Zhang Wentian
| Zhang Wentian | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 5th General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China | |
|
In office January 1935 – 20 March 1943 | |
| Leader | Mao Zedong |
| Preceded by | Bo Gu |
| Succeeded by | Mao Zedong (chairman) |
| Head of Propaganda Department | |
|
In office April 1931 – December 1934 | |
| Preceded by | Shen Zemin |
| Succeeded by | Wu Liangping |
|
In office July 1937 – December 1942 | |
| Preceded by | Wu Liangping |
| Succeeded by | Lu Dingyi |
| Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to the Soviet Union | |
|
In office April 1951 – January 1955 | |
| Preceded by | Wang Jiaxiang |
| Succeeded by | Liu Xiao |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
30 August 1900 Nanhui, Shanghai, Qing Empire |
| Died |
1 July 1976 (aged 75) Beijing, China |
| Political party | Communist Party of China |
Zhang Wentian (simplified Chinese: 张闻天; traditional Chinese: 張聞天; pinyin: Zhāng Wéntiān; Wade–Giles: Chang Wen-t'ien; 30 August 1900 – 1 July 1976). He was also known as Luo Fu (Chinese: 洛甫; Wade–Giles: Lo Fu).
Born in Nanhui, Jiangsu Province (now in Shanghai), he attended engineering school in Nanjing and spent a year at the University of California. He later joined the Communist Party and was sent to study at Sun Yat-sen University in Moscow from 1926 to 1930. He was one of the group known as the 28 Bolsheviks, but switched to supporting Mao Zedong during the Long March. He was General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1935 to 1943, when the post was abolished.[1] He remained a member of the Politburo, but ranked 12th of 13 in the 7th Politburo and reduced to Alternate Member in the 8th Politburo.
He was First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China from December 1954 to November 1960.[2] He was a participant of the Long March, and later served as an ambassador to the Soviet Union from April 1951 to January 1955. At the Lushan Conference in 1959 he supported Peng Dehuai and lost power along with Peng.[3] During the Cultural Revolution he was attacked as an ally of Peng and Liu Shaoqi; he was rehabilitated by Deng Xiaoping after Mao's death.
References
- ↑ Snow, Edgar. Red Star Over China, Pelican edition 1972, page 553.
- ↑ Zhang Wentian (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China)
- ↑ Great Soviet Encyclopaedia
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Mao Zedong |
Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Chinese Soviet Republic 1934 |
Chinese Soviet Republic disbanded |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Shen Zemin |
Head of the CPC Central Propaganda Department 1931–1934 |
Succeeded by Wu Liangping |
| Preceded by Bo Gu |
General Secretary of the Communist Party of China 1935–1945 |
Succeeded by Deng Xiaoping Abolished until 1954 |
| Preceded by Wu Liangping |
Head of the CPC Central Propaganda Department 1937–1943 |
Succeeded by Lu Dingyi |
