Zhang Yumao (; June 1935 – 3 February 2019) was a Chinese literary scholar and politician. He was a professor of

Liaoning University Liaoning University (LNU; ) is a public university founded in 1948 in Shenyang, Shenyang, Liaoning, China. It is affiliated with the Province of Liaoning, and co-funded by the Liaoning Provincial People's Government and the Ministry of Education ...

known for his research on the writer

Xiao Jun Xiao Jun (, 3 July 1907 – 22 June 1988), born Liu Honglin (), was a Chinese author and intellectual from Linghai, Liaoning, China. Of Manchu ethnicity, Xiao's most famous work in China is his 1934 novel ''Village in August'' () which gain ...

. He also served as vice mayor of

Shenyang Shenyang,; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly known as Fengtian formerly known by its Manchu language, Manchu name Mukden, is a sub-provincial city in China and the list of capitals in China#Province capitals, provincial capital of Liaonin ...

and vice chairman of the Liaoning

Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s United front (China), united front system. Its members adv ...

(CPPCC).

Biography

Zhang was born in June 1935 in

Gaizhou Gaizhou (), formerly Gaixian, ''Gaiping'', and Kaiping, is a county-level city in Liaoning province, China. It is under the administration of Yingkou City, which lies to the north-northwest, and is located at the northwest end of the Liaodong P ...

Liaoning ) , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = Clockwise: Mukden Palace in Shenyang, Xinghai Square in Dalian, Dalian coast, Yalu River at Dandong , image_map = Liaoning in China (+all claims hatched).svg , ...

province. Zhang graduated from the Department of Chinese Language and Literature of

Peking University Peking University (PKU) is a Public university, public Types of universities and colleges in China#By designated academic emphasis, university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of the Peop ...

in 1960, and worked at the Institute of Latin American Studies of the

Chinese Academy of Social Sciences The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) is a Chinese state research institute and think tank. It is a ministry-level institution under the State Council of the People's Republic of China. The CASS is the highest academic institution and c ...

. During the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

, he was sent to perform manual labour at a

May Seventh Cadre School May Seventh Cadre Schools () were a system of rural communes throughout mainland China established during the Cultural Revolution to train Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Cadre system of the Chinese Communist Party, cadres to follow the mass line, in ...

in Shenqiu County,

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

, from 1969 to 1973. In 1973, he became a faculty member of the Department of Chinese Language of

, serving as lecturer, associate professor, professor, and eventually department chair. He was known as the leading scholar of the Liaoning writer

, whom he had met in the 1950s and after the

. He wrote two biographies of Xiao Jun. Zhang joined the

China Democratic League The China Democratic League (CDL) is one of the eight minor democratic parties in the People's Republic of China under the direction of the Chinese Communist Party. The CDL was originally founded in 1941 as a pro-democracy umbrella coalition g ...

in March 1984. He entered politics in 1989, when he was appointed vice mayor of

, the capital of Liaoning. He later served as vice chairman of the Liaoning

(CPPCC), chairman of the China Democratic League Liaoning Provincial Committee, and vice chairman of the China Democratic League Central Committee. Zhang retired in July 2009. He died on 3 February 2019 in Shenyang, at the age of 83.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang, Yumao 1935 births 2019 deaths Scholars of Chinese literature Writers from Liaoning People from Gaizhou Peking University alumni Academic staff of Liaoning University Deputy mayors of places in China Political office-holders in Liaoning Politicians from Shenyang