Sun Yefang (; 24 October 1908 – 22 February 1983) was a pioneering Chinese

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

Biography

Sun was born in

Wuxi County Wuxi County () is a county of Chongqing Municipality, People's Republic of China, bordering Shaanxi to the north and Hubei to the northeast and east. Sitting at the upper reaches of Daning River and the southern slopes of the central Daba Mountai ...

(now Wuxi),

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with it ...

, on 24 October 1908. His elder brother (1895–1980) was a politician in the

government of the Republic of China The Government of the Republic of China, is the national government of the Republic of China whose ''de facto'' territory currently consists of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other island groups in the " free area". Governed by the ...

. His cousin Xue Muqiao was a economist and politician. He studied at

Sun Yat-sen University Sun Yat-sen University (, abbreviated SYSU and colloquially known in Chinese as Zhongda), also known as Zhongshan University, is a national key public research university located in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. It was founded in 1924 by and nam ...

and after graduation, he taught political economy and translation at

Zhongshan University Sun Yat-sen University (, abbreviated SYSU and colloquially known in Chinese as Zhongda), also known as Zhongshan University, is a national key public research university located in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. It was founded in 1924 by and nam ...

and at Moscow East Worker University. In 1930, he returned to China to take part in organizing the China Rural Economy Research Association. He also edited the journal ''Zhongguo Nongcun'' (中国农村, Rural China). After the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on main ...

, he held positions as head of the Department of Heavy Industry, Shanghai Military Control Commission; Assistant Commissioner, State Statistical Bureau; Director, Economics Institute at the Chinese Academy of Science; Commissioner, Fifth Session of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference; delegate, 12th National Party Congress; member, Advisory Commission of the Central Committee of the CCP; member, State Council Academic Appraisal Committee. Sun advocated market-oriented reforms and was denounced by the Maoists as "China's Liberman" (referring to the Khrushchev-era economist

Evsei Liberman Evsei Grigorievich Liberman (russian: Евсей Григорьевич Либерман, , uk, Овсій Григорович Ліберман; 2 October 1897, – 11 November 1981) was a Soviet economist who lived in Kharkiv, Ukraine. He is n ...

) as a result of a damaging association with

Liu Shaoqi Liu Shaoqi ( ; 24 November 189812 November 1969) was a Chinese revolutionary, politician, and theorist. He was Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee from 1954 to 1959, First Vice Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party from 1956 to 1966 and ...

, who was known as China's

Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev st ...

". He was associated with the career of pioneer post-Marxist Chinese liberal Gu Zhun, acting as the latter's protector during

anti-Rightist 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 ...

purges to which he himself was eventually to succumb.

Personal life

Sun married Feng Keping (), and had an adopted daughter named Li Zhao ().

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sun, Yefang 1908 births 1983 deaths Republic of China economists National Sun Yat-sen University alumni Educators from Wuxi 20th-century Chinese economists People's Republic of China economists Republic of China writers People's Republic of China writers Writers from Wuxi Economists from Jiangsu Victims of the Cultural Revolution