Li Xiaqing or Lee Ya-Ching (; 16 April 1912 – 28 January 1998), also known by her stage name Li Dandan (), 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 ''Romance of the Western Chamber'' (), also translated as ''The Story of the Western Wing'', ''The West Chamber'', ''Romance of the Western Bower'' and similar titles, is one of the most famous Chinese dramatic works. It was written by the Yuan d ...

'', and played the lead in an early adaptation of Mulan for the screen. Lee Ya-Ching is an Anglicized version of her Chinese name.

Aviator

At the age of sixteen, Li witnessed an airshow in Paris, which left a strong impression on her. 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 ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, where she was the first female student to receive a pilot's license. In 1935, she enrolled in the Boeing School of Aviation in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

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. Li also helped found the Shanghai Municipal Air School and worked there as a flight instructor until civilian flights were grounded.

Filmography

Liangyou 007 cover Li Dandon or Li Xiaqing 李旦旦

* ''The God of Peace'' () (1926) - Lin Cuiwei * ''Why Not Her'' () (1926) - Kong Qiongxian * ''A Wandering Songstress'' () (1927) - Li Lingxiao * ''

A Poet from the Sea ''A Poet from the Sea'' is a 1927 Chinese silent film written and directed by Hou Yao, starring himself as a quixotic poet who tried to escape from the constraints of modernity. Filmed in Stanley, Hong Kong, it contains one of the earliest footag ...

'' () (1927) - Liu Tsan Ying * ''

'' () (1927) -

Hongniang Hongniang, or Scarlet, is a fictional character from "Yingying's Biography", a Chinese story by Yuan Zhen (779–831), and ''Romance of the Western Chamber'', a Chinese play by Wang Shifu (1250–1337?). She is the maidservant of Cui Yingying. In ...

* ''Five Avenging Women'' () (1928) * '' Mulan Joins the Army'' () (1928) -

Hua Mulan Hua Mulan () is a legendary folk heroine from the Northern and Southern dynasties era (4th to 6th century CE) of Chinese history. According to legend, Mulan took her aged father's place in the conscription for the army by disguising herself as ...

* ''

Don't Change Your Husband ''Don't Change Your Husband'' is a 1919 American Silent film, silent comedy film directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Gloria Swanson. The film was the third of six "marriage films" directed by DeMille and the first DeMille film starring Gl ...

'' () (1929) * ''

Disputed Passage ''Disputed Passage'' is a 1939 American drama war film directed by Frank Borzage and starring Dorothy Lamour, Akim Tamiroff, John Howard, Judith Barrett and William Collier, Sr. Set in war-torn China, the film was described by ''The New York ...

'' (1939) - Aviatrix (credited as Ya-Ching Lee)

References

External links

China's First Lady of Flight
airspacemag.com. Accessed 31 October 2022.
Li Xiaqing, Aviatrix and Actress
forgottennewsmakers.com (3 May 2010). *
Profile
dianying.com. Accessed 31 October 2022. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Ya-Ching 1912 births 1998 deaths Actresses from Guangdong Chinese aviators Women aviators Chinese emigrants to the United States Chinese women aviators 20th-century Chinese actresses Chinese silent film actresses Chinese film actresses People from Haifeng County Chinese women philanthropists Chinese philanthropists 20th-century philanthropists 20th-century women philanthropists

Aviator

Filmography

See also

References

External links