Xiruo Zhang

Zhang Xiruo (; October 1889 – 18 July 1973), courtesy name Xiruo, art name Yun, was a Chinese politician who served as Minister of Education from 1952 to 1958 and director of the Foreign Cultural Liaison Committee from 1959 to 1968.

Zhang was a delegate to the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th National People's Congress. He was a member of the Standing Committee of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Biography Zhang was born into a family that owned a pharmacy in Chaoyi County (now Zhaoyi Town), Shaanxi, in October 1889. At the age of 18, he attended Hongdao Academy, one of the earliest modern schools established in Shaanxi, where he studied alongside Wu Mi. In 1957, the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party launched the "Rectification Movement", he gave Mao Zedong an evaluation: "Great achievements, eager for quick success, disdainful of the past, superstitious about the future." He also said: "Nowadays, it seems that everything starts after liberation of China. In the past, everything was feudal, and before Karl Marx was born, humanity had no culture." Although Mao was dissatisfied with Zhang's criticism, but he believed that Zhang was a good person. In April 1959, he was chosen as director of the , and served until 1968.

In August 1966, during the Cultural Revolution, Zhang was protected by Zhou Enlai and did not face political persecution.

Zhang died in Beijing on 18 July 1973, at the age of 84.

Publications

Family Zhang married Yang Jingren . Their son, , served as Chinese Ambassador to Canada from 1986 to 1990.