The Winter Plum (How Wu Yifang Became the First Woman to Sign the UN Charter)

From Bound Feet to the United Nations

FIRST ENGLISH BIOGRAPHY of Wu Yifang, who rose from bound feet in 1893 China to become the first woman to sign the United Nations Charter in 1945. When Wu Yifang was born in 1893, her feet were bound tight, and her future seemed small. But like the Winter Plum that blooms fearlessly in frost, Yifang refused to stay caged. She became China’ s first female PhD in Biology, graduating from the University of Michigan in 1928. As President of Ginling College, she led China’ s first women’ s university through World War II. When Japanese forces invaded Nanjing in 1937, she evacuated hundreds of students to safety, walking on her damaged bound feet across mountains to protect them. In 1945, standing before world leaders in San Francisco, Dr. Wu placed her signature on the UN Charter— the only woman among China’ s delegates. This is the true story of Wu Yifang: pioneering educator and architect of a better world. Perfect for readers who loved Hidden Figures, I Am Malala, and She Persisted.