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 Mounta ...

(now Wuxi),

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 ...

, 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 central government, national authority whose actual-controlled territory consists of Taiwan (island), main island of Taiwan (Formosa), Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu Islands, Matsu, and list of islands of ...

. His cousin

Xue Muqiao Xue Muqiao (; 25 October 1904 – 22 July 2005) was an eminent Chinese economist and politician. He was instrumental in introducing and implementing economic reforms that transformed China into a socialist market economy by participating in the ...

was an economist and politician. He studied at

Sun Yat-sen University Sun Yat-sen University (; SYSU) is a public university in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education, and co-funded by the Ministry of Education, SASTIND, and Guangdong Provincial Government. The university is p ...

and after graduation, he taught political economy and translation at Sun Yat-sen University 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 Nationalist government, government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Armed conflict continued intermitt ...

, 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 Sciences The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS; ) is the national academy for natural sciences and the highest consultancy for science and technology of the People's Republic of China. It is the world's largest research organization, with 106 research i ...

; Commissioner, Fifth Session of

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 ...

; 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

Maoists Maoism, officially Mao Zedong Thought, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed while trying to realize a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of China and later the People's Re ...

as "China's Liberman" (referring to the

Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and the Premier of the Soviet Union, Chai ...

-era economist Evsei Liberman) as a result of a damaging association with

Liu Shaoqi Liu Shaoqi ( ; 24 November 189812 November 1969) was a Chinese revolutionary and politician. He was the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress from 1954 to 1959, first-ranking Vice Chairman of the Chinese Communis ...

, who was known as "China's

". He was associated with the career of pioneer post-Marxist Chinese liberal Gu Zhun, acting as the latter's protector during anti-Rightist 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 National Sun Yat-sen University alumni Educators from Wuxi 20th-century Chinese economists 20th-century Chinese writers Writers from Wuxi Economists from Jiangsu Victims of the Cultural Revolution Inmates of Qincheng Prison