Huang Mulan

Huang Mulan (; 9 July 1906 – 7 February 2017) was a secret agent for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). She was also known as Huang Zhangding and Huang Shuyi.

Early career She was born as Huang Dinghui (黄定慧) in Liuyang, Hunan, Qing dynasty. Her parents supported emancipation for women. For example, they made the decision not to have her feet bound, an unusual choice among educated people living near them, and sent her to a local women's school at the age of twelve. At the age of 18 she escaped an arranged marriage and arrived in Hankou, Hubei, where she joined women's campaigns and one year later was elected president of the city's women's department.

In 1926, after joining the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), she changed her name to "Huang Mulan," expressing admiration for legendary woman warrior Hua Mulan. She was the person who alerted the CCP leadership to the defection of the party's General Secretary Xiang Zhongfa and, thanks to her alarm, heavy losses were avoided.

Later life Huang Mulan was twice imprisoned and spent 17 years in prison from the 1950s to 1975. Following her release, Huang kept filing lawsuits to clear her name. In 1980, with the support of Zhou Enlai's widow Deng Yingchao, her achievements were confirmed by the CCP.

Personal life She was married four times and her stories have been captured in several books, films and TV drama series. An autobiography was released in 2012.

Huang spent her final three years at the Zhejiang hospital in Hangzhou, China living under her birthname "Huang Dinghui." She died on 7 February 2017, aged 110 years.