Agnes Smedley, (February 23, 1892--6 May 1950) was an American journalist and writer known for her chronicling of the Chinese revolution. February 23 is the 54th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1892 (MDCCCXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... May 6 is the 126th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (127th in leap years). ... 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... The term writer can apply to anyone who creates a written work, but the word more usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, or those who have written in many different forms. ... The Chinese Revolution For the full story of the war that led to the communist seizure of power on mainland China, see Chinese Civil War. ...

She embraced and advocated various issues including women's rights, Indian independence, birth control, and China's Communist Revolution. Smedley authored eight books; she wrote articles in many periodicals such as Asia, The New Republic, Nation, Vogue, and Life. A website on Smedley states, "Influenced by her impoverished childhood Agnes Smedley was an advocate for women, children, peasants and liberation for the oppressed." For other uses, see the disambiguation section. ...

Life

Smedley was born in Osgood, Missouri in 1892 in a farming family of five children. At the age of ten, she moved with her family to Colorado and worked to support her family, though while still attending school. Smedley never completed her formal education, despite great interest and success in studies. She was offered, and accepted, a position teaching in New Mexico. Official language(s) None, English and Spanish de facto Capital Santa Fe Largest city Albuquerque Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 5th 315,194 km² 550 km 595 km 0. ...

From 1911 to 1912 Smedley was enrolled in the Tempe Normal School, Tempe, Arizona as a special student. She was an editor and a contributor to the Tempe Normal Student, a student publication. All-America City Program Logo Tempe (pronounced Tempee) is a city located in Maricopa County, Arizona. ... Official language(s) English Capital Phoenix Largest city Phoenix Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 6th 295,254 km² 500 km 645 km 0. ...

She married Ernest Brudin. They moved to California, and Smedley took an interest in socialist thought. After six years of marriage Smedley divorced and moved to New York City. Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 3rd 410,000 km² 402. ... Nickname: The Big Apple Motto: Official website: City of New York Location [[Image:|250px|250px|Location of City of New York, New York]] Location in the state of New York Government Counties (Boroughs) Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R...

In New York she worked with Margaret Sanger at the Birth Control Review. Margaret Sanger. ...

She became involved in a relationship with an Indian communist, Viren Chattopadhyaya, and moved to Germany with him. Communism - Wikipedia /**/ @import /w/skins-1. ...

In 1929, she finished an autobiography; she left Chattopadhyaya and moved to Shanghai. Shanghai (Chinese: 上海 pinyin: (help· info); Shanghainese: Zanhe ) , situated on the banks of the Yangtze River Delta, is Chinas largest city. ...

Smedley conducted a relationship with Richard Sorge, a Soviet spymaster, while in Shanghai. She also had ties with Ozaki Hotsumi, a correspondent of Asahi Shinbun. Later he translated Smedley's Daughter of the Earth into Japanese. She introduced Sorge to Ozaki, who became Sorge's most important informant. Maj. Gen. Charles A. Willoughby, who served with Gen. Douglas MacArthur's chief of intelligence, claimed Smedley was a member of the Sorge spy ring. After the war, Smedley threatened to sue Willoughby for the accusation. Her most recent and competent biographer, Ruth Price, has found definitive and conclusive evidence that Smedley did indeed spy for the Soviet Union. Richard Sorge Dr Sorge aka Ramsay Richard Sorge (Russian: Рихард Зорге) (October 4, 1895 - November 7, 1944) was a revolutionary, a journalist, working in Germany and Japan, and a spy for the Soviet Union in Japan before and during World War II. His NKVD codename was Ramsay. ... Ozaki Hotsumi was a well-known journalist in Japan during World War II. He was the only Japanese to be hanged for treason during the war. ... Asahi Shimbun (朝日新聞; Asahi Shinbun) is a national leading newspaper in Japan. ... Douglas MacArthur (January 26, 1880 — April 5, 1964) was a senior American military leader in the Pacific Theater who served in World War II. MacArthur helped rebuild Japan after the war, and played a key role in limiting the Communist takeover of Korea with his daring Inchon landing. ...

Smedley covered the Chinese Civil War during the 1930s and served as a correspondent for the Frankfurter Zeitung and the Manchester Guardian. She traveled with the 8th Route Army the New Fourth Army. During the 1930s she applied for membership in the Chinese Communist Party but was rejected due to Party reservations about her discipline and what it viewed as her excessive independence of mind. Smedley was devastated by this rejection but remained passionately devoted to the Chinese communist cause. Combatants Chinese Kuomintang Chinese Communist Party Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Mao Zedong Strength 3,600,000 circa June 1948 2,800,000 circa June 1948 Casualties {{{notes}}} The Chinese Civil War (Traditional Chinese: 國共内戰; Simplified Chinese: 国共内战; Hanyu Pinyin: ; literally Nationalist-Communist Civil War) was a conflict in China between the Kuomintang... The Frankfurter Zeitung is a German newspaper that appeared from 1856 to 1943. ... The Guardian was also the name of a U.S. television series. ... The Eighth Route Army (八路軍 Pinyin: bālù-jūn) was one of the main military forces of the Communist Party of China, active during the Chinese Civil War and Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). ...

Smedley left the field in 1937; she organized medical supplies and continued writing. Between 1938 to 1941, she visited both Communist and Guomindang forces in the war zone; it is recorded that this is the longest tour of the Chinese war front conducted by any foreign correspondent, male or female. Communism - Wikipedia /**/ @import /w/skins-1. ... The Kuomintang (KMT) or Nationalist Party of China (Traditional Chinese: 中國國民黨; Simplified Chinese: 中国国民党; pinyin: Zhōngguó Guómíndǎng; Wade-Giles: Chung-kuo Kuo-min-tang; Tongyong Pinyin: Jhongguo Guomindang; literally the National Peoples Party of China) is a conservative political party currently active in the Republic of China (ROC) on...

She relocated to Washington, DC to advocate for China and authored several works on China's revolution. During the 1940s she lived at a writer's colony in upstate New York. In 1947 she was accused of espionage. Feeling pressure, she moved to Britain during the investigation. In 1952, after her death, the F.B.I. closed the investigation. Aerial photo (looking NW) of the Washington Monument and the White House in Washington, DC. Washington, D.C., officially the District of Columbia (also known as D.C.; Washington; the Nations Capital; the District; and, historically, the Federal City) is the capital city and administrative district of the United... Official language(s) None, English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 27th 141,205 km² 455 km 530 km 13. ... For other uses of the initials FBI, see FBI (disambiguation). ...

Her ashes were buried at the Babaoshan Revolutionary Martyr's Cemetery in Beijing, a facility not open to tourists or the general Chinese public. (help· info), a city in northern China, is the capital of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ...

Works

• Battle Hymn of China
• Daughter of Earth, a fictional, quasi-autobiographical book

References

• Janice R. MacKinnon and Stephen R. MacKinnon, Agnes Smedley: The Life and Times of an American Radical (University of California Press, 1990)

• Ruth Price, The Lives of Agnes Smedley (Oxford University Press, 2004)

• Major General Charles Willoughby, Shanghai Conspiracy: The Sorge Spy Ring (New York, 1952).

External links

• Agnes Smedley at the Arizona State University Hayden Library archives
• Agnes Smedley from NOVA Online, "Secrets, Lies, and Atomic Spies"

See also

• American journalists