Chen Pixian (; March 20, 1916 – August 23, 1995) was a Chinese Communist revolutionary and politician. He served in several prominent roles, including party chief of

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

and party chief of

Hubei Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...

province. He was purged at the beginning of 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 ...

but was later rehabilitated.

Biography

Chen Pixian was born in Shanghang County,

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

in 1916. He joined the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

(CCP) in 1931. After the People's Republic of China was founded, Chen carried out the work of land reform, bandit suppression and post-war recovery in

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

. After three years of hard work, the annual output of grain and cotton in southern Jiangsu exceeded the highest annual output before the Anti-Japanese War, and the output of most industrial products doubled. His outstanding performance in completing land reform and suppressing bandits once earned him the praise of Mao Zedong. Chen was transferred to

to work as the Fourth Secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and a member of the East China Administrative Committee in 1952. From 1953 to 1954, he served concurrently as a member of the East China Bureau of the

Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party The Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, officially the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is the Central committee, highest organ when the National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, national congress is not ...

, and from 1954 to 1960, he served concurrently as a member of the Shanghai Bureau of the CCP Central Committee. In 1954, he became the second secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Committee. From February 1961 to the winter of 1966, he served concurrently as the Secretary of the Secretariat of the East China Bureau. From 1958, he served concurrently as the Chairman of the Shanghai CPPCC. From November 1965 to January 1967, he served as the First Secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Committee and the First Political Commissar of the Shanghai PLA Garrison, making him the leader of Shanghai's party organisation in that period. From April to December 31, 1966, he was recuperating from nasal cancer. Cao Diqiu served as the acting First Secretary in his absence. In 1967, Chen was ousted from power during the January Storm by radical elements led by

Zhang Chunqiao Zhang Chunqiao (; 1 February 1917 – 21 April 2005) was a Chinese political theorist, writer, and politician. He came to the national spotlight during the late stages of the Cultural Revolution, and was a member of the ultra-Maoist group dub ...

. Chen spent much of the

in solitary confinement. On September 9, 1974, Chen wrote a letter to Mao in hopes of assigned a job, or to be released from isolation and participate in collective study, to no avail, due to Zhang and others' efforts to obstruct Chen's return to politics. On February 20, 1975, Chen wrote to the recently rehabilitated

Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping also Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Teng Hsiao-p'ing; born Xiansheng (). (22 August 190419 February 1997) was a Chinese statesman, revolutionary, and political theorist who served as the paramount leader of the People's R ...

saying, "I have not yet returned to my organisational life and salary. I ask that the Central Committee approve my visit to Beijing for a medical examination and request a meeting with the Central leadership." Deng Xiaoping took the opportunity of accompanying Mao to meet with foreign guests to ask Mao whether Chen's organisational life and salary could be resumed first. Mao Zedong replied: "Of course." Thus on September 13 of the same year, the Shanghai Municipal Committee and the Shanghai Revolutionary Committee internally decided that Chen would be the Vice Chairman of the Shanghai Revolutionary Committee. The decision to make him Vice Chairman was reported to and approved by the Central Committee on September 16. Though in practice, the Shanghai Government did not assign Chen any tasks, and in fact excluded him from any decision-making. In late September of the same year, Chen again wrote to Deng, requesting to leave Shanghai as soon as possible. Deng promptly wrote to Mao, requesting that he be considered for a transfer to

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

and then be assigned a job in one of China's provinces due to his relative youth and abilities, simultaneously citing Chen's many requests for receiving medical treatment in Beijing. Mao soon after approved Deng's requests. On October 12 of the same year, Chen was flown to Beijing and stayed at the guesthouse of the Organization Department of the Chinese Communist Party. Following the downfall of the

Gang of Four The Gang of Four () was a Maoist political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes due to th ...

, Chen became the Secretary of the Yunnan Provincial Committee and the Vice Chairman of the Yunnan Provincial Revolutionary Committee in February 1977. In July 1977, Chen's work was transferred to

Hubei province Hubei is a province in Central China. It has the seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland provinces. Its provincial capital at Wuhan serves as a major politi ...

. From 1978, he served concurrently as Party Secretary of Hubei and its

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

(1980 onwards). During this time, he was also Political Commissar of the Wuhan Military Region and the First Political Commissar of the Hubei Military Region. He became a Secretary of the

Secretariat of the Chinese Communist Party The Secretariat, officially the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is a body serving the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s Politburo and Standing Committee. The secretariat is mainly responsible for carrying out ...

in 1982, and was the Secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission from 1982 to 1985. Chen Pixian died in Beijing on August 23, 1995, aged 79.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Pixian 1916 births 1995 deaths People's Republic of China politicians from Fujian Politicians from Longyan Political office-holders in Shanghai Governors of Hubei Members of the Secretariat of the Chinese Communist Party Chinese politicians of Hakka descent Chinese Communist Party politicians from Fujian Secretaries of the Communist Party Shanghai Committee Vice chairpersons of the National People's Congress Victims of the Cultural Revolution People of the Cultural Revolution Members of the 11th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Secretaries of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission