Xi Zhongxun (; 15 October 1913 – 24 May 2002) was a Chinese Communist politician. He was the father of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Born in Shaanxi to a land-owning family, Xi joined the Communist Youth League of China in 1926. After participating in revolutionary activities, he was sent to prison, where he joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). He participated in the Shaanxi–Gansu (Shaangan) Border Region Soviet Area and became the Chairman of the Soviet Government, later holding key positions in the . In 1935, Xi was arrested as part of a purge of alleged rightists, but was released following Mao Zedong's arrival in the Long March. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Xi Zhongxun occupied several pivotal roles in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region and Northwest China. In 1945, he became the head of the Northwest Bureau. Following the restart of the Chinese Civil War, Xi maintained a pivotal position in the Northwest region.
After the establishment of the People's Republic of China, Xi was designated as a member of the Central People's Government and the Second Secretary of the CCP Northwest Bureau, managing all significant party, government, and military matters in the Northwest region. He served as the first Secretary-General of the State Council from 1954 to 1965 and Vice Premier of the State Council from 1959 to 1965. Li Jiantong's novel Liu Zhidan led to his political downfall, and he was persecuted during the Cultural Revolution. He was politically cleared in 1978, being appointed to afterwards Guangdong, becoming its Party Secretary from 1978 to 1980. In there, Xi pioneered China's first special economic zones and was instrumental in the creation of Shenzhen. He served as the Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress from 1980 to 1983, overseeing legal reforms. In 1982, he became a Secretariat Member, where he often focused on ethnic minority policies and religion policies. He again served as the NPCSC Vice Chairman from 1988 to 1993, afterwards retiring in Guangdong. He returned to Beijing in 2002 where he died.
Recognized as a key figure in both the first and second generations of Chinese leadership, Xi played a pivotal role in the Chinese Communist revolution and the development of the People's Republic. His contributions spanned from establishing Communist guerrilla bases in northwestern China in the 1930s to pioneering economic liberalization in southern China in the 1980s. Known for his political moderation, Xi endured multiple purges and periods of imprisonment throughout his career, yet remained a steadfast advocate for reform and pragmatic governance.
Early life and education Xi was born on 15 October 1913, to a land-owning family, in rural Fuping County, Shaanxi. His parents were Xi Zongde () and Chai Caihua (). His grandparents, Xi Yongsheng and a woman with the surname Zhang, had come to Shaanxi after fleeing economic hardship in Dengzhou, Henan; Xi Zhongxun considered himself to be Henanese. Xi's childhood name was Xiangjin, which according to Xi Jinping's recounting of family history, was drawn from the Three Character Classic to have the meaning "to become closer through practice".
Xi started working in the fields at age five. In 1922, Xi enrolled in primary school, where he studied traditional Confucian texts, arithmetic, society, and the natural world. In February 1926, he enrolled in the Licheng Middle School. In March 1926, Xi joined the Licheng Youth Society, which was founded by communists. In school, a travelling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) member came to the school to teach about Marxism, marking Xi's first understanding of communism. Xi joined the Communist Youth League of China in May 1926. In June, he joined his teacher Yan Musan to protest a local militia leader named Zhang. In January 1927, he studied at the Fuping County First Higher Primary School, brought by Yan. His first application to join the CCP was rejected due to his young age. At the end of the year, he was forced to suspend his studies for organizing students to oppose the traditional old-style education system. In January 1928, he enrolled at the Third Normal School () in Sanyuan County under the guidance of Yan. There, Xi participated in student movements as well as in activities off campus.
During the White Terror in Shaanxi, the Nationalists engaged in mass arrests of Communists and students, and executed members of the Communist Youth League. After initial unsuccessful efforts at leading peasant revolts in response, the Communist Party branch in Shaanxi launched what became the Weihua Uprising in March 1928. Xi was among the students and Communists in Sanyuan County who mobilised in support. Xi and two of his fellow students were recruited to assassinate the head of instruction at Third Normal School. They failed and were arrested. In prison, Xi joined the Chinese Communist Party. He participated in a hunger strike to win better food for inmates and did political work to build relations with Nationalist deserters who were imprisoned. Through the intervention of Song Zheyuan, the then Chairman of the Shaanxi Provincial Government under the Kuomintang, Xi Zhongxun and his colleagues were acquitted and released.
Shortly after Xi Zhongxun was released from prison, his father died. Xi's mother and two sisters were in poor health due to famine and died shortly thereafter. After their death, Xi worked to care for his family, which by that time had ten people.
Early career
Red Army period
In 1930, Xi was appointed by the party to work in the Guominjun under Yang Hucheng. In March 1932, Xi Zhongxun, together with , Li Tesheng, , and others, orchestrated the , holding the position of Party Committee Secretary for the Fifth Detachment of the Shaanxi-Gansu Guerrilla Force of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. The army was subsequently disbanded during an assault on Yongshou County, and Xi Zhongxun clandestinely returned to his native place. In September 1932, he joined the and assumed the role of political instructor for the Second Detachment of the Weibei Guerrilla Force.
In March 1933, he joined Liu Zhidan and others in founding the Shaanxi–Gansu (Shaangan) Border Region Soviet Area, and became the chairman of the Soviet area government while leading guerillas in resisting Nationalist incursions and expanding the Soviet area. He consecutively occupied roles as a Member of the Special Committee of the CPC Shaanxi-Gansu Border Region, Secretary of the Military Commission and the Youth League Special Committee, Political Commissar of the Guerrilla Headquarters, and Vice Chairman and Chairman of the Revolutionary Committee. In November 1934, Xi Zhongxun was chosen Chairman of the Soviet Government of the Shaanxi-Gansu Border Region. Working with Liu was influential on Xi, who in 1979 described Liu as having taught him that "revolution demands a united line" and the importance of listening to differing voices, including those outside the Communist Party.
In February 1935, the revolutionary base regions in Northern Shaanxi and the Shaanxi-Gansu border region were consolidated during the Second Counter-Encirclement Campaign, resulting in the formation of the . Xi Zhongxun emerged as a prominent figure within the Northwest Working Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and maintained his role as Chairman of the Soviet Government of the Shaanxi-Gansu Border Region.
In September 1935, Xi Zhongxun, together with and others, went to Wazichuan in Bao’an County to welcome the upon its arrival in northern Shaanxi after the Long March. Shortly thereafter, Xi was arrested as part of a purge of alleged rightists. In October, after CCP Chairman Mao Zedong arrived in northern Shaanxi, Xi was released and politically rehabilitated. Xi attributed Mao's arrival to saving Xi's life. It is said that Xi's "Revolutionary Base Area of the Northwest saved the Party Center and the Party Center saved the revolutionaries of the Northwest." The base area eventually became the Yan'an Soviet, the headquarters of the Chinese Communist movement until 1947.
In January 1936, Xi Zhongxun was designated as Vice Chairman of the Soviet Government of the Central Shaanxi Special District and Secretary of the Party Group. Subsequent to the Northeastern Army's occupation of the Central Shaanxi region in April, he assumed the role of Secretary of the CCP Central Shaanxi Working Committee, persistently directing the efforts of the battle. In June 1936, Xi participated in the Red Army's westward campaign, subsequently holding the positions of Secretary of the CCP Quhuan Working Committee and Secretary of the Huan County Committee. In September, he was once more assigned to Central Shaanxi by the Central Committee of the CCP, where he held the positions of Secretary of the Central Shaanxi Special Committee, Political Commissar of the Central Shaanxi Guerrilla Force, and Political Commissar of the Central Shaanxi Special District Command.
Second Sino-Japanese War During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Xi Zhongxun occupied several pivotal roles in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region and Northwest China. In October 1937, he was designated Secretary of the CCP Guanzhong Subcommittee while simultaneously holding the position of Political Commissar of the local Security Command. In May 1939, he was appointed Commissioner of the Guanzhong Special Administrative Office. In 1940, he took on the position of Principal at the Second Normal School in the border area and became a member of the .
Beginning in 1941, Xi held the position of Political Commissar for both the Guanzhong Military Subdistrict and the First Security Brigade, directing the Eighth Route Army in countering aggressions by Nationalist forces. In August 1942, he was appointed President of the Party School of the CCP Northwest Bureau. In early 1943, Mao Zedong personally wrote the slogan “The Party’s interests come first” to acknowledge Xi's contributions.
In February 1943, he was designated Secretary of the CCP Suide Prefectural Committee and Political Commissar of the Suimi Garrison Area and the Independent First Brigade. During this period, he advocated for the model worker and furthered the . He also endeavored to rectify communist deviations throughout the Yan'an Rectification Movement.
In June 1945, Xi was elected as an alternative member of the CCP Central Committee during the 7th National Congress, and in August, he assumed the role of Deputy Head of the CCP Central Organization Department. In the same year, he became the head of the Northwest Bureau. He additionally held the position of Political Commissar for the provisional command during the counteroffensive campaign at Yetai Mountain (), successfully repelling Nationalist forces that had infiltrated the border area.
Second Kuomintang-Communist Civil War Following the Second Sino-Japanese War, Xi maintained a pivotal position in the Northwest region. He was designated Secretary of the CCP Northwest Bureau and Political Commissar of the . In November 1946, he effectively convinced , the deputy commander of the Kuomintang's Shaanbei Security Command during the in northern Shaanxi, to defect to the Communist faction, thereby bolstering the CCP's influence in northern Shaanxi.