A delegation from the hometown of legendary Chinese writer Xie Bingying has traced her footprints to San Francisco, where she spent the last 26 years of her life.

As a rebellious young woman in the oppressive Chinese mainland of the 1920s and 1930s, Xie escaped an arranged marriage, participated in two wars and came to be known as the first female soldier writer in modern China. She later moved to Taiwan, became a professor and in 1974 immigrated to the US, where she died in 2000 at the age of 93.

Xie was born in 1906 in Loudi, Hunan province, and trained at Guangzhou Huangpu Military Academy. Her literary reputation started with her military diaries, which recorded her thoughts and experiences participating in the Northern Expedition, a military campaign to unify China that lasted from 1926 to 1928.

Her novel, A Woman Soldier's Own Story, was first published in 1926 and then translated to English by celebrated Chinese scholar Lin Yutang. It was translated into other languages, including French, German and Japanese, two years later.

"The reason why it was so influential, even overseas, was because Chinese women at that time were not so independent, let alone participating in a war," said Li Fuze, a professor of humanities, sciences and technology at Hunan University, and a member of the delegation from Hunan. He is also the author of a biography of Xie.

"The world had a very limited knowledge of China at the time, especially Chinese women. The diary served as a window to learn about China," Li said at a conference held on Thursday in San Francisco by local overseas Chinese groups in support of the delegation's efforts.

Xie also participated in the war against Japanese aggression in 1937. She organized a group made up of 18 female nurses and teachers, all in their 20s, to assist in the war effort. "This was the first women's group working on the frontlines," Li said.

" Her works are significant not only for their literary value but also in studying history and appreciating her spirit," he said.

Last year, more than 40 overseas Chinese societies, including the Hunan Native Association, in the Bay Area, wrote a joint letter to the State Council, China's cabinet, to request a state-level protection for her house in her hometown, in order to better preserve and promote the history of Xie.

The house is now a museum in Loudi. "But there's a gap since she moved to Taiwan in 1948," Li said, and they haven't been able to trace her trail in Taiwan. "We hope to gather more information about her from the family and friends she had here in San Francisco, so we can complete what we have back home."

In Taiwan, she worked as a university professor and kept writing. Her works during this time are mostly reminiscences of her hometown.

"It's important to promote the knowledge of her life and works both in China and overseas, as part of the effort to promote cultural exchanges between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan as well as between China and the US," said Wu Meihua, an official in charge of public affairs with the Loudi government.

liazhu@chinadailyusa.com