Dong Biwu | |
|---|---|
| 董必武 | |
 | |
| ActingChairman of China | |
| In office 24 February 1972 – 17 January 1975 | |
| Preceded by | Liu Shaoqi |
| Succeeded by | Zhu De (asChairman of the SCNPC) Li Xiannian (as President, 1983) |
| 2ndVice Chairman of China | |
| In office 27 April 1959 – 17 January 1975 Serving with Soong Ching-ling | |
| President | Liu Shaoqi vacant (after 1968) |
| Preceded by | Zhu De |
| Succeeded by | Ulanhu (1983) |
| Secretary of the Central Supervisory Commission | |
| In office 31 March 1955 – 12 August 1968 | |
| Preceded by | Zhu De |
| Succeeded by | Chen Yun |
| President of the Supreme People's Court | |
| In office 27 September 1954 – 27 April 1959 | |
| Preceded by | Shen Junru |
| Succeeded by | Xie Juezai |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1886-03-05)5 March 1886 |
| Died | 2 April 1975(1975-04-02) (aged 89) |
| Party | Tongmenghui (1911-1912) Kuomintang (1913-1927) Chinese Communist Party (1921–1975) |
| Dong Biwu | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese | 董必武 | ||||||||
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Dong Biwu (Chinese:董必武;pinyin:Dǒng Bìwǔ;Wade–Giles:Tung Pi-wu; 5 March 1886 – 2 April 1975) was a Chinese communist revolutionary, long-time ally ofMao Tse-tung and politician, who served asacting Chairman of the People's Republic of China between 1972 and 1975.
Dong Biwu was born inHuanggang, Hubei, to a landlord family, and received a classical education.[1] In 1911, he joined theTongmenghui, and participated in theWuchang Uprising. He then went toJapan in 1913 to study law atNihon University. While there, he joinedSun Yat-sen's newly-formed Chinese Revolutionary Party, later to become theKuomintang. In 1915, he returned to China, organizing resistance against theYuan Shikairegime in his native Hubei, which landed him in prison for six months. Upon his release, he returned to Japan to complete his law studies. Between 1919 and 1920, he lived in Shanghai, where he was first exposed to Marxism through a group of Communist intellectuals centered aroundLi Hanjun. Returning to Hubei, he set up a local Communist apparatus, and in 1921, he attended the1st National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, representing Wuhan along withChen Tanqiu.[citation needed] Incidentally, Dong was the only other person thanMao Zedong to be present at both the founding congress of the party and the proclamation ceremony of the People's Republic of China twenty-eight years later.[2]
Throughout the first half of the 1920s, Dong remained a member of both the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. However, with the tensions between the two parties increasing, he eventually chose to side with the Communists in the summer of 1927. After theNanchang Uprising, he was forced into hiding, first seeking refuge in Kyoto for eight months, and then making his way to the Soviet Union. There, he attended theInternational Lenin School and theMoscow Sun Yat-sen University between 1928 and 1931. Upon his return to China in 1932, he became active in theJiangxi Soviet, where he served as Political Director of the Red Army Academy and President of the Party School. During this time, Dong sided with Mao Zedong overLi Lisan in the two men's struggle for party leadership. He then took part in theLong March, and upon the arrival inYan'an, he resumed his school leadership duties. In this period, Dong came to be known as one of theFive Elders of Yan'an (Chinese:延安五老), along withLin Boqu,Xu Teli,Wu Yuzhang, andXie Juezai.
During the war with Japan, Dong divided his time between Wuhan and Chongqing as a liaison with the Nationalist government, given his previous Kuomintang associations. In 1945, he traveled to San Francisco to attend the founding session of theUnited Nations, as part of a delegation led byT.V. Soong.[3] He was the only representative of the Communist Party, whose Central Committee outlined the objectives of the trip as follows: "to win foreign friends, to improve the party's international position, and to try to stay and work in the United States."[4] After the conference, Dong spent several months traveling the United States, seeking to attain these diplomatic goals. Towards the end of the Civil War in 1948, following decisive victories in the north, Dong was appointed Chairman of theNorth China People's Government.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Dong served as the Director of the Finance and Economic Committee of the Government Council. In 1954, he was appointed President of the Supreme People's Court. With previous experience in international diplomacy from his visit to the United States in 1945, Dong was chosen to lead a delegation to Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union in 1958, keeping him away from Beijing for two months. In his absence, the work of the Supreme People's Court over the last previous years was reviewed by a group headed byPeng Zhen. On his return, Dong was presented with the shortcomings revealed by the scrutiny, for which he accepted responsibility at a special judicial conference.
In early 1959, Dong was namedVice President of China in a joint appointment withSoong Ching-ling, a post he held until his death. Later the same year, Dong defendedPeng Dehuai from criticism at theLushan Conference, yet still managed to stay in favor with Mao, unlike others who stood up for the reproached general. In a similar manner, Dong would later remain unaffected by the political turmoil of theCultural Revolution, despite coming from a relatively privileged background. Instead, he rose in prominence and public visibility during these tumultuous years, taking over many of the diplomatic and ceremonial responsibilities previously held by the purgedLiu Shaoqi. Historians have attributed this curious fact not to any cunning political maneuvering but simply to Dong's special relationship with Mao since their first meeting at the founding of the Communist Party in 1921.[5]
In the power vacuum that appeared after the fall ofLin Biao, Dong became ActingPresident of China, serving in that capacity from February 1972 to January 1975. At that point, the office of president was abolished and theChairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress - thenZhu De - became the formal head of state. Dong was, in turn, elected Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the People's National Congress.
Dong died in Beijing on 2 April 1975, at the age of 89. In his official obituary, he is described as "one of the founders of the Communist Party of China, a great Marxist, an outstanding proletarian revolutionary, a founding father of the People's Republic of China," and "a founder of China's socialist legal system."
In 1991, a statue of Dong was erected in one of Wuhan's central squares, Hongshan Guangchang. The Hubei Provincial Museum houses a collection of Dong's personal items.
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | President of theCCPCentral Party School 1935–1937 | Succeeded by |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by | President of the Supreme People's Court 1954–1959 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Vice Chairman of the People's Republic of China 1959–1975 Served alongside:Soong Ching-ling | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chairman of the People's Republic of China Acting 1972–1975 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| People | |
| Other | |
