1916.12.–2015.7.15.
○ Natural causes
“If you want rice, look for Wan Li” — the reform pioneer who let Anhui’s peasants contract land to households
“If you want to eat rice, look for Wan Li”: the reformist leader who first implemented the household-responsibility system in Anhui, then served as First Vice Premier (1983–1988) and NPC Standing Committee Chairman (1988–1993).
From Shandong, he was vice-mayor of Beijing after 1949, directing the “ten great buildings” including the Great Hall of the People, and was persecuted in the Cultural Revolution. Appointed Anhui first secretary in 1977, he tolerated the secret land division at Xiaogang village and with the provincial “six articles” allowed household contracting in the famine-stricken countryside, the starting point of rural reform. As vice-premier for agriculture from 1980 he dismantled the people’s communes, and he chaired the National People’s Congress Standing Committee from 1988 to 1993. Returning from abroad in May 1989, he endorsed martial law. He died in 2015 at 99.
Activities and affiliations
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1936–2015
Agriculture and land policy
- First Secretary, Anhui CCP Committee1977–1980Political and party leadership
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1983–1988
People’s Republic of China state institutionsFirst Vice-Premier of the State Council
Government and administration -
1988–1993
People’s Republic of China state institutionsChairman, NPC Standing Committee
Legislature and state representation -
People’s Republic of China state institutionsMinister of the State Agricultural CommissionMain
Agriculture and land policy
Career Timeline
- 1936Joined the CCP
- 1975–1976Minister of Railways
- 1977–1980First Secretary of the Anhui Party Committee
- 1980–1988Vice-Premier of the State Council; First Vice-Premier from 1983
- 1983–1988First Vice-Premier of the State Council
- 1988–1993Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee
Related historical events
- 1966–1976The Cultural RevolutionVictim of Cultural Revolution persecutionHe was persecuted during the Cultural Revolution.
- 1976–1992Reform and opening: the Deng Xiaoping eraHousehold contracting in AnhuiTolerated the Xiaogang experiment and opened the way to its spread.
- 1989The Tiananmen protests and the crackdown of 4 June 1989NPC chairman who returned from abroad and backed martial lawStudents hoped he would convene the NPC; on 27 May he endorsed martial law.
The 1975 railway reorganization
In 1975, Wan Li took charge of the Ministry of Railways and participated in efforts to restore railway operations amid the disruptions of the Cultural Revolution. Delays and congestion on major routes also affected the supply of raw materials and the transport of finished goods. The reorganization began at the Xuzhou Railway Bureau. After the work there produced results, Wan reported on the Xuzhou experience at a State Council meeting in March, and the ministry extended it to other railway bureaus. This work formed part of the broader economic and administrative reorganization promoted by Deng Xiaoping in 1975. It was an earlier phase of Wan’s career, before he led rural reforms in Anhui.