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Wang Hongwen

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Wang Hongwen
王洪文
Vice Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party
In office
30 August 1973 – 6 October 1976
ChairmanMao Zedong
Hua Guofeng
Personal details
Born6 December 1935
Hsinking, Manchukuo
(now Changchun, Jilin, China)
Died3 August 1992(1992-08-03) (aged 56)
Beijing, China
Political partyChinese Communist Party (1953–1976)
SpouseCui Gendi
Children3 (2 sons and 1 daughter)
Chinese name
Chinese王洪文
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinWáng Hóngwén
Wade–GilesWang2 Hung2-wen2
IPA[wǎŋ xʊ̌ŋwə̌n]
In this Chinese name, the family name is Wang.

Wang Hongwen (6 December 1935 – 3 August 1992) was a Chinese labour activist and politician who was the youngest member of the "Gang of Four." He rose to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), after organizing the Shanghai People's Commune, to become one of the foremost members of national leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

At the pinnacle of his power he was the second Vice Chairman of the CCP, and ranked third in the Communist Party's hierarchy. Following Mao's death in 1976, Wang was arrested and charged with "counterrevolutionary activity," then sentenced to life imprisonment in 1981.

Early life

Wang was born in a village in the outskirts of Changchun, Jilin province.[1] In 1950 he joined the army and, in 1951, he took part in the Korean War as a messenger in the communication department and by playing the horn.[2]: 45  He joined the Chinese Communist Party in 1953. After the war, he was sent to Shanghai to work in Shanghai No. 17 Cotton Textile Mill as a machine operator and in 1960 he moved to the factory security department for militia work, where he later was place in charge as a security cadre for all militia work on the factory.[2]: 45 

Political career

On June 12, 1966, he opposed the factory authorities by posting a Big-character poster where he, and other signatories, accused them of practicing revisionism. Despite at first being admonished for this, he got the blessing of the Cultural Revolution work team dispatched to the factory. This first work team was replaced by a team sent by the Shanghai Provincial Committee which did not support Wang Hongwen's attack.[2]: 45 

In October he put up a second poster attacking this work team and founded a rebel group named "Warriors Sworn to the Death to Carry Through with the Cultural Revolution to the End." Then, he went with fifteen of his followers to Beijing and in his return won the admiration of other rebels of Sanghai. This catapulted him as the leader of the Shanghai Workers Revolutionary Rebel General Headquarters that was founded in November.[2]: 45 

Later, through this position he met Zhang Chunqiao and became involved in a Red Guards group. He organized the Shanghai Commune in January 1967, and was catapulted to national prominence as a daring rebel leader.[1]: 46–47 

Rise to power

At the 9th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, Wang was elected a member of the Central Committee. Following the Lin Biao incident, Wang was put in charge of the investigation into the case in the Shanghai area, reporting directly to Mao. At the 10th National Congress of the CCP in 1973, Wang, at the age of 38, was elevated to second ranking CCP vice chairman, and the third-ranking member of the Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), just behind Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai.[1]

File:人民画报1969-07-中共九大全体会议-王洪文.jpg
Wang at the 9th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in 1969

Wang was one of the youngest members of the PSC in the post-revolution Communist Party, having joined the body aged 37. He was the same age as some PSC members who took office even after the turn of the century, such as Luo Gan (served on the PSC between 2002 and 2007), who was also born in 1935. All signs pointed to Wang being trained as Mao's successor, and Wang was rumored to be slated to become Premier after Zhou Enlai's death in January 1976. However, Hua Guofeng, a more moderate figure, was chosen to succeed Zhou instead.

Downfall and death

Wang was an important player during and after the death of Mao, and served as the masters of ceremonies for his funeral service on national radio on 18 September 1976. On October 6, 1976, Hua Guofeng and Ye Jianying pretended to hold a meeting in Zhongnanhai's Huairen Hall to discuss the fifth volume of Mao Zedong's Selected Works, and informed the members of the Gang of Four to come and discuss.[3] When Wang arrived, his personal guards were asked to stay outside the courtyard, and when several agents from the Central Security Bureau twisted him in the corridor, he shouted, "I'm here for the meeting, what are you doing?" with punching and kicking the agents.[4] Wang came to the hall with his arms twisted, and Hua began to read out the "decision" of the CCP Central Committee to him, but unexpectedly during the reading Wang broke away from the agents and shouted and lunged at Ye Jianying, who was present, but was subdued again before he could reach him.[5] According to historian Immanuel C.Y. Hsü, the coup was not completely bloodless – Wang killed two of the agents trying to capture him, and was wounded himself before being subdued.[6] He was tried and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1981.[7] He died of liver cancer in a Beijing hospital on 3 August 1992, at the age of 56.[8][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c Jian, Guo; Song, Yongyi; Zhou, Yuan (2009). The A to Z of the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. pp. 308–309. ISBN 9780810868700.
  2. ^ a b c d Perry, Elizabeth; Xun, Li (1997). Proletarian Power Shanghai In The Cultural Revolution. New York: Routledge. ISBN 9780429498008.
  3. ^ Cook, Alexander C. (7 November 2016). The Cultural Revolution on Trial: Mao and the Gang of Four. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 41. ISBN 978-1-316-78509-6. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  4. ^ "揭秘四人帮被抓过程:王洪文大吼猛扑叶剑英" [Reveal the secrets of the Gang of Four's capture process: Wang Hongwen yelled and pounced on Ye Jianying]. Sina Culture (in Simplified Chinese). Haiwai Net. 9 January 2015. Archived from the original on 11 August 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2023. 王洪文有一点挣扎，当行动组的几个卫士在走廊里把他扭住的时候，王洪文一边大声说 "我是来开会的，你们要干什么？"一边拳打脚踢，拼命进行反抗。但是王洪文很快就被行动小组制服了，被扭着双臂押到大厅里。 [Wang Hongwen struggled a little, and when a few guards from the action group twisted him in the corridor, Wang Hongwen shouted "I'm here for a meeting, what are you doing?", with resisting desperately, punching and kicking the guards. But Wang was soon subdued by the action team and escorted to the hall with his arms twisted.]
  5. ^ ""四人帮"被捕：江青很平静 王洪文反抗最激烈" [The "Gang of Four" arrested: Jiang Qing is very calm Wang Hongwen resistance is the most fierce]. Phoenix Web (in Simplified Chinese). 5 November 2009. Archived from the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2023. 还未等华国锋念完，王洪文乘机挣脱开卫士的手，大吼一声，如同一头发怒的恶狼一样，张开双臂，向着不远处的叶剑英扑去。叶剑英到底是经过风雨的老帅，显得很镇静，坐在那里一动不动。几名卫士冲了过去，用力将他扑倒，然后死死地摁住，并给他戴上了手铐，连拖带架地将王洪文带出大厅，然后拉进了早已停在外面的汽车里。 [Before Hua Guofeng finished reading, Wang Hongwen took the opportunity to break away from the guard's hand, roared, like a furious wolf, opened his arms and pounced on Ye Jianying, who was not far away. Ye was an old marshal who had gone through many storms and looked very calm, sitting there motionless. Several guards rushed over and pounced on Wang, then held him down and handcuffed him, dragged him out of the hall and pulled him into the car parked outside.]
  6. ^ Hsü, Immanuel Chung-yueh (1990), China Without Mao: the Search for a New Order, Oxford University Press, p. 18, ISBN 0-19536-303-5
  7. ^ a b Kristof, Nicholas (5 August 1992). "Wang Hongwen Dies in Beijing; A Member of the 'Gang of Four'". The New York Times.
  8. ^ Watts, Jonathan (7 January 2006). "Last member of China's Gang of Four dies at 74". the Guardian. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
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