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Girl with the 'fire plough'

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-08-11 09:44

Liang recalls being told by the provincial leaders as well as by her classmates that driving tractors was best left to men. But she did not budge and eventually won their respect when she finished the training course with high marks.

Through her intelligence and hard work, she also learnt all about repairs to farm machinery.

"I felt very proud when villagers raised their thumbs at me and said, 'Look, even girls can drive the fire plough', which is what they called the tractor," she says.

Seeing how tough she was, Liang was included in all the three major explorations in Northeast China, including that of the Great Northern Wilderness.

News about this first Chinese woman tractor driver soon spread, inspiring many other girls to come forward to learn to drive the tractor, such as Chen Yaru, Xu Xia and Yuan Rufen.

Later, they all became Liang's good friends and together formed China's first, 11-women tractor driving team.

In 1951, she was sent to Beijing for advanced studies in agricultural machinery and was part of China's first batch of professional agricultural technical staff.

Upon graduating with a college degree in the mid-1950s, she worked first as an engineer, and then headed a number of factories making or repairing farm machines.

Liang's story was written into primary school textbooks from 1949 to 1953 and she was elected as a member of the National People's Congress three times, between 1954 and 1966.

In 1958, the People's Bank of China came out with the third set of Renminbi banknotes. The 1 yuan denomination features a woman tractor driver, based on a photographic image of Liang.

These banknotes have become sought-after collector items, and have largely been withdrawn from circulation.

Post-retirement, besides being a member of the Harbin chorus, Liang has also been actively engaged in charity work.

In 2007, during the 60th anniversary of the exploration of the great Northern wildness, the 77-year-old was once again in the fields with her "fire plough".

Though she lives in relative obscurity nowadays, her name will forever remain a part of the history of the People's Republic.

"China is changing everyday. My biggest hope is go to Beijing to watch the upcoming 60th anniversary of the founding the People's Republic of China," she says.

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