Zhou Xiaozhou (politician)

Zhou Xiaozhou (; 1912 – December 26, 1966) was a Chinese politician and communist revolutionary, who served as Communist Party Secretary of

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...

from 1953 to 1957. He committed suicide during the Cultural Revolution. He was born in

Xiangtan Xiangtan () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Hunan province, south-central China. The hometowns of several founding leaders of the Chinese Communist Party, including Chairman Mao Zedong, President Liu Shaoqi, and Marshal Peng Dehuai, ...

Province. He attended

Hunan University Hunan University (HNU; ; pinyin: Húnán Dàxué''),'' colloquially abbreviated as HúDà (湖大), is a national key public research university located in Changsha, Hunan, and a Double First Class University as well as a member of Project 211 ...

, then won a scholarship to continue his studies at

Beijing Normal University Beijing Normal University (BNU, ), colloquially known as Beishida (), is a public research university located in Beijing, China, with a strong emphasis on humanities and sciences. It is one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in China ...

. He was an agent for the Communists during the

Second United Front The Second United Front ( zh, t=第二次國共合作 , s=第二次国共合作 , first=t ) was the alliance between the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to resist the Japanese invasion of China during the Seco ...

between the Kuomintang and Communist Party. After the foundation of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Zhou served as the

Communist Party Secretary A Party Committee Secretary () is the leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) organization in a province, city, village, or other administrative unit. In most cases, it is the ''de facto'' highest political office of its area of jurisdictio ...

of his home province between 1953 and 1957. At the Mountain Lu Conference in 1959, Zhou Xiaozhou and his successor,

Zhou Hui Zhou Hui (; 1918 – November 18, 2004) was a People's Republic of China politician. He was born in Guannan County, Jiangsu Province. His birth name was Hui Jue (). He was the younger brother of Hui Yuyu, two-time governor of Jiangsu Province. ...

, along with

Huang Kecheng Huang Kecheng () (October 1, 1902 – December 28, 1986) was a senior general (大将) in the People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and th ...

and

Zhang Wentian Zhang Wentian (; 30 August 1900 – 1 July 1976), also known as Luo Fu (), was a high-ranking leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Born in Nanhui, he attended the Hohai Civil Engineering School in Nanjing and spent a year at the Univer ...

, lent their support to

Peng Dehuai Peng Dehuai (; October 24, 1898November 29, 1974) was a prominent Chinese Communist military leader, who served as China's Defense Minister from 1954 to 1959. Peng was born into a poor peasant family, and received several years of primary edu ...

in questioning the wisdom of 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 ...

. He was thus branded a traitor, stripped of his positions, and sent to

re-education through labour Re-education through labor (RTL; ), abbreviated ''laojiao'' () was a system of administrative detention on Mainland China. Active from 1957 to 2013, the system was used to detain persons who were accused of committing minor crimes such as pet ...

. In 1962, Zhou was restored to an academic position in

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

, seemingly regaining his political footing. However, at the outset 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 ...

, Zhou became an easy target for abuse due to his role in criticizing the Great Leap Forward, and committed suicide by drug overdose at the age of 54. He was posthumously rehabilitated in February 1979, under the leadership of

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 CC ...

. {{Authority control 1912 births 1966 deaths People's Republic of China politicians from Hunan Chinese Communist Party politicians from Hunan Political office-holders in Hunan Hunan University alumni Suicides during the Cultural Revolution Politicians from Xiangtan Beijing Normal University alumni Chinese politicians who committed suicide Secretaries to Mao Zedong