Zhang Zhixin (; 5 December 1930 – 4 April 1975) was a

dissident A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established political or religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, and in the political sense since the 2 ...

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 ...

who became famous for criticizing the idolization of

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 ...

and the ultra-left. She was imprisoned for six years (1969 to 1975) and tortured, then executed, for having opposing views while being a member 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 ...

.Ladany, László. ''The Communist Party of China and Marxism, 1921-1985: A Self Portrait.'' 1988: Stanford University, Hoover Institution Press. () A second party member who had expressed agreement with Zhang was sentenced to 18 years in prison. Although many consider her a

heroine A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. The original hero type of classical epics did such thin ...

among the people for standing up to the party,Zheng, Yi. '' Scarlet Memorial: Tales Of Cannibalism In Modern China.'' 1997: Westview Press. () her experience is also a reminder of the potential punishment for deviating from party principles. She did not consider herself anti-communist, but rather a "true Marxist" for whom Mao had distorted the communist cause. Even in prison, she insisted she was a member of the Chinese Communist Party. Many of her points of view were similar to those of the Communist leaders who succeeded Mao. For this reason, she was rehabilitated by

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 ...

and recognized as a revolutionary

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

, a model communist.

Early life

Zhang Zhixin was born in

Tianjin Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in North China, northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the National Central City, nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the ...

in 1930. She was educated at

Renmin University of China The Renmin University of China (RUC) is a public university in Haidian, Beijing, China. The university is affiliated with the Ministry of Education, and co-funded by the Ministry of Education and the Beijing Municipal People's Government. The ...

from 1951 to 1952 and later worked in the university. Zhang later became a member of the Communist Party Propaganda Department at

Liaoning province ) , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = Clockwise: Mukden Palace in Shenyang, Xinghai Square in Dalian, Dalian coast, Yalu River at Dandong , image_map = Liaoning in China (+all claims hatched).svg , ...

. :Zhang expressed her view: :

Imprisonment and torture

In 1969, Zhang was imprisoned by the Liaoning Provincial Party Committee after making critical comments toward Mao. She saved up 2 yuan a month to purchase books to read in the facility, where she wrote her study notes on

toilet paper Toilet paper (sometimes called toilet/bath/bathroom tissue, or toilet roll) is a tissue paper product primarily used to clean the human anus, anus and surrounding region of Human feces, feces (after defecation), and to clean the external gen ...

. The prison guards then took her pen away. She proclaimed that the party would be "punished by history; if not sooner, then later". For a year and a half she was frequently shackled in leg irons and tied in a harness. The party forced her to sign divorce papers. Confined in an all-male prison, she was raped and tortured. Other male prisoners were told they could reduce their sentences if they were willing to torture Zhang. In a prison political-education meeting called to criticize Lin Biao, she shouted that Mao should be responsible for what Lin did. A party secretary from

Liaoning Province ) , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = Clockwise: Mukden Palace in Shenyang, Xinghai Square in Dalian, Dalian coast, Yalu River at Dandong , image_map = Liaoning in China (+all claims hatched).svg , ...

urged that she be executed quickly. During the

, most legal procedures were abolished: without judges or trials, cases were decided by various levels of the Revolutionary Committees and Communist Party committees.

Death and posthumous rehabilitation

Zhang was paraded and executed on 4 April 1975, close to the end of the Cultural Revolution. It is reported that her larynx was slit before the execution, in order to prevent her from speaking. On 16 October 1978, the Intermediate People's Court of

Yingkou Yingkou ( zh, s=, t=, p=Yíngkǒu) is a coastal prefecture-level city of central southern Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, on the northeastern shore of Liaodong Bay. It is the third-smallest city in Liaoning with a total area of , a ...

City,

, revoked the original judgment and acquitted Zhang Zhixin. Four years after her execution, in the spring of 1979 she was officially proclaimed a 'martyr'; 4 April 1979 was designated the day of her memorial. Although an investigation was begun into her case, party leader

had it stopped. Zhang was celebrated in the post-Cultural Revolution era as a hero who stood up to those like the Gang of Four. Among the cultural depictions of Zhang is her appearance as a character during a solo dance in '' The Song of the Chinese Revolution''.

Memorial

In People's Park in central

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

, a statue named ''Mengshi'' (The Brave) has been raised to commemorate Zhang Zhixin. The statue depicts a nude female warrior shooting an arrow on horseback, and the inscription on its pedestal reads "dedicated to people who struggle for truth".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang, Zhixin 1930 births 1975 deaths Renmin University of China alumni Chinese dissidents Chinese torture victims People executed by China by firearm People persecuted to death during the Cultural Revolution Prisoners and detainees of China Executed People's Republic of China people Executed people from Tianjin 20th-century executions by China Executed Chinese women

Early life

Imprisonment and torture

Death and posthumous rehabilitation

Memorial

See also

References