Yang Shangkun
Encyclopedia
Yang Shangkun was President of the People's Republic of China
from 1988 to 1993, and was permanent Vice-chair of the Central Military Commission
. He was married to Li Bozhao in 1929, one of the few women to participate in the Long March
, as did Yang.
, near the city of Chongqing
in Sichuan, and studied at Chengdu Higher Normal School and its affiliated secondary school
in 1920-25, and then returned to Chongqing. His older brother, Yang Yangong was one of the founding Executive Committee members of the CCP in Sichuan, and undoubtedly had an influence on Yang Shangkun’s ideological orientation. After joining the Communist Youth League (1925) and CCP (1926), he enrolled in Shanghai University, which in combination with his later study in Moscow, made him one of the best educated of the early party leaders. In the USSR, Yang studied at Moscow Sun Yat-sen University
; students such as Yang were later characterized as the 28 Bolsheviks
.
The original intention of the Comintern
after sending him back to China
was to have him help Wang Ming
, but during the Long March
, Yang defected to Mao Zedong
's camp by supporting Mao at the Zunyi Conference
, thus earning Mao's trust. Since Wang Ming
's policy caused catastrophic failure for the Chinese communists, the Comintern
was forced to accept the leadership change of the Chinese Communist Party, but unwilling to let Mao and other local factions take control, the Comintern
appointed a new leader of the Chinese communist party Zhang Guotao
, a former political rival of Wang Ming
, but was still Soviet-trained and much more pro-Comintern
than Mao and his followers who had never been to Soviet Union
. Yang Shangkun and other communists who were trained in the Soviet Union
were ordered and expected to support this new appointee who once opposed Wang Ming
.
However, the hope of the Comintern
was crushed once again when many of the former-Soviet trained Chinese communist cadres such as Yang Shangkun and Ye Jianying
once again supported Mao instead of the appointee the Comintern
had preferred. During the latter stage of the Long March
, Yang was with Zhang Guotao
's force, because the Comintern
preferred Zhang over Mao and hoped the Zhang would have support from the Chinese communists who were in the former-Soviet Union
. However, Yang defected again to Mao Zedong
's side when Zhang Guotao
and Mao Zedong
disagreed on the destination and Zhang led his force to the south. After Ye Jianying
fled Zhang's headquarter with all of the maps and code books to Mao's camp, Yang and another colleague also fled from Zhang Guotao
's headquarter with top secret documents, and they were forced to hide in order along the way to escape the Zhang's cavalry sent to capture them, and eventually they made it safely to Mao's headquarter with these important documents from Zhang's headquarter, and thus Mao's trust in Yang Shangkun was further strengthened. However, Yang's wife was forced to march with Zhang's force and the couple did not reunite until years later when Zhang's force finally returned to the communist base in Shaanxi
after Zhang's disastrous failure which cost 75% of his force.
He held a senior position in the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China
(CPC) from 1956 to 1966, but lost Mao's favor when he voiced his opposition to Mao's policy and supported Liu Shaoqi
and Deng Xiaoping
in their attempt to salvage China from the depths of the Great Leap Forward
movement after witnessing the disastrous result of Mao's Great Leap Forward
. As a result, Yang Shangkun was demoted during the Cultural Revolution
, during which he was struggled by the Red Guards
, and he was accused of planting covert listening device
to spy on Mao, the same accusation shared by Deng Xiaoping
, and he was not rehabilitated until 1978, after which was elected to the Politburo in 1982. Such experience only strengthened Yang's support for the Chinese economic reform
as well as his friendship with Deng Xiaoping
, but in comparison to Hu Yaobang
, Zhao Ziyang
, Wan Li
, Hu Qili
and other reformers, Yang was far less enthusiastic about political reform. However, Yang's attitude of aggressive support for the Chinese economic reform
and conservative stand against the political reform at the same time just fit perfectly with Deng Xiaoping
's view and thus earned him further trust from Deng. Many critics of Yang accurately point out that one of the main reasons of his strong support of the Chinese economic reform
is that his children were assigned important posts in those state-owned enterprises that monopolized the particular market segments in the areas they dominated, and thus benefitted hugely from the economic reform, accumulating great wealth via legal means, thanks to the state run monopoly.
. Under the constitutional conventions of the 1982 Constitution, the President's role was largely symbolic, with formal executive power wielded by the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China
and the Premier
. In practice, state and party leaders still deferred to paramount leader
Deng Xiaoping
.
However, Yang's role during the Tiananmen protests of 1989 caused a fundamental shift in this arrangement. Yang was at first sympathetic to the students and he sided with Zhao Ziyang
. As the PRC president and the vice chairman of Central Military Commission, he even praised Zhao's decision by claiming that “[Zhao] Ziyang’s notion of pacifying the student movement through democracy and law is good and seem quite workable right now.” His nephew, Yang Jianhua, commanded the highly disciplined 27th Group Army, which was brought in from Hebei
province to suppress the demonstrators.
Extremely influential in the People's Liberation Army
, he was removed by Deng Xiaoping
in 1992 for attempting to replace Jiang Zemin
as party leader. He was succeeded as President by Jiang Zemin
.
He is considered as one of the Eight Immortals of Communist Party of China
. He is a cousin of Yang Baibing
.
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President of the People's Republic of China
The President of the People's Republic of China is a ceremonial office and a part of State organs under the National People's Congress and it is the head of state of the People's Republic of China . The office was created by the 1982 Constitution...
from 1988 to 1993, and was permanent Vice-chair of the Central Military Commission
Central Military Commission of the People's Republic of China
The Central Military Commission is the national defense organization of the People's Republic of China.It refers to one of two organizations of the People's Republic of China: either the "Central Military Commission of the People's Republic of China" or the "Central Military Commission of the...
. He was married to Li Bozhao in 1929, one of the few women to participate in the Long March
Long 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...
, as did Yang.
Early career
Yang was born in Shuangjiang, Tongnan CountyTongnan County
Tongnan County is a county of Chongqing Municipality in China....
, near the city of Chongqing
Chongqing
Chongqing is a major city in Southwest China and one of the five national central cities of China. Administratively, it is one of the PRC's four direct-controlled municipalities , and the only such municipality in inland China.The municipality was created on 14 March 1997, succeeding the...
in Sichuan, and studied at Chengdu Higher Normal School and its affiliated secondary school
The Affiliated High School of Sichuan University
The Affiliated High School of Sichuan University is a public middle school for grades 7-12. It has two campuses, both of which are located in the Wuhou District, Chengdu, Sichuan, China. It is one of the top rated middle schools in Chengdu and it is listed as "Key School of Sichuan...
in 1920-25, and then returned to Chongqing. His older brother, Yang Yangong was one of the founding Executive Committee members of the CCP in Sichuan, and undoubtedly had an influence on Yang Shangkun’s ideological orientation. After joining the Communist Youth League (1925) and CCP (1926), he enrolled in Shanghai University, which in combination with his later study in Moscow, made him one of the best educated of the early party leaders. In the USSR, Yang studied at Moscow Sun Yat-sen University
Moscow Sun Yat-sen University
Moscow Sun Yat-sen University, officially the Sun Yat-sen Communist University of the Toilers of China, was a Comintern school, which operated from 1925-1930. It was a training camp for Chinese revolutionaries from both the Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China .-Origins:In 1923, Dr...
; students such as Yang were later characterized as the 28 Bolsheviks
28 Bolsheviks
The 28 Bolsheviks were a group of Chinese students who studied at the Moscow Sun Yat-sen University from the late 1920s until early 1935, also known as the "Returned Students". The university was founded in 1925 as a result of Kuomintang's founder Sun Yat-Sen's policy of alliance with the Soviet...
.
The original intention of the Comintern
Comintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
after sending him back to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
was to have him help Wang Ming
Wang Ming
Wang Ming was a senior leader of the early Chinese Communist Party and the mastermind of the famous 28 Bolsheviks group. Wang was also a major political rival of Mao Zedong during the 1930s, opposing Mao's nationalist deviation from the Comintern and orthodox Marxism and Leninism lines...
, but during the Long March
Long 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...
, Yang defected to 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...
's camp by supporting Mao at the Zunyi Conference
Zunyi Conference
The Zunyi Conference was a meeting of the Communist Party of China in January of 1935 during the Long March. This meeting involved a power struggle between the leadership of Bo Gu and Otto Braun and the opposition led by Mao Zedong. The result was that Mao left the meeting in position to take...
, thus earning Mao's trust. Since Wang Ming
Wang Ming
Wang Ming was a senior leader of the early Chinese Communist Party and the mastermind of the famous 28 Bolsheviks group. Wang was also a major political rival of Mao Zedong during the 1930s, opposing Mao's nationalist deviation from the Comintern and orthodox Marxism and Leninism lines...
's policy caused catastrophic failure for the Chinese communists, the Comintern
Comintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
was forced to accept the leadership change of the Chinese Communist Party, but unwilling to let Mao and other local factions take control, the Comintern
Comintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
appointed a new leader of the Chinese communist party Zhang Guotao
Zhang Guotao
Zhang Guotao was a founding member and important leader of the Chinese Communist Party and bitter rival to Mao Zedong. During the 1920s he studied in the Soviet Union and became a key contact with the Comintern and organized the CCP labor movement in the United Front with the Guomindang...
, a former political rival of Wang Ming
Wang Ming
Wang Ming was a senior leader of the early Chinese Communist Party and the mastermind of the famous 28 Bolsheviks group. Wang was also a major political rival of Mao Zedong during the 1930s, opposing Mao's nationalist deviation from the Comintern and orthodox Marxism and Leninism lines...
, but was still Soviet-trained and much more pro-Comintern
Comintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
than Mao and his followers who had never been to Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. Yang Shangkun and other communists who were trained in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
were ordered and expected to support this new appointee who once opposed Wang Ming
Wang Ming
Wang Ming was a senior leader of the early Chinese Communist Party and the mastermind of the famous 28 Bolsheviks group. Wang was also a major political rival of Mao Zedong during the 1930s, opposing Mao's nationalist deviation from the Comintern and orthodox Marxism and Leninism lines...
.
However, the hope of the Comintern
Comintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
was crushed once again when many of the former-Soviet trained Chinese communist cadres such as Yang Shangkun and Ye Jianying
Ye Jianying
Ye Jianying was a Chinese communist general and the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress from 1978 to 1983.-Biography:...
once again supported Mao instead of the appointee the Comintern
Comintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
had preferred. During the latter stage of the Long March
Long 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...
, Yang was with Zhang Guotao
Zhang Guotao
Zhang Guotao was a founding member and important leader of the Chinese Communist Party and bitter rival to Mao Zedong. During the 1920s he studied in the Soviet Union and became a key contact with the Comintern and organized the CCP labor movement in the United Front with the Guomindang...
's force, because the Comintern
Comintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
preferred Zhang over Mao and hoped the Zhang would have support from the Chinese communists who were in the former-Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. However, Yang defected again to 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...
's side when Zhang Guotao
Zhang Guotao
Zhang Guotao was a founding member and important leader of the Chinese Communist Party and bitter rival to Mao Zedong. During the 1920s he studied in the Soviet Union and became a key contact with the Comintern and organized the CCP labor movement in the United Front with the Guomindang...
and 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...
disagreed on the destination and Zhang led his force to the south. After Ye Jianying
Ye Jianying
Ye Jianying was a Chinese communist general and the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress from 1978 to 1983.-Biography:...
fled Zhang's headquarter with all of the maps and code books to Mao's camp, Yang and another colleague also fled from Zhang Guotao
Zhang Guotao
Zhang Guotao was a founding member and important leader of the Chinese Communist Party and bitter rival to Mao Zedong. During the 1920s he studied in the Soviet Union and became a key contact with the Comintern and organized the CCP labor movement in the United Front with the Guomindang...
's headquarter with top secret documents, and they were forced to hide in order along the way to escape the Zhang's cavalry sent to capture them, and eventually they made it safely to Mao's headquarter with these important documents from Zhang's headquarter, and thus Mao's trust in Yang Shangkun was further strengthened. However, Yang's wife was forced to march with Zhang's force and the couple did not reunite until years later when Zhang's force finally returned to the communist base in 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...
after Zhang's disastrous failure which cost 75% of his force.
He held a senior position in the Central Committee of 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...
(CPC) from 1956 to 1966, but lost Mao's favor when he voiced his opposition to Mao's policy and supported Liu Shaoqi
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...
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...
in their attempt to salvage China from the depths of 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...
movement after witnessing the disastrous result of Mao's 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...
. As a result, Yang Shangkun was demoted 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...
, during which he was struggled by the Red Guards
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:...
, and he was accused of planting covert listening device
Covert listening device
A covert listening device, more commonly known as a bug or a wire, is usually a combination of a miniature radio transmitter with a microphone. The use of bugs, called bugging, is a common technique in surveillance, espionage and in police investigations.A bug does not have to be a device...
to spy on Mao, the same accusation shared by 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...
, and he was not rehabilitated until 1978, after which was elected to the Politburo in 1982. Such experience only strengthened Yang's support for the Chinese economic reform
Chinese economic reform
The Chinese economic reform refers to the program of economic reforms called "Socialism with Chinese characteristics" in the People's Republic of China that were started in December 1978 by reformists within the Communist Party of China led by Deng Xiaoping.China had one of the world's largest...
as well as his friendship with 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...
, but in comparison to 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...
, Zhao Ziyang
Zhao Ziyang
Zhao Ziyang was a high-ranking politician in the People's Republic of China . He was the third Premier of the People's Republic of China from 1980 to 1987, and General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1987 to 1989....
, Wan Li
Wan Li
Wan Li was during a long administrative career in the People's Republic of China Vice Premier, National People's Congress Chairman, and a member of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, its Secretariat and its Politburo...
, Hu Qili
Hu Qili
Hu Qili is a politician of the People's Republic of China.-Biography:In 1948 at the age of 19, Hu joined the Communist Party of China . He studied at Peking University from 1946-1951...
and other reformers, Yang was far less enthusiastic about political reform. However, Yang's attitude of aggressive support for the Chinese economic reform
Chinese economic reform
The Chinese economic reform refers to the program of economic reforms called "Socialism with Chinese characteristics" in the People's Republic of China that were started in December 1978 by reformists within the Communist Party of China led by Deng Xiaoping.China had one of the world's largest...
and conservative stand against the political reform at the same time just fit perfectly with 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...
's view and thus earned him further trust from Deng. Many critics of Yang accurately point out that one of the main reasons of his strong support of the Chinese economic reform
Chinese economic reform
The Chinese economic reform refers to the program of economic reforms called "Socialism with Chinese characteristics" in the People's Republic of China that were started in December 1978 by reformists within the Communist Party of China led by Deng Xiaoping.China had one of the world's largest...
is that his children were assigned important posts in those state-owned enterprises that monopolized the particular market segments in the areas they dominated, and thus benefitted hugely from the economic reform, accumulating great wealth via legal means, thanks to the state run monopoly.
Presidency
In 1988, Yang was appointed the President of the People's Republic of ChinaPresident of the People's Republic of China
The President of the People's Republic of China is a ceremonial office and a part of State organs under the National People's Congress and it is the head of state of the People's Republic of China . The office was created by the 1982 Constitution...
. Under the constitutional conventions of the 1982 Constitution, the President's role was largely symbolic, with formal executive power wielded by the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China
General Secretary of the Communist Party of China
The General Secretary of the Communist Party of China , officially General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is the highest ranking official within the Communist Party of China, a standing member of the Politburo and head of the Secretariat...
and the Premier
Premier of the People's Republic of China
The Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China , sometimes also referred to as the "Prime Minister" informally, is the Leader of the State Council of the People's Republic of China , who is the head of government and holds the highest-ranking of the Civil service of the...
. In practice, state and party leaders still deferred to paramount leader
Paramount leader
Paramount leader literally "the highest leader of the party and the state ", in modern Chinese political science, unofficially refers to the political leader of the People's Republic of China....
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...
.
However, Yang's role during the Tiananmen protests of 1989 caused a fundamental shift in this arrangement. Yang was at first sympathetic to the students and he sided with Zhao Ziyang
Zhao Ziyang
Zhao Ziyang was a high-ranking politician in the People's Republic of China . He was the third Premier of the People's Republic of China from 1980 to 1987, and General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1987 to 1989....
. As the PRC president and the vice chairman of Central Military Commission, he even praised Zhao's decision by claiming that “[Zhao] Ziyang’s notion of pacifying the student movement through democracy and law is good and seem quite workable right now.” His nephew, Yang Jianhua, commanded the highly disciplined 27th Group Army, which was brought in from Hebei
Hebei
' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...
province to suppress the demonstrators.
Extremely influential in 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...
, he was removed by 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...
in 1992 for attempting to replace Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin is a former Chinese politician, who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1989 to 2002, as President of the People's Republic of China from 1993 to 2003, and as Chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2005...
as party leader. He was succeeded as President by Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin is a former Chinese politician, who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1989 to 2002, as President of the People's Republic of China from 1993 to 2003, and as Chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2005...
.
He is considered as one of the Eight Immortals of Communist Party of China
Eight Immortals of Communist Party of China
The Eight Great Eminent Officials , abbreviated as the Eight Elders were a group of elderly members of the Communist Party of China who held substantial power during the 1980s and 1990s...
. He is a cousin of Yang Baibing
Yang Baibing
Yang Baibing is a general in the People's Liberation Army.-Biography:He was born as and joined the Communist Party of China in March 1938....
.
See also
- Politics of the People's Republic of ChinaPolitics of the People's Republic of ChinaThe politics of the People's Republic of China take place in a framework of a single-party socialist republic. The leadership of the Communist Party is stated in the Constitution of the People's Republic of China...
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