Zhang Zishi

Zhang Zishi (1916 – 2017; ), born Zhang Yumin , was a Chinese politician and educator who served as Mayor of Hangzhou from 1975 to 1979. As the son of senior Chinese Communist leader Kang Sheng, he held a number of education and political posts in Qingdao, later becoming a member of the Standing Committee of the Shandong Revolutionary Committee and a member of the Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Zhejiang Provincial Committee. He was removed from office in 1979 following the political reassessment of his father's legacy.

Biography

Zhang was born in 1916 in Jiaozhou, Shandong. He was the eldest son of Kang Sheng and was originally named Zhang Yumin. He graduated from the Department of Chemistry at Shandong University. Before the establishment of the People's Republic of China, he worked as an employee of the Qingdao Branch of the National Relief Administration under the Kuomintang. In September 1948, he entered Communist-controlled territory through underground Party channels and subsequently joined the Chinese Communist Party.

Following the Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War, Zhang began a career in education. He successively served as vice principal and director of academic affairs at Qingdao No. 3 Middle School, principal of Qingdao No. 2 Middle School, and Director of the Qingdao Municipal Education Bureau.

During the Cultural Revolution, Zhang became associated with the rebel faction led by Wang Xiaoyu. After Wang became Chairman of the Shandong Revolutionary Committee, Zhang was appointed a member of its Standing Committee. Following the 9th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in 1969, he continued to serve on the provincial leadership until his transfer to Hangzhou in July 1975.

In July 1975, Zhang was appointed Mayor of Hangzhou. He concurrently served as Vice Chairman of the Zhejiang Revolutionary Committee, a member of the Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Zhejiang Provincial Committee, and First Secretary of the Hangzhou Municipal Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.

As the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party reassessed Kang Sheng's historical role in the late 1970s, Zhang's political career came to an end. He was removed from his positions as Mayor of Hangzhou and other provincial offices in February 1979 and was subsequently expelled from the Chinese Communist Party. He later returned to Qingdao, where he lived in retirement until his death in 2017.