Wang Hongwen (December 1935 – 3 August 1992) was a Chinese labour activist and politician who spent most of his career in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...

. He was an important political figure 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 goa ...

(1966–1976). He was the youngest member of the political clique called the "

Gang of Four The Gang of Four () was a Maoist political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes. The gang ...

." During the Cultural Revolution, Wang rose from a member of the working class to become one of the foremost members of national leadership of the

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 Ci ...

. At the pinnacle of his power he was the second Vice Chairman of the CCP, and ranked third in the Communist Party's

hierarchy A hierarchy (from Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy is an important ...

. Following Mao's death in 1976, Wang was arrested and charged with "counterrevolutionary activity," then sentenced to life imprisonment in 1981.

Biography

Wang was born in a village in the outskirts of

Changchun Changchun (, ; ), also romanized as Ch'angch'un, is the capital and largest city of Jilin Province, People's Republic of China. Lying in the center of the Songliao Plain, Changchun is administered as a , comprising 7 districts, 1 county and 3 ...

Jilin Jilin (; Postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kirin or Chilin) is one of the three Provinces of China, provinces of Northeast China. Its capital and largest city is Changchun. Jilin borders North Korea (Rasŏn, North Hamgyong, R ...

province. In the early 1950s he took part in the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...

. He joined the Chinese Communist Party in 1953. After the war, he was sent to

to work in Shanghai No. 17 Cotton Textile Mill as the head of its security guards regiment, where he met

Zhang Chunqiao Zhang Chunqiao (; 1 February 1917 – 21 April 2005) was a prominent Chinese political theorist, writer, and politician. He came to the national spotlight during the late stages of the Cultural Revolution, and was a member of the ultra-Maoist g ...

and became involved in a Red Guards group. He organized the Shanghai Commune in January 1967, and was catapulted to national prominence as a daring rebel leader. At the 9th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, Wang was elected a member of the Central Committee. Following the Lin Biao incident, Wang was put in charge of the investigation into the case in the Shanghai area, reporting directly to Mao. At the 10th National Congress of the CCP in 1973, Wang, at the age of 38, was elevated to second ranking Vice Chairman in the

Central Committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party organizations, the ...

, and a member of the

Politburo Standing Committee The Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), officially the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, is a committee consisting of the top leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Histori ...

, making him the third-highest-ranking member of the CCP, behind Chairman

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also Romanization of Chinese, 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 List of national founde ...

and 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 from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 January 1976. Zhou served under Chairman M ...

. All signs pointed to Wang being trained as Mao's successor. Wang was rumored to be slated to become Premier after then-Premier

's death in January 1976. However,

Hua Guofeng Hua Guofeng (; born Su Zhu; 16 February 1921 – 20 August 2008), alternatively spelled as Hua Kuo-feng, was a Chinese politician who served as Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party and Premier of the People's Republic of China. The desig ...

, a more moderate figure, was chosen to succeed Zhou instead. Wang was an important player during and after the death of Mao, and served as the masters of ceremonies for his funeral service on national radio on 18 September 1976. He was arrested in October 1976 in what was essentially a coup planned by Hua and General

Ye Jianying Ye Jianying (; 28 April 1897 – 22 October 1986) was a Chinese Communist revolutionary leader and politician, one of the founding Ten Marshals of the People's Republic of China. He was the top military leader in the 1976 coup that overthre ...

for his participation in the

during the

. According to historian Immanuel C.Y. Hsü, the coup was not completely bloodless – Wang killed two of the guards trying to capture him, and was wounded himself before being subdued. He was tried and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1981. He died of

liver cancer Liver cancer (also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy) is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary (starts in liver) or secondary (meaning cancer which has spread from elsewhere to th ...

in a

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

hospital on 3 August 1992, at the age of 56. Wang was one of the youngest members of the Politburo Standing Committee in the post-revolution Communist Party, having joined the body aged 37. He was the same age as some standing committee members who took office even after the turn of the century, such as

Luo Gan Luo Gan (; born July 18, 1935) is a retired Chinese politician. Between 2002 and 2007, Luo was one of China's top leaders, serving as a member of the nine-man Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, and as the Secretary of ...

(served on the PSC between 2002 and 2007), who was also born in 1935.

References

External links

Wang Hongwen Archive at the Marxist Internet Archive.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wang, Hongwen 1935 births 1992 deaths Politicians from Changchun People of the Cultural Revolution Chinese Communist Party politicians from Jilin Gang of Four Members of the 10th Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Anti-revisionists Expelled members of the Chinese Communist Party Chinese politicians convicted of crimes Deaths from liver cancer Chinese Marxists People's Republic of China politicians from Jilin Deaths from cancer in the People's Republic of China Chinese military personnel of the Korean War