Wang Guangmei (; 26 September 1921 – 13 October 2006) was a Chinese politician, philanthropist and the wife of
Liu Shaoqi, who served as the
President of the People's Republic of China
The president of the People's Republic of China, commonly called the president of China, is the head of state and the second-highest political office of the People's Republic of China. The presidency is constitutionally a largely ceremonial off ...
from 1959 to 1968.
Life
Early years
![王光美的故事(下)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/%E7%8E%8B%E5%85%89%E7%BE%8E%E7%9A%84%E6%95%85%E4%BA%8B%EF%BC%88%E4%B8%8B%EF%BC%89.jpg)
Wang Guangmei was born in 1921, and grew up in a distinguished and prominent Chinese family. Her father was a government minister and a diplomat; her mother was an educator. She studied
French,
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
and
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
, learning to speak all three, and earned a degree in physics from the
Catholic University of Peking
Fu Jen Catholic University (FJU, FJCU or Fu Jen; or ) is a private Catholic university in Xinzhuang, New Taipei City, Taiwan. The university was founded in 1925 in Beijing at the request of Pope Pius XI and re-established in Taiwan in 1961 a ...
in Beijing. She also studied at an American missionary university, and was described as a sophisticated woman. She intended to go to the United States to continue her Ph.D. degree and obtain a full scholarship from the Department of Atomic Physics at
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
and the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
. In the Spring Festival of 1946, the Peking Underground Party of the
Chinese Communist Party
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...
invited her to serve as an English translator for the CCP delegation of the Peking Military Mediation Office. Since she was in contact with the Peking Underground Party of the Chinese Communist Party on the eve of victory in the
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
, she became acquainted with the leaders of the Working Committee of Fu Jen Catholic University of the Chinese Communist Party. In the mid-1940s, Wang Guangmei traveled to the Communist Party headquarters 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 ...
and served as an interpreter during efforts by the American statesman
George Marshall
George Catlett Marshall Jr. (December 31, 1880 – October 16, 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the US Army under Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry ...
to negotiate a truce between the Nationalist government and the Communist rebels. During this time she gained the admiration of many Americans, which would later play a role in charges that she was an American spy.
There, at the age of 24, she met
Liu Shaoqi, who was nearly twice her age and had previously been married on five occasions. For years she served as his secretary, and he was named a key deputy to Chairman
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...
after the Communists took power in 1949. In 1959, Liu was named
Chinese President, making him the second-most powerful man in the country.
First lady
![Liu Shaoqi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Liu_shaoqi.jpg)
After Liu became president in 1959, Wang became a very visible diplomatic companion to him. Wang Guangmei became once widely known in China as its beautiful, articulate, sophisticated first lady.
In the early 1960s, the couple traveled abroad on state visits to
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
,
Burma
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
,
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
and
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
. In 1963, she joined a work team investigating corruption in the countryside, a mounting problem after the
Great Leap Forward
The Great Leap Forward (Second Five Year Plan) of the People's Republic of China (PRC) was an economic and social campaign led by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1958 to 1962. CCP Chairman Mao Zedong launched the campaign to reconstruc ...
, Mao's catastrophic development programme of 1958–61, which led to widespread famine. In 1963, she secretly visited
Funing County Funing may refer to the following locations in China:
*Ningde, Fujian, formerly named Funing
* Funing County, Hebei (抚宁县)
*Funing County, Jiangsu (阜宁县)
*Funing County, Yunnan
Funing County (; Zhuang language: ) is located in Wenshan Z ...
and summarized the
Taoyuan Experience
Taoyuan Experience (), or Peach Garden Experience, refers to the summary of the Four Cleanups Movement led by Wang Guangmei from November 1963 to April 1964 in the Taoyuan Production Brigade of Luwangzhuang Commune, Funing County, Hebei Provin ...
.
Cultural Revolution
Liu and his wife became targets of 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 goal ...
, instigated by Chairman Mao. In mid-1966, when
Red Guards
Red Guards () were a mass student-led paramilitary social movement mobilized and guided by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 through 1967, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a Red Guard lead ...
erupted into prominence — and Liu and other leaders tried to fathom what Mao had in mind — Wang headed a work team to restore order among the students at
Tsinghua University
Tsinghua University (; abbreviation, abbr. THU) is a National university, national Public university, public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Minis ...
. The effort backfired when she came under attack by a militant opponent who accused her of being a counterrevolutionary. Her husband was also under fire by Mao and his deputies for being the leading "
capitalist roader
In anti-capitalist Mao Zedong thought, a capitalist roader (; also ) is a person or group who demonstrates a marked tendency to bow to pressure from bourgeois forces and subsequently attempts to pull the Revolution in a capitalist direction. If a ...
". Wang was accused of being a "spy for the imperialist services" (a reference to American intelligence) and, according to
Madame Mao, "
Sukarno
Sukarno). (; born Koesno Sosrodihardjo, ; 6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967.
Sukarno was the leader of ...
's whore" for wearing a pearl necklace and evening gown to meet the
Indonesian president
The President of the Republic of Indonesia ( id, Presiden Republik Indonesia) is both the head of state and the head of government of the Republic of Indonesia. The president leads the executive branch of the Indonesian government and is ...
.
![Guangmei cultural revolution](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Guangmei_cultural_revolution.jpg)
Wang Guangmei's public role had antagonized Mao's wife
Jiang Qing
Jiang Qing (19 March 191414 May 1991), also known as Madame Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary, actress, and major political figure during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976). She was the fourth wife of Mao Zedong, the Chairman o ...
, who was growing politically ambitious. In April 1967, at Jiang's instigation, the Red Guards forced Wang to put on a tight-fitting
qipao
''Cheongsam'' (, ), also known as the ''qipao'' () and sometimes referred to as the mandarin gown, is a Chinese dress worn by women which takes inspiration from the , the ethnic clothing of the Manchu people. The cheongsam is most often se ...
dress she had worn at a banquet in Indonesia, with silk stockings, high heels and a mocking necklace made out of
ping-pong
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...
balls, as proof of her bourgeoise, counterrevolutionary attitude.
Wang was put under house arrest, then imprisoned. Her four children were also punished. Imprisoned in
Qincheng Prison
The Ministry of Public Security Qincheng Prison () is a maximum-security prison located in Qincheng Village, Xingshou, Changping District, Beijing in the People's Republic of China. The prison was built in 1958 with aid from the Soviet Unio ...
during the cultural revolution, Wang was kept in ignorance of her family's fate. After four years, her children plucked up the courage to ask Mao for permission to see their parents. It was through Mao's terse consent, "their father is dead but they may see the mother", that Wang learned of her husband's death. Wang spent about 12 years in prison, and was released in 1979 — just before Mao's widow
Jiang Qing
Jiang Qing (19 March 191414 May 1991), also known as Madame Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary, actress, and major political figure during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976). She was the fourth wife of Mao Zedong, the Chairman o ...
and her
Gang of Four, who were blamed for the excesses of the Cultural Revolution, were put on trial.
Later years
Soon, Liu's reputation was rehabilitated, and Wang received compensation for her suffering during the Cultural Revolution In March 1978, Wang was elected as a member of the Fifth National Committee of the
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC, zh, 中国人民政治协商会议), also known as the People's PCC (, ) or simply the PCC (), is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of ...
. In December of the same year, she was restored of her personal freedom and status. In 1979, she served as Director of the Foreign Affairs Bureau of 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 1980, she appeared in court during the trial of the Gang of Four as a victim of Jiang Qing's persecution. Later, Wang was elected a permanent member of the National People's Political Consultative Conference.
From 1984, she served as the chairwoman of the Beijing Alumni Association of Fu Jen Catholic University. In 1989, Wang Guangmei suffered from
breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...
and went through two major operations before and after. Later, due to
tumor
A neoplasm () is a type of abnormal and excessive growth of tissue. The process that occurs to form or produce a neoplasm is called neoplasia. The growth of a neoplasm is uncoordinated with that of the normal surrounding tissue, and persists ...
metastasis
Metastasis is a pathogenic agent's spread from an initial or primary site to a different or secondary site within the host's body; the term is typically used when referring to metastasis by a cancerous tumor. The newly pathological sites, then, ...
, she underwent major surgery again. In 1995, she founded the "Hope Project", a program aimed at aiding the poor throughout China. She even donated her family's valuable antiques, a few dating back to the Qing and Song dynasties, to charity and donated the proceeds of 566,000 yuan to the "Hope Project". In October 1998, she won the honorary award of the third "China Population Award".
Around 2000, she underwent another operation, and her health gradually deteriorated. In 2005, she resigned from the post of planning director.
Wang died on October 13, 2006, at the No. 305 Military Hospital in Beijing due to lung infection caused by heart failure. Her funeral was held at the
Babaoshan Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery in Beijing on October 21, 2006.
Four days after her death, she was selected by the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation as the winner of the 2nd China "Poverty Elimination Award" Achievement Award. On October 24, Fu Jen Catholic University in Taipei held a memorial service for her at the Yesheng Building on campus.
Family
![Wang Guangmei](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Wang_Guangmei.jpg)
Wang is survived by four children.
Her eldest son, retired Gen.
Liu Yuan, was a prominent officer in the People's Liberation Army.
Her daughter Liu Ting graduated from
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...
and
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...
, and is chairman and president of the Asia Link Group, consultants in corporate finance.
References
Notes
Bibliography
*
Wang Guangmei and Peach Garden Experience" in Timothy Cheek, Klaus Mühlhahn, and Hans J. Van de Ven, ed., ''Chinese Communist Party : A Century in Ten Lives'' (Cambridge University Press, 2021).
*
*
External links
Short Biographyon ''chinavitae.com''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
, October 17, 2006
*
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070927010509/http://chinadigitaltimes.net/test_tag.php?id=wang%20guangmei Wang Guangmei on China Digital Timesbr>
Wang Guangmei on Guardian Unlimited
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wang, Guangmei
1921 births
2006 deaths
Liu Shaoqi family
Chinese Communist Party politicians from Tianjin
People of the Cultural Revolution
Spouses of national leaders
Catholic University of Peking alumni
Victims of the Cultural Revolution
Republic of China politicians from Tianjin
People's Republic of China politicians from Tianjin
Burials at Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery
Spouses of Chinese politicians
20th-century women philanthropists
Chinese women philanthropists