Yu Qiuli
Encyclopedia
Yu Qiuli was vice prime minister of China from 1975 until 1982 and was a member of the Communist Party of China
(CPC) Politburo, a group of 19 to 25 people who oversee the Communist Party of China. Yu Qiuli was also Deputy Secretary-General of China's Military Commission and Director of the General Political Department of the People's Liberation Army
1982-87.
generation of Chinese leaders who survived the epic journey by Communist forces across China in the mid-1930s to become an important figure in the administrations of Mao Zedong
and Deng Xiaoping
. Yu was a soldier-bureaucrat who founded China's modern oil industry and helped Deng modernise his army.
By the time of his death, Yu had ceased to be one of the central figures in Chinese policy-making for more than a decade. But he had continued, like other former leaders of his generation, to keep up to date with state affairs by carrying out frequent inspection tours around the country. He was particularly involved in efforts to promote the economies of the former base areas of the Communist guerrilla armies, many of which are still mired in poverty.
Yu's background was typical of a Communist guerrilla commander who turned to be a national leader. He was born in 1914, three years after the collapse of China's last imperial dynasty, into a poor peasant family. By the age of 14 he had taken part in a peasant uprising. At 16 he joined the Communist Party. Yu was among the tens of thousands of guerrillas and their supporters who from 1934 joined the Long March in an effort to break through the nationalist blockades around the Communist base in the south. In 1936, he was injured in the arm during a skirmish with pursuing nationalist forces. He continued on the journey north over treacherous terrain. Nine months later, after he had completed a journey of thousands of miles in terrible pain, his arm was amputated. "I am a man who has gone through nine deaths," Yu told the American journalist Harrison Salisbury
in 1984. During China's Second Sino-Japanese War
of 1937-1945 and the subsequent civil war, Yu was a leading political commissar and training officer in the Communist forces.
After the Communist victory in 1949, he became the head of a military academy and thereafter held various posts in the central military command, including the head of the military's financial affairs. He rose to the rank of lieutenant- general. In 1958, Yu was appointed minister of the petroleum industry. The move thrust him into a far more prominent role in the fledgling Communist government. In the following year, the discovery of huge oil reserves in Daqing in the desolate wastes of north-eastern China gave him a mission that on its own would ensure his place in Communist China's history books. Yu's task was to turn Daqing
into a model of Chinese industry. Under Yu's direction, the mosquito-infested marshland - in winter an expanse of ice - was transformed into China's biggest oil production centre. Daqing was written into the Communist lexicon as a name synonymous with proletarian heroism. It produced the famous Maoist icon Iron Man Wang, who, in order to stop a blow-out, leapt into a pool of liquid concrete to mix it using his own body. After his success in Daqing, Yu went on to establish several more major production centres. In 1964, China declared itself self-sufficient in oil. That year, Yu was moved into the most important government ministry related to the economy, the State Planning Commission, as deputy chief.
In 1965, Mao made him the top drafter of the third Five Year Plan and put him in charge of relocating major industries to the remote hinterland of south-western China. Despite the claim of his official biographer that Yu suffered severe persecution during the tumultuous Cultural Revolution
that began in 1966, he appears to have suffered less harm than many of his colleagues. In 1975, he was appointed deputy prime minister, as was Deng.
After the death of Mao in 1976, Yu was promoted to the ruling Politburo. He was a member of what is commonly referred to as the "petroleum faction", a group of senior officials who advocated using the profits from petroleum exports to finance high technology imports from the West. These officials were essentially conservative Stalinists in their economic thinking, favouring central planning and heavy industry - a strategy that clashed with that of the ascendant Deng. As Deng's political fortunes rose in the late 1970s, those of the petroleum faction waned. Yu was forced to make a self-criticism after the collapse of a Japanese-made oil rig in the Bohai Gulf in 1979. He was transferred from the chairmanship of the State Planning Commission to the less high profile post of head of the State Energy Commission. In 1982, however, Yu was back in uniform as head of the military's General Political Department. His predecessor in this role had been ousted after the publication of an article in the military newspaper criticising Deng's policies. Despite his differences with Deng over economic policy, Yu was apparently still regarded as someone who was relatively unfettered by old-style Maoist ideology and could therefore help the military to modernise. His official obituary says that he focused on ridding the military of "leftist" - in other words radical Maoist - thinking. Yu retired from the Politburo and other significant posts in 1987.
"Obituary: Yu Qiuli", The Independent
, Feb 20, 1999 by James Miles
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...
(CPC) Politburo, a group of 19 to 25 people who oversee the Communist Party of China. Yu Qiuli was also Deputy Secretary-General of China's Military Commission and Director of the General Political Department of the People's Liberation Army
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 — celebrated annually as "PLA Day" — as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...
1982-87.
Biography
Yu Qiuli was one of the last of the Long MarchLong March
The Long March was a massive military retreat undertaken by the Red Army of the Communist Party of China, the forerunner of the People's Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the Kuomintang army. There was not one Long March, but a series of marches, as various Communist armies in the south...
generation of Chinese leaders who survived the epic journey by Communist forces across China in the mid-1930s to become an important figure in the administrations of 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 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...
. Yu was a soldier-bureaucrat who founded China's modern oil industry and helped Deng modernise his army.
By the time of his death, Yu had ceased to be one of the central figures in Chinese policy-making for more than a decade. But he had continued, like other former leaders of his generation, to keep up to date with state affairs by carrying out frequent inspection tours around the country. He was particularly involved in efforts to promote the economies of the former base areas of the Communist guerrilla armies, many of which are still mired in poverty.
Yu's background was typical of a Communist guerrilla commander who turned to be a national leader. He was born in 1914, three years after the collapse of China's last imperial dynasty, into a poor peasant family. By the age of 14 he had taken part in a peasant uprising. At 16 he joined the Communist Party. Yu was among the tens of thousands of guerrillas and their supporters who from 1934 joined the Long March in an effort to break through the nationalist blockades around the Communist base in the south. In 1936, he was injured in the arm during a skirmish with pursuing nationalist forces. He continued on the journey north over treacherous terrain. Nine months later, after he had completed a journey of thousands of miles in terrible pain, his arm was amputated. "I am a man who has gone through nine deaths," Yu told the American journalist Harrison Salisbury
Harrison Salisbury
Harrison Evans Salisbury , an American Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist , was the first regular New York Times correspondent in Moscow after World War II. He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota...
in 1984. During China's 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...
of 1937-1945 and the subsequent civil war, Yu was a leading political commissar and training officer in the Communist forces.
After the Communist victory in 1949, he became the head of a military academy and thereafter held various posts in the central military command, including the head of the military's financial affairs. He rose to the rank of lieutenant- general. In 1958, Yu was appointed minister of the petroleum industry. The move thrust him into a far more prominent role in the fledgling Communist government. In the following year, the discovery of huge oil reserves in Daqing in the desolate wastes of north-eastern China gave him a mission that on its own would ensure his place in Communist China's history books. Yu's task was to turn Daqing
Daqing
Daqing is a prefecture-level city in the west of Heilongjiang province of Northeast China. The name literally means "Great Celebration".Its population is 2,904,532 at the 2010 census whom 1,042,902 in the built up area made of 4 out of 5 urban districts It was founded in 1959 to house workers...
into a model of Chinese industry. Under Yu's direction, the mosquito-infested marshland - in winter an expanse of ice - was transformed into China's biggest oil production centre. Daqing was written into the Communist lexicon as a name synonymous with proletarian heroism. It produced the famous Maoist icon Iron Man Wang, who, in order to stop a blow-out, leapt into a pool of liquid concrete to mix it using his own body. After his success in Daqing, Yu went on to establish several more major production centres. In 1964, China declared itself self-sufficient in oil. That year, Yu was moved into the most important government ministry related to the economy, the State Planning Commission, as deputy chief.
In 1965, Mao made him the top drafter of the third Five Year Plan and put him in charge of relocating major industries to the remote hinterland of south-western China. Despite the claim of his official biographer that Yu suffered severe persecution during the tumultuous 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...
that began in 1966, he appears to have suffered less harm than many of his colleagues. In 1975, he was appointed deputy prime minister, as was Deng.
After the death of Mao in 1976, Yu was promoted to the ruling Politburo. He was a member of what is commonly referred to as the "petroleum faction", a group of senior officials who advocated using the profits from petroleum exports to finance high technology imports from the West. These officials were essentially conservative Stalinists in their economic thinking, favouring central planning and heavy industry - a strategy that clashed with that of the ascendant Deng. As Deng's political fortunes rose in the late 1970s, those of the petroleum faction waned. Yu was forced to make a self-criticism after the collapse of a Japanese-made oil rig in the Bohai Gulf in 1979. He was transferred from the chairmanship of the State Planning Commission to the less high profile post of head of the State Energy Commission. In 1982, however, Yu was back in uniform as head of the military's General Political Department. His predecessor in this role had been ousted after the publication of an article in the military newspaper criticising Deng's policies. Despite his differences with Deng over economic policy, Yu was apparently still regarded as someone who was relatively unfettered by old-style Maoist ideology and could therefore help the military to modernise. His official obituary says that he focused on ridding the military of "leftist" - in other words radical Maoist - thinking. Yu retired from the Politburo and other significant posts in 1987.
External links
- http://www.chinavitae.com/biography/3728 on chinavitae.com
- http://www.china.com.cn/chinese/zhuanti/208055.htm on china.com.cn
"Obituary: Yu Qiuli", The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, Feb 20, 1999 by James Miles