When was Yang Shangkun born?

Yang Shangkun was born on 5 July 1907 in Tongnan District.

What positions has Yang Shangkun held?

Positions held by Yang Shangkun include: President of the People's Republic of China (1988–1993); mayor of Guangzhou (1979–1981).

Where did Yang Shangkun study?

Yang Shangkun was educated at Shanghai University, Moscow Sun Yat-sen University, The Affiliated High School of Sichuan University.

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Yang Shangkun

4th President of the People's Republic of China (1907–1998)

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Yang Shangkun (3 August 1907 – 14 September 1998) was a Chinese Communist military and political leader, president of China from 1988 to 1993, and one of the Eight Elders that dominated the party after the death of Mao Zedong.

Quick facts

Born: 5 July 1907 wd
Place of birth: Tongnan District wd
Died: 14 September 1998 wd
Place of death: Beijing wd
Citizenship: People's Republic of China wd
Occupation: politician, revolutionary wd
Political party: Chinese Communist Party wd
Education: Shanghai University, Moscow Sun Yat-sen University, The Affiliated High School of Sichuan University wd
Spouse: Li Bozhao wd

Positions held wd

President of the People's Republic of China (9 April 1988 – 27 March 1993)
mayor of Guangzhou (1979–1981)

Awards wd

People's Liberation Army Strategist

About

Born to a prosperous land-owning family, Yang studied politics at Shanghai University and Marxist philosophy and revolutionary tactics at Moscow Sun Yat-sen University he was one of the 28 Bolsheviks. He went on to hold high office under both Mao Zedong and later Deng Xiaoping; from 1945 to 1965 he was Director of the General Office and from 1945 to 1956 Secretary–General of the Central Military Commission (CMC). In these positions, Yang oversaw much of the day-to-day running of government and Party affairs, both political and military, amassing a great deal of bureaucratic power by controlling things like the flow of documents, the keeping of records, and the approval and allocation of funds. Purged, arrested and imprisoned during the Cultural Revolution, he spent 12 years in prison but staged a comeback in 1978, becoming a key ally of Deng, serving as Mayor of Guangzhou (1979–81), and returning to the CMC as Secretary–General and also Vice Chairman (1981–89), before assuming the presidency.

One of the earliest supporters of reform and opening up, Yang justified it with references to Vladimir Lenin and the New Economic Policy. However, he strongly opposed any form of political reform, and, despite his own suffering during the Cultural Revolution, actively defended the image and record of Mao. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Yang and his half-brother, General Yang Baibing, were among the most powerful figures in the People's Liberation Army (PLA). Despite his initial hesitation, he went on to play a leading role in crushing the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and was actually the one who planned and supervised the operations to clear the…

Questions

When was Yang Shangkun born?: Yang Shangkun was born on 5 July 1907 in Tongnan District.
What positions has Yang Shangkun held?: Positions held by Yang Shangkun include: President of the People's Republic of China (1988–1993); mayor of Guangzhou (1979–1981).
Where did Yang Shangkun study?: Yang Shangkun was educated at Shanghai University, Moscow Sun Yat-sen University, The Affiliated High School of Sichuan University.

Sources

Last updated 1 November 2026 · facts checked 7 November 2026

Cite this page

"Yang Shangkun". DigiNepal. Last updated 1 November 2026. https://diginpl.com/people/yang-shangkun. Retrieved 7 November 2026.

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Text from the Wikipedia article Yang Shangkun, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page's text is shared under the same licence. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: Yang Shangkun 2.jpg — unknown author, Public domain.

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