Zhang Dingcheng (; December 1898 – December 16, 1981) was a politician of the

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 ...

, Procurator–General of the

Supreme People's Procuratorate The Supreme People's Procuratorate () is the highest national agency responsible for legal prosecution and investigation in the People's Republic of China. Conceived initially in 1949 as the Supreme People's Prosecutor's Office, the agency was r ...

from 1954 to 1975.Zhang Dingcheng's biography
''zhanghuasun.com'', March 30, 2015 His tenure remains the longest in the history of the Supreme Procuratorate.

Biography

Zhang Dingcheng was born in

Yongding County Yongding () is a district under the jurisdiction of Longyan prefecture-level city in the southwest of Fujian Province, People's Republic of China. The district is a center for Hakka culture, including the traditional Hakka ''tulou'', and a local d ...

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...

in 1898. He graduated as a

schoolteacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. wh ...

from the teachers college of Dapu County,

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

, and taught at

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

s. While teaching at the Qingxi Baoxu Temple primary school in Dapu County, he discovered

Marxism Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

, participated in revolutionary activities and joined the

Communist Party of China 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 ...

in 1927.Zhang Dingcheng's biography
''zhanghuasun.com'', March 30, 2015 He commanded units of the

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 Communist ...

(predecessor of the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...

), studied at the

Central Party School The Central Party School of the Chinese Communist Party (), commonly known as the Central Party School (), located in Beijing, is the higher education institution which trains Chinese Communist Party (CCP) cadres. As of 2012, it has around 1,6 ...

and took part in the

Long March The Long March (, lit. ''Long Expedition'') was a military retreat undertaken by the Chinese Red Army, Red Army of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the forerunner of the People's Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the National Revolut ...

, accompanying Mao to

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 ...

.Zhang Dingcheng's biography
''zhanghuasun.com'', March 30, 2015 Zhang fought in both 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 Thea ...

and, after the Japanese surrender, the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...

that resulted in a Communist victory and the establishment of the

.Zhang Dingcheng's biography
''zhanghuasun.com'', March 30, 2015 From 1949 to 1954, Zhang served as Governor and Communist Party Secretary of

Fujian Province Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its cap ...

. In 1954 he became Procurator–General of the

, holding that post for a record 21 years. 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 goal ...

he was publicly denounced by some

Red Guard 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 le ...

groups, but his loyalty to Mao ensured that he remained in his place.Zhang Dingcheng's biography
''zhanghuasun.com'', March 30, 2015 Nevertheless, the 1975 Constitution, adopted a year before Mao's death, abolished the position of the Procurator–General (it was restored three years later, in 1978).Zhang Dingcheng's biography
''zhanghuasun.com'', March 30, 2015 Following the temporary abolition of the office of the Procurator–General in 1975, Zhang was elected a

Vice Chairman of the National People's Congress The Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress () is a political office in China. According to the Constitution of the People's Republic of China, Vice Chairmen are responsible for assisting the Chairman of the Nation ...

, holding that office until his death in December 1981, at the age of 83.Zhang Dingcheng's biography
''zhanghuasun.com'', March 30, 2015

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang, Dingcheng 1898 births 1981 deaths Governors of Fujian People from Yongding District, Longyan Chinese politicians of Hakka descent People's Republic of China politicians from Fujian Chinese Communist Party politicians from Fujian Politicians from Longyan Vice Chairpersons of the National People's Congress Procurator-General of the Supreme People's Procuratorate