Feng Shuyan was born in Liaoning Province in 1910. She married a young peasant Wang Jiechen in 1930.¹ Feng and Wang joined the anti-Japanese resistance army shortly later and both became officers.² One of Feng Shuyan's best-known feats as a covert operative was arranging and negotiating the defection of 380 Chinese who were collaborating with the Japanese as enforcement officers.³ This project took over two years, culminating in an armed revolt against the Japanese in which Feng took out two Japanese officers using a single shot each, and pumped a third full of bullets.

In addition to being patient and cunning, Feng was also known as a splendid markswoman who was equally deadly with both the left hand and right hand. It was said that when she went hunting in the woods, it was guaranteed that either flying fowl or running beast would be brought down with just one shot.⁴ Feng and her husband went on to fight side by side in many battles. The two did not have any children until after the Sino-Japanese war. As of 2005, Feng is still alive. The 96-year-old veteran still bears visible bullet scars on her head.⁵

X.T.

Notes

1. Another 'two-gun-toting grandma' from the Northeast (Chinese article)
2. Feng Shuyan: The Unforgettable Battles at Yidong (Heilongjiang Daily 2005/8/2) (Chinese article)
3. Feng Shuyan: The Unforgettable Battles at Yidong (Heilongjiang Daily 2005/8/2) (Chinese article)
4. Another 'two-gun-toting grandma' from the Northeast (Chinese article)
5. Feng Shuyan: The Unforgettable Battles at Yidong (Heilongjiang Daily 2005/8/2) (Chinese article)