Li Weihan (; 2 June 1896 – 11 August 1984) was a Chinese

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of '' The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engel ...

politician. After pursuing his studies in France in 1919–20, he returned to China for the Party's founding Congress in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...

in 1921. He became a member of the

Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the executive committee for communist parties. It is present in most former and existing communist states. Names The term "politburo" in English comes from the Russian ''Politbyuro'' (), itself a contracti ...

in 1927 but fell out of favour shortly afterwards in the wake of the unsuccessful

Autumn Harvest Uprising The Autumn Harvest Uprising was an insurrection that took place in Hunan and Kiangsi (Jiangxi) provinces of China, on September 7, 1927, led by Mao Tse-tung, who established a short-lived Hunan Soviet. After initial success, the uprising was ...

in junction of

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangx ...

and

Jiangxi Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...

provinces. When he sought to bring the uprising to an end, he found himself accused of cowardice. Li was eclipsed until reemerging in the early 1930s as a supporter of

Li Lisan Li Lisan (; November 18, 1899 – June 22, 1967) was a Chinese politician, member of the Politburo, and later a member of the Central Committee. Early years Li was born in Liling, Hunan province in China in 1899, under the name of Li R ...

, a leading figure in the party at the time, and an opponent of the anti-

Mao Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC ...

28 Bolsheviks The 28 (and a half) Bolsheviks (二十八个半布尔什维克) 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 found ...

faction. Li Weihan was promoted to become the first principal of the

Yan'an Yan'an (; ), alternatively spelled as Yenan is a prefecture-level city in the Shaanbei region of Shaanxi province, China, bordering Shanxi to the east and Gansu to the west. It administers several counties, including Zhidan (formerly Bao'an) ...

-based Central Party School of the Communist Party, the highest training center for party workers and leaders. Li served as principal from 1933 to 1935 and again from 1937 to 1938. After the

Proclamation of the People's Republic of China The founding of the People's Republic of China was formally proclaimed by Mao Zedong, the Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), on October 1, 1949, at 3:00 pm in Tiananmen Square in Peking, now Beijing (formerly Beiping), the new ...

in 1949, Li was involved in managing China's minorities and nationalities as Chairman of the

State Ethnic Affairs Commission The National Ethnic Affairs Commission is a cabinet-level executive department of the State Council of the People's Republic of China under the formal leadership of the United Front Work Department that is responsible for relations between ...

. He was also a significant player in the Party's drive to introduce state control of the economy ( Soviet-type economic planning), and in the late-1950s

Anti-Rightist Campaign The Anti-Rightist Campaign () in the People's Republic of China, which lasted from 1957 to roughly 1959, was a political campaign to purge alleged "Rightists" within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the country as a whole. The campaign was ...

, in which his own brother was purged. Li was the director between 1944 and 1964 of the United Front Department, the predecessor to the present-day United Front Work Department. He was removed from his post in 1964 and was subsequently criticised by

Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 January 1976. Zhou served under Chairman M ...

for "capitulationism in united front work". However, he reemerged after 1978 as a supporter of the reformist

Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. Aft ...

– who Li had saved from persecution years before – and as a critic of Mao and autocracy in the Party, which Li referred to as "feudalism". Deng promoted Li in 1982 to the post of vice chairman of the

Central Advisory Commission The Central Advisory Commission () (CAC) was a body of the Chinese Communist Party that existed during the era of the paramount leadership of Deng Xiaoping. The body was supposed to provide "political assistance and consultation" to the Party' ...

, which Deng himself chaired. Li died in office in August 1984.

References

External links

Biographical note on Li Weihan
1896 births 1984 deaths Hunan First Normal University alumni Chinese Communist Party politicians from Hunan People's Republic of China politicians from Hunan Politicians from Changsha Members of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Members of the 8th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Members of the 5th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Secretaries of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection Secretary-General of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Members of the 4th Central Executive Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Vice Chairpersons of the National People's Congress Vice Chairpersons of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Secretaries-general Burials at Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery {{China-politician-stub

See also

References

External links