Deng Yingchao was born on 4 February 1904 as Deng Yu’ai (邓玉爱) in
Nanning, Guangxi, with ancestral roots in
Guangshan County, Henan. Her father, Deng Tingzhong (邓庭忠), practiced martial arts from an early age and later passed the imperial military examination, after which he was appointed as a garrison commander in Nanning. Her mother, Yang Zhende (杨振德), was born into a wealthy family in
Changsha, Hunan, and was literate and educated in
Traditional Chinese medicine. Following her family’s decline, Yang married Deng Tingzhong. Influenced by feudal patriarchal values, Deng Tingzhong preferred sons over daughters. Upon Deng Yingchao’s birth, he intended to give her away, but Yang resisted desperately, even threatening her own life, to keep and raise the child. Deng Tingzhong showed little affection toward his daughter growing up. When Deng Yingchao was about three years old, her father was exiled to
Xinjiang, placing the financial burden entirely on her mother. As the family of a convicted official, Yang was no longer permitted to practice medicine in Nanning, so she decided to leave the city. To make a living and support the family, the mother and daughter moved from place to place, living successively in several cities including
Guangzhou,
Shanghai, and
Tianjin. Despite living in poverty, these experiences broadened Deng’s horizons and enriched her knowledge. Her mother taught her to read and traditional Chinese culture and opposed
foot-binding for her daughter. At the age of seven, Deng began learning weaving and knitting to earn money. Around that time, her father died in
Xinjiang. Also in 1919, Deng Yingchao helped establish the Tianjin Women Patriots’ Association (
Tianjin nüjie aiguo tongzhihui, 天津女界爱国同志会), which called on women to step beyond the boundaries of the household and societal expectations to participate in the "patriotic movement". As the head of its lecture group, she delivered speeches that initially appealed to women’s patriotism and later expanded to advocate women’s education, employment, independence, opposition to feudal marriage, and the abolition of foot-binding. In 1922, Deng organized and led the Tianjin Women’s Rights Alliance (
Tianjin nüquan yundong tongmeng, 天津女权运动同盟). In 1923, she founded the semimonthly journal
Women’s Star (
Nüxing, 《女星》) and established the Women’s Star Society, where she served as a leading organizer and editor. The journal focused on exposing the oppression of women and promoting women’s rights. That same year, she also co-founded the Tianjin Women’s Star Supplementary School, which aimed to help unemployed women gain basic education and vocational skills for self-support. In 1924, Deng participated in founding the
Women’s Daily (
Funü ribao, 《妇女日报》) and later became its chief editor and general manager. It was the only women’s newspaper in China at the time and sought to reform women’s thinking nationwide. The same year, she organized the Women’s Star Sunday Volunteer School, which provided one-year, tuition-free education for lower- and middle-class women. On June 7, 1925, Deng helped establish the
Tianjin Women’s Federation (
Tianjin funü lianhehui, 天津妇女联合会). == Political career ==