Xi Zhongxun
Encyclopedia
Xi Zhongxun was a communist revolutionary and a State Councillor
State councillor
State Councillor may refer to:* State Councilor, a high-ranking member of the State Council of the People's Republic of China* State Counsellor, a high civil rank in Imperial Russia...

 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...

. He is considered to be among the first generation of Chinese leadership
Generations of Chinese leadership
Because both the Communist Party of China and the People's Liberation Army promote according to seniority, it is possible to discern distinct generations of Chinese leadership...

.

Biography

Born October 15, 1913 in a land-owning farm family in Fuping
Fuping County, Shaanxi
Fuping County is a county in Weinan City, located in the center of Shaanxi Province of China.Area: 1233 km2; Population: 750,000; Postal Code: 711700It comprises 24 towns, 337 administrative villages.-External links:*...

, Shaanxi
Shaanxi
' is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province...

, Xi 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 May 1926 and the Communist Party of China
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...

 in 1928. Xi was the Deputy Prime Minister of China from 1959 to 1962, and the Governor of Guangdong
Governor of Guangdong
The Politics of Guangdong follows a dual party-government system like the rest of China's provinces. Guangdong is known for a surge of legislative activism in recent years, often called the Guangdong Phenomenon...

 from 1979 to 1981.

He made major contributions to China, firstly as the man who mentored future leaders of China such as Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao is the current Paramount Leader of the People's Republic of China. He has held the titles of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China since 2002, President of the People's Republic of China since 2003, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission since 2004, succeeding Jiang...

, Wen Jiabao
Wen Jiabao
Wen Jiabao is the sixth and current Premier and Party secretary of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, serving as China's head of government and leading its cabinet. In his capacity as Premier, Wen is regarded as the leading figure behind China's economic policy...

 and second as the man who proposed and implemented China's first economic zone, Shenzhen
Shenzhen
Shenzhen is a major city in the south of Southern China's Guangdong Province, situated immediately north of Hong Kong. The area became China's first—and one of the most successful—Special Economic Zones...

, which later was used as the standard model for the other economic zones.

He was remembered for his friendship to his colleagues, his tolerance to diverse cultures and religions, his idealism of an open market socialist country and his integrity in his beliefs. He was one of the few upper level leaders who voted during the 1980s for open reform and was persecuted afterwards for this bold move.

In 1962, Xi Zhongxun fell out of favor with the Communist Party and was accused of disloyalty to Chairman Mao. In addition, Xi later publicly condemned the events of Tiananmen Square in 1989
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, also known as the June Fourth Incident in Chinese , were a series of demonstrations in and near Tiananmen Square in Beijing in the People's Republic of China beginning on 15 April 1989...

. He was rarely seen after that, although it has been reported that he has spent time in jail. China's state-run media has avoided the issue of Xi and the problems he may present for his son Xi Jinping
Xi Jinping
Xi Jinping is a high ranking politician of the People's Republic of China. He currently serves as the top-ranking member of the Secretariat of the Communist Party of China, the country's Vice President, Vice-Chairman of the Central Military Commission, President of the Central Party School and the...

, who is the current member of the Politburo Standing Committee and the Vice President of the People's Republic of China
Vice President of the People's Republic of China
The Vice President of the People's Republic of China , formerly called Vice Chairman of the People's Republic of China from 1954 to 1975, or abbreviated Guójiā Fù Zhǔxí 国家副主席, literally State Vice-chairman) is a senior position in the government of the People's Republic of China.-Selection and...

.

His famous lines include, "We need to reform China and implement this economic zone even if it means that we have to pave a bloody road ahead and I am to be responsible for it." which he uttered to 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...

 when trying to convince Deng of the necessity of market socialism
Market socialism
Market socialism refers to various economic systems where the means of production are either publicly owned or cooperatively owned and operated for a profit in a market economy. The profit generated by the firms system would be used to directly remunerate employees or would be the source of public...

 in China.

Xi Zhongxun married Qi Xin, his second wife, and had four children: Xi Qiaoqiao, Xi An'an, Xi Jinping
Xi Jinping
Xi Jinping is a high ranking politician of the People's Republic of China. He currently serves as the top-ranking member of the Secretariat of the Communist Party of China, the country's Vice President, Vice-Chairman of the Central Military Commission, President of the Central Party School and the...

, and Xi Yuanping. He died May 24, 2002.
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