Generations of Chinese leadership
Encyclopedia
Because both the Communist Party of China
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...

 and the People's Liberation Army
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 — celebrated annually as "PLA Day" — as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...

 promote according to seniority, it is possible to discern distinct generations of Chinese leadership. These groups of leadership have each promoted an extension of the ideology of the former, which in some cases influenced the direction of national development.

First generation

From 1949 to 1976, Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...

 as core, Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai was the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, serving from October 1949 until his death in January 1976...

, Liu Shaoqi
Liu Shaoqi
Liu Shaoqi was a Chinese revolutionary, statesman, and theorist. He was Chairman of the People's Republic of China, China's head of state, from 27 April 1959 to 31 October 1968, during which he implemented policies of economic reconstruction in China...

, Zhu De
Zhu De
Zhu De was a Chinese militarist, politician, revolutionary, and one of the pioneers of the Chinese Communist Party. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, in 1955 Zhu became one of the Ten Marshals of the People's Liberation Army, of which he is regarded as the founder.-Early...

, Chen Yun
Chen Yun
Chen Yun was one of the most influential leaders of the People's Republic of China during the 1980s and 90s, and one of the top leaders of the Communist Party of China for almost its entire history. He was also known as Liao Chengyun ; it's unclear whether this was his original name or a pseudonym...

, Peng Dehuai
Peng Dehuai
Peng Dehuai was a prominent military leader of the Communist Party of China, and China's Defence Minister from 1954 to 1959. Peng was an important commander during the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Chinese civil war and was also the commander-in-chief of People's Volunteer Army in the Korean War...

, later Lin Biao
Lin Biao
Lin Biao was a major Chinese Communist military leader who was pivotal in the communist victory in the Chinese Civil War, especially in Northeastern China...

 and Gang of Four
Gang of Four
The Gang of Four was the name given to a political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution and were subsequently charged with a series of treasonous crimes...

 (neither Lin or the Gang are considered formally to be part of this generation because of political antagonism resulting from the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...

). These were the leaders that founded the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

 after the Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...

. They were born between 1886 and 1907, although the Gang of Four were a distinct subgroup born 1914 to 1935. Most were born before the demise of the Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

 (not including the Gang) and thus lived to see both the birth and, on the mainland
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...

, the end of the Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...

. One characteristic of these leaders were that they tended to be both political and military leaders. Most had some education outside China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, and their formative experiences included the Long March
Long March
The Long March was a massive military retreat undertaken by the Red Army of the Communist Party of China, the forerunner of the People's Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the Kuomintang army. There was not one Long March, but a series of marches, as various Communist armies in the south...

, the Chinese Civil War
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...

, and the Second Sino-Japanese War
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...

. The guiding political ideology from the first generations were general principles of Marxism
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...

 and Mao Zedong Thought.

Second generation

From 1976 to 1992, Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping was a Chinese politician, statesman, and diplomat. As leader of the Communist Party of China, Deng was a reformer who led China towards a market economy...

 as core, Chen Yun
Chen Yun
Chen Yun was one of the most influential leaders of the People's Republic of China during the 1980s and 90s, and one of the top leaders of the Communist Party of China for almost its entire history. He was also known as Liao Chengyun ; it's unclear whether this was his original name or a pseudonym...

, Hu Yaobang
Hu Yaobang
Hu Yaobang was a leader of the People's Republic of China who served as both Chairman and Party General Secretary. Hu joined the Chinese Communist Party in the 1930s, and rose to prominence as a comrade of Deng Xiaoping...

, Zhao Ziyang
Zhao Ziyang
Zhao Ziyang was a high-ranking politician in the People's Republic of China . He was the third Premier of the People's Republic of China from 1980 to 1987, and General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1987 to 1989....

, Hua Guofeng
Hua Guofeng
Su Zhu, better known by the nom de guerre Hua Guofeng , was Mao Zedong's designated successor as the Paramount Leader of the Communist Party of China and the People's Republic of China. Upon Zhou Enlai's death in 1976, he succeeded Zhou as the second Premier of the People's Republic of China...

, Ye Jianying
Ye Jianying
Ye Jianying was a Chinese communist general and the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress from 1978 to 1983.-Biography:...

, Song Ping
Song Ping
Song Ping was an official in the Communist Party of China, a former member of the Standing Committee, and is considered a member of the Second Generation of Chinese Leadership.-Biography:...

. These leaders were also involved in the Chinese revolution, but with the exception of Deng Xiaoping, served in more junior roles, as they were all born from 1897 to 1921 (that is, some were born after the demise of the Qing Empire in the Xinhai Revolution
Xinhai Revolution
The Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, also known as Revolution of 1911 or the Chinese Revolution, was a revolution that overthrew China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing , and established the Republic of China...

). Like the first generation, many were educated overseas, particularly in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. Their young formative experiences were similar to the first generation. Most had some position of authority during the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...

, although as a rule those that held power after the 1980s were purged during that decade. This generation turned the focus from class struggle and political movements to economic development, pioneering Chinese economic reform
Chinese economic reform
The Chinese economic reform refers to the program of economic reforms called "Socialism with Chinese characteristics" in the People's Republic of China that were started in December 1978 by reformists within the Communist Party of China led by Deng Xiaoping.China had one of the world's largest...

.
Dominant political ideology of the era was Deng Xiaoping Theory
Deng Xiaoping Theory
Deng Xiaoping Theory , also known as Dengism, is the series of political and economic ideologies first developed by Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping. In theory, it does not reject Marxism or Mao Zedong Thought but instead seeks to adapt them to the existing socio-economic conditions of China.Since the...

.

Third generation

From 1992 to 2003, Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin is a former Chinese politician, who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1989 to 2002, as President of the People's Republic of China from 1993 to 2003, and as Chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2005...

 as core, Li Peng
Li Peng
Li Peng served as the fourth Premier of the People's Republic of China, between 1987 and 1998, and the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislative body, from 1998 to 2003. For much of the 1990s Li was ranked second in the Communist Party of China ...

, Zhu Rongji
Zhu Rongji
Zhū Róngjī is a prominent Chinese politician who served as the Mayor and Party chief in Shanghai between 1987 and 1991, before serving as Vice-Premier and then the fifth Premier of the People's Republic of China from March 1998 to March 2003.A tough administrator, his time in office saw the...

, Qiao Shi
Qiao Shi
Qiao Shi is a politician in the People's Republic of China. He was born as Jiang Zhitong , to parents of Dinghai, Zhejiang province ancestry. He is said to be distantly related to Chiang Kai-shek's family and this was the cause for the persecution he suffered during the Cultural Revolution...

, Li Ruihuan
Li Ruihuan
Li Ruihuan was a politician active late 20th century and early 21st century in the People's Republic of China. Li was a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of 15th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China until November 2002...

 - These leaders were born before the revolution from 1924 to 1934 but were educated afterwards before the Sino-Soviet split
Sino-Soviet split
In political science, the term Sino–Soviet split denotes the worsening of political and ideologic relations between the People's Republic of China and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics during the Cold War...

. Most of them received education in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 as engineers and entered the party initially as factory managers. Unlike their predecessors, there is a split between the political and military leadership. Their formative experiences included the Second Sino-Japanese War
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...

 and the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

. This generation continued economic development while China saw the emergence of various serious social issues. Dominant political ideology was officially Jiang's Three Represents
Three Represents
The Three Represents is a socio-political ideology credited to General Secretary Jiang Zemin which became a guiding ideology of the Communist Party of China at its Sixteenth Party Congress in 2002....

.

Fourth generation (current)

From 2003, likely will last until 2012. Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao is the current Paramount Leader of the People's Republic of China. He has held the titles of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China since 2002, President of the People's Republic of China since 2003, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission since 2004, succeeding Jiang...

 is the core figure (General Secretary
General Secretary
The office of general secretary is staffed by the chief officer of:*The General Secretariat for Macedonia and Thrace, a government agency for the Greek regions of Macedonia and Thrace...

), the prominent leaders include Wu Bangguo
Wu Bangguo
Wu Bangguo is a high-ranking politician in the People's Republic of China. He is currently Chairman and Party secretary of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, a position that makes him China's chief legislator...

, Wen Jiabao
Wen Jiabao
Wen Jiabao is the sixth and current Premier and Party secretary of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, serving as China's head of government and leading its cabinet. In his capacity as Premier, Wen is regarded as the leading figure behind China's economic policy...

, Jia Qinglin
Jia Qinglin
Jia Qinglin is a senior leader of the People's Republic of China. He is the fourth ranking member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Chairman and Party secretary of the National Committee of the People's Political Consultative Conference. Jia's functions as...

, Zeng Qinghong
Zeng Qinghong
Zeng Qinghong was the Vice-President of the People's Republic of China from 2003 to 2008. He became a member of the Politburo Standing Committee and member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee during the 2002 16th Party Congress. Although he was formally ranked fifth in the nine PSC...

 and Li Changchun
Li Changchun
Li Changchun is the Propaganda chief of the Communist Party of China. He is the 5th ranked member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China, China's de facto top power organ, and has been a member since 2002...

. It is also known as the "republican generation" or the Hu-Wen Administration
Hu-Wen Administration
The Hu-Wen Administration , or Hu-Wen New Administration is the name given to the Chinese leadership that succeeded Jiang Zemin, Li Peng and Zhu Rongji, whose official start date was 2003...

. These were promoted to top leadership at the 16th Party Congress and are expected to remain in power until the 18th Party Congress in 2012. This generation of leaders, born mainly in the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 years from 1939 to 1944, represented a new technocratic style governance and a less centralized political structure. The majority of this generation of leaders were engineers whose academic lives were disrupted by the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...

 and, unlike both their predecessors and likely successors, have spent very little time overseas. Dominant political ideology of this era is Hu's Scientific Development Concept
Scientific Development Concept
The scientific development concept, sometimes translated as the scientific development perspective, is the current official guiding socio-economic ideology of the Communist Party of China incorporating sustainable development, social welfare, a humanistic society, increased democracy, and,...

 and a goal for a Harmonious Society
Harmonious society
The construction of a Harmonious Society is a socio-economic vision that is said to be the ultimate end result of Chinese leader Hu Jintao's signature ideology of the Scientific Development Concept. It serves as the ultimate goal for the ruling Communist Party of China along with Xiaokang society,...

. They are generally seen as more populist than the previous generation.

Fifth generation

The fifth generation will likely come to power at the 18th Party Congress
18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China
The 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China will be the next major Communist Party Congress in China. Barring any possibility of institutional reform or systematic political change, it will be held in Beijing, China, at the Great Hall of the People sometime in the autumn of 2012...

 in 2012, when Hu Jintao is due to step down as Party Secretary. In the fifth generation, one sees fewer engineers and more management and finance majors, including successful entrepreneurs. Most of the fifth generation of civilian leadership, born in the postwar years 1945 to 1955, were educated at top Chinese universities. Hu Jintao's Communist Youth League
Communist Youth League
The Communist Youth League of China also known as the China Youth League is a youth movement of the People's Republic of China for youth between the ages of fourteen and twenty-eight, run by Communist Party of China. The league is organized on the party pattern. Its leader is its First Secretary...

 faction, and the Crown Prince Party
Crown Prince Party
In modern usage, the Crown Prince Party, or The Princelings, refers to the descendants of prominent and influential senior communist officials in the People's Republic of China. It is not a political party, but an informal, and often derogatory, categorization to signify those benefiting from...

 (or "Princelings") are seen to be the two dominant factions within the leadership. Following his elevation to vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, which oversees the People's Liberation Army, the Princeling and current Vice-President Xi Jinping
Xi Jinping
Xi Jinping is a high ranking politician of the People's Republic of China. He currently serves as the top-ranking member of the Secretariat of the Communist Party of China, the country's Vice President, Vice-Chairman of the Central Military Commission, President of the Central Party School and the...

, is now firmly in line to succeed Hu Jintao when he retires. Vice-Premier Li Keqiang
Li Keqiang
Li Keqiang is the First-ranking Vice-Premier and deputy Party secretary of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, the seventh ranked member of the Politburo Standing Committee, the People's Republic of China's de facto highest decision-making body...

, or Vice-Premier Wang Qishan
Wang Qishan
Wang Qishan is a politician in the People's Republic of China who currently serves as the Vice-Premier in charge of economic, energy and financial affairs under premier Wen Jiabao. Previously Wang served in regional positions in Hainan and Beijing...

 will likely succeed Premier Wen Jiabao. Other prominent figures that are speculated to be top figures in the 5th generation include CPC Organization Chief Li Yuanchao
Li Yuanchao
Li Yuanchao is a prominent politician in the People's Republic of China, serving on the Politburo of the Communist Party of China and as the head of its Organization Department. From 2002-2007 Li served as the Communist Party of China Secretary of Jiangsu, the first-in-charge of an area of...

, Chongqing party chief Bo Xilai
Bo Xilai
Bo Xilai is the Communist Party of China Chongqing Committee Secretary, first-in-charge of the Western interior municipality and a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of China...

, Guangdong Party Chief Wang Yang, Tianjin Party Chief Zhang Gaoli
Zhang Gaoli
Zhang Gaoli is the current CPC Tianjin Committee Secretary. He was the Party Secretary in the economic sprawl of Shandong province until March 2007.-Biography:...

, State Councilor Liu Yandong
Liu Yandong
Liu Yandong is an official of the Communist Party of China currently serving on the Politburo. She also holds the post of State Councilor...

 (likely successor of Wu Yi
Wu Yi
Wu Yi was one of four Vice Premiers of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, overseeing the country's economy until March 2008. Known as the "iron lady", Wu is one of the toughest negotiators in China's government.-Biography:...

 as the number one female figure), National Reform and Development Commission Minister Ma Kai
Ma Kai
Ma Kai is a State Councilor and Secretary General of the State Council of the People's Republic of China.-Biography:Ma Kai was born in Jinshan, Shanghai in 1946. He received his Master's degree from Renmin University of China in 1982....

 and Tibet Autonomous Region
Tibet Autonomous Region
The Tibet Autonomous Region , Tibet or Xizang for short, also called the Xizang Autonomous Region is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China , created in 1965....

 Party Chief Zhang Qingli
Zhang Qingli
Zhang Qingli was the Secretary of the Communist Party of China Tibet Autonomous Regional Committee. He is also a member of the 17th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. Known for his tough policies in ethnic regions, Zhang has dismissed ethnic officials whom he considers unreliable...

.

Sixth generation

Provided China's power transitions and government institutions remain stable in the next decade, the sixth generation of leaders will come to power at the 20th Party Congress in 2022. Under current unspoken Chinese political conventions the leaders of this generation would be mostly born in the 1960s, and speculated future leaders were born from 1960 to 1967. China specialists believe this is the generation where significant political reform will take place after economic growth has been stabilized. Current speculation places former Communist Youth League
Communist Youth League
The Communist Youth League of China also known as the China Youth League is a youth movement of the People's Republic of China for youth between the ages of fourteen and twenty-eight, run by Communist Party of China. The league is organized on the party pattern. Its leader is its First Secretary...

 head and current Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the northern region of the country. Inner Mongolia shares an international border with the countries of Mongolia and the Russian Federation...

 party chief Hu Chunhua
Hu Chunhua
Hu Chunhua is a politician of the People's Republic of China. He is currently the Communist Party Secretary of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the region's top political office. Hu has worked in Tibet for much of his political career and ascended the party ranks partly through the Communist...

 as a possible core figure. Jilin
Jilin
Jilin , is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. Jilin borders North Korea and Russia to the east, Heilongjiang to the north, Liaoning to the south, and Inner Mongolia to the west...

 party chief Sun Zhengcai
Sun Zhengcai
Sun Zhengcai is the CPC Secretary of Jilin province since November 2009. Prior to that, he served as Minister of Agriculture of the People's Republic of China. In July 1988, he joined the Communist Party of China. He has been a researcher of agricultural science in Beijing, and held many...

 has also been named. U.S.-based news portal Duowei also listed Fujian Governor Su Shulin
Su Shulin
-Biography:Su Shulin was born in 1960, graduated from Daqing Petroleum Institute and received a master's degree at the Harbin Institute of Technology...

, Hunan party chief Zhou Qiang
Zhou Qiang
Zhou Qiang is a politician of the People's Republic of China. He currently serves as the Party chief of the Communist Party of China Hunan committee, first-in-charge of the central Chinese province. He served as the province's governor between 2007 and 2010. Zhou's ascendancy to the party...

, ACAC consortium
ACAC consortium
The AVIC I Commercial Aircraft Company is a subsidiary of Aviation Industries of China I , formed in 2002 by various Chinese aviation companies, including:* Shanghai Aircraft Research Institute...

 CEO Zhang Qingwei
Zhang Qingwei
Zhang Qingwei is the current chairman of the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense of the People's Republic of China....

, and CYL head Lu Hao
Lu Hao (born 1967)
Lu Hao is a Chinese politician. He is the current first secretary of the Communist Youth League of China and president of the China Youth University for Political Sciences.-Sources:* * * *...

 as other potential figures in this generation of leadership.

See also

  • Politics of the People's Republic of China
    Politics of the People's Republic of China
    The politics of the People's Republic of China take place in a framework of a single-party socialist republic. The leadership of the Communist Party is stated in the Constitution of the People's Republic of China...

  • Political position ranking of the People's Republic of China
    Political position ranking of the People's Republic of China
    The political ranking of the People's Republic of China is the ranking of political leaders in China, by order of presumed political power. Although there is no formally published ranking, there is usually an established convention and protocol, and the relative positions of Chinese political...

  • History of the People's Republic of China
    History of the People's Republic of China
    The history of the People's Republic of China details the history of mainland China since October 1, 1949, when, after a near complete victory by the Communist Party of China in the Chinese Civil War, Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China from atop Tiananmen...

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK