Who was Zhao Ziyang? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Also Known As: Zhao Zi Yang, Zhaoziyang

Died At Age: 85

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Liang Boqi

children: Zhao Daijun, Zhao Erjun, Zhao Liang, Zhao Sanjun, Zhao Sijun, Zhao Wujun

Prime Ministers Political Leaders

Died on: January 17, 2005

place of death: Beijing

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1

What was Zhao Ziyang's role during the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989?

Zhao Ziyang was the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party during the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989. He sympathized with the students and advocated for a peaceful resolution, which ultimately led to his removal from power.
2

What reforms did Zhao Ziyang implement during his tenure as Premier of China?

As Premier of China, Zhao Ziyang implemented economic reforms focused on decentralization and opening up the Chinese economy to foreign investment. He also promoted agricultural reforms to increase productivity and improve living standards.
3

How did Zhao Ziyang contribute to China's economic development?

Zhao Ziyang played a significant role in China's economic development by supporting market-oriented reforms that led to increased productivity, foreign investment, and economic growth. His policies laid the foundation for China's rapid economic transformation.
4

What was Zhao Ziyang's stance on political reform in China?

Zhao Ziyang advocated for political reform in China, including greater freedom of speech, press, and assembly. He believed that political reform was necessary to ensure the long-term stability and prosperity of the country.
5

How did Zhao Ziyang's political legacy influence China's future leaders?

Zhao Ziyang's political legacy continues to influence China's future leaders by serving as a symbol of reform and progressive leadership. His advocacy for economic and political reforms has shaped the direction of Chinese politics and policy-making.

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Childhood & Early Life

Zhao Ziyang was born on 17 October 1919 in the Henan Province of China to an established family of landlords.

When he was young, he was influenced by the Communist Manifesto and joined his country’s Young Communist League way back in 1932.

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Chinese Political Leaders

Political Career

Zhao Ziyang became a member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1938. At that time the Sino-Japanese War was going on, during which he served in local party organizations all around Northern China.

In 1949, the People’s Republic was established. He was shifted to Guangdong province in the South, where he was appointed as provincial first party secretary after several years in 1965.

During the Cultural Revolution, he was dismissed from all official positions. He was reappointed as the First Party Secretary in 1975. At this point in time, he was in Sichuan, China’s most populous province, where his efforts were focused on increasing industrial and agricultural production.

In 1977, Deng Xiaoping promoted Zhao to a position as an alternate member of the Politburo Communist Party of China. It didn’t take long for him to rise further up as he became a full member in 1979. He was initiated into the Politburo Standing Committee in 1980, which was at the time China’s highest ruling sector.

Furthermore, Zhao became the President of the Leading group for Financial and Economic Affairs and Vice Chairman of the Communist Party of China in 1980 and 1981 respectively.

He then served as Vice Premier under Hua Guofeng for six months in 1980 before replacing him as Premier of the State Council. His tenure from 1980 to 1984 was marked by a 50% rise in China’s Agricultural Production. He was also known as a popular Marxist-Revisionist as he made several alterations to the Communist Manifesto, making it more suitable for China’s current state of affairs.

He was also influential in handling a whole array of large scale anti-corruption programs. Following several dismissals including Hua’s, Zhao was further promoted by Deng to the post of Chinese Communist Party’s General Secretary. This was the second highest seat of power in Communist China and he was being groomed to succeed Deng as China’s Paramount Leader.

As the General Secretary, Zhao continued his usual policies of loosening Governmental control and regulation over the various industries and advocated the creation of special free-enterprise zones in China’s coastal regions in order to speed up the country’s economic development.

The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 were significant in Ziyang’s life and career. There was a mass uproar that called for major political and economic reforms. The protests, which began as a public mourning for the death of Hu Yaobang who held the top office of the Communist Party of China throughout the 1980s, later escalated to a demand to put an end to all corruption within the party.

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As the protests began to spread to other cities, the central authority of China came under heavy threat of collapse. Though Ziyang was quite moderate in his approach to dealing with the situation, the Government ended up declaring Martial Law and suppressed the protests. Zhao was then formally dismissed as General Secretary but retained his party membership. Following this crisis, he was put under house arrest for the rest of his life.

Major Works

As the First Party Secretary, he came up with brilliant innovative plans and schemes, such as rewarding workers on the basis of their work performance rather than need. He also supported providing material incentives to encourage better individual performance.

In addition to this, the factory managers were given much greater autonomy on how to run the organizations. Peasants weren’t left out of his policies as he allowed them to expand their private plots of land. All these unique ideas caught the attention of Deng Xiaoping, who was the de facto leader of the Chinese Communist Party at the time.

What Zhao Ziyang had achieved at Sichuan became the model of Chinese Economic Reform. Zhao’s policies were replicated in other provinces, most notably in Anhui where the success rate was similar to that of Sichuan.

Personal Life & Legacy

Zhao Ziyang was twice married and had five children. His second wife’s name was Liang Boqi.

He passed away on 17 January 2005 after suffering a stroke in Beijing. His posthumous autobiography was published in 2009; it was called ‘Prisoner of the State: The Secret Journal of Premier Zhao Ziyang.’

Western observers generally view the years that Zhao served as general secretary as the most liberal ones in the history of the People's Republic of China. Many restrictions on freedom of speech and freedom of press were relaxed, allowing intellectuals to freely express themselves and to propose "improvements" for the country.

Facts About Zhao Ziyang

Zhao Ziyang was known for his love of classical Chinese literature and poetry, often quoting ancient texts in his speeches and writings.

He was a skilled calligrapher and enjoyed practicing the art in his spare time, finding it to be a peaceful and meditative activity.

Zhao Ziyang was a fan of traditional Chinese music and was known to play the guqin, a seven-stringed instrument, with proficiency.

Despite his high-ranking political position, Zhao Ziyang was known for his humility and simple lifestyle, preferring to live modestly and eschewing extravagant displays of wealth.

He had a deep passion for education and believed strongly in the power of learning and knowledge to uplift society, advocating for increased investment in education during his time in office.

Zhao Ziyang Biography

You wanted to know

What was Zhao Ziyang's role during the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989?

What reforms did Zhao Ziyang implement during his tenure as Premier of China?

How did Zhao Ziyang contribute to China's economic development?

What was Zhao Ziyang's stance on political reform in China?

How did Zhao Ziyang's political legacy influence China's future leaders?