Zhang Xiruo (; October 1889 – 18 July 1973),

courtesy name A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...

Xiruo,

art name An art name (pseudonym or pen name), also known by its native names ''hào'' (in Mandarin Chinese), ''gō'' (in Japanese), ' (in Korean), and ''tên hiệu'' (in Vietnamese), is a professional name used by artists, poets and writers in the Sinosp ...

Yun, was a Chinese politician who served as

Minister of Education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

from 1952 to 1958 and director of the Foreign Cultural Liaison Committee from 1959 to 1968. Zhang was a delegate to the

1st First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds, The Second, or (The) 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Minute and second of arc, ...

, 3rd, and

4th National People's Congress The 4th National People's Congress (NPC) was in session from 1975 to 1978. It held only one session, in January 1975, despite the Constitution mandating a session be held each year. There were 2864 deputies to this Congress. Seat distribution ...

. He was a member of the Standing Committee of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th

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 ...

Biography

Zhang was born into a family that owned a pharmacy in Chaoyi County (now Zhaoyi Town),

Shaanxi Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...

, in October 1889. At the age of 18, he attended Hongdao Academy, one of the earliest modern schools established in Shaanxi, where he studied alongside

Wu Mi Wu Mi () (August 20, 1894 – January 17, 1978) (once using the name Wu Yuheng () was one of the founders of Chinese comparative literature, a literary critic, critic, redologist (one who studies the Chinese classic book ''Dream of the Red Chambe ...

. One year later, he led and organized a student movement, drove away two Japanese teachers, and was forced to flee to Shanghai. He joined the

Tongmenghui The Tongmenghui of China was a secret society and underground resistance movement founded by Sun Yat-sen, Song Jiaoren, and others in Tokyo, Empire of Japan, on 20 August 1905, with the goal of overthrowing China's Qing dynasty. It was formed ...

and took part in the

Xinhai Revolution The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China (ROC). The revolution was the culmination of a decade ...

. In 1913, he pursued advanced studies in the United States, obtaining a master's degree in political science from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1919. Zhang returned to China in 1925 and successively worked as director of the International Publication Exchange Bureau, director of the Higher Education Department of the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

, and professor at

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 ...

. In August 1929, he was recruited as a professor in the Department of Political Science,

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 ...

. In June 1949, Zhang was appointed as deputy director of the newly established North China Higher Education Commission. On 21 June 1949, during the first meeting of the preparatory committee for the

(CPPCC), when discussing the name of the new China, he proposed using the name "People's Republic of China". On September 27, the first plenary session of the CPPCC adopted the new name proposed by him and included it in the Common Program of the CPPCC. In December 1949, he became president of the

Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs The Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs (CPIFA) is a people's organization dedicated to promote people-to-people diplomacy. History The institute was founded on 15 December 1949 in Beijing, shortly after the establishment of the Peo ...

, in which he made positive contributions in promoting the establishment of diplomatic relations between China, France, and Japan. In September 1952, he succeeded Ma Xulun as minister of education. During his term in office, he presided over patriotic education, civic education, and labor education, improved the curriculum and school system, promoted students to speak Mandarin, and formulated the "Code of Conduct for Primary School Students". In 1956, at a "study conference", he emphasized that "shouting 'Long live' is the decline of human civilization." (). In 1957, 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 ...

launched the "Rectification Movement", he gave

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...

an evaluation: "Great achievements, eager for quick success, disdainful of the past, superstitious about the future." () He also said: "Nowadays, it seems that everything starts after liberation of China. In the past, everything was feudal, and before

Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

was born, humanity had no culture." Although Mao was dissatisfied with Zhang's criticism, but he believed that Zhang was a good person. In April 1959, he was chosen as director of the , and served until 1968. In August 1966, 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 ...

, Zhang was protected by

Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai ( zh, s=周恩来, p=Zhōu Ēnlái, w=Chou1 Ên1-lai2; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman, diplomat, and revolutionary who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China from September 1954 unti ...

and did not face

political persecution Political repression is the act of a state entity controlling a citizenry by force for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing the citizenry's ability to take part in the political life of a society, thereby ...

. Zhang died in Beijing on 18 July 1973, at the age of 84.

Publications

Family

Zhang married Yang Jingren (). They son, , served as Chinese Ambassador to Canada from 1986 to 1990.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang, Xiruo 1889 births 1973 deaths People from Dali County Columbia University alumni Academic staff of Tsinghua University People's Republic of China politicians from Shaanxi Chinese Communist Party politicians from Shaanxi Delegates to the 1st National People's Congress Delegates to the 2nd National People's Congress Delegates to the 3rd National People's Congress Delegates to the 4th National People's Congress Members of the Standing Committee of the 1st Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Members of the Standing Committee of the 2nd Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Members of the Standing Committee of the 3rd Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Members of the Standing Committee of the 4th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference