Ye Qun
Ye Qun | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 2, 1917 Minhou County,Fu gian,Republic of China |
| Died | September 13, 1971(aged 53) Öndörkhaan,Mongolia |
| Political party | Chinese Communist Party |
| Spouse | Lin Biao |
| Children | Lin Liheng,Lin Liguo |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  People's Republic of China |
| Branch/service |  People's Liberation Army Ground Force |
| Years of service | ?-1971 |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Battles/wars | Chinese Civil War |
Ye Qun(simplified Chinese:Diệp đàn;traditional Chinese:Diệp đàn;pinyin:Yè Qún;2 December 1917[1]– 13 September 1971) was a Chinese military officer and politician, and the wife ofLin Biao,theVice Chairman of Chinese Communist Partywho controlled China'smilitary poweralong with ChairmanMao Zedong.She was mostly known for taking care of politics for her husband. Ye was a member of the9th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party.She died with Lin Biao and their sonLin Liguoin a plane crash overMongoliaon September 13, 1971. They also had a daughter,Lin Liheng(Doudou), who was not on the airplane.
Early life
[edit]Ye Qun was born inMinhou County,Fu gian Province.In 1935, she attended a middle school affiliated with theBeijing Pedagogical Universityand took part in the anti-Japanese demonstrations by Beijing students on December 9, 1935. Early in theSecond Sino-Japanese War,she briefly joined one of theKuomintangyouth organizations. She later went toYan'anand joined theChinese Communist Partyin 1938.[2]
In 1942, Ye Qun married Lin Biao, with whom she had two children: sonLin Liguo( san sát quả ) and daughterLin Liheng( san sát hằng ).[citation needed]
Political career
[edit]
During theChinese Civil War,she served as staff officer, secretary, translator and other positions in the headquarters of the units withinPeople's Liberation Army.Following the founding of thePeople's Republic of Chinain 1949, Ye Qun took on the role of Lin Biao's secretary. From that time on, she began to actively participate in political activities. She served as the deputy director of the General Education Department within theMinistry of Education.She later served deputy director of theShanghaiMunicipal Education Bureau and deputy director of theGuangzhouEducation Bureau.[citation needed]
In 1960, he returned to Beijing from Guangzhou and served as director of Lin Biao's office. In late 1965, she assisted Lin Biao in bringing down his adversary,Luo Ruiqing,theChief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army.As a result, although she was not a member of theCCP Central Committeeat the time, she attended aPolitburomeeting in December 1965. During the meeting, she was given the floor three times and over a period of about ten hours she enumerated the "offenses" of Luo Ruiqing, who according to the Ye, misinterpretedMaoismand tried to launch a coup to remove Lin Biao from power in theMinistry of Defense.[2]
After 1967, Ye Qun was first a member of the All Army'sCultural Revolution Groupand later the leader of this group. In addition, she was one of the four founding members of the Administrative Bureau of theCentral Military Commission,which was formed in August 1967. In 1969, she was acceded to the9th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party,making her andJiang Qingthe first Chinese women to reach such a post of political responsibility. Ye was appointed a member of the CCP Central Committee and chairman of the administrative office of theCentral Military Commission.Simon Leysconsiders that her accession to the Politburo, with the sole reason of being married to Lin Biao, is proof of the “decline of the regime".[3]
FrenchSinologistJean-Luc Domenach characterizes her as:[3]
"a real educational background, the aspirations of midinette, the taste for money, the fear of her husband, an unlimited admiration for her son and finally panic in the face of danger."
Project 571 and death
[edit]During theCultural Revolution,tensions between Jiang Qing and Lin Biao's faction escalated. According to Party documents, in early 1971, it was Ye Qun who asked her son Lin Liguo to assassinateMao Zedongduring his trip toShanghai,as part of the plan known asProject 571.The attempt failed, as Mao suddenly changed his plans and returned to Beijing on the evening of September 12. This led to Ye Qun believe that the plan had been exposed. Following the failure of their plans, Ye Qun, Lin Liguo and Lin Biao decided to flee, but their daughter Lin Liheng revealed their escape plan to PremierZhou Enlai.[4]
Presumably fearing to lose time, the Lin family, including Lin Biao, Ye Qun, and Lin Liguo, fled in aPLAAFHawker Siddeley Trident,fromQinhuangdao Shanhaiguan Airporton September 13, 1971.[2]
Further information from the Party documents later released state:
"the plane was making for theSoviet Unionbut was inadequately fueled for such a trip; it also had on board neither navigator nor radio operator. It crashed inMongoliaon September 13, 1971, burning to death all on board. "[5]
However, according to the historian J. D. Spence, "this story is essentially beyond verification, since the photographs later released by the Chinese authorities are of dubious authenticity and details on Lin Biao’s exact plans and on the other plotters are blurred" The government narrative also does not sufficiently explain how and why Lin Biao's plane crashed. It is also still unclear whether Lin Biao himself planned a coup, or whether his Ye Qun and Lin Liguo had such plans and did not inform Lin Biao about it. Skeptics have claimed that Lin's decision to flee to the Soviet Union was illogical, on the grounds that theUnited StatesorTaiwanwould have been safer destinations.[5]
On August 20, 1973, theCentral Committee of the Chinese Communist Partyposthumously expelled Ye Qun from its ranks. In 1981, theSupreme People's Courtconfirmed her as the principal ringleader of the Lin Biao 'counter-revolutionary group'.[citation needed]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^[1][dead link]
- ^abcBên người bí thư phơi lâm bưu diệp đàn sinh hoạt cá nhân chi tiết ( đồ )[permanent dead link]
- ^abBật mí: Lâm bưu thê tử diệp đàn cùng thủ hạ hoàng vĩnh thắng chi gian đặc thù quan hệ
- ^Lâm bưu trưởng nữ nhớ diệp đàn: Ta có một cái rất xấu “Mẹ kế”
- ^abSpence, J. D.(1999).The search for modern China.New York: Norton. p.585.
- 1917 births
- 1971 deaths
- Chinese women in politics
- Chinese Communist Party politicians from Fu gian
- Family of Lin Biao
- Members of the 9th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party
- People of the Cultural Revolution
- People's Republic of China politicians from Fu gian
- Politicians from Fuzhou
- Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in China
- Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Mongolia
- Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1971
- Expelled members of the Chinese Communist Party
- Chinese colonels
- Chinese female military personnel