Chang Tzu-i

Hunan, China

After the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War in 1937, the Chinese Communists sent a number of rather important Party leaders to Sinkiang during the time when Sinkiang Governor Sheng Shih-ts’ai was collaborating with the Communists (see under Ch’en T’an-ch’iu). Chang was among these men. However, in 1942 Sheng pledged his loyalty to the central government in Chungking and subsequently arrested a number of the Communists, Chang among them. Many of these persons, including Ch’en T’an-ch’iu and Mao Tse-tung’s brother Mao Tse-min, were executed by Sheng, but Chang was among the more fortunate who lived through the imprisonment. After his return to Communist-held areas in the mid-1940’s, Chang was assigned to the Shansi-Suiyuan area, where he served as a deputy secretary of the Party Committee, presumably in close contact with important Party leaders in the area such as Lii Cheng-ts’ao. By the closing stages of the civil war, in 1949-1950, Chang was serving in Liu Po-ch’eng’s forces, which pushed from central-south China into the southwest. He was a deputy director of the Political Department of Liu’s Second Field Army, and after the south-west was conquered he held an identical post in the Southwest Military Region. The political commissar for the Military Region was Teng Hsiao-p’ing. In May 1950 the Communists established the Southwest People's Revolutionary University in Chungking, with seven branches throughout the southwest. Chang was appointed vice-president of the school under President Liu Po-ch’eng, but because Liu spent relatively little time in the area it is probable that Chang was the de facto president. The Southwest Military and Administrative Committee (SWMAC) was set up in July 1950 to govern the provinces of Szechwan, Kweichow, Yunnan, and Sikang; from 1953 to 1954 it was known at the Southwest Administrative Committee (SWAC). Chang was a member of the SWMAC-SWAC, again under Liu Po-ch’eng. Subordinate to the SWMAC-SWAC were several important organs, one of which was the Culture and Education Committee, chaired by Ch’u T’u-nan, a former professor. Inasmuch as Ch’u was not a Communist, it seems probable that Chang was in fact the actual head of the region-wide committee. Chang also held an important post in the Southwest Party Bureau as well as in one of the more important mass organizations. By at least late 1952 until 1954 he served as director of the Party’s regional Propaganda Department and as a member of the Southwest Party Bureau in 1954. He was also a vice-chairman of the south-west branch of the Sino-Soviet Friendship Association from 1951 to 1954. At about the end of 1954, Chang was transferred to Peking, apparently being assigned to the Party Center. When the Second National Committee of the CPPCC was established in December 1954, he was named as a Party representative. By June 1957 he was a deputy director under Lu Ting-i of the Party Propaganda Department, a position he still holds. In April of 1959 he was reelected as a Party representative to the Third CPPCC and, moreover, was elevated to the Standing Committee. He was again elected to the Fourth CPPCC in 1964, and when the Fourth National Committee held its first session in December 1964-January 1965, he was once more elected to the Standing Committee. At the 10th Plenum of the Party Central Committee, held in September 1962, it was decided to “strengthen the work of the Party Control Commissions at all levels” and to add new members to the Central Control Commission. Although Chang has made rather few appearances and has written little, any doubt of his importance was dispelled when he was added as a member. Very little is heard of the Commission; yet it is patently one of the key organs of discipline and inspection within the CCP. Membership appears to be on a functional basis, with Chang apparently serving as a representative of the propaganda organs.

Chang Tzu-i

Edit Profile

politician

Background

A native of Hunan, Chang Tzu-i has become one of the more significant propagandists within the CCP.

Education

Little is known of his early career except for the important fact that he is a veteran of Chingkangshan, where Mao Tse-tung and Chu Te gathered the remnant guerrilla forces on the Hunan-Kiangsi border in 1928 after the disastrous defeats of the Communists in the previous year. He is also known to have made the Long March in 1934-1935 as a member of the Second Front Army (see under Ho Lung).

Career

After the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War in 1937, the Chinese Communists sent a number of rather important Party leaders to Sinkiang during the time when Sinkiang Governor Sheng Shih-ts’ai was collaborating with the Communists (see under Ch’en T’an-ch’iu). Chang was among these men. However, in 1942 Sheng pledged his loyalty to the central government in Chungking and subsequently arrested a number of the Communists, Chang among them. Many of these persons, including Ch’en T’an-ch’iu and Mao Tse-tung’s brother Mao Tse-min, were executed by Sheng, but Chang was among the more fortunate who lived through the imprisonment.

After his return to Communist-held areas in the mid-1940’s, Chang was assigned to the Shansi-Suiyuan area, where he served as a deputy secretary of the Party Committee, presumably in close contact with important Party leaders in the area such as Lii Cheng-ts’ao. By the closing stages of the civil war, in 1949-1950, Chang was serving in Liu Po-ch’eng’s forces, which pushed from central-south China into the southwest. He was a deputy director of the Political Department of Liu’s Second Field Army, and after the south-west was conquered he held an identical post in the Southwest Military Region. The political commissar for the Military Region was Teng Hsiao-p’ing. In May 1950 the Communists established the Southwest People's Revolutionary University in Chungking, with seven branches throughout the southwest. Chang was appointed vice-president of the school under President Liu Po-ch’eng, but because Liu spent relatively little time in the area it is probable that Chang was the de facto president. The Southwest Military and Administrative Committee (SWMAC) was set up in July 1950 to govern the provinces of Szechwan, Kweichow, Yunnan, and Sikang; from 1953 to 1954 it was known at the Southwest Administrative Committee (SWAC). Chang was a member of the SWMAC-SWAC, again under Liu Po-ch’eng. Subordinate to the SWMAC-SWAC were several important organs, one of which was the Culture and Education Committee, chaired by Ch’u T’u-nan, a former professor. Inasmuch as Ch’u was not a Communist, it seems probable that Chang was in fact the actual head of the region-wide committee.

Chang also held an important post in the Southwest Party Bureau as well as in one of the more important mass organizations. By at least late 1952 until 1954 he served as director of the Party’s regional Propaganda Department and as a member of the Southwest Party Bureau in 1954. He was also a vice-chairman of the south-west branch of the Sino-Soviet Friendship Association from 1951 to 1954. At about the end of 1954, Chang was transferred to Peking, apparently being assigned to the Party Center. When the Second National Committee of the CPPCC was established in December 1954, he was named as a Party representative. By June 1957 he was a deputy director under Lu Ting-i of the Party Propaganda Department, a position he still holds. In April of 1959 he was reelected as a Party representative to the Third CPPCC and, moreover, was elevated to the Standing Committee. He was again elected to the Fourth CPPCC in 1964, and when the Fourth National Committee held its first session in December 1964-January 1965, he was once more elected to the Standing Committee.

At the 10th Plenum of the Party Central Committee, held in September 1962, it was decided to “strengthen the work of the Party Control Commissions at all levels” and to add new members to the Central Control Commission. Although Chang has made rather few appearances and has written little, any doubt of his importance was dispelled when he was added as a member. Very little is heard of the Commission; yet it is patently one of the key organs of discipline and inspection within the CCP. Membership appears to be on a functional basis, with Chang apparently serving as a representative of the propaganda organs.

Politics

Although the Party Propaganda Department is one of the most important of the central Party organs, Chang has made relatively few appearances since going to Peking in the mid-1950’s. One of the more important of these occurred in 1960, when he served as a vice-chairman of the preparatory committee for a national conference of “outstanding workers” in culture and education and, when the conference was held in June 1960, he served on the presidium (steering committee). For one who is an important Party propagandist, he seems to have written very little. However, his article for the January 3, 1958, issue of Hsuehrhsi (Study), then the Party’s most important journal, provides an exception. It was one of the first exhortations in the Great Leap Forward (then just beginning). Entitled “Concerning the Question of Intellectuals in the Countryside,” the article stressed the necessity for intellectuals to be both “red and expert,” a goal that could be gained with greater speed by going to the countryside to work closely with the peasants.

Main Photo

School period

College/University

Career

Achievements

Membership

Awards

Other Photos

Connections

Connections

Chang Tzu-i

Background

Education

Career

Politics

Born

Nationality

Ethnicity

Political Party

Career

1949 - 1950

1952 - 1954

1964