Xiang Ming () (1909–1969) was a

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

politician. He was born in

Linqu County Linqu County () is a county, originally known as "Pianyi", located in the southwest of Weifang and the middle of Shandong Peninsula, Shandong Province, China. Linqu also has the name Zhuxu County. It covers an area of and governs 937 villages whic ...

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

Province. In 1937, at the start of the

Second United Front The Second United Front ( zh, t=第二次國共合作 , s=第二次国共合作 , first=t , l=Second Nationalist-Communist Cooperation, p=dì èr cì guógòng hézuò ) was the alliance between the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) and the Chinese Co ...

, he was

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 ...

's secretary. He was active in

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

Province and northern

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 ...

Province. After the beginning of the second phase of 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 participated in the Menglianggu Campaign of May 1947. He was briefly mayor of

Qingdao Qingdao, Mandarin: , (Qingdao Mandarin: t͡ɕʰiŋ˧˩ tɒ˥) is a prefecture-level city in the eastern Shandong Province of China. Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, Qingdao was long an important fortress. In 1897, the city was ceded to G ...

before becoming

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 ...

Committee Secretary of his home province. In 1954, Xiang became involved in an anti-party conspiracy led by

Gao Gang Gao Gang ( zh, s=高岗, w=Kao Kang; 1905 – August 1954) was a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader during the Chinese Civil War and the early years of the People's Republic of China (PRC) before he became the victim of the first major purge w ...

and

Rao Shushi Rao Shushi (; 1903—1975) was a Chinese politician and a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader before he was purged in 1954 alongside Gao Gang. He was imprisoned in 1955 and died in custody in 1975. Early years As a native of Lingchuan (), Ji ...

. On July 3, 1954, the central government initiated proceedings to remove Xiang from his post as Party Chief of Shandong. On September 7, 1954, the Shandong Party Committee informed the central government of its acceptance of Xiang's removal. On October 10, 1954, Xiang was formally removed as Party Chief of Shandong and banned from political office. During 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 ...

, Xiang was persecuted and died as a result.

Bibliography

*Jing Huang. Factionalism in Chinese Communist Politics *Anthony Pecotich, Clifford J. Shultz. Politics at Mao's Court: Gao Gang and Party Factionalism in the Early 1950s. *Frederick C. Teiwes. Politics and Purges in China: Rectification and the Decline of Party Norms. *向明. 潍坊市档案馆. 011-10-06 *【史海】向明事件—共和国建立后山东最大的冤案. 炎黄春秋. 011-10-06

References

{{Authority control 1909 births 1969 deaths People's Republic of China politicians from Shandong Chinese Communist Party politicians from Shandong Political office-holders in Shandong Victims of the Cultural Revolution