and passed these courses. American aviation is rightly the envy of the world.” Lee returned to Shanghai in late 1935, U.S. private pilot’s license in hand, eager to use her fame to promote civil aviation. But while the Shanghai Flying Club (part of the China Aviation League) embraced Lee, the Chinese government wasn’t inclined to grant a license to a woman. After intense lobbying, Lee was finally evaluated by a member of the Chinese air force and given a government pilot’s license—along with a special assignment. She flew 30,000 miles throughout China, evaluating airdromes and air routes in the interests of civil aviation. Once the task was complete, she helped organize China’s first civilian flying school, serving as the school’s sole female instructor. In honor of Chiang Kai-shek’s 50th birthday celebration in 1937, she performed an aerobatic routine—the first ever by a Chinese woman in her own country—before 150,000 spectators. AD Report this adLee continued to score more aviation firsts. Patti Gully’s book Sisters of Heaven notes that Lee planned to write a book on China’s civil air routes, and embarked on a fact-finding tour in a Junkers Ju 52. After being approached by the Southwestern Aviation Corporation, a government-owned airline flying between China and Europe, Lee did a stint as a transport pilot. On July 7, 1937, the Sino-Japanese War broke out. Lee offered her services as a combat pilot. When refused, she asked permission to fly as a ferry pilot or a courier. Both suggestions were rejected. Lee was grounded for the duration of the war, when all civilian flying was prohibited. Intensely disappointed, she established a Red Cross hospital, using her own money. Lee recounted in a radio interview, “When war broke out, I helped to established refugee camps and an emergency hospital for our wounded soldiers. The Japanese put a price on my head. I heard about it and managed to escape from Shanghai several days after the Japanese occupied that city. I came to know the full fury of the war that the Japanese had inflicted on my people when I traveled between Canton and Hong Kong along a railroad line that was continually bombed. In 1938 I decided I could best serve my country by helping to enlist the aid of Americans in our cause.” Lee had hoped that various American contacts—including wealthy socialites and film stars—would help her secure an airplane for a goodwill tour, which she would pilot herself. Putting up her own jewelry (worth more than $6,000) as collateral, Lee secured the loan of a Stinson SR-9B from the Beech Aircraft Company. In her aircraft, dubbed Spirit of New China, Lee began a goodwill tour, raising money for Chinese refugees. The tour was wildly successful. With help from relief organizations, socialites, and fellow aviators (including Louise Thaden) and film stars, the tour visited 40 cities in just three months. In a 1939 letter, Lee described the overwhelming response to her Chicago arrival: “I had a wonderful reception both from the Chinese community and the American public. We had a big crowd of several thousand at the airport and I greeted them by broadcasting from the roof of a building. We had a parade of over one hundred cars with Chinese and American flags. The procession, headed by boy scouts and girl guides, extended for more than ten blocks.” Hollywood was smitten with the diminutive pilot, and Paramount convinced her to take a supporting role in Disputed Passage, starring Dorothy Lamour. (Lee was cast as the “Chinese Aviatrix.”) Lee alternated between filming scenes and, on days she wasn’t needed on the set, continuing her goodwill tour. In a note dashed off during this time, Lee wrote: “May 4th. Went to see the rushes, they were not bad. Everyone at Paramount is so nice to me.” But the relentless pace was wearing, as her May 5 journal entry reveals: “I was preparing for bed when the phone rang, some Chinese want to see me, can’t I have some peace? I thought I could get to bed early for once & there they are, never fail. What can I do but to please them. However they were very sweet.” AD Report this adFrom 1939 through the end of World War II, Lee raised funds throughout the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. She flew a Beechcraft C17R on behalf of China Relief and an Aeronca Super Chief 65 LB for Relief Wings, and promoted the Red Cross in New Orleans with Chinese-American film actress Anna Mae Wong. Lee was so famous as a flier that she appeared on a bubble gum card and as the heroine in a True Aviation comic book story. By war’s end, a weary Lee was finally able to return to Shanghai. The conditions of the familiar city shocked her, and she fled to Hong Kong to stay with her father. There she tried to get involved with the aeronautical industry, but was rebuffed. Lee’s eight years of nonstop flying seemed over. In the mid-1960s Hong Kong experienced an economic downturn and Lee returned to the United States, settling in the San Francisco Bay area. She promptly obtained a student pilot certificate, passing her written and flying exams in 1966, at the age of 54. In Sisters of Heaven, Patti Gully relates that in the 1970s, while touring the California countryside, Lee “spotted a crop duster sitting in a farmer’s field and asked permission to take it aloft. She proceeded to put the old plane through its paces, performing a series of spins and complicated aerobatic maneuvers until its wires were screaming and its wings were shaking. And then, having taken the machine to the outer limits of its endurance, she calmly landed and politely thanked the astonished owners for their indulgence.” Li Xiaqing (April 16, 1912 - January 24, 1998) was a native of Panyu , Guangdong , and his ancestral home was Enping, Guangdong [1-2] . His father, Li Yingsheng, was a patriot who served as a senior translator in the patrol house of the French Concession in Shanghai. He later collaborated with film pioneer Li Minwei to establish the Shanghai Minxin Film Company. When she was a child, she traveled to Europe with her father and learned French. At the age of 14, she started acting under the stage name Li Dandan . He starred in many films and became a movie star. In 1929, after Minxin Film Company merged into Hualian Film Company, her career as a movie star ended. [1]In 1933, Li Xiaqing began flying lessons at the Cantana Flying School in Geneva, Switzerland. Two years later, she transferred to Boeing Aviation School in Oakland, California, for further studies and obtained her pilot's license. At the end of 1935, Li Xiaqing returned to China. The following year, she obtained a pilot license from the Chinese government and held a flight demonstration in Shanghai. In 1938, Li Xiaqing began a tour of flying and giving lectures in the United States and Canada to raise funds for China's Anti-Japanese War. He died of illness in the United States in 1998 at the age of 86. [1]His main works are " The God of Peace ", " The Cape Poet ", "The Orphan at the End of the World", " The Revenge of the Five Daughters ", " The Romance of the West Chamber ", and " Mulan Joins the Army ".real nameLi XiaqingnationalityHan nationalityplace of birthPanyu, Guangdongdate of birthApril 16, 1912death dateJanuary 24, 1998graduated schoolBoeing Aviation School in Oakland, USAagencyminxin film co., ltd.representative work"Jade Clean Bingqing" etc.Professionactor, pilotAliasStage name: Li DandanTable of contents1 Biography2 Bright style3 national crisis4 "Oriental Dragonfly"5 Peaceful lifeBiographyedit broadcastLi Xiaqing, a native of Panyu, Guangdong, was born in Enping, Guangdong [1-2] . She was born into a wealthy businessman family rich in revolutionary tradition in Panyu, Guangdong. Li Xiaqing's father, Li Yingsheng, was a patriot. On October 25, 1911, Li Yingsheng and his brother Li Peiji killed General Fengshan, the leader of the Qing army stationed in Guangzhou, and played the first role in the revolutionary army's capture of Guangzhou. Li Xiaqing's grandmother, Xu Mulan, was the niece of Xu Run , a famous industrialist in modern China, and the sister of Xu Zonghan , a female revolutionary. My father once served as a senior translator in the patrol house of the French Concession in Shanghai. When I was a child, I went to Europe with my father and learned French. After returning to China, he studied at Chinese and Western schools in Hong Kong and Shanghai and became proficient in English. Influenced by her family and influenced by Eastern and Western cultures, she has an active mind, diverse hobbies, and extraordinary courage.Bright styleedit broadcastIn February 1926, Li Xiaqing's father Li Yingsheng cooperated with film pioneer Li Minwei to establish the film company Shanghai Minxin Company in Shanghai. Lai Minwei was responsible for the artistic aspects of the filming, and Li Yingsheng was responsible for the commercial aspects of the filming. Li Yingsheng served as the company's general manager and chairman of the board of directors.The first film produced by Shanghai Minxin Company was called "Jade and Bingqing", which showed the story of Huang Bojian, a son of a wealthy family, and his bitter love with Suxian, a fisherman's daughter. At that time, all the leading actors in the film crew had been finalized, but there was only a shortage of candidates for Suxian's sister Qiongxian in the film, because she was too young in the play, only fourteen or fifteen years old. Finally, Lin Chuchu, one of the leading actors in the movie and wife of Li Minwei, thought of Li Yingsheng's daughter Li Xiaqing. At that time, Li Xiaqing, who was studying in middle school, was only fourteen years old. She was lively and cute, and her age and personality matched the character. Li Yingsheng was hesitant at first, fearing that Li Xiaqing's lack of acting experience would lead to a poor performance. But under the persuasion of Li Minwei and others, Li Xiaqing was finally agreed to make a movie. As a result, Li Xiaqing, who has never made a movie and has a "childlike face and a pigtail", won the recognition of director Bu Wancang and screenwriter Ouyang Yuqian with her performance without stage fright. She also gave herself a stage name: Li Dandan. [1]"Jade Bingqing" became an instant hit after its release and caused a sensation in Shanghai. Movie star Hu Diedu praised her in a radio comment: "Shanghai people are in a feast for the eyes. Sister Lin fell from the sky!" She was only fourteen years old at the time and was studying in middle school. From then on, she also had her own stage name: Li Dandan . In the "Full Moon and Stars" mass selection event during the Mid-Autumn Festival in 1928, Li Xiaqing was named the "Seven Star Star Sisters" together with Hu Die , Ruan Lingyu and other stars. At that time, she was 16 years old [1] . Since then, he has played leading roles or important supporting roles in films such as " The God of Peace ", " Poet of the Cape " , " Orphans from the End of the World ", " Five Women's Revenge ", " The Romance of the West Chamber ", " Mulan Joins the Army ", etc., and has become a famous movie star. . In 1929, after the Minxin Film Company merged into the Hualian Film Company, she ended her career as a movie star and went to Europe with her newlywed husband. She first studied at a private school in the UK and then studied flying at the Cantana Flying School in Geneva, Switzerland. [3]national crisisedit broadcastIn 1935, he transferred to the Boeing Aviation School in Oakland, United States, for further studies. Under the guidance of a famous instructor, she practiced hard and quickly mastered various complex flying techniques. On May 15, 1935, she was practicing a difficult somersault flight over Auckland Airport when her seat belt came loose and she was suddenly thrown out of the cabin. In critical moments, she was calm and decisive, quickly opened the life parachute on her back, landed in the nearby San Francisco Bay, and was rescued by the U.S. Navy, which became a sensation in the United States. She became a member of the American Women's Aviation Association and joined the Caterpillar Flying Club. After she became famous in the American aviation industry, she still did not forget her patriotism. In December of the same year, he returned to Shanghai. Later, he served as a trainee pilot with Southwest Airlines in Hong Kong, and soon resigned and returned to Shanghai.In 1936, she performed a wonderful flight display in Shanghai, which caused a sensation. In the same year, she made two long-distance flights in China from Shanghai to Zhanjiang and Peiping to Chengdu.In August 1937, the "August 13" Anti -Japanese War broke out in Songhu, and the war burned at her doorstep. She was also involved in the torrent of anti-Japanese and national salvation. Worked in a rescue school and a refugee camp.In early 1939, at the invitation of the U.S. Drug Administration for Aid to China, she flew the "Spirit of New China" monoplane light aircraft and visited large and medium-sized cities such as New York, Washington, Basso, San Diego, Salt Lake City, and Los Angeles to carry out extensive international aid. Chinese anti-Japanese activities. Everywhere I went, I was warmly welcomed by overseas Chinese and friendly local people. In 1940, she flew to some countries in South America to conduct anti-Japanese propaganda and fund-raising. In Peru, she flew a military aircraft for an hour-long flight show and raised 40,000 yuan. The Minister of Aviation of Peru went to watch, applauded her performance and presented her with a gold aviation badge.In March 1940, a reporter from the American Far East magazine conducted an exclusive interview with her and asked her whether it was risky to fly alone in a plane. She replied: "In the face of aggression, China is enduring hardship in order to survive." "All Chinese people, whether at home or around the world, rarely think of danger for the sake of the motherland." These words revealed the reason why she flew thousands of miles. [3]"Oriental Dragonfly"edit broadcastLi Xiaqing is a superstar in the history of Chinese women's aviation. Her name is included in the "Encyclopedia of China, Aerospace Volume". Her splendid life is like colorful clouds, projecting the brilliance and splendor of Chinese women in the long sky.There is this record about her:She is the first Chinese woman to skydive;She is the first person in the Chinese aviation industry to obtain a pilot license in Switzerland;She was the first female pilot to receive government permission to fly in China;She is the first female pilot in China’s civil aviation industry;She is the first Chinese female pilot to fly a military aircraft ;She is China’s first female pilot to set a domestic long-distance flight record;She is a Chinese female pilot who has made long-distance flights in North and South America.In 1928, a dazzling new star suddenly emerged in the Shanghai film world-Li Dandan. This girl made her first cry in the movie "Broken Pure Jade", and then she couldn't stop it. "Mulan Joins the Army", "Songstress from the End of the World", "Poet from the End of the World"...the sincere and innocent performances and the beautiful and charming image captivated the men and women on the beach in Shanghai and became a hotly discussed figure in the streets and alleys for a while.This famous Li Dandan, who is almost as famous as the actress Lin Chuchu, is Li Xiaqing. Li Xiaqing was only 16 years old at this time.Li Xiaqing's family is wealthy in Guangdong. When Li Xiaqing was a child, she traveled across the ocean with her father, traveled around Europe, and came into contact with the splendid Western civilization, which laid a bright foundation for her life. After returning to China, she studied in Hong Kong and Shanghai. She was deeply intoxicated by Tang poetry, Song lyrics, and Yuan opera, and she learned about the long-standing Chinese culture.Li Xiaqing swam in the long river of Chinese and Western cultures, which were the wings for her to take off in life. She has been smart, articulate, courageous, and naturally beautiful since she was a child. Her parents regarded this only daughter as the apple of their eye, but did not pamper her or do anything to restrict her character development.After achieving great success in the film industry, in 1930, 18-year-old Li Xiaqing said goodbye to her millions of fans and disappeared from the screen. She quietly came to Paris, France. By chance, she watched an air show in Paris. When the plane pulled up, roared off the ground, and soared into the sky, Li Xiaqing's whole body was throbbing. It wasn't fear, it wasn't shock. A kind of intense stimulation that she had never experienced before, a high sense of freedom where humans and gods blended together, struck Li Xiaqing at that moment.Immediately, Li Xiaqing decided to apply for the flight school in Geneva, Switzerland.The invigilator asked: "Beautiful lady, you are so beautiful, why did you choose to fly?"Li Xiaqing replied: "Because in ordinary people's minds, flying is a man's thing and seems to have no connection with women. I just want to do something that women rarely do."The invigilator was very interested: "It is said that in your country, women's feet are disabled and deformed?""I came here to let the world know that Chinese women can not only walk on the ground, but also fly in the sky."It is not easy for a Chinese, especially a Chinese woman, to enter the foreign flying world. Li Xiaqing is often unable to schedule classes due to the lack of trainers. Stubborn, she was the first to arrive at the airport every day and the last to leave. She remained silent and stayed near the instructor, expressing her anger and protest with a sit-in.The instructor's discriminatory gaze gradually turned into appreciation, and he quietly increased Li Xiaqing's flight time. When she flew solo for the first time, the bearded instructor specially tied a long red ribbon on the tail of her aircraft. Following the signal to take off, Li Xiaqing pulled the steering column and jumped into the blue sky. The red ribbon was like A burning red glow danced in the sky.A year later, Li Xiaqing graduated from the Kontinan Flying School with "all excellent" grades and became the first Chinese to obtain a Swiss pilot's license. The coaches call her the "Dragonfly of the East" and are very proud to have such an outstanding student as her.On the morning of May 15, 1935, with clear blue sky and gentle wind, the figure of a light aircraft piloted by Li Xiaqing appeared over the Oakland Municipal Airport in the United States.Li Xiaqing felt relaxed and happy. After three turns, she entered the training subject - somersaults.Aerobatics is very suitable for her who is unwilling to be mediocre.The blood all over my body is boiling. She pulled the steering column sharply, raising the nose of the plane and pulling it back."ah-!"She screamed as the seat belt broke and she was thrown out of the cabin.There was a burst of darkness and Venus splashed!The huge air flow was like ten thousand sharp knives, piercing Li Xiaqing's skin, facial features, and limbs, and her consciousness suddenly woke up.Is this how to say goodbye to life?23 spring and autumn, as a journey of life, is too short. She hadn't tasted all the ups and downs of life, and she hadn't had time to serve the motherland, so how could she end it like this? Her strong desire to survive suddenly made her calm. Good psychological quality played a role at critical moments.She grabbed her hands behind her back, overcame the impact of the strong airflow, and used her last strength to pull the umbrella lock fiercely.With a "bang" sound, the umbrella finally opened.In what seemed like only 30 seconds, the parachute took her into the sea. She broke free from the parachute ropes and floated calmly on the sea. Facing the sea and the land, she shouted loudly: "I love you!"Amphibious aircraft and speedboats dispatched by the U.S. Navy discovered Li Xiaqing on the sea. The reporter on board the boat was shocked by the wet mermaid. Her dream-like beautiful eyes were smiling happily without a trace of panic, as if she had just traveled through the Dragon Palace and completed a beautiful myth.This incident caused a sensation in the United States and became a legend.In December 1935, she returned to China after completing her studies. She was very ambitious and wanted to arouse women to create a new era of Chinese women's aviation. Therefore, as soon as she set foot on the land of her motherland, she decided to hold a flight show in Shanghai to arouse her compatriots and sisters' interest in aviation. Notice.One day in March 1936, a monoplane appeared in the sky over Shanghai. It was orange-red and as bright as fire. It sometimes circled and soared, sometimes cruised at low altitude, and sometimes performed aerobatics. The eye-catching orange-red color stirred up the sky. Li Xiaqing flew around Shanghai three times, performed some stunts over the International Hotel, and then landed lightly. People came to her like a tide, and Li Xiaqing's sight was blocked by the tears that burst out of her eyes.In 1937, the "August 13" Anti-Japanese War broke out in Songhu, and Li Xiaqing immediately devoted himself to the work of resisting Japan and saving the nation. In view of the extreme shortage of medicines for rescue work at that time, Li Xiaqing was invited by the US Drug Administration to China to visit various countries in North and South America to solicit donations. In early 1939, Li Xiaqing once again crossed the Pacific and came to the United States. She flew an orange-red "New China Spirit" monoplane light aircraft and began a patriotic fundraising flight to "resist Japan and save the country, and it is everyone's duty".On a bright spring day, thousands of overseas Chinese gathered at San Francisco's Melos Airport. Their eyes were raised to 800 feet in the sky.In the blue sky, after an orange-red plane performed various flying stunts, Li Xiaqing climbed out of the cabin."Oh! God, that's a woman!"A woman in the crowd screamed.Li Xiaqing stood on the high gangway, greeted the crowd with a smile, and began to speak: "My dear compatriots, dear American friends, I owe you so much for your warmth and kindness, and I will never forget your gratitude. China is being ravaged, and the Chinese people are suffering. Struggling in a pool of blood and flames of war. The national crisis was imminent, and emergency rescue efforts were launched. The little girl flew around the Americas to publicize the anti-Japanese war, solicit donations, and served on the battlefield to fulfill the common man's duty to save the country."The speech was interrupted again and again by excited applause. The donation signature sheet is densely packed.Li Xiaqing then flew to San Diego, Los Angeles and other cities, and was hailed as a "flying messenger" and "China's special goodwill envoy" by foreign reporters. The news media also followed up the interview and rushed to report on it. At one time, there was a "Li Xiaqing fever" sweeping the United States, which made her fundraising activities a great success. [1]Peaceful lifeedit broadcastAfter the end of the Anti-Japanese War, Li Xiaqing arrived in Hong Kong. In mid-1960, she moved from Hong Kong to the United States and lived in the San Francisco Bay Area. She died in San Francisco in 1998 at the age of 86. The statement that "Li Xiaqing died in a plane crash during a fund-raising flight show when she was 28 years old" is misinformation.———————————————————————————————————————————Starlight Park in Jiangmen City, Guangdong Province——On the flat land backed by green mountains, star sculptures stand scattered. These are all stars whose ancestral home is Jiangmen. One of the statues holds a book in her hand and looks ahead with joy. She is the legendary movie star and female pilot Li Xiaqing of the Republic of China. Li Xiaqing stands tall in Jiangmen Starlight Park, which means that this strange woman who has created one "myth" after another in the Chinese film industry and aviation industry has been officially recognized as a native surname by the Jiangmen City Government.There was no shortage of famous actors in the Republic of China, but there was only one person like Li Xiaqing whose every important journey in life was filled with admiration, rumors and suspicion from others. Not only that, but when the worldly glitz and grand narratives shrouded in Li Xiaqing are removed, what is revealed to the world is a wife who is looking for independence in marriage, a mother who is looking for flesh and blood in separation, and a woman who is looking for power in the old era. From birth, to transformation, to death, part of Li Xiaqing's legend turned into a riddle, and another part of the legend turned into a legend.Li Xiaqing’s birthThe controversy about Li Xiaqing began with her birth year. Li Xiaqing's father, Li Yingsheng, was a senior translator in the patrol house of the French Concession in Shanghai in his early days. In 1926, he formed the Shanghai Minxin Film Company with Chinese film pioneer Li Minwei . He was an important figure in the history of early Chinese film. Dramatist Ouyang Yuqian described Li Yingsheng as a "shrewd, capable, overseas Chinese-type character." In fact, in addition to doing business, Li Yingsheng was also an early revolutionary pioneer. He once cooperated with his younger brother Li Peiji to bomb the Qing Dynasty general stationed in Guangzhou, Fengshan. Li Xiaqing's birth controversy is related to this bombing.After the failure of the Huanghuagang Uprising in Guangzhou , revolutionary Li Peiji planned an assassination to avenge the revolutionary martyrs. Later, the target was selected, Fengshan, a general stationed in Guangzhou during the Qing Dynasty. He opened a foreign goods store where Fengshan passed by and stored bombs. Finally one day the opportunity came true. Zou Haibin, a veteran of the Revolution of 1911, once wrote the article "A Biography of Ms. Li Dandan" and mentioned the assassination process: "Ms. Dandan was named Dandan. She was still in her infancy when Fengshan was bombed. Her father had already planned the bombing, and Chang had ambitions. A baby is playing outside to avoid detection, but the baby is not him, that is, a lady." " Li Dandan " was Li Xiaqing's stage name when she later made movies. Feng Qun, a professor at the School of Liberal Arts at Wuyi University and an expert on early Chinese filmmakers, believes that Li Xiaqing is described here as "still in his infancy", which is inconsistent with the facts. In fact, the explosion occurred on October 25, 1911. Li Xiaqing was not yet born at that time, so it could not be used as a "blind cover" to cover the explosion.Li Xiaqing was born in Guangdong in 1912. Her tombstone in California clearly states that her birthday is "April 16, 1912." But this "born in 1911" theory is widely circulated. The San Francisco News of May 15, 1935 adopted this statement. As of 1985, an article titled "Movie Star, Pilot—Li Dandan" in the domestic magazine "Movie World" still followed this statement.Li Xiaqing is an only child. Her mother died when she was four years old. She lived with her father when she was a child. There are not only misinformation about Li Xiaqing's birth date, but also differences in her ancestral origin.In fact, there is no clear historical data that directly explains where Li Xiaqing's ancestral home is. Among the rumors circulating, "Li Xiaqing's ancestral home is in Haifeng County, Shanwei City " is widely circulated and quoted on many websites. Huang Dayi, director of the Haifeng County Archives Bureau: "I have seen it before (the introduction that Li Xiaqing is from Haifeng), but it has yet to be clarified." On the "Haifeng Archives Information Network" affiliated to the Haifeng County Archives Bureau, "Haifeng Archives Information Network" There is no information about Li Xiaqing in the column "Fengming Famous Historical Materials". But on Shanwei City’s official website, Shanwei City People’s Government Network, in the “Celebrity Biography” column, Li Xiaqing’s biography is listed, called “From Movie Star to Pilot: Haifeng Overseas Chinese Li Xiaqing.”In 1988, the late Guanzhong, an aviation history expert from Enping City, Jiangmen, Guangdong Province, proposed that Li Xiaqing's ancestral home was Enping City, Jiangmen, Guangdong Province. At that time, Guanzhong people saw a picture of Li Peiji assassinating Fengshan on display in the Enping County (today's Enping City) Museum, indicating that Li Peiji was from Enping, Guangdong. Later, this fact was confirmed in the Guangdong Provincial Museum . Later, Feng Qun, a professor at the School of Liberal Arts at Wuyi University and an expert on early Chinese filmmakers, confirmed that Li Yingsheng and Li Peiji were brothers. This can prove that Li Yingsheng is also from Enping, Guangdong, which further leads to the conclusion that "Li Xiaqing's ancestral home is in Enping City, Jiangmen, Guangdong."Next to the sculpture of Li Xiaqing in Xingguang Park in Jiangmen City, the sign clearly states that Li Xiaqing's "ancestral home is Enping". The construction of Jiangmen Starlight Park is led by the Jiangmen Municipal Government. This is equivalent to Jiangmen City officially recognizing the statement that "Li Xiaqing's ancestral home is in Enping City, Jiangmen, Guangdong.""Sister Lin fell from the sky"Due to accidental reasons, Li Xiaqing embarked on the road of acting and once changed her name to the stage name " Li Dandan ".In February 1926, Li Xiaqing's father Li Yingsheng cooperated with film pioneer Li Minwei to establish the film company Shanghai Minxin Company in Shanghai. Lai Minwei was responsible for the artistic aspects of the filming, and Li Yingsheng was responsible for the commercial aspects of the filming. Li Yingsheng served as the company's general manager and chairman of the board of directors.The first film produced by Shanghai Minxin Company was called "Jade and Bingqing", which showed the story of Huang Bojian, a son of a wealthy family, and his bitter love with Suxian, a fisherman's daughter. At that time, all the leading actors in the film crew had been finalized, but there was only a shortage of candidates for Suxian's sister Qiongxian in the film, because she was too young in the play, only fourteen or fifteen years old. Finally, Lin Chuchu , one of the leading actors in the movie and wife of Li Minwei , thought of Li Yingsheng's daughter Li Xiaqing. At that time, Li Xiaqing, who was studying in middle school, was only fourteen years old. She was lively and cute, and her age and personality matched the character. Li Yingsheng was hesitant at first, fearing that Li Xiaqing's lack of acting experience would lead to a poor performance. But under the persuasion of Li Minwei and others, Li Xiaqing was finally agreed to make a movie. As a result, Li Xiaqing, who has never made a movie and has a "childlike face and a pigtail", won the recognition of director Bu Wancang and screenwriter Ouyang Yuqian with her performance without stage fright . She also gave herself a stage name: Li Dandan ."Jade Bingqing" became an instant hit after its release and caused a sensation in Shanghai. The movie star Hu Diedu praised her in a radio comment: "Shanghai people are in a feast for the eyes. Sister Lin fell from the sky!" From then on, she couldn't stop and starred in "Poet of the Cape", "The Romance of the West Chamber", "Mulan" He performed well in films such as "Join the Army" and became one of the most popular movie stars in Shanghai in the 1920s, as famous as Li Minwei 's wife Lin Chuchu .There is one thing that reflects Li Xiaqing's influence at that time. In the "Full Moon and Stars" mass selection event during the Mid-Autumn Festival in 1928, Li Xiaqing was named the "Seven Star Star Sisters" together with Hu Die , Ruan Lingyu and other stars. At that time, she was only 16 years old.Regarding Li Xiaqing's appearance in his youth, a reporter who interviewed Li Xiaqing in 1937 described it this way: "The skin is very delicate, with a few freckles, which makes it more and more beautiful. The posture of the mouth is like a first-ripened cherry, Also like a pair of water chestnuts, an oval face, curved eyebrows, and a long body, it is obvious at a glance that she is a typical Cantonese woman." In the movie "The West Chamber", you can also see the expression of this silent film actress. She has a typical face of a Republic of China actress: round and powdery.The mystery of Li Xiaqing’s deathWhat is surprising is that in 1928, when her acting career was at its peak, Li Xiaqing suddenly bid farewell to the film industry and went to study in the UK. It was only two years since she started her acting career.There is a rumor about Li Xiaqing's death. Late one night while filming the movie "Mulan Joins the Army", Shanghai Minxin Company was robbed by gangsters and a lot of money was stolen. Li Xiaqing fought bravely against the gangsters, knocked down two gangsters in a row, and pushed the bandit leader into the Huangpu River. Afterwards, in order to commend his daughter, Li Yingsheng added an episode of "Pegasus chasing the enemy" to the plot of "Mulan Joins the Army". After filming the movie, Li Yingsheng asked Li Xiaqing to change her original name from Li Dandan back to her original name and temporarily stop filming. Feng Qun, a professor at the School of Liberal Arts at Wuyi University and an expert on early Chinese filmmakers, believes that this plot has no historical basis and is a fabricated plot. "The relationship between Li Yingsheng and gang boss Du Yuesheng is extraordinary. How can ordinary gangsters dare to offend?"However, Patti Gully (hereinafter referred to as Patti), a Canadian female writer and an expert on early female pilots in China, believes that safety issues are the reason why Li Yingsheng let Li Xiaqing retire. “She is very famous, and her father is concerned about her personal safety and worries that she will be kidnapped. .”Feng Qun believed that Li Xiaqing's death was due to love. At that time, Zheng Yuxiu, an old comrade-in-arms of Li Yingsheng in the Revolution of 1911 and a strange woman of the Republic of China, introduced his nephew Zheng Baifeng to Li Xiaqing, and they met and fell in love. Zheng Baifeng was the secretary of the League of Nations at the time and lived in France. Li Xiaqing stopped making movies in China in order to be with Zheng Baifeng.There is an intriguing incident that reflects Li Xiaqing’s mentality towards movies. In 1937, a reporter interviewed Li Xiaqing in Shanghai. At that time, she was already a well-known female pilot. At the end of the interview, the reporter asked her if she was still interested in making an "aviation" film to promote national defense and the aviation industry. The reporter's answer was: "Please don't mention this." The reporter described her expression when she said this: "She suddenly blushed and became unhappy, as if it was a huge insult to her." Patti analyzed that Li Xiaqing took her passion away from her. The performance shifted to flying, probably embarrassed by her former enthusiasm for movies.But Li Xiaqing did not give up on movies completely, nor did she get tired of it. While overseas, she continued to work in news documentaries. In her spare time, she studies new Western film technologies so that they can be applied to the Chinese film industry. In 1939, while flying in the United States, she appeared in a Hollywood film called Disputed Passage. In it, she played a Chinese female pilot. The plane she performs on is the same plane she flies on tours with. She donated her performance fees to the China Relief Fund.Female pilot wanted by Japan"After the threat of the Japanese Empire arrived, my mother continued to use her tenacious efforts to resist the invasion. She opened three hospitals and a school in Shanghai. The Japanese wanted to arrest my mother at that time, and she later came to the United States." Recently, Li Xiaqing's son Zheng Baishi told Nandu reporters over the phone about his mother's resistance against Japan. Baishi Zheng and his lover Susan live on a farm in Weatherford, Texas, USA, adjacent to Fort Worth, USA. They walked horses, raised donkeys, and raised fish in ponds there, living a leisurely pastoral life. Before retiring, Zheng Baishi worked as a wallpaper poster and lived in California, USA. After retiring, he moved to this Texas farm.In 1933, Li Xiaqing began flying lessons at the Cantana Flying School in Geneva, Switzerland. Two years later, she transferred to Boeing Aviation School in Oakland, California, for further studies and obtained her pilot's license. An unpublished autobiography describes her enthusiasm for learning to fly in the United States: "She diligently studied various complex courses such as meteorology, mechanics, and navigation. She took off her silk dress and put on a Grease-stained overalls, getting up at 6 a.m. to go to class every morning instead of at noon." In a 1943 radio interview, she reflected on this crazy time: "I was as familiar with the plane engine as I was with the palm of my hand. Same."A widely circulated theory is that the reason why Li Xiaqing became obsessed with flying was because she watched an air show in Paris, France. According to a 1943 radio interview, the idea of flying had been with her since childhood. During the interview she told the radio host: "When I was a little girl, I used to sit on my grandmother's knee and listen to fairy tales. There was one story about a kind-hearted woman who flew through the clouds to help the poor and Unfortunate ones. This story stuck with me."At the end of 1935, Li Xiaqing returned to China. The following year, she obtained a pilot license from the Chinese government and held a flight demonstration in Shanghai, when she was only 24 years old.In 1937, after the Battle of Songhu broke out, Li Xiaqing wanted to participate in the war for China as a fighter pilot, but was not approved. She established hospitals, refugee camps and schools in Shanghai to treat injured Chinese soldiers. For this reason, she was wanted by the Japanese army. In a radio interview, she recounted the danger at the time: "The Japanese put a bounty on my head. When I heard the news, I fled just a few days after the Japanese occupied Shanghai." In 1938, Li Xiaqing began to work in the United States and He flew and lectured in Canada, and also hosted many fundraising rallies to raise funds for China's war of resistance. She was hailed as a "flying messenger" by foreign reporters. After that, she also flew to South America and the Caribbean to raise funds for China’s war of resistance."China's first female pilot"In the mid-1930s, after Li Xiaqing learned how to fly and returned to China, newspapers in Shanghai and the United States called her "China's first female pilot." In fact, many years before her, there was a woman who was considered "China's first female pilot." The first person to raise the issue of "China's first female pilot" was an American newspaper. On November 7, 1919, the "San Francisco Bugle and Post" stated that Mrs. George Lu, the sister-in-law of the famous aviator Tan Gen, was "China's first female pilot." This statement kicked off decades of debate on this issue.The question of "who was China's first female pilot" has generated the most protracted debate in the history of Chinese aviation, with more than a dozen opinions existing. Amid the divergent opinions, Li Xiaqing has always been one of the candidates for this "first" battle. Other women who have been widely discussed include Qiu Jin's queen Guifen and Zhu Mufei. In addition, there is the aforementioned woman Mrs. Lu George.In the 1930s, Shanghai's Shenbao reported that Qiu Jin's daughter Wang Guifen was China's first female pilot. Wang Guifen was born in Hunan in 1901. She lost her mother when she was young. Her character has the "chivalrous spirit" of her mother Qiu Jin. In 1928, she went to the Department of Aeronautics of New York University in the United States, specializing in aeronautical engineering. In 1930, she returned to China after completing her studies, but failed to develop her expertise and switched to aviation education and translation work. In fact, Wang Guifen studied manufacturing and aviation knowledge at the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at New York University for two years, rather than learning flight technology. In the mid-1930s, a women's magazine in Shanghai published Wang Guifen's autobiography and a reporter's interview with her. Neither article mentioned that she had learned to fly. The late Guan Zhongren, an aviation history expert from Enping City, Jiangmen, Guangdong, believed that the identification of Wang Guifen as "China's first female pilot" was not accurate.Another woman, Zhu Mufei, was born in 1897. She was the daughter of Zhu Zhuowen, the former aviation director of the Guangdong Military Government, and a native of Zhongshan, Guangdong. The 1965 "Manuscript of the History of Modern Chinese Aviation" considered Zhu Mufei "the first female pilot trained in China" for the first time. The 11th issue of "Aviation History Research" in 1986 analyzed that Zhu Mufei had learned to fly in the United States before February 1922, and served as a pilot in the revolutionary aircraft fleet after returning to China.If we define it solely in terms of "the time it took to learn to fly", it is generally accepted that China's first female pilot was the aforementioned Mrs. Lu George. Mrs. George Lu's name is Anna Peter Lu. She is the sister-in-law of Chinese aircraft engineer Tan Gen. Her native place may be Kaiping, Guangdong. When Mrs. Lu was studying at the University of California in the United States , she learned to fly from her brother-in-law Tan Gen. Later, when Tan Gen returned to China, she studied with an American instructor and finally completed the course.Guanzhong people once produced a "Profile List of Modern Chinese Female Pilots", which listed 21 female pilots in modern China. On this list, Mrs. George Lu ranks first, learning to fly in 1915. Zhu Mufei ranked third and learned to fly around 1922. Li Xiaqing is only ranked seventeenth on the list, and she learned to fly in 1935. "In fact, there may have been 30 women flying before her." Patti Gully, a Canadian female writer and an expert on early female pilots in China, said.Patti believes that the reference to "China's first female pilot" is just a propaganda tool. The reason why Li Xiaqing received this title was "because of her reputation as an actress and her wealth. Compared with other female pilots of the same period, she attracted more public attention." However, Patti believes that from many From a different perspective, Li Xiaqing is "China's first female pilot": "She was the first female graduate of the world's best Boeing Aviation School. At that time, no other women had received such advanced training. In 1936, China The government issued her a license to fly anywhere, a position no other woman had ever been granted. She was a female instructor at the Shanghai Flight School, training China's first sky defenders. In 1937, there were almost no women in the world With the status of a commercial pilot, Li Xiaqing flew passengers on dangerous routes operated by Guangxi Southwest Airlines within six weeks."Li Xiaqing’s “Death”"(One day in 2005) I went to pay my respects to Ms. Li's grave. I drove through the chaotic rush hour traffic, and it took me a while to find the exact direction in the middle of the huge cemetery. Finally, when I looked When I arrived at her grave, I felt so excited that my legs became weak and I couldn't stand upright." Patti described her feelings when she first visited Li Xiaqing's grave in California, USA. The reason why she was so excited was because the tombstone clearly stated that Li Xiaqing's birth and death dates were "April 16, 1912 to January 24, 1998." Previously, it had been rumored that Li Xiaqing's death was in the 1940s, half a century earlier. "When I first started my research, there was only a small amount of material on the Internet about Ms. Lee, all of which said she was killed during the war, so I'm pleased to be able to correct this misinformation."As early as May 16, 1946, the magazine "China's Air Force" published an article titled "Women Enter the Gate of Aviation". The article said vaguely: "I don't know if it was the 33rd year of the Republic of China (1944). In 1945 (1945), the female pilot (Li Xiaqing) crashed in a flight, ending her life. People who had warmly praised her in the past reported her sad news to each other with sadness." This is about Li Xia. An early version of the rumor about Qing's accident. Some speculate that the reason for this rumor is that the media mistakenly confused Li Xiaqing with another Chinese-American female pilot Li Yueying. Li Yueying and Li Xiaqing are similar in age. After the outbreak of World War II, they flew transport planes in the US Air Force and often flew over the Atlantic Ocean. During a flight mission in 1944, her plane collided with a training aircraft below, causing the aircraft to crash and killing everyone.The late Guanzhong, an aviation history expert from Enping City, Jiangmen, Guangdong, also accepted the rumor. In an article titled "A Preliminary Exploration of Some Historical Issues of Li Xiaqing" published in "Aviation History Research" in 1988, he concluded: "It is unlikely that she died in a flight crash as late as 1944 or 1945."In fact, this situation of spreading rumors is rooted in the occlusion of information. Because as early as 1958, when the new runway of Hong Kong Kai Tak Airport was opened, 46-year-old Li Xiaqing attended the opening ceremony and personally flew a plane to perform a demonstration. Hong Kong's "Industrial and Commercial Daily" and other newspapers reported on it that year.In the 1960s, when Hong Kong's economy was in decline, Li Xiaqing returned to the United States and settled near the San Francisco Bay until her death.While in the United States, the woman continued to showcase her free-spirited personality. In the book Sisters of Heaven: China's Barnstorming A viatrixes, written by Patti, a plot is described. In the 1970s, while traveling in the California countryside, Li Xiaqing discovered a small pesticide-spreading plane parked in a farmland. She asked her owner to allow her to fly it into the air. She flew the plane in the air and performed a series of spins and complicated stunts until the plane's endurance reached its limit before landing safely and politely thanking the stunned owner for allowing her indulgence.However, my time in the United States was generally uneventful. Li Xiaqing's main daily life is playing mahjong with her friends. In addition, she travels and shops, and supports charities of her choice. "At that time, it seemed that no challenge could excite her," Patti said.Li Xiaqing behind the haloBehind all the glorious honors and titles is Li Xiaqing, who has experienced twists and turns in her love life.According to Li Xiaqing's son Zheng Baishi, his mother Li Xiaqing's love life was not satisfactory after she married his father Zheng Baifeng. "My father was the secretary of the League of Nations at the time and liked to study at home. My mother was pampered by the family since she was a child and she liked to go out for parties. My mother wanted to return to Hong Kong to live, but my father was unwilling to go there. They have different interests. , and then they got divorced." Zheng Baishi later heard that this was the first divorce case in Chinese history, and it was still an immoral thing at the time. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Zheng Baifeng got married again and gave birth to a son and a daughter. Li Xiaqing later married twice and gave birth to a daughter. Li Xiaqing and Zheng Baifeng had a daughter before. In this way, there are five brothers and sisters of Zheng Baishi.Zheng Baishi was born in Geneva, Switzerland in 1931. Around 1937, his parents officially divorced. "When I was three years old, I was separated from my mother. My father wouldn't let my mother visit me. He first arranged for me to live with an acquaintance in Hong Kong. Then, when he heard that my mother had also come to Hong Kong, he sent me away When I arrived in Shanghai, I lived with my aunt Zheng Yuxiu for many years. My mother suffered a lot after she left me. When she was in Hong Kong, she secretly visited me twice. Every time she came to see me, she spent a lot of money She had to pay money and bribe the maid at home to see me. Every time she came to see me, she would cry when she saw me." Zheng Baoshi recalled the past like this.Zheng Baishi went to primary school in Shanghai. After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, when the Japanese arrested his mother Li Xiaqing, he hid in the World Primary School on Xiafei Road (today's Huaihai Middle Road) for eight years. Later, after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, his father Zheng Baifeng and his stepmother came to pick him up and stayed in Cuba for four years. Later he went to the United States to study. It was not until Zheng Baishi and Li Xiaqing came to the United States that they met again, which was already 20 years later. When we reunited, time had diluted the family affection. "We had a meal together and stayed for more than an hour. At the dinner table, we just said some social words such as 'hello and thank you', just like friends. The atmosphere was very light, without the joy and sorrow of family members reunited. It’s a feeling, no emotion.” Zheng Baishi said.When they lived in California, USA, Zheng Baishi and Li Xiaqing lived just over an hour's drive apart, but they didn't have much contact. "Zheng Baishi knows that his mother is famous. He is proud of her, but he does not love her. She (Li Xiaqing) does not recognize him (Zheng Baishi) in public and does not recognize him as her child." Patti said.But the family love in the blood still defeated everything. In 1997, the year before Li Xiaqing's death, Zheng Baishi heard that there was a statue of his mother in a place in Beijing and went to look for it. However, he was told that the statue had gone to a traveling exhibition and he never saw it. Before Li Xiaqing died, she left all her photos, documents and newspapers to Zheng Baoshi, totaling ten boxes. Robert Cheng gave many of the archives to the Smith National Air and Space Museum. They are classified and organized there and are ready for researchers' reference.Li Xiaqing has been married three times in total. In her second marriage, she married a doctor named Xu. In her third marriage, she married a man named Li. This marriage accompanied her to the end of her life. The man named Li loved her very much. "After Li Xiaqing passed away, his life collapsed." Patti said.In 1998, Li Xiaqing died of acute pneumonia in Oakland, California, at the age of 86, and was buried there after her death. "Smart" is the word that Zheng Baishi can think of to sum up his mother. "Although I know more about her than the other two female pilots (referring to the female pilots described in the book Sisters of Heaven) combined, she is still a mystery to me." In a conversation with Zheng Baishi , Patti expressed her confusion about Li Xiaqing in this way.Flying for the first timeIn 1933, Li Xiaqing signed up to participate in a test flight at Geneva Cointrin International Airport. When she took to the skies for the first time in the "rickety" biplane that was a surplus of World War I - possibly a French Gaudelon aircraft owned by local pilot Francis Dulav - Li Xiaqing There are also doubts about the wisdom of his decision. However, she couldn't resist the temptation and soon took to the sky again , this time in a much better-performing Tiger Moth biplane. Soaring in the blue sky , Li Xiaqing looked down and was deeply shocked by the scenery in front of her. The continuous peaks of the Alps are covered with snow and the highest peak, Mont Blanc, is so majestic and majestic. From a distance, Lake Geneva shines like a bright sapphire.This experience was unforgettable, and Li Xiaqing suddenly realized that she had found the career she wanted to pursue in this life. She wants to become a pilot, return to her motherland, and arouse her compatriots' attention to the aviation industry.In the spring of 1934, the "beauty from the East" in the eyes of this flight instructor flew solo for the first time. Since then, her passion for flying has only grown and remains unwavering. When the weather is bad and she cannot fly, even if she only comes to the airport and is with her beloved plane, she feels extremely satisfied. When the haze in the sky dissipates and you can finally fly in the blue sky, the spiritual joy and satisfaction are indescribable.Li Xiaqing really likes the feeling that flying brings to her, which is full of blood and is above everything else.Li Xiaqing likes to fly at night, especially flying over Paris at night. Against the backdrop of the night, this beautiful city shines like a diamond on black velvet. The Arc de Triomphe with its shining lights looks bright against the night. So bright and charming.However, Li Xiaqing’s decision to fly is not understandable to everyone. It is said that when she applied for the Cointrin Flying School in Geneva, an examiner asked her why she wanted to become a female pilot."Beautiful lady, you are so beautiful, why did you choose to fly?" the examiner asked.Li Xiaqing replied: "Because in ordinary people's minds, flying is a man's thing and seems to have no connection with women. I just want to do something that women rarely do."The examiner then asked: "It is said that in your country, women's feet are all disabled and deformed?"Li Xiaqing replied firmly: "I am here to let the world know that Chinese women can not only walk on the ground, but also fly in the sky."On August 6, 1934, Li Xiaqing passed the flight and theory examinations with excellent results and obtained a pilot license issued by the Swiss Aero Club. She became the first woman in the world to obtain a pilot license in Geneva, and the first woman to obtain a pilot license in Switzerland. There were only 10 women with pilot licenses at that time. In the Chinese aviation industry, Li Xiaqing is also the first person to obtain a pilot license in Switzerland. Since then, Europe has become Li Xiaqing's flight training base. From Geneva to Vienna, to London, or to Paris, she was so eye-catching everywhere she went. She stepped out of the cockpit gracefully, wearing a white flight suit and high heels. She looked so neat and tidy. It's like I just came out of the beauty salon.While Europeans were talking about this "beauty from the East", Li Xiaqing decided to further her studies and signed up to be admitted to the world's leading aviation school at that time - the Boeing Aviation School in Oakland, California, which never admitted women. Student, Li Xiaqing was admitted to this flying school by exception. In addition to her excellent test scores, more importantly, she was sincere. In January 1935, Li Xiaqing officially became a member of this prestigious flying school.First time skydivingOn May 15, 1935, Li Xiaqing and Greg boarded a plane together, preparing to conduct aerobatic training over the San Francisco Bay. After taking off, the plane was flying at an altitude of about 2,200 feet over the San Francisco Bay. At this time, coach Greg signaled to Li Xiaqing that he was ready to start rolling practice. Then, the instructor suddenly pulled the steering column, and the nose of the aircraft was raised high and pushed back. At this time, Greg accidentally looked in the rearview mirror. He was so frightened by the scene in the mirror that he broke into a cold sweat. He saw half of Li Xiaqing's body hanging outside the cockpit, and her hands struggling to hold on to the fuselage. What made the coach even more horrified was that he watched Li Xiaqing completely fall out of the cockpit. Her seatbelt broke! Greg only caught a glimpse of the shiny flying shoes on Li Xiaqing's feet, and then she disappeared.The moment Li Xiaqing's seat belt broke, she was stunned by the sudden accident, but her strong desire to survive made her calm down. Good psychological quality played a role at critical moments. During the rapid descent, she grabbed her hands behind her back, overcame the impact of the strong airflow, and used her last strength to pull the parachute lock. She even remembered at that moment a cold joke in the parachute company's advertising disclaimer: "If the parachute cannot open normally, the company promises to refund the money." However, after opening the parachute, Li Xiaqing began to realize that this landing was not on land. It's over the sea, so landing is much more difficult.Fortunately, Li Xiaqing broke free from the rope of her parachute after falling into the sea. The parachute was washed to the shore by the rolling waves. A pilot stationed at a U.S. Naval Reserve base in Alameda County east of San Francisco Bay discovered this. A parachute with a bulging top soaked in seawater. Afterwards, the Naval Reserve sent a Lonin amphibious aircraft and two pilots to the rescue.At this moment, Li Xiaqing struggled on the sea. When she fell into the sea, strong winds blew her parachute aside. She was thankful that she was not entangled in the rigging, but she found that the all-leather flight suit became bulky after entering the water. The flight suit has five zippers, making it impossible to take it off in the sea. In the sea, Li Xiaqing remained calm and kept stepping on the water. However, the cold water made her realize that danger was approaching. Although she was a good swimmer, she fell into the water more than half a mile from the shore, and the wet and heavy flight suit restricted her hands and feet. She couldn't even reach the life-saving equipment that coach Greg dropped nearby.She had no choice but to try her best to stay afloat. To maintain her body temperature, she placed her feet on the parachute's pads and lifted herself as far out of the water as possible. She put her head up, leaned back, and kept paddling with her hands to save energy. She didn't panic at all, but quietly waited for rescuers to arrive.Rescue workers quickly arrived at the scene of the accident. Just when Li Xiaqing was so cold that her teeth chattered, she heard the sound of the Navy Reserve's amphibious aircraft approaching. After a while, the plane was hovering above her, preparing to land at sea. All good things come soon. The pilot may have been overjoyed because he discovered Li Xiaqing, and somehow got the landing gear of the plane stuck, preventing the float from being lowered. The plane had to fly back to the base, leaving Li Xiaqing to continue soaking in the cold water. She began to feel desperate.In the cold seawater, she could not move her limbs freely. The biting seawater kept pouring into her nose, eyes and ears, and her will began to weaken. She realized that she had to face this fact. Due to being soaked in sea water for a period of time, her limbs began to become numb and her strength became exhausted. However, Li Xiaqing was still ready to make a last ditch effort.After God knows how long, the second Luoning amphibious aircraft left the base and flew towards Li Xiaqing's location. This time, the pilot successfully lowered the pontoon, and the pontoon fell to the sea next to Li Xiaqing, causing a splash of waves. At this time, Li Xiaqing's limbs were numb , and a bone-chilling cold penetrated her whole body. But when rescuers launched a rescue operation, she used all her strength to grab the float. She clung to the pontoon until Navy reservists dragged her inside. When the rescuers rescued Li Xiaqing, they were all shocked by the wet mermaid in front of them. They did not expect that the pilot who crashed into the sea was a woman, and she was also a woman from China. What surprised them even more was that the soaked survivor only said lightly that she regretted two things. One was that she felt a little cold, and the other was that she had lost one of her shoes.U.S. Navy Reserve rescue personnel flew Li Xiaqing back to the base. Although her body was wrapped in a blanket, she was still smiling brightly.On November 5, 1935, she became the first female student to graduate from the Boeing Aviation School in the United States with straight A's."Spirit of New China"Before the Spring Festival of 1936, Li Xiaqing settled down in Shanghai. She was very ambitious and wanted to arouse the Chinese people's attention to the aviation industry. As soon as she returned to Shanghai, she joined the China Aviation Association in Shanghai. The association also welcomed Li Xiaqing's return to China after completing her studies and called her "China's first female." pilot".Li Xiaqing boarded the Junkers three-engine aircraft of Eurasia Airlines and started the first stop of her flight inspection. On the plane, Li Xiaqing was not an ordinary passenger, but was allowed to ride in the cockpit with the captain and Eurasia's most experienced pilot Walther Lutz. Li Xiaqing had flown three-engine aircraft at Boeing flight school, so Captain Lutz agreed to let her fly this 16-seat Junkers 52 aircraft. The aircraft was well-equipped and equipped with a sophisticated radio direction finder. In the next few days, Li Xiaqing flew the Eurasia aircraft to more than ten cities (Beijing-Taiyuan-Zhengzhou-Wuhan-Nanjing- Shanghai; Shanghai-Nanjing-Zhengzhou-Xi'an-Chengdu-Kunming), the flight time reaches 20 hours. With full enthusiasm, Li Xiaqing flew over the motherland, setting the highest domestic long-distance flight record for Chinese women at that time."Her hair was combed into hollow curls, which was the latest fashionable hairstyle in 1937." the female reporter wrote in the article. "She was wearing an evening dress. The top and trousers were gray green with light red flowers. This outfit matched the light green patterned satin shawl. Her skin was delicate and smooth, with only a few small freckles. .She is extremely beautiful. She is so elegant, with an oval face, a water chestnut-like mouth, bright cherry lips, and slightly upturned eyebrows. As soon as you see her, you will know that she is a standard Cantonese beauty."On the early morning of Thursday, March 23, 1939, Li Xiaqing and her co-flight partner Yan Yaqing arrived at the airport and began their great flight around the United States. The aircraft Li Xiaqing flew was a Stimson Rilliant monoplane with a fuselage painted in dazzling red and decorated with bright yellow edges. The aircraft was named "Spirit of New China".During the flight around the United States, some cities will send planes to line up in the sky to welcome her arrival. When he arrived in Vancouver, a government plane and several private planes were in the air to greet him. Salt Lake City also sent 15 planes to greet him in the sky, a 20-minute flight away from the city. It was very grand, like a state guest.Li Xiaqing was warmly welcomed and entertained by local dignitaries and people wherever he went, including local government dignitaries, senior consulate officials, heads of various organizations and local Chinese leaders. The team that came to greet Li Xiaqing at the airport was very large, and everyone was excited and excited. Li Xiaqing landed from the sky in the very conspicuous red and yellow "Spirit of New China". Those who went to the airport to get a glimpse of Li Xiaqing's face must have paid off. When the welcoming crowd saw the Chinese and American flags painted on the fuselage of Li Xiaqing's plane, the audience burst into applause.Flying for entertainment in old ageIn early May 1946, Li Xiaqing took a commercial flight from San Francisco to Shanghai to return to China. After a short stay in Shanghai, Li Xiaqing flew to Hong Kong to reunite with her father and settled down in Hong Kong. Her original wish to help rebuild China's aviation infrastructure was put on hold. Before the war, she spared no effort to promote aviation to save the country and achieved initial results. Now, China's aviation industry is backed by the powerful US government, so it is obvious that there is no need for individuals to get involved. Li Xiaqing was relieved to see the reality clearly. In the past eight years, Li Xiaqing had been working hard to raise funds for the Anti-Japanese War. She was like a professional pilot, living a flying life. Now, she can finally "retire" .When New China was founded in 1949, Li Xiaqing's life in Hong Kong was not affected like many people who stayed on the mainland. She was able to retain her living habits and lifestyle, and she could continue to fly (in 1950, she obtained a private pilot license issued by the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department ), but during this period, Li Xiaqing returned to the sky mainly for entertainment purposes, and sometimes On a whim, she would fly to Singapore, Bangkok and other places.On January 24, 1998, Li Xiaqing died in the hospital due to acute pneumonia . She appeared to be in no pain and passed peacefully. Looking from the slope of her resting place, San Francisco Bay is looming. More than 60 years ago, a heroic female pilot fell from the sky like a fairy and fell into the cold and biting waters of San Francisco Bay. Li Xiaqing's cemetery is located in Oakland, California, USA. [1]
Price: 3900.88 USD
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End Time: 2024-12-16T18:10:24.000Z
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Subject: Women