Peng Chong
Encyclopedia
Peng Chong was a member of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee
(1969–87) and its politburo
(1977–82); and Secretary General of the National People’s Congress (1988–92).
, Fujian
in 1915. Unlike most CCP
leaders of his generation, he graduated from middle school, and by the age of 15 was active in underground communist activities in his home county. As leader of the local student movement, he joined the Communist Youth League
in 1933, and the Party
a year later, eventually rising to the post of local Organization Department Director.
In 1938, Peng was a regimental political officer in the central Jiangsu
New Fourth Army
, a district administrator (1938–39) in Wuxian, and back to being a regimental cadre in 1940-42 in the 52nd Regiment of the 18th Brigade, 6th Division, under Tan Zhenlin
and Rao Shoukun. At the close of the war, Peng was county CCP Secretary in Taizhou (1945).
During the post-war reorganization, the New Fourth Army was merged into the East China Field Army and, later, the Third Field Army. In 1947-49, Peng served as deputy political commissar for the 6th Division, under Rao Shushi
.
After working in Fujian reconstruction for several years, Peng served briefly in the party’s East China Bureau in 1954, and then was named Mayor and CCP Deputy Secretary of Nanjing
, in the summer of 1955. In 1956, he took over as 1st Secretary from Xu Jiatun. He appears to have warmly embraced the “Hundred Flowers” liberalization movement, and equally enthusiastically crushed it when the time came. His response to the Great Leap Forward
was similar: in March 1958, Mao Zedong
singled out Nanjing and Tianjin
as laggards, after which Peng modestly increased his official enthusiasm. In January 1959, he was elevated to the provincial CCP Standing Committee, and some months later gave up his position as mayor of Nanjing.
In 1960, Peng moved into provincial-level work full time, and relinquished his position as head of the Nanjing party apparatus, a promotion that enabled him to visit the USSR in 1962. However, sometime between December 1962 and January 1964 (reports differ), Peng once again was identified as Nanjing 1st Secretary, yet retained his provincial culture and media posts. At the end of 1965, he was elevated to the post of Secretary of the provincial CCP Secretariat, a role in charge of day-to-day party affairs.
, and responded with the typical effort to control the Red Guard
, battle radicals with outside workers and, inevitably, violence. While the more forceful responses would have been the responsibility of more senior people such as Nanjing Military Region Commander Xu Shiyou
, Peng’s involvement in the first phases is clear.
Peng was denounced by the Red Guard in 1967 for his official visit to the USSR and his post-trip comment that China might learn something from Soviet art. Nevertheless, he was named the sole civilian provincial Revolutionary Committee Vice Chair in March 1968. Aligning his star with the armed forces led to Alternate Membership of the 9th National People’s Congress Central Committee a year later. When order, and the provincial party committee were restored in 1970, Peng was made a Deputy Secretary, again as the sole civilian.
Xu Shiyou’s 1974 transfer to Guangzhou
opened up space for Peng Chong to become 1st CCP Secretary and Chairman of the Jiangsu Revolutionary Committee. This brief role positioned him to play a more pivotal role in neutralizing the Gang of Four
’s supporters in Shanghai following the October 1976 coup d’état. Peng, General Su Zhenhua and labor politico Ni Zhifu were sent to Shanghai to take power from the radical left, while long-time ally Xu Jiatun remained behind as Jiangsu secretary.
(NPC) Vice Chairmanship to his titles (1978–87), and was formally named Shanghai 1st Secretary in early 1979, due to Su Zhenhua’s death, and mayor at the end of the year. He remained affiliated with Shanghai until 1981, when he was succeeded in the party and state roles by Chen Guodong and Wang Daohan
, respectively. Among his top priorities was establishing a merit-based education system.
In 1980, Peng was promoted to work directly for Hu Yaobang
in the CCP Central Committee Secretariat, his first move out of provincial politics. However, in September 1982, at the 12th National Party Congress, Peng Chong lost his politburo seat and that on the Secretariat. His last posts were as Vice Chairman and Secretary-General (1988–93) of the National People’s Congress.
Central Committee
Central Committee was the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, whether ruling or non-ruling in the twentieth century and of the surviving, mostly Trotskyist, states in the early twenty first. In such party organizations the...
(1969–87) and its politburo
Politburo
Politburo , literally "Political Bureau [of the Central Committee]," is the executive committee for a number of communist political parties.-Marxist-Leninist states:...
(1977–82); and Secretary General of the National People’s Congress (1988–92).
Pre-1949
Peng Chong, formed name Xu Tieru(許鐵如), was born in ZhangzhouZhangzhou
Zhangzhou is a prefecture-level city in southern Fujian province, People's Republic of China. Located on the banks of the Jiulong River , Zhangzhou borders the cities of Xiamen and Quanzhou to the northeast, Longyan City to the northwest and the province of Guangdong to the southwest.Zhangzhou...
, Fujian
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
in 1915. Unlike most CCP
CCP
- Politics :* Canadian Conservative Party, majority government* Chinese Communist Party, the ruling political party in the People's Republic of China* Confederación Campesina del Perú, a peasant organization in Peru- Other :...
leaders of his generation, he graduated from middle school, and by the age of 15 was active in underground communist activities in his home county. As leader of the local student movement, he joined the Communist Youth League
Communist Youth League
The Communist Youth League of China also known as the China Youth League is a youth movement of the People's Republic of China for youth between the ages of fourteen and twenty-eight, run by Communist Party of China. The league is organized on the party pattern. Its leader is its First Secretary...
in 1933, and the Party
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...
a year later, eventually rising to the post of local Organization Department Director.
In 1938, Peng was a regimental political officer in the central Jiangsu
Jiangsu
' 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...
New Fourth Army
New Fourth Army
The New Fourth Army was a unit of the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China established in 1937. In contrast to most of the National Revolutionary Army, it was controlled by the Communist Party of China and not by the ruling Kuomintang. The New Fourth Army and the Eighth Route Army...
, a district administrator (1938–39) in Wuxian, and back to being a regimental cadre in 1940-42 in the 52nd Regiment of the 18th Brigade, 6th Division, under Tan Zhenlin
Tan Zhenlin
Tan Zhenlin was a political commissar in the People's Liberation Army during the Chinese Civil War, and a Communist politician after the establishment of the People's Republic of China.Tan Zhenlin was born in You County , Hunan Province...
and Rao Shoukun. At the close of the war, Peng was county CCP Secretary in Taizhou (1945).
During the post-war reorganization, the New Fourth Army was merged into the East China Field Army and, later, the Third Field Army. In 1947-49, Peng served as deputy political commissar for the 6th Division, under Rao Shushi
Rao Shushi
Rao Shushi like his confederate Gao Gang, was a senior leader of the Communist Party of China , who once enjoyed great power and fame that then quickly evaporated, leaving behind many mysteries about his rise and fall.-Early years:...
.
Post-1949
Peng Chong emerged from the civil war as provincial government deputy secretary general, and Director of the Fujian Province CCP United Front Department (UFD), and deputy head of the East China’s Bureau UFD. The latter work put him in close contact with overseas Chinese groups, Hong Kong and Taiwanese communities outside Taiwan. Peng’s work in Fujian put him in close contact with future leaders such as Ye Fei, Fang Yi and Xu Jiatun.After working in Fujian reconstruction for several years, Peng served briefly in the party’s East China Bureau in 1954, and then was named Mayor and CCP Deputy Secretary of Nanjing
Nanjing
' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...
, in the summer of 1955. In 1956, he took over as 1st Secretary from Xu Jiatun. He appears to have warmly embraced the “Hundred Flowers” liberalization movement, and equally enthusiastically crushed it when the time came. His response to the Great Leap Forward
Great Leap Forward
The Great Leap Forward of the People's Republic of China was an economic and social campaign of the Communist Party of China , reflected in planning decisions from 1958 to 1961, which aimed to use China's vast population to rapidly transform the country from an agrarian economy into a modern...
was similar: in March 1958, 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...
singled out Nanjing and 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...
as laggards, after which Peng modestly increased his official enthusiasm. In January 1959, he was elevated to the provincial CCP Standing Committee, and some months later gave up his position as mayor of Nanjing.
In 1960, Peng moved into provincial-level work full time, and relinquished his position as head of the Nanjing party apparatus, a promotion that enabled him to visit the USSR in 1962. However, sometime between December 1962 and January 1964 (reports differ), Peng once again was identified as Nanjing 1st Secretary, yet retained his provincial culture and media posts. At the end of 1965, he was elevated to the post of Secretary of the provincial CCP Secretariat, a role in charge of day-to-day party affairs.
GPCR
The Jiangsu provincial leadership was broadly targeted for “struggle” in the Cultural RevolutionCultural 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...
, and responded with the typical effort to control the Red Guard
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:...
, battle radicals with outside workers and, inevitably, violence. While the more forceful responses would have been the responsibility of more senior people such as Nanjing Military Region Commander Xu Shiyou
Xu Shiyou
Xu Shiyou was a general in the Chinese People's Liberation Army. Born in Hubei, Xu grew up studying martial arts at the Shaolin Temple for eight years and he later became a soldier in Wu Peifu's warlord army...
, Peng’s involvement in the first phases is clear.
Peng was denounced by the Red Guard in 1967 for his official visit to the USSR and his post-trip comment that China might learn something from Soviet art. Nevertheless, he was named the sole civilian provincial Revolutionary Committee Vice Chair in March 1968. Aligning his star with the armed forces led to Alternate Membership of the 9th National People’s Congress Central Committee a year later. When order, and the provincial party committee were restored in 1970, Peng was made a Deputy Secretary, again as the sole civilian.
Xu Shiyou’s 1974 transfer to Guangzhou
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
opened up space for Peng Chong to become 1st CCP Secretary and Chairman of the Jiangsu Revolutionary Committee. This brief role positioned him to play a more pivotal role in neutralizing the Gang of Four
Gang of Four
The Gang of Four was the name given to a political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution and were subsequently charged with a series of treasonous crimes...
’s supporters in Shanghai following the October 1976 coup d’état. Peng, General Su Zhenhua and labor politico Ni Zhifu were sent to Shanghai to take power from the radical left, while long-time ally Xu Jiatun remained behind as Jiangsu secretary.
National Affairs
Although Peng was nominally 3rd CCP Secretary of Shanghai, his two nominal superiors’ national-level responsibilities left him as de facto boss. As a reward for his loyalty and efficiency in purging Shanghai, he was elevated to the politburo in August 1977. Peng added a National People's CongressNational 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...
(NPC) Vice Chairmanship to his titles (1978–87), and was formally named Shanghai 1st Secretary in early 1979, due to Su Zhenhua’s death, and mayor at the end of the year. He remained affiliated with Shanghai until 1981, when he was succeeded in the party and state roles by Chen Guodong and Wang Daohan
Wang Daohan
Wang Daohan , was the former president of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits .-Biography:...
, respectively. Among his top priorities was establishing a merit-based education system.
In 1980, Peng was promoted to work directly for Hu Yaobang
Hu Yaobang
Hu Yaobang was a leader of the People's Republic of China who served as both Chairman and Party General Secretary. Hu joined the Chinese Communist Party in the 1930s, and rose to prominence as a comrade of Deng Xiaoping...
in the CCP Central Committee Secretariat, his first move out of provincial politics. However, in September 1982, at the 12th National Party Congress, Peng Chong lost his politburo seat and that on the Secretariat. His last posts were as Vice Chairman and Secretary-General (1988–93) of the National People’s Congress.