Wu De (; February 5, 1913 – November 29, 1995),吴德的风雨人生
/ref> born Li Chunhua (), was a

Chinese Communist 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 ...

revolutionary and politician of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. He served in provincial-level leadership positions in

Pingyuan Province Pingyuan () was a former province of the People's Republic of China that existed between 1949 and 1952. Its capital was Xinxiang, now in Henan province. History Pingyuan Province was established on August 20, 1949, comprising adjoining prefectur ...

Tianjin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popul ...

municipality,

Jilin Province Jilin (; alternately romanized as Kirin or Chilin) is one of the three provinces of Northeast China. Its capital and largest city is Changchun. Jilin borders North Korea (Rasŏn, North Hamgyong, Ryanggang and Chagang) and Russia (Prim ...

, and

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 ...

municipality, and was a member of the

Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party The Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party, formally known as the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and known as the Central Bureau before 1927, is the decision-making body of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). ...

from 1973 to 1980. After 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 ...

, Wu was a key supporter of

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 design ...

and was forced out of politics after

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 ...

ousted Hua from his leadership position.

Communist revolution

Wu joined the

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...

in 1933, and organized strikes and other workers' actions in the

Tangshan Tangshan () is a coastal, industrial prefecture-level city in the northeast of Hebei province. It is located in the eastern part of Hebei Province and the northeastern part of the North China Plain. It is located in the central area of the Boha ...

area. After the eruption of the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...

, he organized the

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...

Anti-Japanese Army, committing it to guerrilla warfare in the northern regions. In 1940 he was appointed head of a working commission under the

Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party The Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, officially the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is a political body that comprises the top leaders of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It is currently composed of 205 fu ...

to oversee activity behind enemy lines. After the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...

, he served as Party secretary for Tangshan.

Early PRC

After the communist victory of 1949, Wu De briefly served as Vice Minister of Fuel Industry of the newly established People's Republic of China. He became the

Communist Party Chief 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 ...

in 1950, replacing

Pan Fusheng Pan Fusheng (; December 1908 – April 1980) was a Chinese Communist Party, Chinese Communist revolutionary and politician. He was the first Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary, party secretary of the short-lived Pingyuan Province of t ...

, who had been demoted. After Pingyuan Province was abolished in 1952, Wu De was transferred to

, where he served as Vice Mayor and then Mayor from 1952 to 1955. Afterwards he was appointed the party chief (then called First Secretary) of

Cultural Revolution

Wu served in this position until the

started in 1966. As

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) ...

insisted that the

Municipal Committee needed to be reorganized without

Peng Zhen Peng Zhen (pronounced ; October 12, 1902 – April 26, 1997) was a leading member of the Chinese Communist Party. He led the party organization in Beijing following the victory of the Communists in the Chinese Civil War in 1949, but was pu ...

, who contested the policies of the Cultural Revolution, on June 4 the Central Committee transferred Wu De to the capital as second secretary of the CCP Municipal Committee, ranking immediately beneath First Secretary

Li Xuefeng Li Xuefeng (; 19 January 1907 – 15 March 2003) was a Chinese Communist politician. He occupied several prominent regional offices prior to the founding of the People's Republic in 1949. In 1960 he became the first political commissar of the Be ...

. During their leadership, the two of them ordered the suspension of classes of Beijing universities to allow students to fully concentrate on the Cultural Revolution. In 1967 he became a vice-chairman of the Beijing Revolutionary Committee, and was elected member of the CCP Central Committee in 1969. As

clashed with

Lin Biao ) , serviceyears = 1925–1971 , branch = People's Liberation Army , rank = Marshal of the People's Republic of China Lieutenant general of the National Revolutionary Army, Republic of China , commands ...

and

Chen Boda Chen Boda (; 29 July 1904 – 20 September 1989), was a Chinese Communist journalist, professor and political theorist who rose to power as the chief interpreter of Maoism (or "Mao Zedong Thought") in the first 20 years of the People's Republic ...

at the Central Committee plenum held in

Lushan Mountain Lu or Lushan (, Gan: Lu-san), officially named Mountain Lu National Park, is a mountain in China. It was also known as Kuanglu () in ancient times. It is situated in Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province, and is one of the most renowned mountai ...

in 1970, Wu De advised him to act swiftly in order to avoid trouble within the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...

. He said: "The Chairman must act personally ... believing in the possibility to enlighten a lot of people united under the great leader Chairman Mao." From this moment on, Mao praised Wu De, calling him "virtuous" (playing on Wu De's first name, whose character 德 means "virtue"). Lin's death in the air crash following his attempted coup in 1971 enforced Wu's position. He was proclaimed head of the Cultural Group Under the

State Council State Council may refer to: Government * State Council of the Republic of Korea, the national cabinet of South Korea, headed by the President * State Council of the People's Republic of China, the national cabinet and chief administrative auth ...

, a sort of temporary

Minister of Culture A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organizati ...

. After

Xie Fuzhi Xie Fuzhi (; 26 September 1909 – 26 March 1972) was a Chinese Communist Party military commander, political commissar, and national security specialist. He was born in 1909 in Hong'an County, Hubei and died in Beijing in 1972. Xie was known fo ...

's death in 1972, Wu De took over as chairman of the Beijing Revolutionary Committee and concurrently first secretary of the CCP Beijing Committee. In 1973 he was admitted into the

CCP Politburo The Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party, formally known as the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and known as the Central Bureau before 1927, is the decision-making body of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). ...

. He took active part at the "

Criticize Lin Biao, Criticize Confucius The Criticize Lin (Biao), Criticize Confucius Campaign (; also called the Anti-Lin Biao, Anti-Confucius campaign) was a political and intellectual campaign started by Mao Zedong and his wife, Jiang Qing, the leader of the Gang of Four. It lasted f ...

" campaign, but

Jiang Qing Jiang Qing (19 March 191414 May 1991), also known as Madame Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary, actress, and major political figure during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976). She was the fourth wife of Mao Zedong, the Chairman o ...

, believing he wanted to mislead the movement, criticized him, bringing forth his hostility towards 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 ...

. In 1975, he was a vice-chairman of the

Standing Committee of the National People's Congress The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPCSC) is the permanent body of the National People's Congress (NPC) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), which is the highest organ of state po ...

. Wu De actively struggled against a rehabilitated

and worked to promote

as Mao's successor. He advocated repression of the

1976 Tiananmen Incident The Tiananmen Incident () or the April 5 Tiananmen Incident was a mass gathering and protest that took place on 4–5 April 1976, at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. The incident occurred on the traditional day of mourning, the Qingming F ...

, earning the ironic nickname of "no virtue," a pun on his name. In October of the same year, he played a role in the arrest of the Gang of Four.

Downfall under Deng Xiaoping

The rise of

and the ouster of the Gang of Four marked the beginning of a repudiation of the Cultural Revolution. Though initially an important part of Hua Guofeng's leadership, Wu De was openly criticized at the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CCP Central Committee and lost his Politburo seat. In 1980, along with

Chen Xilian Chen Xilian (pronounced ; 4 January 1915 – 10 June 1999) was a Chinese military officer and politician, general of the People's Liberation Army. A prominent Mao Zedong, Maoist, he held very important positions in both military and political sph ...

and other

Maoist Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Ch ...

s, he was purged and resigned his post in the NPC Standing Committee. Despite his participation to the Cultural Revolution, his role in removing the Gang of Four earned him a powerless position in the

Central Advisory Commission The Central Advisory Commission () (CAC) was a body of the Chinese Communist Party that existed during the era of the paramount leadership of Deng Xiaoping. The body was supposed to provide "political assistance and consultation" to the Party' ...

Hu Yaobang Hu Yaobang (; 20 November 1915 – 15 April 1989) was a high-ranking official of the People's Republic of China. He held the top office of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1981 to 1987, first as Chairman from 1981 to 1982, then as Genera ...

and

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 ...

's suggestions. He died in Beijing in 1995.

References

, - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Wu, De 1913 births 1995 deaths People of the Cultural Revolution Chinese Communist Party politicians from Hebei Ministers of Culture of the People's Republic of China People's Republic of China politicians from Hebei Politicians from Tangshan Mayors of Tianjin Political office-holders in Beijing Political office-holders in Jilin Members of the 11th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party Members of the 10th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party Vice Chairpersons of the National People's Congress