Tan Zhenlin (; 24 April 1902 – 30 September 1983) was a political commissar in the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the China, People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five Military branch, service branches: the People's ...

during 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 ...

, and a politician after the establishment of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

. Tan Zhenlin was born in

You County You County () is a county in Hunan Province, China; it is under the administration of Zhuzhou City. Located on the south eastern margin of the province, the county is bordered to the north by Xiangdong District, Pingxiang City of Jiangxi, Lil ...

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 ...

.Tan Zhenlin
/ref> He joined the

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Ci ...

in 1926, and participated in the Chinese Civil War since the Jinggang Mountains rebellion in the early days of the war. By 1949 he rose to the first deputy political commissar of the Third Field Army of the PLA. After the founding of the People's Republic in 1949, Tan became the Party Secretary and Governor of

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Ji ...

. He served as the Third Secretary of the Communist Party's East China Bureau, then Governor of Jiangsu. In December 1954 Tan became the party's deputy Secretary-General (not to be confused with General Secretary), and later Vice-Premier. During the

Great Leap Forward The Great Leap Forward (Second Five Year Plan) of the People's Republic of China (PRC) was an economic and social campaign led by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1958 to 1962. CCP Chairman Mao Zedong launched the campaign to reconstr ...

, Tan became a Secretary of the Secretariat, in charge of agriculture. He supported Mao's policies during the Great Leap, which he regretted later in life. In 1967 he was quoted in Chinese press disputing to the concept of a unified Chinese cuisine: "In fact, in relation to some dishes regarded as delicacies in the South, many people in other parts of China share the disgust felt by Europeans" (referring to

monkey brains Monkey brains is a supposed dish consisting of, at least partially, the brain of some species of monkey or ape. While animal brains have been consumed in various cuisines (e.g. eggs and brains or fried brain sandwiches), there is debate abo ...

). Tan became a central figure opposed to the

Central Cultural Revolution Group The (Central) Cultural Revolution Group (CRG or CCRG; ) was formed in May 1966 as a replacement organisation to the Central Committee Secretariat and the " Five Man Group", and was initially directly responsible to the Standing Committee of the P ...

(CCRG) in the early stages of the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goa ...

. Tan, along with other Communist revolutionaries such as

Chen Yi Chen Yi may refer to: * Xuanzang (602–664), born as Chen Yi, Chinese Buddhist monk in Tang Dynasty * Chen Yi (Kuomintang) Chen Yi (; courtesy names Gongxia (公俠) and later Gongqia (公洽), sobriquet Tuisu (退素); May 3, 1883 – June ...

and Nie Rongzhen, openly attacked the CCRG and their insistence on expanding the Cultural Revolution. Tan bluntly told the assembled leaders that the Cultural Revolution was an attempt to purge the Communist old guard. Tan also reputedly said, "I made three mistakes in my life. I should not have lived to this day. I should have never joined the revolution with Mao. I should have never joined the Communist Party." He was then thoroughly denounced by

Lin Biao ) , serviceyears = 1925–1971 , branch = People's Liberation Army , rank = Marshal of the People's Republic of China Lieutenant general of the National Revolutionary Army, Republic of China , commands ...

as part of the " February Countercurrent" and subsequently purged. However, after Lin Biao's own demise in 1971, Mao attempted to reach out to his old revolutionary colleagues, and restored Tan's political standing. In 1975 Tan was named a vice-chairman of the National People's Congress. Tan Zhenlin was a member of the

8th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party The 8th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party was elected at the 1st Plenary Session of the 8th Central Committee on September 28, 1956, consisting of 17 members and 6 alternate members. This Politburo was preceded by the 7th Politburo of the ...

. He was a member of the 8th (1956–1969), 10th (1973–1977), and 11th (1977–1982) Central Committees of the Communist Party. He served as the vice-chairman of the 4th and 5th

Standing Committee of the National People's Congress The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPCSC) is the permanent body of the National People's Congress (NPC) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), which is the highest organ of state po ...

(1975–1978, 1978–1983).Tan Zhenlin
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tan, Zhenlin 1902 births 1983 deaths Chinese Communist Party politicians from Hunan Governors of Zhejiang Governors of Jiangsu Members of the Secretariat of the Chinese Communist Party People's Republic of China politicians from Hunan Mayors of Hangzhou Politicians from Zhuzhou Members of the 8th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party Vice Chairpersons of the National People's Congress Burials at Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery