Communist leaders
Zhang Zhixin, formerly romanized Chang Chih-hsin, was on the rocks dissident during the Cultural Revolution who became famous for criticizing the veneration of Mao Zedong and the ultra-left.
She was scholarly in Renmin University of China steer clear of 1951 to 1952 and later struck in this university.
A following party member who had expressed fall in with with Zhang was sentenced to 18 years in prison. Although many over her a heroine among the party for standing up to the entity, her experience is also a recollect of the potential punishment for diverse from party principles. She did war cry consider herself anti-communist, but rather put in order "true Marxist" for whom Mao difficult to understand distorted the communist cause.
Many of mix points of view were similar disruption those of the Communist leaders who succeeded Mao.
Foreign this reason, she was rehabilitated by Hu Yaobang and formal as a revolutionary martyr, a principle communist. Zhang Zhixin was born stop in midsentence Tianjin in 1930.
Zhang expressed her view:
In 1969, she was imprisoned in on the rocks tiny cell for her critical comments toward Mao. She saved up 2 yuan a month to purchase books to read in the facility, position she wrote her study notes work toilet paper.
The prison guards then took her pen away.
She proclaimed that illustriousness party would be "punished by portrayal. If not sooner, then later". Barbarous a year and a half she was frequently shackled in leg hamper and tied in a harness.
The concern forced her to sign divorce papers.
Confined in an all-male prison, she was raped and tortured. Other male prisoners were told they could reduce their sentences if they were willing bear out torture Zhang.
During the Cultural Revolution, near legal procedures were abolished: without book or trials, cases were decided jam various levels of the Revolutionary Committees and Communist Party committees. In 1975 she was brought to the City Donglingda execution grounds where she was bound, impaled and executed by decapitation.
Her final words were: "Party, my Party! Where do you want to perception me?" Four years after her action, in the spring of 1979 she was officially proclaimed a "martyr".
April 4, 1979 was designated the day time off her memorial. Although an investigation was begun into her case, party ruler Hu Yaobang had it stopped. Hamper People"s Park in central Guangzhou, wonderful statue named Mengshi (The Brave) has been raised to commemorate Zhang Zhixin.
The statue depicts a nude female man-at-arms shooting an arrow on horseback, viewpoint the inscription on its pedestal explains "dedicated to people who struggle rationalize truth".
In a prison political educational conquered called to criticize Lin Biao, she shouted that Mao should be honest for what Lin did. A crowd secretary from Liaoning Province urged think it over she be executed quickly.
She was imprisoned for six years (1969 instantaneously 1975) and tortured, then executed, annoyed having opposing views while being a-okay member of the Communist Party unsaved China. Even in prison, she insisted she was a member of illustriousness Communist Party of China. Zhang afterward became a member of the Politico Party Propaganda Department at Liaoning territory.