She was elected permanent secretary of the Luotangwan Village Women's Association () and was the first local woman to cut her hair short. From this point onwards, Kang took every opportunity to pursue studies that her background had denied her as a child. In 1927, Chiang Kai-shek opposed the Communists and there was violent conflict. Nearly 200 people in Wan'an were killed and, to temper Kang's revolutionary tendencies, her adoptive parents attempted to arrange a marriage for her. Kang left home in September 1928 and joined a guerilla band seeking shelter with the Red Army.