Li Shenzhi

Li Shenzhi

Li Zhenzhi (李慎之; 1923-2003) was a prominent Chinese social scientist and public intellectual. For long a trusted spokesperson of the Chinese Communist Party, he rose to become Vice-President of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Dismissed from this position for blunt criticisms of the regime, he emerged in the 1990s as a powerful critic of authoritarianism, and a prominent exponent of Chinese liberalism.

His death in 2003, which had been preceded by a series of widely circulated professions of his liberal commitment, prompted an outpouring of adulatory writings, securing his posthumous status as a champion of intellectual freedom under difficult circumstances.

From 1941 to 1945 Li studied economics in Beijing (Yanjing University), and Shanghai (St. John's University). In November 1944, he participated in the Communist Party's secret "National Salvation Association of Democratic Youth."

Formally joining the Party in 1948, he became international editor in chief and Deputy Director of the Xinhua News Agency and later served as Premier Zhou Enlai's diplomatic secretary. From late 1978 to early 1980, Li was a member of the International Issues Writing Group established by the Central Committee. Meanwhile, he accompanied party supremo Deng Xiaoping on his visit to the USA, serving as adviser to the delegation.

He was transferred to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in 1980 to set up the United States Research Institute, of which he was appointed Director in 1982.

In 1985 he became a vice president CASS , retaining his directorship of the United States Research Institute. He was dismissed in 1990 due to blunt criticisms of the June Fourth events in Tiananmen, and took medical retirement in 1995.

There has been controversy about Li's liberal-democratic credentials, focusing on his failure to completely break with the Communist Party. According to contemporary critics like Cao Changqing (a US-based journalist) and Zhong Weiguang (a scholar and writer based in Germany), he compares poorly with Eastern bloc liberals like Milovan Đilas (Djilas), or, in China, resolute non-collaborators like Chen Yinke and original, if tragically persecuted thinkers like Gu Zhun.

Xu Youyu responded to this view that conditions for Chinese intellectuals had been considerably harsher than for East Europeans like Djilas; to be fair, Li should be placed in comparison with other committed but "enlightened" communists like Zhou Yang and Yu Guangyuan.

ee also

*Chinese philosophy
**Chinese liberalism


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Wang Shenzhi — This is a Chinese name; the family name is Wang. Wang Shenzhi Birth and death …   Wikipedia

  • Li Shenzhi — b. 1923, Wuxi, Jiangsu Journalist, liberal intellectual Li Shenzhi joined the Chinese Communist Party in 1942 and worked at the Xinhua Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, as a news reporter and editor. From 1949 until he …   Encyclopedia of Contemporary Chinese Culture

  • Min (Ten Kingdoms) — Min 閩 ← …   Wikipedia

  • Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period — Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (zh tsp|t=五代十國|s=五代十国|p=Wǔdài Shíguó, 907 960) was an era of political upheaval in China, beginning in the Tang Dynasty and ending in the Song Dynasty. During this period, five dynasties quickly succeeded one… …   Wikipedia

  • Тайцзицюань стиль Шень — Текст удалён из статьи из за подозрения в нарушении авторских прав Размещение текста, ранее находившегося на этой странице, возможно, нарушает авторские права. Ранее удалённый текст был опубликован в следующем источнике:… …   Википедия

  • Min Chinese — Bân gú / Mìng ngṳ̄ ( Min ) written in Chinese characters Traditional Chinese 閩語 Simplified …   Wikipedia

  • Lu Yuegang — Lu Yuegang(盧躍剛), a 46 year old Sichuan native in China, is a journalist and a writer of non fiction. He has been a reporter of China Youth Daily for ten years. He was promoted to be the deputy director and later the principal reporter of the news …   Wikipedia

  • Yin (Ten Kingdoms) — The Yin (殷) was a short lived kingdom during China’s Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period which lasted from 907 to 960 and bridged the time between the fall of the Tang Dynasty and the foundation of the Song Dynasty.Rebellion from MinThe Min… …   Wikipedia

  • Chinese coins — Ancient Chinese coins were produced continuously for around 2,500 years by casting in moulds, rather than being struck with dies as with most western coins.Collectors can obtain affordable yet old, beautiful, and interesting coins associated with …   Wikipedia

  • Ancient Chinese coinage — Ancient Chinese coins Chinese coins were produced continuously for around 2,500 years by casting in moulds, rather than being struck with dies as with most western coins. Contents 1 …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”