Bao Zunxin (; September 1937 – 28 October 2007) was a Chinese historian and political dissident who was arrested and jailed by the Chinese government for his role in the

1989 Tiananmen Square protests The Tiananmen Square protests, known in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident (), were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing during 1989. In what is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, or in Chinese the June Fourth ...

Biography

Born in September 1937 in

Wuhu County Wanzhi District () is a district in Wuhu City, in the southeast of Anhui Province Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and la ...

Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...

, China, he was a 34th-generation descendant of

Bao Zheng Bao Zheng (; 5 March 999 – 3 July 1062), commonly known as Bao Gong (), was a Chinese politician during the reign of Emperor Renzong in China's Song Dynasty. During his twenty-five years in civil service, Bao consistently demonstrated extr ...

. Bao graduated from

Beijing University Peking University (PKU; ) is a public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education. Peking University was established as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898 when it received its royal chart ...

in 1964. He was a scholar at the History Institute 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 ...

. Bao also taught as a professor at Beijing Normal University. In 1989 Bao spoke out in support of pro-democracy protesters who marched in the Tiananmen Square democracy protests. Bao also signed a petition which declared that China was still ruled by an

emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

. The "emperor" which the declaration referred to was the supposedly retired

Chinese Communist Party 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 ...

leader

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 CCP ...

. Bao was arrested after the

Tiananmen Square massacre The Tiananmen Square protests, known in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident (), were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing during 1989. In what is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, or in Chinese the June Fourth ...

, and was charged with "counterrevolutionary propaganda and incitement." He was sentenced to 5 years in prison for his participation in the pro-democracy movement. He served 3 and a half years of his sentence before being released in November 1992. Chinese Dissident Freed from Prison
''

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 d ...

'' November 26, 1992.

Death

Bao died of a brain hemorrhage at the Dongfang Hospital Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Fengtai District,

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

on October 28, 2007.Los Angeles Times: Bao Zunxin, 70; activist jailed for Tiananmen Square protest
/ref> He was 70 years old.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bao, Zunxin 1937 births 2007 deaths People's Republic of China historians Chinese dissidents Peking University alumni Prisoners and detainees of the People's Republic of China People from Wuhu Historians from Anhui 20th-century Chinese historians 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre