Zhao Shiyan was a Chinese Communist

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...

 martyr

Martyr

A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...

 and former Chinese 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...

 Li Peng

Li Peng

Li Peng served as the fourth Premier of the People's Republic of China, between 1987 and 1998, and the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislative body, from 1998 to 2003. For much of the 1990s Li was ranked second in the Communist Party of China ...

's uncle.

In 1915, Zhao went to Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

 to study at the High School Affiliated to Beijing Normal University, majored in 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...

. In 1919, he participated in the May Fourth Movement

May Fourth Movement

The May Fourth Movement was an anti-imperialist, cultural, and political movement growing out of student demonstrations in Beijing on May 4, 1919, protesting the Chinese government's weak response to the Treaty of Versailles, especially the Shandong Problem...

, China Youth Association. The following year, he went to France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 to study, co-founded 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 1922, Zhao Shiyan and Ho Chi Minh

Ho Chi Minh

Hồ Chí Minh , born Nguyễn Sinh Cung and also known as Nguyễn Ái Quốc, was a Vietnamese Marxist-Leninist revolutionary leader who was prime minister and president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam...

 was invited to join the French Communist Party

French Communist Party

The French Communist Party is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism.Although its electoral support has declined in recent decades, the PCF retains a large membership, behind only that of the Union for a Popular Movement , and considerable influence in French...

. In 1922, he went to 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....

 and study at the Communist University of the Toilers of the East

Communist University of the Toilers of the East

The Communist University of the Toilers of the East or KUTV was established April 21, 1921, in Moscow by the Communist International as a training college for communist cadres in the colonial world. The school officially opened on October 21, 1921...

. In 1923, he was appointed as CPC Party Committee Chairman in Beijing. In the same year in December, he was appointed as Chairman of the Northern Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.

In 1926, Zhao was sent to Shanghai

Shanghai

Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...

 with Zhou Enlai

Zhou Enlai

Zhou Enlai was the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, serving from October 1949 until his death in January 1976...

 to led the workers armed uprising during the Northern Expedition. In 1927, 412 killed

Shanghai massacre of 1927

The April 12 Incident of 1927 refers to the violent suppression of Chinese Communist Party organizations in Shanghai by the military forces of Chiang Kai-shek and conservative factions in the Kuomintang...

 in a massacre in Shanghai. In 2 July he was arrested at his home in North Sichuan Road

North Sichuan Road (Shanghai)

North Sichuan Road is a significant street in Shanghai, China, being one of the busiest and main shopping streets.-Orientation:The North Sichuan Road is a significant street in Shanghai, financial center of China. It's an important commercial street in central Shanghai, and also the most...

. In 19 July, he was executed in Shanghai.

Zhao Shiyan's sister, Zhao Juntao married to martyr Li Shuoxun

Li Shuoxun

Li Shuoxun, born 1903 in Sichuan. He joined the Chinese Communist Party in 1924. After the Communist - Kuomintang split in 1927 he was an underground leader. In 1931 he went to Hainan, was caught by his enemies and executed. He is now commemorated there as a revolutionary martyr.His son, Li...

. Her son, Li Peng

Li Peng

Li Peng served as the fourth Premier of the People's Republic of China, between 1987 and 1998, and the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislative body, from 1998 to 2003. For much of the 1990s Li was ranked second in the Communist Party of China ...

later served as a premier from 1987 to 1998.