Hu Qiaomu (1912-1992)

Proletarian revolutionary; a Marxist theorist, political commentator and social scientist; important leader of the ideological, theoretical and cultural publicity front of the Communist Party of China. Original name Hu Dingxin, pen name Qiaomu, native of Yancheng, Jiangsu Province. As a teenager, he loved the motherland and pursued progress. In the second half of 1930, he joined the Communist Youth League of China. After the Mukden Incident of 18th September 1931, he took part in the Anti-Japanese and national salvation movement. In 1932, he joined the Communist Party of China and was the editor-in-chief of Haixia and other progressive literature and art journals. From 1935 to 1937, he participated in the left-wing cultural movement and was one of the leaders of the underground organization of the Communist Party of China in Shanghai. In July 1937, he arrived in Yan'an.

Since February 1941, he served as secretary of Mao Zedong and secretary of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. Since then, he has been in this position until the outbreak of the “Cultural Revolution” in June 1966. After the Rectification Movement of the whole Party was carried out in 1942, he participated in and led the Rectification Movement in the literary and artistic circles. Under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee and Mao Zedong, he participated in the drafting of the "Resolution on Certain Historical Issues" and made important contributions to it. He participated in the Seventh National Congress of the Communist Party of China as an alternate representative. After the outbreak of the war of Liberation, he followed Mao Zedong to fight in Northern Shaanxi till mid-April 1947. After arriving in Xibaipo, Pingshan County, Hebei Province in April 1948, he served as the chief editor, President of Xinhua News Agency and vice minister of the Central Publicity Department. He drafted important documents for the CPC Central Committee, such as the “Rules on the CPC Central Committee on the Division and Treatment of Social Classes in Land Reform (ground plan),” and wrote and revised a large number of important editorials, comments and news for Liberation Daily (Jiefang Daily) and Xinhua News Agency. In March 1949, he participated in the Second Plenary Session of the Seventh CPC Central Committee.

After the CPC Central Committee entered Beiping, it participated in the drafting of the common program of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and attended the First Chinese people's Political Consultative Conference. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, he took part in the editing work of volumes 1 to 4 of Selected Works of Mao Zedong, and participated in drafting the "Constitution of the People's Republic of China" and the main documents of the Eighth National Congress of the CPC in 1956.

His article “More on the Historical Experience of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat” which was written under the guidance of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, his article “More on the Historical Experience of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat” and his other articles during 1960s have exerted a wide influence at home and abroad.

During the “Cultural Revolution”, he was persecuted by the “Gang of Four”. In 1975, he was the director of the Political Research Office of the State Council, presided over the revision in some important documents such as “Some Problems in Accelerating Industrial Development” and “Outline of the Draft Work Report of China Academy of Sciences”.

After the smashing of the “Gang of Four”, he supported Deng Xiaoping's criticism of the erroneous principle of "Two Whatevers" and the discussion on the standard of truth. After the Reform and Opening-up, he continued to be responsible for the drafting of important documents of the Central Committee and the guidance of theoretical work. From 1980 to 1981, under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping, he was responsible for drafting the "Resolution on Certain Questions in the History of Our Party Since the Founding of the People's Republic of China",  and the important documents of the 12th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. He clearly opposed bourgeois liberalization and other erroneous trends of thought.

In August 1981, he published the speech "Some Current Problems on the Ideological Front", which played a certain role in promoting the healthy development of literature and art. At the same time, he made important contributions in the compilation of the Party literature, Party history research and file management and other aspects to make. He led the revision of the second edition of volume 1-4 of Selected Works of Mao Zedong, personally edited the new edition of Selected Poems of Mao Zedong, assisted Deng Xiaoping in examining and approving Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping and other works, and edited and published various works of other old generation veteran revolutionaries. He was proposed to write and participate in the examination and approval of the 70 Years of the Communist Party of China. He was the member of the Eighth, Eleventh and Twelveth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, member of the Twelveth Political Bureau, deputy to the First to Fifth National People's Congress, member of the Standing Committee of the First, Second, Third and Fifth National People's Congress, and Standing Committee member of the National Commission of the First Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. He is the author of Collected Works of Hu Qiaomu (Volume 1-3), Hu Qiaomu Recalls Mao Zedong, Hu Qiaomu on the History of the Communist Party of China, etc.