◀ Yifei Comprehensive index starts in volume 5, page 2667.

CHEN Yun Chén Yún ​陈 云 1905–1995 Early Communist leader

Chen Yun, one of the most influential of Chi- policies, heavily based on the Soviet model of industrial- na’s early Communist leaders, occupied a cen- ization, provided the basis for economic development into tral place in the inner circle of leadership for the ­mid-​1950s. But when the Chinese leadership decided much of the history of the Chinese Commu- to abandon the Soviet model to follow a more Chinese path to , conflict between Mao and Chen began nist Party (CCP). He served on the Central to emerge. Committee for 56 years and on the Politburo Chen rejected Mao’s view that economic development for over four ­decades—​­longer than Deng could be attained through the revolutionary enthusiasm ­Xiaoping—​­but was never a contender for the of the masses. Instead, Chen argued for slower and more party’s top post. stable economic growth, saying that the market, rather than mass political mobilization, should play a role in boosting agricultural production. Mao’s view won out, however, in 1956 when he pushed through a plan for col- onsidered to be one of ’s “eight immortals,” lectivization of agriculture and rapid industrialization a group of (CCP) that eventually led to the and the patriarchs who held significant power after the deaths of 40 million Chinese from starvation between death of in 1976, Chen Yun was perhaps 1958 and 1961. most famous for his theory of the ­“bird-​­cage economy.” Following the Great Leap Forward, Chen toured the He held that China’s market should be allowed to perform countryside to assess the movement’s failures and later like a bird in a cage. The cage should not be so small that found support for his criticisms from key leaders such the bird cannot fly, but the bird should remain within the as , , and . By 1962, confines of a cage, lest it fly away. Chen’s economic theories were again accepted, and he Born in Qingpu near on 13 June 1905, Chen succeeded in achieving a measure of economic recovery. worked as a typesetter in Shanghai before joining the But his policies were set aside once more in 1966 at the on- CCP in 1925. He participated in the early part of the set of the (1966–​1976). His political before being sent to Moscow for training. survival skills served him well, however, as he managed After returning to China, Chen emerged as a key eco- to hold on to his seat on the Central Committee while nomic thinker and ideological theorist, especially during many other leaders, including Deng, suffered political the 1942 Rectification Campaign. After the Communists persecution. came to power in 1949, Chen became the head economic The Cultural Revolution caused significant damage planner, successfully managing the first phase of indus- to the Chinese economy, and in 1978 Chen was called on trialization and ending runaway inflation. His economic to put things right. He helped bring about the return of 312 www.berkshirepublishing.com © 2009 by Berkshire Publishing Group LLC C CHEN Yun n Chén Yún n 陈云 313

Chen Yun, one of the “eight immortals” of the Chinese Communist Party, meets with the Chi- nese Table Tennis team in 1961—​­a decade before ­“Ping-​­Pong diplomacy” changed the relationship between the United States and China.

Deng, and for a short time the two developed a partner- Further Reading ship that sought to privatize some land for farmers and Becker, J. (2000). The Chinese. New York: The Free Press. allow limited foreign ­investment—ideas​­ that later formed Chen Yun. (2003). Answers.com. A dictionary of political the core of the ­Deng-era​­ reforms. However, the two came biography. Oxford University Press, 1998, 2003. Re- to disagree over the speed and scope of reform. By 1984, trieved Sept. 23, 2008, from ­www.answers.com/topic/ Chen had become one of Deng’s harshest critics as the c h e n - ​­y u n economy moved further from central control and more Evans, R. (1995). Deng Xiaoping and the making of modern toward open markets. China. London: Penguin. In 1987, Chen “retired” from his official post on the Fairbank, J. K. (1986). The great Chinese revolution, 1800–​ Central Committee but remained highly influential be- 1985. New York: Harper & Row. hind the scenes. After the Tiananmen crackdown in June Roberts, J. A. G. (1999). A concise history of China. Cam- 1989, he came out in support of Deng and the military. But bridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Salisbury, H. (1992). The new emperors: China in the era of he remained a constant critic of economic reforms into the Mao and Deng. Boston: Little, Brown & Co. 1990s, faulting the reformers for producing unbalanced Spence, J. (1990). The search for modern China.New York: regional growth and for failing to balance the budget. By W. W. Norton. the time of his death on 10 April 1995, he held little political Wudunn, S. (1995, April 11). Chen Yun, a Chinese Com- influence. His economic theories, once considered to be munist patriarch who helped slow reforms, is dead at advanced, were now seen as ­hard-​­line and conservative. 89. The New York Times. Retrieved Sept. 23, 2008, from China’s economy had already flown too far toward open ­www.highbeam.com/doc/1S1-​9199504110079095. markets to be brought back into the “bird cage.” html Joel R. CAMPBELL

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