The "Resolution by the CCP Central Committee Regarding the Current Direction of Woman-Work in the Anti-Japanese Base Areas

" known more simply as the "Resolution of ‘43" (Si San Jueding)

" began its full-scale implementation in 1943. Aimed specifically at the issue of overly radical "feminism" and its influence on the steady development of rural society

it sought after a practical means of circumventing rural conflict by emphasizing women's participation in [general] production as well as an overall increase in their contribution towards economic production. While this new policy helped to reduce dissonance and strengthen the unity of the people

the broader issue of gender remained concealed under the traditional patriarchal family structure [embedded] in rural society. During the Yan'an period

Ding Ling

the representative "New Woman

" had come under heavy criticism due to her divergence with popular opinion at the time. Her eventual standing in line with “the spirit and principles of the party" would put an end to this matter

and although this admittedly played to the needs of the revolutionary situation

it would force the already semi-discernible issue of gender to become pigeonholed once more. Attitudes held towards the gender issue in "The Yan’an Way" may be traced back to the early efforts to integrate feminine discourse into left-wing revolutionary discourse during the period following the May Fourth Movement

and are also closely related to Women's Liberation theory

which had served as part of the basis for international communist movements. A re-examination of these [developments] will serve as a useful means of incorporating feminism more proactively into modern China’s socialist practice.