Huang Yanpei
Encyclopedia
Huang Yanpei was a Chinese educator, industrialist, politician, and one of the founding pioneers of the China Democratic League
.
(now part of Pudong
, Shanghai
) during the fourth year of the reign of the Guangxu Emperor
in the late Qing Dynasty
. His mother died when he was 13 and his father died when he was 17, so he lived with his maternal grandfather, who gave him a traditional Chinese education. In his young age he studied at Dongye School (東野學堂) and read the Four Books and Five Classics
. Before he came to of age, he worked as an informal teacher in his hometown to support his family. In 1899 he topped the imperial examination
in Songjiang Prefecture and earned a xiucai (秀才) degree.
His uncle later sponsored him to read western studies and in 1901 he was enrolled into Nanyang Public School (南洋公學), where he met Cai Yuanpei
who was teaching Chinese language there. A year later Huang obtained a juren (舉人) degree in the imperial examination in Jiangnan
. He left school later with his mates in protest against the expulsion of his fellow students for allegedly showing disrespect towards a teacher by leaving an empty ink bottle on the teacher's desk (an act interpreted as mocking the teacher by hinting that he was unlearned). Huang returned to Chuansha, where he established a Chuansha Primary School (川沙小學) for children. During this time he read Yan Fu
's Tian Yan Lun (天演論), a translation of Thomas Henry Huxley's Evolution and Ethics, as well as other books on Western ideas.
In 1903, while giving a talk in Nanhui District
, Huang was accused of being an anti-government revolutionary and was arrested and imprisoned. He was released on bail with the help of an American missionary named William Burke, and left prison an hour just before an order for his execution from the Jiangsu provincial government reached Nanhui. Huang fled to Japan and returned to Shanghai three months later, where he continued to help set up and run schools. In 1905 Huang was introduced by Cai Yuanpei to join the Tongmenghui
. Concurrently, Huang established, ran, and taught in various schools, including Pudong Middle School (浦東中學). He also helped to set up the Organisation for Education Affairs in Jiangsu (江蘇學務總會).
After the 1911 Xinhai Revolution
, Huang served as Head of Civilian Affairs (民政司總務科長) and Head of Education (教育科長) in the Office of the Governor of Jiangsu (江蘇都督府). He later became Secretary of Education (教育司長) and reformed education in the region, helping to plan and set up several schools. At the same time he was also Vice President of the Education Society (教育會) and a travelling reporter for the Shen Bao
newspaper.
In 1908, Huang, Tong Shiheng (童世亨) and others founded Pudong Electric Co., Ltd (浦東電氣股份有限公司) to provide for electricity in Pudong. In 1913 Huang published an article Discussion on schools adopting a practical stance towards education (學校教育採用實用主義之商榷) to express his thoughts on how education should be tailored towards pragmatism. Between February 1914 and early 1917, Huang, as a reporter for Shen Bao, visited and inspected various schools throughout China. In April 1915 Huang followed an industrial organisation to the United States, where he visited 52 schools in 25 cities and saw that vocational education was very popular there. He visited Japan, the Philippines and Southeast Asia later to inspect education in those countries. He made notes from his observations, compiled them and later had them published.
In 1917 Huang travelled to Britain to inspect education there. On May 6 that year, with support from many people in the education sector and business industry, Huang founded the National Association of Vocational Education of China (中華職業教育社) in Shanghai. A year later he established the Chinese Vocational School (中華職業學校). Over the next ten years Huang remained active in the education sector, using the Chinese Vocational School to expand his activities. During the May Fourth Movement
of 1919, he used his position as Secretary of Education to rally support from the schools in Shanghai to disrupt classes and stage demonstrations.
In 1921 Huang was appointed as Education Minister by the Beiyang Government
but he refused to take up this post. In 1922 he drafted the educational system and helped to set up more schools. Five years later he ran a Life Magazine (生活周刊) to further publish his thoughts and ideas. In 1927 when Chiang Kai-shek
was suppressing the Communists
, Huang was accused of being a "scholar-tyrant" (學閥) and became a wanted man, but he escaped to Dalian
, Liaoning
. He returned to Shanghai later after Chiang Kai-shek withdrew the order for his arrest.
When the Mukden Incident
occurred in 1931, Huang was worried about Japanese aggression towards China and he took part in anti-Japanese activities. He also set up a newsletter agency Newsletter on Saving the Nation (救國通訊) to stir patriotic sentiments among the Chinese. A year later he sent a message throughout China, urging everyone to put aside their differences and unite to resist the Japanese. When the January 28 Incident
occurred in 1932, Huang and other influential men in Shanghai formed the Shanghai Citizen Preservation Organisation (上海市民維持會) to raise funds to support the 19th Route Army
and preserve Shanghai's economy and security. This continued until Shanghai fell to the Japanese.
Huang retreated to Chongqing
following the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War
in 1937, where he served as representative in the National Defense Council. A year later he became a member of the People's Political Council. In 1941 he founded the China Democratic League
, along with Zhang Lan
and others, and served as its first chairman. In 1945 Huang established the China Democratic National Construction Association
with Hu Juewen (胡厥文) and others and served as its first chairperson.
In July 1945, to improve relations between the Nationalist
and Communist parties, Huang, Zhang Bojun
and others travelled to Yan'an
to meet Mao Zedong
and the Communists. When he returned to Chongqing he wrote a book titled Return from Yan'an, describing a conversation he had with Mao Zedong, which became known as the "Cycle Rate" or Zhou Qi Lü (周期率) conversation. During the Chinese Civil War
, Huang resigned from the People's Political Council in protest, and returned to Shanghai where he continued to help set up and run schools.
Following the establishment of the People's Republic of China
in 1949, Huang became a member of the Central People's Government, vice premier of the State Council
, and Minister of Light Industry. He also consecutively served as a vice chairman of the second, third and fourth Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
. Huang had differing views on some of the communist government's policies, and he especially opposed state monopoly for purchase and marketing. Mao Zedong even once called Huang "a spokesperson for capitalists". Huang managed to only his positions in the National People's Congress
and Political Consultative Conference when the Communist Party started purging non-communist members from its government bodies.
Huang died on December 21, 1965 in Beijing. His body was cremated and the ashes buried in Beijing's Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery
.
to meet Mao Zedong
and they had a conversation.
Huang said,
Mao replied,
ran a 25 episodes television series based on the life story of Huang Yanpei. It was titled Huang Yanpei
and starred Zhang Tielin
as the titular character.
China Democratic League
The China Democratic League is one of the eight legally recognised political parties in the People's Republic of China.The party was established in 1939 and took its present name in 1944. At its formation, it was a coalition of three pro-democracy parties and three pressure groups...
.
Biography
Huang was born in Neishidi, Chuansha, JiangsuJiangsu
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning , and su, for the city of Suzhou. The abbreviation for this province is "苏" , the second character of its name...
(now part of Pudong
Pudong
Pudong |Bank]]") is an area of Shanghai, China, located along the east side of the Huangpu River, across from the historic city center of Shanghai in Puxi. Formerly a little-developed agricultural area linked only by ferries, Pudong has grown rapidly since the 1990s and emerged as China's financial...
, Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
) during the fourth year of the reign of the Guangxu Emperor
Guangxu Emperor
The Guangxu Emperor , born Zaitian of the Aisin-Gioro clan, was the eleventh emperor of the Manchurian Qing Dynasty, and the ninth Qing emperor to rule over China. His reign lasted from 1875 to 1908, but in practice he ruled, under Empress Dowager Cixi's influence, only from 1889 to 1898...
in the late Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
. His mother died when he was 13 and his father died when he was 17, so he lived with his maternal grandfather, who gave him a traditional Chinese education. In his young age he studied at Dongye School (東野學堂) and read the Four Books and Five Classics
Four Books and Five Classics
The Four Books and Five Classics are the authoritative books of Confucianism in China written before 300 BC.-Four Books:The Four Books are Chinese classic texts illustrating the core value and belief systems in Confucianism...
. Before he came to of age, he worked as an informal teacher in his hometown to support his family. In 1899 he topped the imperial examination
Imperial examination
The Imperial examination was an examination system in Imperial China designed to select the best administrative officials for the state's bureaucracy. This system had a huge influence on both society and culture in Imperial China and was directly responsible for the creation of a class of...
in Songjiang Prefecture and earned a xiucai (秀才) degree.
His uncle later sponsored him to read western studies and in 1901 he was enrolled into Nanyang Public School (南洋公學), where he met Cai Yuanpei
Cai Yuanpei
Cai Yuanpei was a Chinese educator and the president of Peking University. He was known for his critical evaluation of the Chinese culture that led to the influential May Fourth Movement...
who was teaching Chinese language there. A year later Huang obtained a juren (舉人) degree in the imperial examination in Jiangnan
Jiangnan
Jiangnan or Jiang Nan is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, including the southern part of the Yangtze Delta...
. He left school later with his mates in protest against the expulsion of his fellow students for allegedly showing disrespect towards a teacher by leaving an empty ink bottle on the teacher's desk (an act interpreted as mocking the teacher by hinting that he was unlearned). Huang returned to Chuansha, where he established a Chuansha Primary School (川沙小學) for children. During this time he read Yan Fu
Yan Fu
Yan Fu was a Chinese scholar and translator, most famous for introducing western ideas, including Darwin's "natural selection," to China in the late 19th century.-Life:...
's Tian Yan Lun (天演論), a translation of Thomas Henry Huxley's Evolution and Ethics, as well as other books on Western ideas.
In 1903, while giving a talk in Nanhui District
Nanhui District
Nanhui District , formerly Nanhui County, was a district of Shanghai, China's largest city, until its merger with Pudong in May 2009. It had a land area of about 809.5 km² and 59.5 kilometers coastline. The population of Nanhui was 975,017 as of 2006...
, Huang was accused of being an anti-government revolutionary and was arrested and imprisoned. He was released on bail with the help of an American missionary named William Burke, and left prison an hour just before an order for his execution from the Jiangsu provincial government reached Nanhui. Huang fled to Japan and returned to Shanghai three months later, where he continued to help set up and run schools. In 1905 Huang was introduced by Cai Yuanpei to join the Tongmenghui
Tongmenghui
The Tongmenghui, also known as the Chinese United League, United League, Chinese Revolutionary Alliance, Chinese Alliance and United Allegiance Society, was a secret society and underground resistance movement formed when merging many Chinese revolutionary groups together by Sun Yat-sen, Song...
. Concurrently, Huang established, ran, and taught in various schools, including Pudong Middle School (浦東中學). He also helped to set up the Organisation for Education Affairs in Jiangsu (江蘇學務總會).
After the 1911 Xinhai Revolution
Xinhai Revolution
The Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, also known as Revolution of 1911 or the Chinese Revolution, was a revolution that overthrew China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing , and established the Republic of China...
, Huang served as Head of Civilian Affairs (民政司總務科長) and Head of Education (教育科長) in the Office of the Governor of Jiangsu (江蘇都督府). He later became Secretary of Education (教育司長) and reformed education in the region, helping to plan and set up several schools. At the same time he was also Vice President of the Education Society (教育會) and a travelling reporter for the Shen Bao
Shen Bao
Shen Bao, formerly transliterated as Shun Pao or Shen-pao , known in English as Shanghai News, was a newspaper published from April 30, 1872 to May 27, 1949 in Shanghai, China...
newspaper.
In 1908, Huang, Tong Shiheng (童世亨) and others founded Pudong Electric Co., Ltd (浦東電氣股份有限公司) to provide for electricity in Pudong. In 1913 Huang published an article Discussion on schools adopting a practical stance towards education (學校教育採用實用主義之商榷) to express his thoughts on how education should be tailored towards pragmatism. Between February 1914 and early 1917, Huang, as a reporter for Shen Bao, visited and inspected various schools throughout China. In April 1915 Huang followed an industrial organisation to the United States, where he visited 52 schools in 25 cities and saw that vocational education was very popular there. He visited Japan, the Philippines and Southeast Asia later to inspect education in those countries. He made notes from his observations, compiled them and later had them published.
In 1917 Huang travelled to Britain to inspect education there. On May 6 that year, with support from many people in the education sector and business industry, Huang founded the National Association of Vocational Education of China (中華職業教育社) in Shanghai. A year later he established the Chinese Vocational School (中華職業學校). Over the next ten years Huang remained active in the education sector, using the Chinese Vocational School to expand his activities. During the May Fourth Movement
May Fourth Movement
The May Fourth Movement was an anti-imperialist, cultural, and political movement growing out of student demonstrations in Beijing on May 4, 1919, protesting the Chinese government's weak response to the Treaty of Versailles, especially the Shandong Problem...
of 1919, he used his position as Secretary of Education to rally support from the schools in Shanghai to disrupt classes and stage demonstrations.
In 1921 Huang was appointed as Education Minister by the Beiyang Government
Beiyang Government
The Beiyang government or warlord government collectively refers to a series of military regimes that ruled from Beijing from 1912 to 1928 at Zhongnanhai. It was internationally recognized as the legitimate Government of the Republic of China. The name comes from the Beiyang Army which dominated...
but he refused to take up this post. In 1922 he drafted the educational system and helped to set up more schools. Five years later he ran a Life Magazine (生活周刊) to further publish his thoughts and ideas. In 1927 when Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
was suppressing the Communists
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
, Huang was accused of being a "scholar-tyrant" (學閥) and became a wanted man, but he escaped to Dalian
Dalian
Dalian is a major city and seaport in the south of Liaoning province, Northeast China. It faces Shandong to the south, the Yellow Sea to the east and the Bohai Sea to the west and south. Holding sub-provincial administrative status, Dalian is the southernmost city of Northeast China and China's...
, Liaoning
Liaoning
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"...
. He returned to Shanghai later after Chiang Kai-shek withdrew the order for his arrest.
When the Mukden Incident
Mukden Incident
The Mukden Incident, also known as the Manchurian Incident, was a staged event that was engineered by Japanese military personnel as a pretext for invading the northern part of China known as Manchuria in 1931....
occurred in 1931, Huang was worried about Japanese aggression towards China and he took part in anti-Japanese activities. He also set up a newsletter agency Newsletter on Saving the Nation (救國通訊) to stir patriotic sentiments among the Chinese. A year later he sent a message throughout China, urging everyone to put aside their differences and unite to resist the Japanese. When the January 28 Incident
January 28 Incident
The January 28 Incident was a short war between the armies of the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan, before official hostilities of the Second Sino-Japanese War commenced in 1937.- Naming :...
occurred in 1932, Huang and other influential men in Shanghai formed the Shanghai Citizen Preservation Organisation (上海市民維持會) to raise funds to support the 19th Route Army
19th Route Army
19th Route Army was an army in the Republic of China led by General Cai Tingkai. It gained a good reputation among Chinese for fighting the Japanese in Shanghai in the January 28 Incident in 1932...
and preserve Shanghai's economy and security. This continued until Shanghai fell to the Japanese.
Huang retreated to Chongqing
Chongqing
Chongqing is a major city in Southwest China and one of the five national central cities of China. Administratively, it is one of the PRC's four direct-controlled municipalities , and the only such municipality in inland China.The municipality was created on 14 March 1997, succeeding the...
following the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
in 1937, where he served as representative in the National Defense Council. A year later he became a member of the People's Political Council. In 1941 he founded the China Democratic League
China Democratic League
The China Democratic League is one of the eight legally recognised political parties in the People's Republic of China.The party was established in 1939 and took its present name in 1944. At its formation, it was a coalition of three pro-democracy parties and three pressure groups...
, along with Zhang Lan
Zhang Lan
Zhang Lan , courtesy name Biaofang, was a Chinese political activist best known for being the chairman of the China Democratic League from its founding in 1941 until 1955.-Biography:Zhang was born into a scholarly family in Nanchong, Sichuan in 1872...
and others, and served as its first chairman. In 1945 Huang established the China Democratic National Construction Association
China Democratic National Construction Association
The China Democratic National Construction Association is one of the eight legally recognised political parties in the People's Republic of China that follow the direction of the Communist Party of China and are member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference...
with Hu Juewen (胡厥文) and others and served as its first chairperson.
In July 1945, to improve relations between the Nationalist
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
and Communist parties, Huang, Zhang Bojun
Zhang Bojun
-Biography:Zhang studied philosophy in Germany between 1922-1926, and joined the Communist Party of China upon becoming a personal friend with Zhu De , his roommate at the time...
and others travelled to Yan'an
Yan'an
Yan'an , is a prefecture-level city in the Shanbei region of Shaanxi province in China, administering several counties, including Zhidan County , which served as the Chinese communist capital before the city of Yan'an proper took that role....
to meet Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
and the Communists. When he returned to Chongqing he wrote a book titled Return from Yan'an, describing a conversation he had with Mao Zedong, which became known as the "Cycle Rate" or Zhou Qi Lü (周期率) conversation. During the Chinese Civil War
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...
, Huang resigned from the People's Political Council in protest, and returned to Shanghai where he continued to help set up and run schools.
Following the establishment of the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
in 1949, Huang became a member of the Central People's Government, vice premier of the State Council
State Council of the People's Republic of China
The State Council of the People's Republic of China , which is largely synonymous with the Central People's Government after 1954, is the chief administrative authority of the People's Republic of China. It is chaired by the Premier and includes the heads of each governmental department and agency...
, and Minister of Light Industry. He also consecutively served as a vice chairman of the second, third and fourth Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference [], shortened as 人民政协, Rénmín Zhèngxié, i.e. "People's PCC"; or just 政协, Zhèngxié, i.e. "The PCC"), abbreviated CPPCC, is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China...
. Huang had differing views on some of the communist government's policies, and he especially opposed state monopoly for purchase and marketing. Mao Zedong even once called Huang "a spokesperson for capitalists". Huang managed to only his positions in the National People's Congress
National People's Congress
The National People's Congress , abbreviated NPC , is the highest state body and the only legislative house in the People's Republic of China. The National People's Congress is held in the Great Hall of the People, Beijing, capital of the People's Republic of China; with 2,987 members, it is the...
and Political Consultative Conference when the Communist Party started purging non-communist members from its government bodies.
Huang died on December 21, 1965 in Beijing. His body was cremated and the ashes buried in Beijing's Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery
Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery
The Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery is Beijing's main resting place for revolutionary heroes, high government officials and in recent years, any individual deemed important due to their contributions to society. In Chinese, Babaoshan literally means "The Eight-Treasure Mountains"...
.
Other names
- Style nameChinese style nameA Chinese style name, sometimes also known as a courtesy name , is a given name to be used later in life. After 20 years of age, the zì is assigned in place of one's given name as a symbol of adulthood and respect...
s:- Zi (字; courtesy name): Renzhi
- Hao (號; pseudonym): Chunan
Family
- Spouses:
- Wang Jiusi (王糾思, died 1940), Huang Yanpei's first wife. She died of illness of 1940.
- Yao Weijun (姚維鈞, 1909 - 1968), Huang Yanpei's second wife. She married Huang in 1942. A university graduate, she helped Huang in writing the book Return from Yan'an. She committed suicide on January 20, 1968 by overdosing on sleeping pills.
- Children:
- Huang Wanli (黃萬里, 1901 - 2001), a water resources scientist
- Huang Jingwu (黃競武, 1903 -1949), graduated from Tsinghua UniversityTsinghua UniversityTsinghua University , colloquially known in Chinese as Qinghua, is a university in Beijing, China. The school is one of the nine universities of the C9 League. It was established in 1911 under the name "Tsinghua Xuetang" or "Tsinghua College" and was renamed the "Tsinghua School" one year later...
. He furthered his studies in America's Harvard UniversityHarvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
and obtained a master's degree in economics. - Huang Daneng (黃大能, 1916 - 2010), vice director of the Chinese Society for Vocational Education. He was also a technical specialist in concrete.
- Huang Fangyi (黃方毅), obtained a master's degree from America's Duke UniversityDuke UniversityDuke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
. He worked in the Chinese Academy of Social SciencesChinese Academy of Social SciencesThe Chinese Academy of Social Sciences , established in 1977, is the premier and highest academic research organization in the fields of philosophy and social sciences as well as a national center for comprehensive studies in the People's Republic of China. It was described by Foreign Policy...
and participated in research on economics at Beijing University. He is a Visiting Professor at America's Johns Hopkins UniversityJohns Hopkins UniversityThe Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
and Columbia UniversityColumbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. He is also involved in Chinese politics.
- Grandchildren:
- Huang MengfuHuang MengfuHuang Mengfu is a vice chairman of the China People's Political Consultative Conference and chairman of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce. He ranks as a national leader of China....
, Huang Jingwu's son. He is a vice chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative ConferenceChinese People's Political Consultative ConferenceThe Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference [], shortened as 人民政协, Rénmín Zhèngxié, i.e. "People's PCC"; or just 政协, Zhèngxié, i.e. "The PCC"), abbreviated CPPCC, is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China...
. - Huang Guanhong (黃觀鴻), Huang Wanli's oldest son. He is a professor in Tianjin UniversityTianjin UniversityTianjin University is a national university under the direct administration of the Ministry of Education of China. It is the first university in modern Chinese education history. It was part of Peiyang University in 1895...
.
- Huang Mengfu
- Other relatives:
- Huang TzuHuang TzuHuang Tzu was a famous Chinese musician. His courtesy name was Jinwu .-Biography:...
(1904 - 1938), son of Huang Yanpei's older cousin Huang Hongpei (黃洪培). He was a musician. - Huang Peiying (黃培英), Huang Yanpei's younger cousin. She is the daughter of Huang Shihuan (黃士煥), a distant uncle of Huang Yanpei. She was a wool knitting specialist in China in the 1930s.
- Huang Tzu
The "Cycle Rate" conversation
In 1945 Huang travelled to Yan'anYan'an
Yan'an , is a prefecture-level city in the Shanbei region of Shaanxi province in China, administering several counties, including Zhidan County , which served as the Chinese communist capital before the city of Yan'an proper took that role....
to meet Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
and they had a conversation.
Huang said,
I've lived for more than 60 years. Let's not talk about what I've heard. Whatever I saw with my own eyes, it fits the saying "A nation's rise is fast, but its downfall is also swift." Any person, family, community, place, or even a nation, how many have managed to break free from this cycle rate? Usually in the initial stage, everyone will stay fully focused and put in full effort. Maybe at that time conditions were bad, and everyone has to struggle to survive. Once the times change for the better, everyone will lose focus and become slack. In certain cases, as it has been a long time, complacency breeds and spreads, becoming a social norm. As such even if the people are capable enough, they can neither reverse the situation nor salvage it. There are also cases where a nation progresses and prospers, its rise could be either natural or due to rapid industrialisation, spurred by the yearning for progression. When all human resources have been exhausted and we experience difficulties in managing, the environment becomes more complicated, and we lose control of the situation. Throughout history, there are various examples: a ruler ignores state affairs and eunuchs use the opportunity to seize power; a good system of governance ceases to function after the politician who initiated it dies; people who lust for glory but end up in humiliation. None has managed to break out of this cycle rate.
Mao replied,
The people form the government, the government is the nation's body. A new path lies ahead, it belongs to the people. The people build their own nation, everyone has a role to play. The government should pay attention to the people, the political party should perform its duty to its utmost and govern with virtue. We will not follow in the footsteps of those before us who have failed, and the problem of a good system of governance ceasing to function after its initiator's death can be avoided. We've already discovered the new path, we can break out of this cycle rate. This new path, it belongs to the people. The government will not become complacent only if it is under the supervision of the people. If everyone takes responsibility, a good system of governance will prevail.
Media appearances
In 2010 China's CCTV-8China Central Television
China Central Television or Chinese Central Television, commonly abbreviated as CCTV, is the major state television broadcaster in mainland China. CCTV has a network of 19 channels broadcasting different programmes and is accessible to more than one billion viewers...
ran a 25 episodes television series based on the life story of Huang Yanpei. It was titled Huang Yanpei
Huang Yanpei (TV series)
Huang Yanpei is a Chinese historical television series based on the biography of Huang Yanpei, a prominent Chinese educator, industrialist, and politician, who was also one of the founders of the China Democratic League. Directed by Hong Baosheng and Zhao Lei, the series starred Zhang Tielin as the...
and starred Zhang Tielin
Zhang Tielin
Zhang Tielin , sometimes credited as Cheung Tit-lam, is a Chinese actor and film director best known for his role as the Qianlong Emperor in the Princess Pearl television series. He took up British citizenship in 1997.-Biography:...
as the titular character.
External links
- Huang Yanpei on shanghaiguide.org Huang Yanpei on Baidu BaikeBaidu BaikeBaidu Encyclopedia is a Chinese language collaborative Web-based encyclopedia provided by the Chinese search engine Baidu. Like Baidu itself, the encyclopedia is heavily self-censored in line with government regulations....