Wang Guangmei
Encyclopedia
Wang Guangmei was a respected Chinese politician, philanthropist, and First Lady, the wife of Liu Shaoqi
, who served as the Chairman of the People's Republic of China from 1959-1968.
in Beijing. She also studied at an American missionary university. Described as a sophisticated woman, Wang Guangmei spoke French
, English
and Russian
. In the mid-1940s, Wang Guangmei traveled to the Communist Party headquarters in Yanan and served as an interpreter during efforts by the American statesman George C. Marshall to negotiate a truce between the Nationalist government and the Communist rebels. This mediation was headed by George Marshall
, and many Americans who were present admired her. This would play a later role in charges that she was an American spy.
There, at the age of 24, she met Liu Shaoqi, who was nearly twice her age and had married five times before. For years she served as his secretary, and he was named a key deputy to Mao after the Communists took power in 1949. In 1959 Liu was named president, making him the second most powerful man in the country.
After Liu became president in 1959, Wang became a very visible diplomatic companion to him. This antagonized Mao's wife Jiang Qing
, who was growing politically ambitious. Wang would subsequently be punished for her allegedly inappropriate behavior on the international stage. In 1963, Wang donned a tight-fitting qipao
dress at a banquet in Indonesia hosted by President Sukarno
. In April 1967, the Red Guards forced her to put on the same dress, with silk stockings, high heels and a mocking necklace made out of ping-pong balls.
More damagingly, Liu had encouraged his wife to become involved in politics during the confused run-up to the cultural revolution. In 1963 she joined a work team investigating corruption in the countryside, a mounting problem after the failure of the 1958-61 great leap forward. And in mid-1966, when the Red Guards erupted on the scene - and Liu and other leaders floundered trying to fathom what Mao had in mind - she headed a work team to restore order among the students at Beijing's Qinghua University: they would become her chief persecutors.
The disgraced President Liu died in prison. Wang was put under house arrest, then imprisoned. Her four children were also punished. Imprisoned in Qincheng jail during the cultural revolution, Wang was kept in ignorance of her family's fate. After four years her children plucked up the courage to ask Mao for permission to see their parents. It was through his terse consent - "Their father is dead but they may see the mother" - that Wang learned of her husband's death. Wang spent about 12 years in prison, and was released in 1979, just before Mao's wife, Jiang Qing, a leader of the Gang of Four, was put on trial and accused of leading the effort to destroy President Liu and his wife.
Soon, Liu's reputation was rehabilitated and Wang received compensation for her suffering during the Cultural Revolution
. In 1980, Wang appeared in court during the trial of the Gang of Four
as a victim of Jiang Qing
's prosecution. Later, Wang was elected a permanent member of the National People's Political Consultative Conference. She founded the "Hope Project", a program aimed at aiding the poor throughout China. She even donated some of her family’s valuable antiques, a few dating back to the Qing and Song dynasties, to charity.
Wang died on October 13, 2006, at the No. 305 Military Hospital in Beijing. Her funeral was held at the Babaoshan Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery
in Beijing on Oct. 21, 2006.
Her eldest son, Lt. Gen. Liu Yuan, was appointed a political commissar of the Academy of Military Sciences, a rank equivalent to a cabinet minister, according to Reuters.
Her daughter, Liu Ting, graduated from Boston University and Harvard Business School and is chairman and president of the Asia Link Group, consultants in corporate finance.
Liu Shaoqi
Liu Shaoqi was a Chinese revolutionary, statesman, and theorist. He was Chairman of the People's Republic of China, China's head of state, from 27 April 1959 to 31 October 1968, during which he implemented policies of economic reconstruction in China...
, who served as the Chairman of the People's Republic of China from 1959-1968.
Earlier Years
Wang Guangmei was born in 1921 and grew up in a distinguished and prominent Chinese family. Her father was a government minister and a diplomat; her mother was an educator. Wang Guangmei studied French, Russian and English, and earned a degree in physics from Fu Jen Catholic UniversityFu Jen Catholic University
Fu Jen Catholic University is a co-educational Catholic university located in Xinzhuang District, New Taipei City, Republic of China...
in Beijing. She also studied at an American missionary university. Described as a sophisticated woman, Wang Guangmei spoke French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
. In the mid-1940s, Wang Guangmei traveled to the Communist Party headquarters in Yanan and served as an interpreter during efforts by the American statesman George C. Marshall to negotiate a truce between the Nationalist government and the Communist rebels. This mediation was headed by George Marshall
George Marshall
George Catlett Marshall was an American military leader, Chief of Staff of the Army, Secretary of State, and the third Secretary of Defense...
, and many Americans who were present admired her. This would play a later role in charges that she was an American spy.
There, at the age of 24, she met Liu Shaoqi, who was nearly twice her age and had married five times before. For years she served as his secretary, and he was named a key deputy to Mao after the Communists took power in 1949. In 1959 Liu was named president, making him the second most powerful man in the country.
Public Role
Liu Shaoqi was president from 1959 to 1967, when he became one of the first high-level officials to be denounced as a “capitalist roader”and purged by Mao during the Cultural Revolution. Also, Wang Guangmei was once widely known in China as its beautiful, articulate, sophisticated first lady. In the early 1960’s, the couple traveled abroad on state visits to Afghanistan, Burma, Pakistan and Indonesia. But in 1966, Wang Guangmei was part of a group that purged the party leadership of Tsinghua University, and the effort backfired when she came under attack by a militant opponent who accused her of being a counterrevolutionary. This came at a time when her husband was also under fire by Mao and his deputies for being the leading “capitalist roader".After Liu became president in 1959, Wang became a very visible diplomatic companion to him. This antagonized Mao's wife Jiang Qing
Jiang Qing
Jiang Qing was the pseudonym that was used by Chinese leader Mao Zedong's last wife and major Communist Party of China power figure. She went by the stage name Lan Ping during her acting career, and was known by various other names during her life...
, who was growing politically ambitious. Wang would subsequently be punished for her allegedly inappropriate behavior on the international stage. In 1963, Wang donned a tight-fitting qipao
Qipao
The cheongsam is a body-hugging one-piece Chinese dress for women; the male version is the changshan. It is known in Mandarin Chinese as the qípáo Wade-Giles ch'i-p'ao, and is also known in English as a mandarin gown...
dress at a banquet in Indonesia hosted by President Sukarno
Sukarno
Sukarno, born Kusno Sosrodihardjo was the first President of Indonesia.Sukarno was the leader of his country's struggle for independence from the Netherlands and was Indonesia's first President from 1945 to 1967...
. In April 1967, the Red Guards forced her to put on the same dress, with silk stockings, high heels and a mocking necklace made out of ping-pong balls.
More damagingly, Liu had encouraged his wife to become involved in politics during the confused run-up to the cultural revolution. In 1963 she joined a work team investigating corruption in the countryside, a mounting problem after the failure of the 1958-61 great leap forward. And in mid-1966, when the Red Guards erupted on the scene - and Liu and other leaders floundered trying to fathom what Mao had in mind - she headed a work team to restore order among the students at Beijing's Qinghua University: they would become her chief persecutors.
The disgraced President Liu died in prison. Wang was put under house arrest, then imprisoned. Her four children were also punished. Imprisoned in Qincheng jail during the cultural revolution, Wang was kept in ignorance of her family's fate. After four years her children plucked up the courage to ask Mao for permission to see their parents. It was through his terse consent - "Their father is dead but they may see the mother" - that Wang learned of her husband's death. Wang spent about 12 years in prison, and was released in 1979, just before Mao's wife, Jiang Qing, a leader of the Gang of Four, was put on trial and accused of leading the effort to destroy President Liu and his wife.
Soon, Liu's reputation was rehabilitated and Wang received compensation for her suffering during 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...
. In 1980, Wang appeared in court during the trial of 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...
as a victim of Jiang Qing
Jiang Qing
Jiang Qing was the pseudonym that was used by Chinese leader Mao Zedong's last wife and major Communist Party of China power figure. She went by the stage name Lan Ping during her acting career, and was known by various other names during her life...
's prosecution. Later, Wang was elected a permanent member of the National People's Political Consultative Conference. She founded the "Hope Project", a program aimed at aiding the poor throughout China. She even donated some of her family’s valuable antiques, a few dating back to the Qing and Song dynasties, to charity.
Wang died on October 13, 2006, at the No. 305 Military Hospital in Beijing. Her funeral was held at the Babaoshan Revolutionary Martyrs' 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"...
in Beijing on Oct. 21, 2006.
Family
Wang is survived by four children, some of whom have risen to prominent positions.Her eldest son, Lt. Gen. Liu Yuan, was appointed a political commissar of the Academy of Military Sciences, a rank equivalent to a cabinet minister, according to Reuters.
Her daughter, Liu Ting, graduated from Boston University and Harvard Business School and is chairman and president of the Asia Link Group, consultants in corporate finance.
External links
- Short Biography on chinavitae.com
- "Wang Guangmei, 85, Dies; Former First Lady of China", The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, October 17, 2006 - Wang Guangmei on China Digital Times
- Wang Guangmei on Guardian Unlimited