Lin Liheng (; born 31 August 1944) is the daughter of
Lin Biao
)
, serviceyears = 1925–1971
, branch = People's Liberation Army
, rank = Marshal of the People's Republic of China Lieutenant general of the National Revolutionary Army, Republic of China
, commands ...
and
Ye Qun
Ye Qun (; 2 December 1917 – 13 September 1971) was the wife of Lin Biao, the Vice Chairman of Chinese Communist Party who controlled China's military power along with Chairman Mao Zedong. She was mostly known for taking care of politics for h ...
, nicknamed "Dou Dou" (''lit''. bean bean) because Lin Biao loved eating beans.
Early life
Lin Liheng was born in
Yan'an
Yan'an (; ), alternatively spelled as Yenan is a prefecture-level city in the Shaanbei region of Shaanxi province, China, bordering Shanxi to the east and Gansu to the west. It administers several counties, including Zhidan (formerly Bao'an) ...
. She went with her father, Lin Biao, to
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
when she was six years old. In 1962, she joined the
Chinese Communist Youth League
The Communist Youth League of China (CYLC), also known as the Young Communist League of China or simply the Communist Youth League (CYL), is a youth movement of the People's Republic of China for youth between the ages of 14 and 28, run by the ...
, and was admitted to the Department of Electronic Engineering of
Tsinghua University
Tsinghua University (; abbr. THU) is a national public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education.
The university is a member of the C9 League, Double First Class University Plan, Projec ...
. She was soon transferred to the Chinese Department of
Peking University, due to health reasons. In 1965, she joined the
Chinese Communist Party
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...
.
Cultural Revolution
![Zhou_Enlai_and_Lin_Doudou](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Zhou_Enlai_and_Lin_Doudou.jpg)
During the
Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goa ...
, she served as deputy editor-in-chief of the magazine of
People's Liberation Army Air Force
The People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF; ), also known as the Chinese Air Force (中国空军) or the People's Air Force (人民空军), is an aerial service branch of the People's Liberation Army, the regular armed forces of the Peo ...
.
After Lin Biao died in 1971 in the "
Lin Biao Incident
)
, serviceyears = 1925–1971
, branch = People's Liberation Army
, rank = Marshal of the People's Republic of China Lieutenant general of the National Revolutionary Army, Republic of China
, commands ...
" (or "September-13th Incident",
九一三事件), Lin Liheng was investigated and put into custody by the
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...
, even though she was the one that informed
Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 January 1976. Zhou served under Chairman Ma ...
. In March 1974, during the
Criticize Lin, Criticize Confucius
The Criticize Lin (Biao), Criticize Confucius Campaign (; also called the Anti-Lin Biao, Anti-Confucius campaign) was a political and intellectual campaign started by Mao Zedong and his wife, Jiang Qing, the leader of the Gang of Four. It lasted f ...
campaign, Lin Liheng was characterized by the
Gang of Four as "the nail left by
Lin Biao
)
, serviceyears = 1925–1971
, branch = People's Liberation Army
, rank = Marshal of the People's Republic of China Lieutenant general of the National Revolutionary Army, Republic of China
, commands ...
". At this time, she was suffering, and even attempted suicide by taking
sleeping pill
Hypnotic (from Greek ''Hypnos'', sleep), or soporific drugs, commonly known as sleeping pills, are a class of (and umbrella term for) psychoactive drugs whose primary function is to induce sleep (or surgical anesthesiaWhen used in anesthesia ...
s. She was rushed to an
Air Force
An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...
Hospital for medical treatment. During her interrogation in custody, Lin Liheng lost half of her hair and six of her
teeth
A tooth ( : teeth) is a hard, calcified structure found in the jaws (or mouths) of many vertebrates and used to break down food. Some animals, particularly carnivores and omnivores, also use teeth to help with capturing or wounding prey, t ...
. However, on Mao Zedong's orders, she was not further interrogated, and was released in 1974. In 1974, a Hong Kong newspaper published a colourful rumour that she had been murdered in revenge for betraying her father.
Post-cultural revolution
![Lilihengsaluting](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Lilihengsaluting.jpg)
In October 1975, then
Chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army
Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CCP ...
proposed to transfer Lin Liheng from the army to local work. She offered to go back to Beijing, but was rejected. Finally, she was arranged to work in an automobile factory in
Zhengzhou, as section-level cadre-deputy director of the factory revolution committee. During her time in Zhengzhou, her movements were often restricted by the
Ministry of Public Security. Following the
fall of Deng Xiaoping in May 1976, Lin's position was downgraded to a factory worker. During the labor in factory, she was injured when she broke her
phalanx bone
The phalanges (singular: ''phalanx'' ) are digital bones in the hands and feet of most vertebrates. In primates, the thumbs and big toes have two phalanges while the other digits have three phalanges. The phalanges are classed as long bon ...
in her right foot. She was to admitted to a hospital on 1984, after suffering from illness and allergies, due to exposure from the pesticide factory near her home.
In the mid-1980s, Lin Liheng wrote a letter of appeal to
Zhao Ziyang
Zhao Ziyang ( zh, 赵紫阳; pronounced , 17 October 1919 – 17 January 2005) was a Chinese politician. He was the third premier of the People's Republic of China from 1980 to 1987, vice chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 19 ...
, then
General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, in Beijing. With the help of Lin Biao's old subordinate,
Tao Zhu
Tao Zhu (; 16 January 1908 – 30 November 1969) was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party .
Biography
Born in Qiyang, Hunan, Tao Zhu was Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Committee and Commander of the ...
's wife,
Zeng Zhi, then deputy head of the Organization Department of the Central Committee, her letter of appeal was submitted. Soon, Zhao Ziyang gave orders which allowed her to be rehabilitated. As a result, Lin Liheng was allowed to return to
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
.
![Lindoudou2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Lindoudou2.jpg)
She later went to the
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) is a Chinese research institute and think tank. The institution is the premier comprehensive national academic research organization in the People's Republic of China for the study in the fields of ...
in Beijing. After returning to Beijing, the couple's lives became comfortable, and as a result Lin Liheng changed her name briefly to avoid public attention. In 1989, she participated in the establishment of an organization called the "Chinese Modern Culture Association", and later established a corporate culture professional committee and an oral history professional committee under this organization. She retired in 2002.
Later life
After retirement, Lin Liheng opened a restaurant in Beijing, serving as its chairperson and general manager. The investment of the restaurant came from her hometown of
Huanggang
Huanggang is a prefecture-level city in easternmost Hubei Province, China. It is situated to the north of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and is bounded in the north by the Dabie Mountains and is named after Mount Huanggang. It border ...
in
Hubei Province
Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...
, and managed to attract a large number of diners from home and abroad.
In 2009, the
welcomed more than 80 children of the
founding generals to celebrate the founding of
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. Lin Liheng also attended the event. In 2011, during the
Mid-Autumn Festival, she and her husband led an entourage to
Öndörkhaan
Öndörkhaan ( mn, Өндөрхаан; ; sometimes Undurkhaan), is a town in Mongolia located 290 km east of Ulaanbaatar. On November 18, 2013, the city was renamed to Chinggis City in honor of Genghis Khan, who was born and possibly buried ...
, the place where her father's plane crashed 40 years ago, for a memorial service honouring him.
On 1 November 2014, she publicly appeared on a symposium of
Chinese Red Army
The Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army or Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, commonly known as the Chinese Red Army or simply the Red Army, are the armed forces of the Chinese Communist Party. It was formed when Communis ...
descendants and gave speeches; this attracted the media's attention, as she proposed to full respect of historical facts and for intensified efforts to unearth and sort out historical incidents.
See also
*
Project 571
Project 571 () was the numeric codename given to an alleged plot to execute a ''coup d'état'' against Chairman Mao Zedong in 1971 by the supporters of Lin Biao, then Vice Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party. In Chinese, the numbers "5-7-1" ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lin, Liheng
1944 births
People from Yan'an
Living people
Lin Biao family