Zhou Weizhi (; 13 June 1916 – 12 September 2014) was a Chinese musician and politician. He served as acting Minister of Culture of the People's Republic of China, and was a standing committee member of the 7th

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 ...

(CPPCC).

Biography

Zhou was born Zhou Liangji () in

Dongtai Dongtai () is a coastal county-level city under the administration of Yancheng, Jiangsu province, China. It has a population of roughly 1,170,000 estimated for 2007. Out of the total population, about 260,000 live in the Dongtai urban core, others ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

on 13 June 1916, to a poor family, both his grandfather Zhou Songquan () and father Zhou Weitang () were farmers. Zhou has two uncles, Zhou Xinfu () and Zhou Shaoqing (). His father went to Shanghai as a worker in a factory when he at the age of 5, at the same time, he attended old-style private school and developed an interest in Chinese Opera. By the age of 9, Zhou attended middle school in 1925. In 1926, Zhou's father took part in the

Northern Expedition The Northern Expedition was a military campaign launched by the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Kuomintang (KMT), also known as the "Chinese Nationalist Party", against the Beiyang government and other regional warlords in 1926. The ...

, he went to Shanghai and Shaoxing with his father. In 1930, Zhou worked in the library of the newspaper ''

Shen Bao ''Shen Bao'', formerly transliterated as ''Shun Pao'' or ''Shen-pao'' (), known in English as ''Shanghai News'', was a newspaper published from 30 April 1872 to 27 May 1949 in Shanghai, China. The name is short for ''Shenjiang Xinbao'', Shenjian ...

''. After the January 28 Incident, Zhou worked as a secretary of

Li Gongpu Li, li, or LI may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Landscape Institute, a British professional body for landscape architects * Leadership Institute, a non-profit organization located in Arlington, Virginia, US, that teaches "political te ...

until 1934, he changed his name Zhou Weizhi in the same year. From 1934 to 1937, Zhou worked in the Shanghai Cultural of National Salvation Association (). In September 1937, Zhou joined the

Eighth Route Army The Eighth Route Army (), officially known as the 18th Group Army of the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China, was a group army under the command of the Chinese Communist Party, nominally within the structure of the Chinese ...

Linfen Linfen is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Shanxi province, China, bordering Shaanxi province to the west. It is situated along the banks of the Fen River. It has an area of and according to the 2020 Census, a population of 3,976,4 ...

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...

Province, and he 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 Xi'an in July 1938. From November 1938 to 1944, Zhou worked in the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Border Region (). From April 1944 to 1949, Zhou worked as a teacher in Lu Xun Art Academy of Yan'an. In 1966, 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 ...

was launched by

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) ...

, Zhou suffered

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 ...

. Zhou, his wife Wang Kun, and his children were sent to the

May Seventh Cadre Schools The May Seventh Cadre Schools () were Chinese labor camps established during the Cultural Revolution that combined hard agricultural work with the study of Mao Zedong's writings in order to "re-educate" or ''laogai'' (reform through labor) cadres an ...

to work. From December 1977 to April 1982, Zhou served as vice minister of Culture of China. From December 1980 to April 1982, Zhou served as Minister of Culture. From December 1996 to November 2006, Zhou served as chairman of the

China Federation of Literary and Art Circles China Federation of Literary and Art Circles (''CFLAC'' ), established in July 1949, is a Chinese people's organization composed of nationwide associations of writers and artists. CFLAC is one of the founders of CPPCC ( Chinese People's Political Co ...

. From November 2006 to 2011, Zhou served as honorary chairman of the

. Zhou died in Beijing on September 12, 2014.

Personal life

Zhou was married to the singer Wang Kun. They had two sons, Zhou Qi (), and Zhou Yue ().

Award

* May 2001, Chinese Music Golden Bell Awards

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhou, Weizhi 1916 births Politicians from Yancheng Ministers of Culture of the People's Republic of China 2014 deaths Chinese Communist Party politicians from Jiangsu People's Republic of China politicians from Jiangsu People from Dongtai