Zhou Rongxin (; 1917–1976), was a Chinese politician, educator and

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

. He served as Minister of Education of the People's Republic of China and President of

Zhejiang University Zhejiang University, abbreviated as ZJU or Zheda and formerly romanized as Chekiang University, is a national public research university based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. It is a member of the prestigious C9 League and is selected into the na ...

Biography

Zhou was born in Penglai,

Shandong Province Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizatio ...

in April 1917. From 1975 to 1976, Zhou was the Minister of Education of the People's Republic of China. From 1958 to 1962, Zhou was the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whi ...

. From 1965 to 1975, Zhou was the

Secretary-general Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

of the

State Council of the People's Republic of China The State Council, constitutionally synonymous with the Central People's Government since 1954 (particularly in relation to local governments), is the chief administrative authority of the People's Republic of China. It is chaired by the p ...

; during this period, he was an important assistant of Premier

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, premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 J ...

. Zhou was the first and second Director of the Chinese Architectural Society (). Zhou committed suicide after a campaign against him of

persecution Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these term ...

on 13 April 1976, at age 59, 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 ...

. His absence from the Chinese government was not noticed in the West until September 10, when his name was one of three of major officials (in addition to Railway Minister

Wan Li Wan Li (1 December 1916 – 15 July 2015) was a Chinese Communist revolutionary and politician. During a long administrative career in the People's Republic of China, he served successively as Vice Premier, Chairman of the Standing Committee of ...

and Xinhua Press agency director Chu Mu-chih) omitted from the list of dignitaries attending the funeral of Chairman Mao Zedong. "Mr. Chou came under attack in wall posters at Tsinghua University in Peking last December at the beginning of the anitrightist campaign," a report in ''The New York Times'' noted, "and is rumored to have died since, possibly by suicide.""Ouster of 3 Senior Peking Aides Is Indicated in Mao Funeral List", by Fox Butterfield, ''The New York Times'', September 11, 1976, p. 3

References

1917 births 1976 deaths Zhejiang University faculty Politicians from Yantai People's Republic of China politicians from Shandong Ministers of Education of the People's Republic of China Educators from Shandong People persecuted to death during the Cultural Revolution Presidents of Zhejiang University People from Penglai, Shandong {{China-politician-stub