Shanghai Revolutionary Committee

The Shanghai Revolutionary Committee was a revolutionary committee that had administered the city of Shanghai, People's Republic of China between 1967 and 1979. It was established on 24 February 1967, following the collapse of the Shanghai People's Commune during the Cultural Revolution, and replaced the former Shanghai Municipal Committee following its overthrow in the January Storm. The revolutionary committee was the first of its kind in China, and employed a "triple alliance" model where military personnel, revolutionary cadres, and the revolutionary masses jointly administered the government. Zhang Chunqiao is the committee's first chairman, while Peng Chong was its last chairman. The committee was eventually disbanded during reforms in December 1979, when the Shanghai Municipal People's Government was reintroduced.

Shanghai Revolutionary Committee
Overview
Type	Provincial revolutionary committee
Elected by	State Council (de facto) Shanghai Municipal People's Congress (suspended)
History
Established	23 February 1967
Disbanded	December 1979
Preceded by	Shanghai Municipal Committee
Succeeded by	Shanghai Municipal People's Government
Leadership
Chairman	Peng Chong (final)
Deputy Chairmen	Ni Zhifu (final)
Executive organ	Standing Committee
Administrative organ	Secretariat
Meeting place
Municipal Government Building, 12, The Bund

Background

Main article: January Storm

During the Cultural Revolution, influenced by Maoist leaders of the Cultural Revolution Group and the publication of the Sixteen Articles, rebel factions in Shanghai overthrew the Shanghai Municipal Committee of Chen Pixian and Cao Diqiu in January 1967.^[1] On 5 February, rebel factions under the leadership of Zhang Chunqiao created a new transitional revolutionary committee under the Shanghai People's Commune. It was modeled after the Paris Commune, and was to adopt direct democracy as its method of electing its leadership.^[2] The events in Shanghai influenced other provinces to undertake similar actions, which resulted in the collapse of preexisting bureaucratic authorities, replaced by revolutionary committees modeled after Shanghai.^[3]

However, on 12 February 1967, following a discussion between Mao Zedong and top CRG leaders, Mao retracted his support for the commune as he was concerned that it would reduce the power of the Central Committee and State Council.^[4] On 23 February, the decision was made to dissolve the commune and reform it as the Shanghai Revolutionary Committee, with the temporary committee made permanent.^[5] A "triple alliance" system was employed in the committee, consisting of PLA military personnel, CRG revolutionary cadres, and the revolutionary masses from thirty-two major rebel factions in the city. In 1971, the Shanghai Municipal Committee was reconvened, and some of the powers of Shanghai Revolutionary Committee's powers were transferred to it. In December 1979, the Shanghai Municipal People's Government was reestablished, replacing the Shanghai Revolutionary Committee.^[6]

Organisation

Throughout different periods of time, there were nine departments in the Shanghai Revolutionary Committee. Several departments originally composed within the Shanghai Municipal People's Government were suspended due to political changes in the Cultural Revolution, and were not resumed until the abolition of the authority in December 1979.

• Combined planning statistical department (after October 1969)
• Industrial and transport department (after April 1968)
• Infrastructural development department (after January 1977)
• Rural development department (after February 1968)
• Science and technical department (after March 1967)
• Economic trade department (after May 1967)
• Culture and education department (after October 1968)
• Sports department (after June 1967)
• Family planning department (after December 1973)^[7]

Leadership

Directors

• Zhang Chunqiao (February 1967 – October 1976)
• Su Zhenhua (October 1976 – January 1979)
• Peng Chong (January 1979 – December 1979)

First deputy directors

• Yao Wenyuan (February 1967 – October 1976)
• Ni Zhifu (October 1976 – January 1979)
• Vacant (January 1979 – December 1979)^[8]

See also

• January Storm

• February Countercurrent
• Gang of Four

References

Citations

1. Zheng 1996, p. 481.
2. Li 2016, p. 20–21.
3. Bai 2006, p. 1.
4. Zheng 2019, p. 364.
5. Meisner 1986, p. 349.
6. Li et al. 2004a.
7. Li et al. 2004b.
8. Li 2015, pp. 1618–1637.

Bibliography

• Bai, Lei (2006). "從奪權到軍管：1967-1968年陝西省武鬥略述" [From seizure of power to military control: A summary of violent struggles in Shaanxi Province, 1967–1968] (PDF). Twenty-First Century (in Chinese) (52): 1–7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 January 2022.
• Li, Kaiya; Yu, Shunhua; Ding, Yi; Ma, Guojin (2004a). "第三节 – 市革命委员会" [Part three – Shanghai Revolutionary Committee]. 上海人民政府志 [Directory of the Shanghai People's Government] (in Chinese). Shanghai: Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences Press. ISBN 9787806815427. Archived from the original on 15 April 2019. Retrieved 3 November 2023 – via shtong.gov.cn.
• Li, Kaiya; Yu, Shunhua; Ding, Yi; Ma, Guojin (2004b). "第六节 – 委员会主任" [Part six – Revolutionary committee directors]. 上海人民政府志 [Directory of the Shanghai People's Government] (in Chinese). Shanghai: Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences Press. ISBN 9787806815427. Archived from the original on 14 September 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2023 – via shtong.gov.cn.
• Li, Xun (2015). 革命造反年代：上海文革运动史稿 [The years of revolutionary rebellion: An essay on the history of the Cultural Revolution in Shanghai] (in Chinese). Vol. 2. Hong Kong: Oxford University Press. pp. 1618–1637. ISBN 9780199441686.
• Li, Xun (2016). "巴黎公社原則在文革中的蛻變" [The evolution of the principles of the Paris Commune in the Cultural Revolution] (PDF). Twenty-First Century. June 2016 (115): 15–28 – via The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
• Meisner, Maurice (1986). "Part Five: The Cultural Revolution and its Aftermath, 1966–1976". Mao's China and after: A history of the People's Republic (Revised ed.). New York: The Free Press. pp. 309–397. ISBN 9780684856353 – via Internet Archive.
• Zheng, Xianchen (1996). Yang, Xiancai (ed.). 上海"一月风暴"研究综述 [A summary of the research on the "January Storm" in Shanghai]. Second Research Department (in Chinese). Beijing: History of the Chinese Communist Party Publishing House. ISBN 9787800239236. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |agency= ignored (help)
• Zheng, Zhong (2019). 張春橋: 1949及其後 [Zhang Chunqiao: 1949 and after] (in Chinese). Hong Kong: The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press. ISBN 9789629966973. Archived from the original on 5 March 2021.