Henan first secretary called the “king of the left” in the Great Leap, responsible for the Xinyang incident
Born to a peasant family in Qi county, Henan, he joined the Communist Party in 1925 and led peasant risings in eastern Henan. In the war against Japan he fought with border guerrillas and as political director of the New Fourth Army’s 4th Division, and in the civil war he was party secretary of the Henan–Anhui–Jiangsu border region. After 1949 he was chairman and governor of Henan and then provincial first secretary. The “king of the left” of the Great Leap, who preached a “philosophy of leaping”, he claimed 70.2 billion jin for Henan’s 1958 grain output, actually 28.1 billion, and after Lushan ordered “little Peng Dehuais” rooted out, laying the ground for the Xinyang incident. In three self-criticisms he admitted over a million deaths in Xinyang, and in 1962 he was moved to the Central-South Bureau. He died in Guangzhou in 1967.
Also known as: Wu Chih-p'u
Activities and affiliations
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1925–1967
Political and party leadership
- First Secretary of Henan1952–1962
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1938–1949
Chinese Communist revolutionary forces (before 1949)Political director, New Fourth Army 4th Division
Military command -
1949–1962
People’s Republic of China state institutionsGovernor of Henan
Government and administration
Career Timeline
- 1925Joined the Communist Party
- 1926Peasant Movement Training Institute, Guangzhou
- 1941Political director, New Fourth Army 4th Division
- 1949Vice-chairman of the Central Plains provisional government; vice-chairman and chairman of Henan
- 1958First secretary of Henan; “philosophy of leaping”
- 1959Led the anti-right-deviation campaign in Henan after Lushan
- 1961Three self-criticisms over the Xinyang incident
- 1962Removed from Henan; culture and education secretary of the Central-South Bureau