Zeng Liansong
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Zeng Liansong (; 17 December 1917 – 19 October 1999) was a Chinese supply chain manager and secret agent of 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 ...
best known for designing the
flag of the People's Republic of China The national flag of the People's Republic of China, also known as the Five-star Red Flag, is a Chinese red field with five golden stars charged at the canton. The design features one large star, with four smaller stars in an arc set off t ...
. He also served as the deputy manager of the Shanghai City Daily Necessities Company and a member of the CPPCC Shanghai Committee.


Early life and education

Zeng Liansong was born in
Rui'an Rui'an is a city in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. It has a population of 200,000 people and covers a land area of , when including water area. Natives of the city speak the Rui'an dialect of Wu Chinese. Rui'an was recognized as the fourteen ...
, Zhejiang. He studied at Rui'an County Primary School (now Rui'an City Experimental Primary School) and Rui'an High School in his youth. In 1936, Zeng was admitted to the Department of Economics of the
National Central University National Central University (; abbreviated NCU; ) is a public research university based in Taiwan. It was founded in 1902 in Nanjing; initially located in Miaoli after moving to Taiwan, it relocated to Zhongli in 1962 and developed into a com ...
. He later joined the Anti-Japanese and National Salvation Federation at the university and devoted himself to the
Chinese Communist Revolution The Chinese Communist Revolution was a social revolution, social and political revolution in China that began in 1927 and culminated with the proclamation of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949. The revolution was led by the Chinese C ...
. 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 May 1938, engaged in underground activities, and served as the secretary of the underground student party branch of the CCP at the National Central University.


Career

After his graduation in 1940, he served as an underground worker (secret agent) for the CCP. In 1949, he worked as a secretary at the Shanghai Modern Economic News Agency (上海现代经济通讯社), a secret economic news stronghold and intelligence agency led by the Shanghai Underground Party of the CCP (中国共产党上海地下党). In May 1949, the
People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...
gained control of Shanghai. Having completed its historical mission, the Shanghai Modern Economic News Agency was disbanded. Soon after, Zeng Liansong saw the solicitation notice for the national flag of the People's Republic of China and devoted himself to the design work. In mid-August 1949, Zeng Liansong submitted the pattern drawing to the preparatory meeting of the new
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 ...
(CPPCC). It depicted a field of Chinese red with four gold stars around a larger star in the canton. The larger star contained the
hammer and sickle The hammer and sickle (Unicode: ) is a communist symbol representing proletarian solidarity between industrial and agricultural workers. It was first adopted during the Russian Revolution at the end of World War I, the hammer representing wo ...
symbol of
communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...
. Zeng's design was very similar to the design that the nation adopted, the only difference being the removal of the hammer and sickle symbol from the larger star. After the Shanghai Modern Economic News Agency was disbanded, he worked at the Eastern China Supply and Marketing Cooperative Management Bureau (华东供销合作社事业管理局). In 1950, Zeng Liansong was invited to
Tiananmen Square Tiananmen Square or Tian'anmen Square () is a city square in the city center of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen ("''Gate of Heavenly Peace''") located to its north, which separates it from the Forbidden City. The square contains th ...
in Beijing to attend the first anniversary of the founding of New China and received a letter from the General Office of the Central People's Government Committee. The letter read: "Mr. Zeng Liansong: The national flag of the People's Republic of China designed by you has been adopted. We hereby present you with a commemorative volume of the People's Political Consultative Conference and RMB 5 million to be sent through the post office and the
People's Bank of China The People's Bank of China (officially PBC and unofficially PBOC) is the central bank of the People's Republic of China. It is responsible for carrying out monetary policy as determined by the ''PRC People's Bank Law'' and the ''PRC Commercia ...
respectively as a reward for your contribution to the country, and we express our deep respect." During the
Anti-Rightist Campaign The Anti-Rightist Campaign () in the People's Republic of China, which lasted from 1957 to roughly 1959, was a political campaign to purge alleged " Rightists" within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the country as a whole. The campaign w ...
in 1957, Zeng Liansong was put on the "blacklist" because he copied a quote from
Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...
on his teacup: "Speak less nice words and do more practical things." 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 ...
, he was labeled a "traitor" and a "filial son and grandson of the landlords and bourgeoisie." He was put on struggle sessions and his house was confiscated, and he was later sent to the "May 7th Cadre School" () for labor reform. After the Cultural Revolution, Zeng Liansong worked as the deputy manager of the Shanghai City Daily Necessities Company (). He also served as a member of the 5th session of the CPPCC Shanghai Committee and a member of the Standing Committee of the 6th session of the CPPCC Shanghai Committee. Zeng Liansong retired in 1983. He authored books including "A Summary of the Development History of Ceramics" and "Knowledge of Daily Necessities," as well as some poems. He once wrote in a poem: "A foolish man who has gained it will offer his motherland, and the sea of five-star flags will be magnificent to the mountains and rivers." On 19 October 1999, Zeng Liansong died at the Shanghai Municipal First People's Hospital. He was 82 years old.


Communist Party membership

Zeng Liansong joined the CCP when he was in college at the National Central University in May 1938. However, due to the White Terror created by the
Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...
in February 1940, Zeng Liansong received an emergency transfer notice and left
Chongqing ChongqingPostal Romanization, Previously romanized as Chungking ();. is a direct-administered municipality in Southwestern China. Chongqing is one of the four direct-administered municipalities under the State Council of the People's Republi ...
in a hurry without completing the transfer procedures of his party membership organizational relations. As a result, he lost his membership in the CCP. After the
founding of the People's Republic of China The proclamation of the People's Republic of China was made by Mao Zedong, the Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), on October 1, 1949, in Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The government of a n ...
, Zeng began reapplying to join the party. In 36 years, he filed five party membership requests. On 1 October 1979, the 30th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Zeng Liansong was once again invited to Beijing to participate in National Day activities. He continued to reapply after he retired in 1983. In November 1985, the 68-year-old Zeng was finally approved to rejoin the CCP. As a special case, he did not need a preparatory period before becoming a formal member. By this time, he had suffered a second stroke and struggled to walk.


References

1917 births 1999 deaths Flag designers National Central University alumni People from Rui'an {{DEFAULTSORT:Zeng, Liansong 20th-century Chinese businesspeople Chinese communists