Wang Hongwen

Wang Hongwen
王洪文
Vice Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party
In office
30 August 1973 – 6 October 1976
ChairmanMao Zedong
Hua Guofeng
Personal details
Born6 December 1935
Xinjing, Manchukuo
(now Changchun, Jilin, China)
Died3 August 1992(1992-08-03) (aged 56)
Beijing, China
Political partyChinese Communist Party (1953–1976)
SpouseCui Gendi
Children3 (2 sons and 1 daughter)
Military service
Branch/service People's Liberation Army Ground Force
Years of service1950-1956
RankSecond Lieutenant
Battles/warsKorean War
Chinese name
Chinese
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinWáng Hóngwén
Wade–GilesWang2 Hung2-wen2
IPA[wǎŋ xʊ̌ŋwə̌n]

Wang Hongwen (6 December 1935 – 3 August 1992) was a Chinese labour activist and politician who was the youngest member of the "Gang of Four". He rose to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), after organizing the Shanghai People's Commune, to become one of the foremost members of national leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

At the pinnacle of his power he was the second Vice Chairman of the CCP, and ranked third in the Communist Party's hierarchy. Following Mao's death in 1976, Wang was deposed in an intra-party coup, arrested and charged with "counterrevolutionary activity", then sentenced to life imprisonment in 1981.


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