Li Xuefeng
Encyclopedia
Li Xuefeng was born on January 19, 1907 in Yongji County, Shanxi
and died in Beijing
in March 15, 2003. He was a Chinese
politician.
in 1933 and served in several roles, like propaganda chief or organization chief in the Party committees of Shanxi
, Beijing
, Hebei
and Henan
. It must be noted that Hebei and Henan were long under the Zhili
Province before being split by the Republic of China
in 1928.
In 1947 he was appointed deputy secretary of the "Central Plains Bureau" of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China
, an office responsible for coordinating military efforts around the Yellow River
, and concurrently deputy director of the Central Organization Department. In addition, in 1949 he was secretary of the CPC Henan
Committee and political commissar of the Henan Military Region.
After the establishment of the People's Republic of China
in 1949, Li was appointed head of the Organization Department of the Central-South China Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, as well as deputy secretary of the Bureau, and concurrently vice-chairman of the Central-South Administrative Council. In 1954 he was elevated to Deputy General Secretary of the Central Committee
directly under Deng Xiaoping
, and head of the Transports and Communications Department in 1956. He was also a member of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
from 1954 to 1963.
He was elected a full member of the CPC Central Committee at the Eight National Congress
held in 1956. In 1960 he was transferred to the posts of first secretary of the North China Bureau of the Central Committee and first political commissar of the Beijing Military Region.
With the outburst of the Cultural Revolution
, Li Xuefeng was seen as one of its early supporters. After Peng Zhen
, Mayor of Beijing, was overthrown for opposing Mao Zedong
over the course of the Cultural Revolution in May
1966, Li Xuefeng replaced him as first secretary of the CPC Beijing Committee, and in August
he was promoted an alterate member of the CPC Politburo
. His first acts as Party chief in Beijing were to dismiss the editorial boards of several local newspapers and the CPC committee in the University of Beijing, provisionally replacing it with a "work team" charged with providing political education to the students and pushing them to join the Cultural Revolution movement.
His perceived low support for the Red Guards
and Mao's criticism towards the "work teams", thought to be harmful to the Cultural Revolution and the source of the students' inner fighting, led to Li's rapid downfall. In 1967, as both the Beijing Municipal Government and CPC Municipal Committee were reorganized in a Revolutionary Committee, Li was sent to Tianjin
away from limelight. He resurfaced in February
1968, when he was appointed chairman of the Revolutionary Committee of Hebei Province; in April
of the same year, he was confirmed as an alternate member of the Politburo at the Ninth Congress of the CPC.
In 1971, Li's support for Chen Boda
during the troublesome Second Plenary Session of the Ninth Central Committee held in Lushan
in 1970 cost him to be identified as a member of Lin Biao
's conspiracy against Mao, who called him one of Lin's "big generals". Thus he was sent to confinement in Anhui
for eight years. The accusation of being part of Chen Boda's "anti-party clique" was confirmed in 1973 at the Party's Tenth Congress.
Li Xuefeng was never expelled from the Party, and, despite his ambivalent attitude during the Cultural Revolution, he was rehabilitated in 1982. In June
1983 he was elected member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
, a post he had yet held from 1959 to 1965. He was also a member of the Central Advisory Committee.
After having retired from political roles between late 1980s and early 1990s, Li Xuefeng died in Beijing in 2003, aged 97.
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Shanxi
' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
and died in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
in March 15, 2003. He was a Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
politician.
Biography
Li Xuefeng joined the Communist Party of ChinaCommunist 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...
in 1933 and served in several roles, like propaganda chief or organization chief in the Party committees of Shanxi
Shanxi
' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
, Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, Hebei
Hebei
' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...
and Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
. It must be noted that Hebei and Henan were long under the Zhili
Zhili
Zhílì was a northern province in China from the Ming Dynasty until the province was dissolved in 1928 during the Republic of China era.-History:...
Province before being split by the Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
in 1928.
In 1947 he was appointed deputy secretary of the "Central Plains Bureau" of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China
Central Committee of the Communist Party of China
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China is the highest authority within the Communist Party of China. Its approximately 350 members and alternates are selected once every five years by the National Party Congress....
, an office responsible for coordinating military efforts around the Yellow River
Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He, formerly known as the Hwang Ho, is the second-longest river in China and the sixth-longest in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai Province in western China, it flows through nine provinces of China and empties into...
, and concurrently deputy director of the Central Organization Department. In addition, in 1949 he was secretary of the CPC Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
Committee and political commissar of the Henan Military Region.
After 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, Li was appointed head of the Organization Department of the Central-South China Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, as well as deputy secretary of the Bureau, and concurrently vice-chairman of the Central-South Administrative Council. In 1954 he was elevated to Deputy General Secretary of the Central Committee
General Secretary of the Communist Party of China
The General Secretary of the Communist Party of China , officially General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is the highest ranking official within the Communist Party of China, a standing member of the Politburo and head of the Secretariat...
directly under Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping was a Chinese politician, statesman, and diplomat. As leader of the Communist Party of China, Deng was a reformer who led China towards a market economy...
, and head of the Transports and Communications Department in 1956. He was also a member of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress is a committee of about 150 members of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China , which is convened between plenary sessions of the NPC. It has the constitutional authority to modify legislation within limits set by...
from 1954 to 1963.
He was elected a full member of the CPC Central Committee at the Eight National Congress
National Congress of the Communist Party of China
The National Congress of the Communist Party of China is a party congress that is held about once every five years. The National Congress is theoretically the highest body within the Communist Party of China, but in practice important decisions are made before the meeting. Since 1987 the National...
held in 1956. In 1960 he was transferred to the posts of first secretary of the North China Bureau of the Central Committee and first political commissar of the Beijing Military Region.
With the outburst of the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
, Li Xuefeng was seen as one of its early supporters. After Peng Zhen
Peng Zhen
Peng Zhen was a leading member of the Communist Party of China.-Biography:Born in Houma , Peng was originally named Fu Maogong....
, Mayor of Beijing, was overthrown for opposing 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...
over the course of the Cultural Revolution in May
May
May is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and one of seven months with the length of 31 days.May is a month of autumn in the Southern Hemisphere and spring in the Northern Hemisphere...
1966, Li Xuefeng replaced him as first secretary of the CPC Beijing Committee, and in August
August
August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and one of seven months with a length of 31 days.This month was originally named Sextilis in Latin, because it was the sixth month in the original ten-month Roman calendar under Romulus in 753 BC, when March was the first...
he was promoted an alterate member of the CPC Politburo
Politburo of the Communist Party of China
The Central Politburo of the Communist Party of China or Political bureau of the CPC Central Committee , formerly as Central Bureau before 1927, is a group of 24 people who oversee the Communist Party of China...
. His first acts as Party chief in Beijing were to dismiss the editorial boards of several local newspapers and the CPC committee in the University of Beijing, provisionally replacing it with a "work team" charged with providing political education to the students and pushing them to join the Cultural Revolution movement.
His perceived low support for the Red Guards
Red Guards (China)
Red Guards were a mass movement of civilians, mostly students and other young people in the People's Republic of China , who were mobilized by Mao Zedong in 1966 and 1967, during the Cultural Revolution.-Origins:...
and Mao's criticism towards the "work teams", thought to be harmful to the Cultural Revolution and the source of the students' inner fighting, led to Li's rapid downfall. In 1967, as both the Beijing Municipal Government and CPC Municipal Committee were reorganized in a Revolutionary Committee, Li was sent to Tianjin
Tianjin
' is a metropolis in northern China and one of the five national central cities of the People's Republic of China. It is governed as a direct-controlled municipality, one of four such designations, and is, thus, under direct administration of the central government...
away from limelight. He resurfaced in February
February
February is the second month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the shortest month and the only month with fewer than 30 days. The month has 28 days in common years and 29 days in leap years...
1968, when he was appointed chairman of the Revolutionary Committee of Hebei Province; in April
April
April is the fourth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, and one of four months with a length of 30 days. April was originally the second month of the Roman calendar, before January and February were added by King Numa Pompilius about 700 BC...
of the same year, he was confirmed as an alternate member of the Politburo at the Ninth Congress of the CPC.
In 1971, Li's support for Chen Boda
Chen Boda
Chen Boda was born in 1904 in Hui'an and died on 20 September 1989 in Beijing.He was a member of the Chinese Communist Party, a secretary to Mao Zedong and a prominent member of the leadership during the Cultural Revolution, chairing the Cultural Revolution Group.-Early life:Chen Boda was born...
during the troublesome Second Plenary Session of the Ninth Central Committee held in Lushan
Lushan
Lushan District, also anglicised as Kuling, is the name of a district in Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province, People's Republic of China. With a history dating back thousand of years it is a popular domestic and foreign tourist attraction as well as home to the mountain resort town of Lushan and the high...
in 1970 cost him to be identified as a member of Lin Biao
Lin Biao
Lin Biao was a major Chinese Communist military leader who was pivotal in the communist victory in the Chinese Civil War, especially in Northeastern China...
's conspiracy against Mao, who called him one of Lin's "big generals". Thus he was sent to confinement in Anhui
Anhui
Anhui is a province in the People's Republic of China. Located in eastern China across the basins of the Yangtze River and the Huai River, it borders Jiangsu to the east, Zhejiang to the southeast, Jiangxi to the south, Hubei to the southwest, Henan to the northwest, and Shandong for a tiny...
for eight years. The accusation of being part of Chen Boda's "anti-party clique" was confirmed in 1973 at the Party's Tenth Congress.
Li Xuefeng was never expelled from the Party, and, despite his ambivalent attitude during the Cultural Revolution, he was rehabilitated in 1982. In June
June
June is the sixth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and one of the four months with a length of 30 days. Ovid provides two etymologies for June's name in his poem concerning the months entitled the Fasti...
1983 he was elected member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the 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...
, a post he had yet held from 1959 to 1965. He was also a member of the Central Advisory Committee.
After having retired from political roles between late 1980s and early 1990s, Li Xuefeng died in Beijing in 2003, aged 97.
See also
- Politics of Beijing
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