Chen Pixian

Chen Pixian (; March 20, 1916 – August 23, 1995) was a Chinese Communist revolutionary and politician. He served in several prominent roles, including party chief of Shanghai and party chief of Hubei province. He was purged at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution but was later rehabilitated.

Biography Chen Pixian was born in Shanghang County, Fujian in 1916. He joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1931.

After the People's Republic of China was founded, Chen carried out the work of land reform, bandit suppression and post-war recovery in Jiangsu. After three years of hard work, the annual output of grain and cotton in southern Jiangsu exceeded the highest annual output before the Anti-Japanese War, and the output of most industrial products doubled. His outstanding performance in completing land reform and suppressing bandits once earned him the praise of Mao Zedong.

On February 20, 1975, Chen wrote to the recently rehabilitated Deng Xiaoping saying, "I have not yet returned to my organisational life and salary. I ask that the Central Committee approve my visit to Beijing for a medical examination and request a meeting with the Central leadership." Deng Xiaoping took the opportunity of accompanying Mao to meet with foreign guests to ask Mao whether Chen's organisational life and salary could be resumed first. Mao Zedong replied: "Of course." Thus on September 13 of the same year, the Shanghai Municipal Committee and the Shanghai Revolutionary Committee internally decided that Chen would be the Vice Chairman of the Shanghai Revolutionary Committee. The decision to make him Vice Chairman was reported to and approved by the Central Committee on September 16. Though in practice, the Shanghai Government did not assign Chen any tasks, and in fact excluded him from any decision-making.