Zhang Chunqiao
Zhang Chunqiao 张春桥 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
1 February 1917 Juye, Shandong, Republic of China |
| Died |
21 April 2005 (aged 88) Jiangyin, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China |
| Cause of death | Cancer |
| Nationality | Chinese |
| Ideology |
Marxism–Leninism Mao Zedong Thought Anti-revisionism |
| Political party | CPC |
| Part of a series on |
| Maoism |
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Zhang Chunqiao[a] was a Chinese polititian, leading member of the Gang of Four and director of the Shanghai Revolutionary Committee. He is considered by many Maoists to be the best potential succesor to Mao Zedong.[1]
Early Life
He was born in Juye, Shandong Province, Republic of China into a wealthy landlord family, other than that not much is known about his early life except for that he would eventually drift towards Marxism-Leninism and give up his capital. Zhang joined the Shanghai chapter of the League of Chinese Left-Wing Writers in 1936.
Joining the Communist Party of China
In 1938 he would travel to Yan’an and join the Communist Party of China. During the war against Japan he became a cadre of guerrillas operating in Japanese controlled territory in north and east China. In this time he would begin to read Stalin, Mao and others as to deepen his understanding of Marxism. He would eventually become the editor-in-chief of Jin-Cha-Ji Daily and New Shimen Daily. In the People’s Republic of China, he held positions such as the president of Liberation Daily, member of the Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee, head of the Propaganda Department and alternate member of the Municipal Party Committee. His article 'Do Away with the Ideology of Bourgeois Right' gained him attention from Mao Zedong and Jiang Qing, the article was praised by Mao and eventually published in the People’s Daily in 1958. He wrote this article while part of the city committee of the Communist Party of China in Shanghai.[2]
Cultural Revolution
He eventually came to be one of the most important figures of the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Along with Yao Wenyuan he would help establish the Shanghai Commune in 1967, a somewhat successful attempt to fully establish higher level socialism in the city. This eventually evolved into the Revolutionary Committee of Shanghai after it was declared that a full commune was not yet possible. The Revolutionary Committee model was then widely adopted throughout China after the large successes in Shanghai. By 1968 the committees had been set up in all provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions. These committees saw many major successes and represented a huge leap forward in socialist construction.
In the Gang of Four
During this he would join the Gang of Four along with Yao Wenyuan and Wang Hongwen. He would become the second most influential member after Jiang Qing. After the death of Zhou Enlai the fight between the Gang of Four and the revisionist Deng-Hua clique. The Gang of Four would eventually fail to save socialism from the revisionists after the Deng-Hua clique would get support from military officials for an operation to arrest all Gang of Four members. Wang Hongwen would be the main person to fight this operation when he killed two of the guards trying to arrest him before being injured and captured.
Trial and death
The Deng-Hua had mock trials for all Gang of Four members, sentencing all to life sentences. Zhang would remain true during his entire prison sentence, sending letters and constantly criticizing the actions of Deng Xiaoping and the now revisionist Communist Party of China. Zhang was released in 1998 to undergo treatment for his cancer. He passed away in 2005 after spending his last years with his family.
Bibliography
References
Notes
- ↑ Also transcribed Chang Chun-chiao