Ding Xuesong (Chinese: 丁雪松; 27 May 1918 – 29 May 2011) was a Chinese diplomat and politician who was China's first female ambassador, serving as ambassador to the Netherlands from 1979 to 1981 and then to Denmark and Iceland from 1982 to 1984.[1]
In July 1939, when the Chinese Women's University [zh] in Yan'an opened, Ding joined the advanced research class and served as the vice president of the student union. In October 1941, was called back to Yan'an to participate in the preparatory work for the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region Consultative Council and was appointed as the secretary to Li Dingming, the vice chairman of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region government.[3][4]
Diplomatic career
In 1947, Ding moved to North Korea and was appointed within the Korean Workers' Party as the secretary general of the Central Overseas Chinese Affairs Committee of the party and worked in the propaganda department of the Hwanghae Province Party Committee. In 1948, she became the Chairwoman of the North Korean Overseas Chinese Federation and the representative of the Chinese business delegation in Pyongyang.[5]
In 1979, she succeeded Chen Xinren as the Chinese ambassador to the Netherlands, becoming the first female ambassador of the People's Republic of China.[6] During her tenure as ambassador, she oversaw the facilitation of Dutch Prime MinisterDries van Agt's visit to China in 1980, making it first visit by a sitting Dutch Prime Minister to China. In 1982, she was appointed as the ambassador to Denmark and Iceland. As ambassador to Denmark, Ding was instrumental in Carlsberg Brewery's investment in the Beijing Huadu Brewery, at the time China's most modern. For her efforts, she was nicknamed the "beer ambassadress".[7][8][9][6]
Ding married Korean-born composer Zheng Lücheng in 1941. She accompanied him to North Korea in 1945, but appealed to Zhou Enlai to request Kim Il Sung's permission for them to return to China in 1950.[10][11] The couple had a daughter named Zheng Xiaoti.[12]
Ding died on 29 May 2011, at the age of 93.[13][6]
^Sciutoa, Ruggero; Kühnel, Florian (2022). "Introduction". Gender and Diplomacy in the Early Modern Period. 44 (5). The International History Review: 943–951. doi:10.1080/07075332.2022.2120050. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
^"郑律成与丁雪松的异国姻缘". Sina. 12 February 2016. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
^Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women – Volume 2 – Page 145 Lily Xiao Hong Lee, A. D. Stefanowska, Sue Wiles – 2003 "... situation of their conflicting nationalities by returning to China, where Zheng Lücheng took out Chinese citizenship. ... PRC, Zheng Lücheng was active in his work as a composer; he wrote the music for the Western-style opera Cloud Gazing."
^"郑律成之女郑小提:谢谢哈尔滨,读懂了郑律成". Sina Finance. 20 March 2023. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.