Former President of the People's Republic of China
In this Chinese name, the family name is Yang.
Yang Shangkun
杨尚昆
4th President of the People's Republic of China
In office 8 April 1988 – 27 March 1993
Premier
Li Peng
Vice President
Wang Zhen
Leader
Deng Xiaoping
Preceded by
Li Xiannian
Succeeded by
Jiang Zemin
Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission
In office State Commission: 20 June 1983 – 28 March 1993 Party Commission: 12 September 1982 – 19 October 1992
Chairman
Deng Xiaoping Jiang Zemin
Secretary-General of the CCP Central Military Commission
In office August 1945 – November 1956
Succeeded by
Huang Kecheng
In office July 1981 – November 1989
Preceded by
Geng Biao
Succeeded by
Yang Baibing
Director of the Office of the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party
In office 24 October 1945 – 10 November 1965
Chairman
Mao Zedong
Preceded by
Li Fuchun
Succeeded by
Wang Dongxing
Member of the National People's Congress
In office 21 December 1964 – 13 January 1975
Constituency
PLA At-large
In office 25 March 1988 – 15 March 1993
Constituency
Sichuan At-large
7th Mayor of Guangzhou
In office March 1979 – September 1981
Preceded by
Jiao Linyi
Succeeded by
Liang Lingguang
Personal details
Born
(1907-08-03)3 August 1907 Tongnan, Chongqing, Sichuan, Qing Empire
Died
14 September 1998(1998-09-14) (aged 91) Beijing, People's Republic of China
Nationality
Chinese
Political party
Chinese Communist Party (joined in 1926)
Spouse
Li Bozhao
(m. 1929; died 1985)
Relations
Yang Baibing
Children
3
Alma mater
Shanghai University, Moscow Sun Yat-sen University
Yang Shangkun
Simplified Chinese
杨尚昆
Traditional Chinese
楊尚昆
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin
Yáng Shàngkūn
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutping
Joeng4 Soeng6-kwan1
Yang in 1940Yang (right) with Nikolai Bulganin
Yang Shangkun (3 August 1907[1] – 14 September 1998) was a Chinese Communist military and political leader, president of the People's Republic of China from 1988 to 1993, and one of the Eight Elders that dominated the party after the death of Mao Zedong.[2]
Born to a prosperous land-owning family, Yang studied politics at Shanghai University and Marxist philosophy and revolutionary tactics at Moscow Sun Yat-sen University. He went on to hold high office under both Mao Zedong and later Deng Xiaoping; from 1945 to 1965 he was Director of the General Office and from 1945 to 1956 Secretary–General of the Central Military Commission (CMC). In these positions, Yang oversaw much of the day-to-day running of government and Party affairs, both political and military, amassing a great deal of bureaucratic power by controlling things like the flow of documents, the keeping of records, and the approval and allocation of funds.[2] Purged, arrested and imprisoned during the Cultural Revolution, he spent 12 years in prison but staged a comeback in 1978, becoming a key ally of Deng, serving as Mayor of Guangzhou (1979–81), and returning to the CMC as Secretary–General and also Vice Chairman (1981–89), before assuming the presidency.[2]
One of the earliest supporters of Chinese economic reform, Yang justified it with references to Vladimir Lenin and the New Economic Policy. However, he strongly opposed any form of political reform, and, despite his own suffering during the Cultural Revolution, actively defended the image and record of Mao. Together with his half-brother, General Yang Baibing, Yang Shangkun effectively controlled the PLA for the entire 1980s and into the early 1990s. Despite his initial hesitation, he went on to play a leading role in crushing the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and was actually the one who planned and supervised the operations to clear the square and surrounding streets. Yang's downfall came in 1993, when he failed in his attempts to undermine the new leadership of Jiang Zemin and to retain control of the PLA, and was forced to retire by a coalition of Party elders, including Deng himself.
^"族谱帮大忙，确定杨尚昆诞辰日为8月3日--中国共产党新闻--中国共产党新闻-人民网". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
^ abcYang Shangkun (Yang Shang-kun) (1907-1998) in China at war: an Encyclopedia, edited by Xiaobing Li, pp. 512–514, ABC-CLIO, 2012.
YangShangkun (3 August 1907 – 14 September 1998) was a Chinese Communist military and political leader, president of the People's Republic of China from...
half-brother of YangShangkun. Together, the two brothers effectively controlled the PLA from the early 1980s until the early 1990s. Yang was born as Yang Shangzheng...
action against the protesters. On the morning of 25 April, President YangShangkun and Premier Li Peng met with Deng at the latter's residence. Deng endorsed...
and market-oriented economy). Deng's allies among the Elders included YangShangkun and Peng Zhen. By the late 1980s, all Elders, including Deng himself...
Other prominent Party and military figures like President YangShangkun and his brother Yang Baibing were believed to be planning a coup. At the first...
was present. When Zhao advocated modifying the editorial, President YangShangkun proposed declaring martial law according to the decision of National...
21. The Red Army entered the northern Guizhou again. Peng Dehuai and YangShangkun led the 3rd Legion of Red Army marched south and occupied the Loushan...
to the Central Military Commission, but Zhou Enlai, Liu Shaoqi, and YangShangkun ordered the CMC and Politburo not to inform Mao Zedong. Only in January...
China and was replaced by YangShangkun. Li was then named Chairman of the National Committee of the CPPCC. 4 YangShangkun 杨尚昆 (1907–1998) Sichuan At-large...
rather than General Secretary Zhao Ziyang and Presidents Li Xiannian and YangShangkun. Deng repudiated the Cultural Revolution and, in 1977, launched the...
with many other students, such as Zhang Wentian, Wang Jiaxiang, and YangShangkun formed a group known as the 28 Bolsheviks. They regarded themselves...
to retire. Li stepped down as president in 1988 and was succeeded by YangShangkun. Li was then named Chairman of the National Committee of the CPPCC....
mistake, in which the wrong people were killed. In 1988, President YangShangkun commissioned an investigation into the Futian incident, which recommended...
Guofeng Hu Yaobang Zhao Ziyang Jiang Zemin Post abolished Li Xiannian YangShangkun Hua Guofeng Zhao Ziyang Li Peng Chairman of the CPPCC National Committee...
opening act of the Cultural Revolution. Lu Dingyi, Luo Ruiqing and YangShangkun were also deposed. Peng survived the Cultural Revolution, and was eventually...
People's Republic of China was held by two figureheads, Li Xiannian and YangShangkun. Since 1993, the position has also been held by the CCP General Secretary...
W. Bush (1989–1993) Bill Clinton (1993–1997) Lee Teng-hui Leaders Deng Xiaoping (1989–1990) Jiang Zemin (1989–1997) YangShangkun (1989–1993) Li Peng...
opportunism of high-ranking officials, such as Zhou Enlai, Deng Yingchao, YangShangkun, Lin Biao, Chen Boda, and Zhang Yufeng in carrying out Mao and Jiang...
Dehuai, commander of 3rd Field Army; Nie Rongzhen, Lin's commissar; YangShangkun, Peng's commissar and another member of 28 Bolsheviks; and Li Zhuoran...
1928. In 1930, Xi was appointed by the party to work in the Guominjun under Yang Hucheng. In March 1932, he led an unsuccessful uprising within that army...
Zhu De, Lin Biao, Liu Shaoqi, Dong Biwu, Ye Jianying, Li Xiannian, YangShangkun, Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping. At the age of 9, Xiang Xuan, the nephew...
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