Ye Xuanping (; 20 December 1924 – 17 September 2019) was a Chinese politician, who served as Mayor of

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, sou ...

from 1980 to 1985 and

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020 ...

, his native province, from 1985 to 1991. Ye was a strong supporter 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 China, People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. Aft ...

reform and opening The Chinese economic reform or reform and opening-up (), known in the West as the opening of China, is the program of economic reforms termed "Socialism with Chinese characteristics" and " socialist market economy" in the People's Republic of ...

policy. Under his leadership, Guangdong grew economically prosperous and gained significant autonomy from Beijing. Concerned about his power, the national government manoeuvred to relieve him of the governorship, but allowed him to maintain his power base in Guangdong. He subsequently served as Vice-Chairman of the

Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC, zh, 中国人民政治协商会议), also known as the People's PCC (, ) or simply the PCC (), is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of ...

from 1991 to 2003. Ye was the eldest son of

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 ...

, one of the founding Ten Marshals of the People's Republic of China, who was instrumental in overthrowing 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 ...

and ending 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 ...

. After the death of his father, he became the patriarch of their powerful family, dubbed the "Ye Dynasty".

Early life

Ye Xuanping was born in November 1924 in Meixian,

, Republic of China. He was the eldest son of

, who later became one of the founding Ten Marshals of the People's Republic of China. When Xuanping was born, his father was serving as

county magistrate County magistrate ( or ) sometimes called local magistrate, in imperial China was the official in charge of the '' xian'', or county, the lowest level of central government. The magistrate was the official who had face-to-face relations with t ...

of Xiangshan, and he was raised by his mother Feng Hua (). During 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 T ...

, Ye lived in

Yan'an Yan'an (; ), alternatively spelled as Yenan is a prefecture-level city in the Shaanbei region of Shaanxi province, China, bordering Shanxi to the east and Gansu to the west. It administers several counties, including Zhidan (formerly Bao'an) ...

, the headquarters of the

Communist Party of China 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 ...

, and did not reunite with his father until 1941. He studied mechanics at the

Yan'an Institute of Natural Sciences Yan'an (; ), alternatively spelled as Yenan is a prefecture-level city in the Shaanbei region of Shaanxi province, China, bordering Shanxi to the east and Gansu to the west. It administers several counties, including Zhidan (formerly Bao'an) ...

from 1941 to 1945, and joined the Communist Party in 1945. After graduation he worked at Yan'an Arsenal and other factories.

Career

After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Ye briefly studied at

Harbin Institute of Technology Harbin Institute of Technology (; abbreviation: HIT or ) is a public research university and a member of China's elite C9 League and a member of the University Alliance of the Silk Road. HIT is a Chinese Ministry of Education Class A Dou ...

and

Tsinghua University Tsinghua University (; abbr. THU) is a national public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education. The university is a member of the C9 League, Double First Class University Plan, Projec ...

from 1949 to 1950, and then worked at Shenyang No. 1 Machine Tool Factory. In 1952 he was sent to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

to receive training at a

machine tool A machine tool is a machine for handling or machining metal or other rigid materials, usually by cutting, boring, grinding, shearing, or other forms of deformations. Machine tools employ some sort of tool that does the cutting or shaping. Al ...

factory, and was appointed Chief Engineer of Shenyang No. 1 Machine Tool Factory after returning to China in 1954. He was transferred to Beijing in 1962 and served as Chief Engineer of Beijing No. 1 Machine Tool Factory until 1973. From 1973 to 1977 he was deputy head of the Beijing Machinery Bureau. In 1976, Marshal Ye Jianying played a key role in a coup overthrowing the

and ending the

. In 1977, Xuanping was sent to study at the

Central Party School of the Communist Party of China The Central Party School of the Chinese Communist Party (), commonly known as the Central Party School (), located in Beijing, is the higher education institution which trains Chinese Communist Party (CCP) cadres. As of 2012, it has around 1,60 ...

, and subsequently served as Director of the Third Bureau of the

State Science and Technology Commission The Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China, formerly the State Science and Technology Commission, is the central government ministry which coordinates science and technology activities in the country. The office is ...

from 1978 to 1980.

Guangdong Province

In 1980, Ye was appointed Mayor of

and concurrently Vice Governor of

province. He was promoted to Governor of Guangdong in the summer of 1985, replacing Liang Lingguang. A follower of

, Ye was a stalwart supporter of economic liberalization and more reform-minded than the Party Secretary

Lin Ruo Lin Ruo (; July 19, 1924 – October 7, 2012) was a Chinese politician who served as Party Committee Secretary of Guangdong Province. Biography Lin was a native of Chao'an District, Chaozhou City, Guangdong. He joined the Chinese Communist ...

. He promoted Guangdong's

special economic zones A special economic zone (SEZ) is an area in which the business and trade laws are different from the rest of the country. SEZs are located within a country's national borders, and their aims include increasing trade balance, employment, increas ...

Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern provi ...

and

Hainan Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...

, while paying lip service to macroeconomic control. Moreover, his wife Wu Xiaolan served as Vice Mayor of Shenzhen until she was dismissed by Li Hao in 1986. Ye cultivated strong ties with business magnates of Hong Kong and Macau, including

Stanley Ho Stanley Ho Hung-sun (; 25 November 192126 May 2020) was a Hong Kong- Macau billionaire businessman. His original patrilineal surname was Bosman, which was later sinicized to 何 (Ho). He was the founder and chairman of SJM Holdings, which ow ...

and

Ann Tse-kai Ann Tse-kai ( also known as T.K. Ann; 26 June 1912 – 3 June 2000) was a Hong Kong industrialist, legislator and sinologist. He was the author of ''Cracking the Chinese Puzzles'', a textbook on Chinese characters. Ann lived in Hong Kong and ...

. As a member of 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 ...

, Ye, together with Shanghai mayor Zhu Rongji, was a major regional leader who supported the reformist General Secretary

Zhao Ziyang Zhao Ziyang ( zh, 赵紫阳; pronounced , 17 October 1919 – 17 January 2005) was a Chinese politician. He was the third premier of the People's Republic of China from 1980 to 1987, vice chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 19 ...

, and resisted Premier

Li Peng Li Peng (; 20 October 1928 – 22 July 2019) was a Chinese politician who served as the fourth Premier of the People's Republic of China from 1987 to 1998, and as the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Ch ...

's policy of retrenchment. Following 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 ...

and the fall of Zhao Ziyang, the Ye family's power was believed to have weakened due to its sympathy with Zhao. Under Ye's leadership, Guangdong grew economically prosperous while gaining significant autonomy from the national government in Beijing, and Hong Kong media dubbed him the "Emperor of the South". The central government, increasingly concerned about his power, manoeuvred to relieve him of the governorship. In April 1991, Ye agreed to leave his post and accepted the appointment as Vice Chairman of the 7th

(CPPCC), a nominally higher ranking position. In return, Beijing agreed to appoint Zhu Senlin, his designated candidate, as his successor, and allowed Ye to continue to reside in Guangdong. Ye had reportedly threatened to withhold Guangdong's remittance to Beijing if his conditions were not met, and effectively maintained his power base in the province. He served two more terms (8th and 9th CPPCC) as Vice Chairman, until 2003. Ye was an alternate member of the

12th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China The 12th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party was in session from September 1982 to November 1987. It held seven plenary sessions. It was securely succeeded by the 13th Central Committee. It elected the 12th Politburo of the Chinese ...

, and a full member of the 13th and 14th Central Committees. He was also a delegate to the 5th and 6th

National People's Congress The National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPC; ), or simply the National People's Congress, is constitutionally the supreme state authority and the national legislature of the People's Republic of China. With 2,9 ...

es. On 17 September 2019, Ye died in Guangzhou, aged 94.

Family

After the death of Marshal Ye Jianying, Ye Xuanping became the patriarch of the powerful family dubbed the "Ye Dynasty". His younger half brother, Ye Xuanning, served as China's military spy chief. He died in 2016. Another brother, Ye Xuanlian, was a manager of the

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

's China Poly Group. His sister, Ye Chumei, is married to

Zou Jiahua Zou Jiahua (born October 1926) is a retired high-ranking politician of the People's Republic of China. He served as China's Vice Premier from 1991 to 1998, Vice-Chairman of the 9th National People's Congress from 1998 to 2003, and was a membe ...

, a former Vice Premier of China. Ye Xuanping's son, Ye Xinfu, is a businessman in Hong Kong who founded the conglomerate P W Asia and served as a director of at least 11 companies, including Tse Sui Luen, one of the largest jewellery chains. His grandson, Ye Zhonghao, was appointed head of Guangdong's

Yunfu Yunfu (), formerly romanized as Wanfow, and historically known as Dong'an (), which was formerly romanized as Tong On, from 1578 to 1913, is a prefecture-level city in western Guangdong province, People's Republic of China. It borders Zhaoqin ...

Hi-Tech Industry Development Zone in 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ye, Xuanping 1924 births 2019 deaths Governors of Guangdong Chinese politicians of Hakka descent Mayors of Guangzhou Politicians from Meizhou People's Republic of China politicians from Guangdong Children of national leaders of China Chinese expatriates in the Soviet Union Alternate members of the 12th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Members of the 13th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Members of the 14th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Vice Chairpersons of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference