Nadine Hwang

Nadine Hwang, or Nadine Huong (Chinese 黃訥亭); (March 3, 1902 – 1972) was one of the first Chinese female pilots and served in the Chinese Air Force as an honorary colonel. She was at one point in a relationship with Natalie Clifford Barney and survived deportation to the Ravensbrück concentration camp.

Early life

Nadine Hwang was born in Madrid, to a Belgian mother, Juliette Brouta-Gilliard, and a Chinese father, Lühe Hwang. Both her parents were Catholics. In 1904 he was briefly transferred to Havana, where in 1905 Hwang's sister Marcela (later known as Marcela de Juan) was born. A few months later, the whole family returned to Madrid, where Hwang's father had been appointed head of the Chinese delegation.

As a young girl, due to her family's high social status, Hwang met several well-known figures of her time such as Mao Zedong, Lin Yutang, and Hu Shih, who were invited to the family's home as guests.

Even as a child, Nadine Hwang tried to escape the bounds of convention and gender roles. She learned to drive a car and fly small planes at an early age. She liked to wear men's clothes, whether for sports or for a party, where, for example, she would appear in traditional Aragonese costume to dance the Aragonese jota with a female rider. Japanese-American artist Isamu Noguchi recalled meeting her in 1930. describing her as "piratical." She learned sports such as polo, cricket, and equestrianism, unusual for Chinese women of her time.

Career in China Zhang Zongchang was the first warlord to accept women into his army. When he met Nadine Hwang, he decided to make her a colonel in the Air Force and insisted that she wear short hair and a uniform. Although her rank as colonel was only an honorary rank, Hwang was given a position of trust as a staff liaison officer. It was during this time that she earned her nickname, the "Amazon of the North."

Hwang was stationed as a lieutenant in the Chinese army under Zhang Xueliang starting in 1929. She later obtained an important economic position in the Beiyang government and worked as a confidential secretary to premier Pan Fu.

In 1933, Hwang moved to Paris, where she was part of the bohemian scene. and throughout Europe, she lectured about China and advocated for greater economic exchange.

Life in Paris Atget – Temple of Friendship at 20 Rue Jacob, where Natalie Barney's salon was held. When Hwang moved to Paris, she occasionally took on the role of chauffeur for Natalie Clifford Barney; they became lovers and Hwang was a participant of Barney's literary salons. In one account of this period of Parisian history, she is described as a "piratical" Asian beauty, while in another account she is described as a crossdresser.

Nelly Mousset-Vos On Christmas Eve 1944,

They were separated in March 1945, when Nelly Mousset-Vos was deported to the Mauthausen concentration camp. Every Face Has a Name (2015) Nelly & Nadine (2022)