Pauline Woo Tsui (October 2, 1920 – November 27, 2018) was a
Chinese American
Chinese Americans are Americans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans along with their ancestors trace lineage from ...
anti-discrimination activist. As a co-founder of the
Organization of Chinese American Women, she is considered a pioneer of Chinese women's rights in the United States.
Early life and education
Pauline Woo was born in
Nanjing
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, in 1920.
Her father, John Yien-teh Woo, had been born in
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
, so she held dual
U.S. citizenship
Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constituti ...
.
The influential educator
Kuo Ping-Wen
Kuo Ping-Wen or Guo Bingwen (; 1880–1969), courtesy name Hongsheng (鴻聲), was an influential Chinese educator.
Biography
Kuo was born in Shanghai, Jiangsu province, and his father was an elder in the Presbyterian Church. He attended Lowri ...
was her uncle.
At a time when many women were systematically denied an education, she insisted on the importance of schooling for girls. After attending the
McTyeire School
McTyeire School () was a private girls' school in Shanghai.
It was established by Young John Allen and Laura Askew Haygood in 1882. Its namesake was Holland Nimmons McTyeire.
History
The school had seven students in 1855 and more than 100 studen ...
, a private girls' school in
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
, she obtained a bachelor's degree in education from
St. John's University, Shanghai
St. John's University (SJU) was a Christian university in Shanghai. Founded in 1879 by American missionaries, it was one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in China, often regarded as the Harvard of China.
After the founding of th ...
.
Displacement and exile
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, she was forced to flee the Japanese occupation, settling in
Chongqing
Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...
for three years.
In Chongqing, she taught music at the Central Training Institute.
After the war, she moved to the United States, which she had never visited despite being a citizen.
Career in the United States
On arriving the United States, she studied at
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
in
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, graduating with a master's degree in music education in 1947.
She had initially planned to open a group of schools back in Shanghai. When her plans in Shanghai fell through due to the
Chinese Communist Revolution
The Chinese Communist Revolution, officially known as the Chinese People's War of Liberation in the People's Republic of China (PRC) and also known as the National Protection War against the Communist Rebellion in the Republic of China (ROC ...
, she instead moved to
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
There, she worked at the
United States Army Map Service for 30 years, where she would eventually serve as Federal Women's Program manager.
She also met and married Tswen-ling Tsui, a diplomat for the
Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
, in 1947, and the couple had two children.
While working in government, Tsui experienced and observed the discrimination faced by women and minorities, including Chinese women.
In addition to her work as her department's Federal Women's Program manager, she also co-founded a
Federally Employed Women chapter. Additionally, she served as vice president of the
Organization of Chinese Americans
OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates (previously known as the Organization of Chinese Americans) is a non-profit organization founded in 1973, whose stated mission is to advance the social, political, and economic well-being of Asian Americans a ...
.
After a few years of organizing, Tsui co-founded the
Organization of Chinese American Women in 1977, serving as its executive director from 1983 to 2007.
The organization, which was also co-founded by the diplomat
Julia Chang Bloch
Julia Chang Bloch (; born 1942) is a Chinese American businessperson and diplomat, who was the first U.S. ambassador of Asian descent. She is the founder and president of the US-China Education Trust.
Life and political career
Bloch was born ...
, aimed to offer education and training programs that would empower Chinese American women.
It was initially affiliated with the Organization of Chinese Americans, but they eventually disaffiliated due to differing priorities.
Later years, death, and legacy
In the early 1990s, after her husband's death, Tsui moved from Washington to
Montgomery County, Maryland
Montgomery County is the most populous county in the state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010. The county seat and largest municipality is Rockville, although the census-design ...
.
In 2013, she co-wrote ''History of the Organization of Chinese American Women'', which covers the first three decades of the organization's history, with Puanani Woo.
Tsui died in 2018.
The following year, she was posthumously named as a member of the
Maryland Women's Hall of Fame
The Maryland Women's Hall of Fame (MWHF) recognizes significant achievements and statewide contributions made by women who are Maryland-natives or state residents. It was established in 1985 by the Maryland Commission for Women and the Women Legisl ...
.
In 2020, the Chinese American Museum launched an event series in her honor.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woo Tsui, Pauline
1920 births
2018 deaths
People from Nanjing
American women of Chinese descent in politics
American people of Chinese descent
American women's rights activists
Republic of China (1912–1949) emigrants to the United States
Chinese emigrants to the United States
St. John's University, Shanghai alumni
Columbia University alumni
21st-century American women