The term Tsinghua clique refers to a group of

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) politicians that have graduated or have taught at

Tsinghua University Tsinghua University (THU) is a public university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Constructio ...

(). They are members of the

fourth generation of Chinese leadership Generations of Chinese leadership is a term historians use to characterize distinct periods of the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and, by extension, successive changes in the ideology of the CCP. Historians have studied vario ...

, and are purported to hold powerful reformist ideas (a number have studied in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

following graduation from Tsinghua, and some are said to be influenced by the reform ideals of

Hu Yaobang Hu Yaobang (20 November 1915 – 15 April 1989) was a Chinese politician who was a high-ranking official of the People's Republic of China. He held the Leader of the Chinese Communist Party, top office of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from ...

). Just like their predecessors, they attach great importance to socialism with Chinese characteristics. Their ascendance to power is likely to have begun in 2008 at the CCP's 17th National Congress. Many Tsinghua graduates rise to political prominence. Among the 7 standing committees at the

Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the highest organ of the central committee in communist parties. The term is also sometimes used to refer to similar organs in socialist and Islamist parties, such as the UK Labour Party's NEC or the Poli ...

, there is one Tsinghua graduate; among the 25 Politburo committee members, there are three. Key figures are reported to currently include: *

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping, pronounced (born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has been the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chairman of the Central Military Commission (China), chairman of the Central Military Commission ...

Wang Qishan Wang Qishan (; ; born 19 July 1948) is a Chinese retired politician who was one of the leading members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Wang gained prominence in China's financial sector in the late 1980s. In 1994, Wang became the governor ...

* Chen Xi * Li Xi *

Hu Heping Hu Heping (; born 24 October 1962) is a Chinese politician and the current executive deputy head of the Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Previously, he served as the governor and party secretary of Shaanxi province, par ...

Chen Jining Chen Jining ( zh, s=陈吉宁, p=Chén Jíníng; born 4 February 1964) is a Chinese environmental scientist, academic administrator and politician who has been serving as Party Secretary of Shanghai and member of the 20th Politburo of the C ...

Zhang Guoqing Zhang Guoqing (; born 13 August 1964) is a Chinese politician and former corporate executive who has served as vice premier of China since March 2023 and a member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party since October 2022. Previously, ...

Yang Yue Yang Yue (; born July 1968) is a Chinese politician, and the current head of the United Front Work Department of the Jiangsu provincial organization of the Chinese Communist Party. He previously held office as Communist Party Secretary of Fuzh ...

Retired or deceased: *

Zhang Dongsun Zhang Dongsun (; 1886–1973), also known as Chang Tung-sheng, was a Chinese philosopher, public intellectual and political figure. He was a professor of Philosophy and Sinology at Yenching University and Tsinghua University. Biography Zhang Do ...

Zhang Junmai Carsun Chang (; 1887–1969), also known as Chang Chun-mai () or Carson Chang, was a prominent Chinese philosopher, public intellectual and a social democratic politician. He was recognized as "Father of Constitution in Republic of China". He ...

Luo Longji Luo Longji (; July 30, 1898 – December 7, 1965) was a Chinese politician and famous intellectual. Luo has been called "China's number two rightist". He and Hu Shih collaborated to research and promote human rights in China, which made them one o ...

Fei Xiaotong Fei Xiaotong or Fei Hsiao-tung (November 2, 1910 – April 24, 2005) was a Chinese anthropologist and sociologist. He was a pioneering researcher and professor of sociology and anthropology; he was also noted for his studies in the study of ...

Pan Guangdan Pan Guangdan (; 1898–1967) known in English as Quentin Pan, was a Chinese sociologist, eugenist, and writer. He was one of the most distinguished sociologists and eugenists of China. Educated at Tsinghua University on a Boxer Indemnity Scho ...

* Qian Weichang *

Peng Peiyun Peng Peiyun (; born December 1929) is a Chinese politician. Biography Peng was born in Liuyang, Hunan, in December 1929. She was admitted to the National Southwestern Associated University at 15. She graduated from Qinghua University and join ...

* Kang Shien *

Wu Guanzheng Wu Guanzheng (born 11 August 1938), also spelled as Wu Kuan-cheng is a former Chinese politician and one of the major leaders of the Chinese Communist Party during the administration of Hu Jintao. He served on the Politburo Standing Committee, ...

Hu Qili Hu Qili (; born 6 October 1929) is a former high-ranking politician of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), known as a champion of the country's economic reform program in the 1980s. He was a leading member of the CCP Secretariat from 1985 to 1989 ...

Huang Ju Huang Ju (28 September 1938 – 2 June 2007) was a Chinese politician and a high-ranking leader in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). He was one of the nine members of the Politburo Standing Committee of the CCP, China's top decision making bod ...

Yao Yilin Yao Yilin ( zh, c=姚依林, p=Yáo Yīlín; September 6, 1917 – December 11, 1994) was a Chinese politician and soldier who was Vice Premier of China from 1979 to 1988 and First Vice Premier from 1988 to 1993. Early life and career He was ...

Song Ping Song Ping (; born 24 April 1917) is a Chinese Communist Party, Chinese Communist revolutionary and a retired high-ranking politician. He was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. Song is considered the only ...

Li Ximing Li Ximing (; February 1926 – November 10, 2008) was the Chinese Communist Party boss in Beijing during the 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protests in the capital and across the country. Li was elected to the 13th Politburo of the Chinese Comm ...

Wang Hanbin Wang Hanbin (born 1925) is a retired Chinese Communist Party politician. Wang was born in Hui'an, Fujian Province in 1925. He joined the Chinese Communist Party in 1941. He graduated from the Southwest Union University in 1946. After the Peop ...

* Zhou Guangzhao *

Zheng Tianxiang Zheng Tianxiang (; September 9, 1914 – October 10, 2013) was a Chinese politician and was the president of the Supreme People's Court. Biography Zheng was born in Inner Mongolia. He was educated at Tsinghua University from 1935 to 1937. He w ...

Zhu Rongji Zhu Rongji ( zh, s=朱镕基; IPA: ; born 23 October 1928) is a retired Chinese politician who served as the 5th premier of China from 1998 to 2003. He also served as member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP ...

Hu Jintao Hu Jintao (born 21 December 1942) is a Chinese retired politician who served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 2002 to 2012, the president of China from 2003 to 2013, and chairman of the Central Military Comm ...

Wu Bangguo Wu Bangguo (22 July 1941 – 8 October 2024) was a Chinese politician who served as the second-ranking member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party from 2002 to 2012, and as Chairman of the Standing Committee of the ...

, although he is generally considered more loyal to Jiang Zemin's

Shanghai clique The Shanghai clique ( zh, s=上海帮, t=上海幫, p=Shànghǎi bāng), also referred to as the Shanghai gang, Jiang clique, or Jiang faction, refers to an informal group of Chinese Communist Party ( CCP) officials who rose to prominence under ...

Lin Wenyi Lin Wenyi (; born September 1944) is a Chinese engineer and politician. Career and education Lin was the Chairman of the Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League between 2005 and 2017, a legally sanctioned minor political party in China, a Vice ...

, chairman of the

Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League The Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League (TDSL), also known by its Chinese abbreviation Taimeng ( zh , s = 台盟 , t = 臺盟 ), is one of the eight minor so-called " democratic parties" in the People's Republic of China under the direc ...

Liu Yandong Liu Yandong (; born November 1945) is a retired Chinese politician. She recently served as the Vice Premier of China, and was a member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party from 2007 to 2017, a State Councilor between 2007 and 201 ...

The Tsinghua clique also referred to a group of Nationalist Chinese politicians who held high power in the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

government and fled to

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

with the government during 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 ...

. All of them are deceased: * Yeh Kung-chao * Yu Guohua * Yen Zhenxing * Mei Yi-chi *

Luo Jialun Luo Jialun (; December 21, 1897 - December 25, 1969), was the former Chinese Minister of Education, historian, diplomat and political activist. A noted scholar, he was one of the leaders of the May Fourth Movement in 1919. Subsequently, being d ...

Hu Shih Hu Shih ( zh, t=胡適; 17 December 189124 February 1962) was a Chinese academic, writer, and politician. Hu contributed to Chinese liberalism and language reform, and was a leading advocate for the use of written vernacular Chinese. He part ...

Sun Li-jen Sun Li-jen ( zh, t=孫立人 , s=孙立人 , p=Sūn Lìrén, first=t; December 8, 1900November 19, 1990) was a Kuomintang, Chinese Nationalist (KMT) General officer, general, a graduate of Virginia Military Institute in the United States, bes ...

References

*"The rise of Qinghua alumni in Beijing's political circle", by Ting Wang, ''

Hong Kong Economic Journal The ''Hong Kong Economic Journal'' (HKEJ) is a Chinese-language daily newspaper published in Hong Kong by the Hong Kong Economic Journal Co., Ltd.. Available in both Hong Kong and Macau, the newspaper mainly focuses on economic news and oth ...

'', 29 December 2005 {{DEFAULTSORT:Qinghua Clique Factions of the Chinese Communist Party Qinghua clique Tsinghua University alumni

See also

References