Peng Qi'an
Peng Qi'an | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Born | 1932 | ||
| Nationality | Chinese | ||
| Citizenship | China | ||
| Occupation | Municipal official | ||
| Known for | Shantou Cultural Revolution Museum | ||
Peng Qi'an ( born 1932[1]) is a retired Chinese municipal official and survivor of the Chinese Cultural Revolution who founded a museum in Shantou to commemorate the victims of the revolution, which opened in 2005.[2] He continued to serve as its volunteer curator.[3] The museum was closed in 2016.[4]
Persecution during Cultural Revolution
During the Cultural Revolution, which lasted from 1966 to 1976, Peng was subjected to at least 30 Struggle session|criticism sessions. In 1967 he was on a list of five people for whom execution was recommended to higher authorities,[3] due to his alleged association with a "counter-revolutionary" group named after two local leaders who had lost power.[5]
Later Career
After the Cultural Revolution, Peng remained in the Chinese Communist Party of China, rising to become the executive vice mayor of Shantou, overseeing the transportation, energy and telecommunications sectors.[6] In the subsequent years until his retirement in 1999, he served a consultant for the municipal government.[3] In 2012 he was chosen as an "excellent party member" of Shantou.[6]
Chinese Cultural Revolution Museum
In 1996, Peng came across dozens of graves scattered around the slopes of Tashan Scenic Area.[7][8] Having learned that these were victims of the Cultural Revolution who had died in 1967 and 1968, he started his efforts to turn the park into a memorial site.[9] He used a special mayor's fund to the amount of Currency 600,000 CNY, which he was entitled to use at his discretion, as start-up funds. He intensified his efforts after his retirement from public office in 1999. The district government originally opposed the construction of the museum.[6] Friends and other officials expressed their worries to Peng that he might run afoul of authorities, but Peng remained unfazed.[3] The total funds raised by Peng amounted to over Currency 10 million CNY.[10] The donors included many friends of Peng who were fellow survivors.[3]
In 2003, Peng received from a friend a copy of a book by Yang Kelin (杨克林) entitled Cultural Revolution Museum. The descriptions in the book served as a blueprint for the main museum building.[9] On January 1, 2005, the museum was officially opened as the first museum in China dedicated to the Cultural Revolution.[2][11]
In 2015, Peng handed over the museum to the local government, citing his old age.[1][12] In late April 2016 the museum was closed down, fenced off and all inscriptions, monuments, and more were covered up.[4][13][14]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Two museums in China about the Cultural Revolution show very different versions of history". Quartz (publication). 2016-05-16.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Li, Minggong (2018-01-09). China's Three Major Mysteries (in 中文（繁體）). Sea Dove Culture Publishing Books Limited. p. 361. ISBN 978-986-392-006-9.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 MacKinnon, Mark (2010-07-22). "China's Cultural Revolution museum a well-kept secret". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Tatlow, Didi Kirsten (2016-10-02). "Fate Catches Up to a Cultural Revolution Museum in China". The New York Times.
- ↑ Di, Yufei (2016-10-08). "中国一座文革博物馆被围栏遮掩" [Chinese cultural revolution museum fenced and covered up]. The New York Times (in 中文（简体）). Retrieved 2021-08-29.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Wang, Sally (2012-08-18). "Remembering the dark days of China's Cultural Revolution". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2021-08-23.
- ↑ Li, Jie (2020). Utopian Ruins: A Memorial Museum of the Mao Era. Duke University Press. p. 231. ISBN 978-147-801-018-0.
- ↑ Lin, Di; Fung, Sandy (2006-07-04). "Southern Chinese city marks Cultural Revolution". Radio Free Asia. Retrieved 2021-09-11.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Li, Jie (2020). Utopian Ruins: A Memorial Museum of the Mao Era. Duke University Press. p. 256. ISBN 978-147-801-018-0.
- ↑ Hai, Tao (2005-06-15). "文革：革了文化和人民的命(1)". Voice of America (in 中文（繁體）). Retrieved 2021-08-22.
- ↑ Tatlow, Didi Kirsten (2016-10-02). "Fate Catches Up to a Cultural Revolution Museum in China". The New York Times.
- ↑ Gu, Li (2016-05-05). "中國內地唯一文革紀念館被封" (in 中文（繁體）). Radio France International. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
- ↑ Tatlow, Didi Kirsten (2016-10-08). "中国一座文革博物馆被围栏遮掩" [Chinese cultural revolution museum fenced and covered up]. The New York Times (in 中文（简体）). Retrieved 2021-08-29.
- ↑ Yang, Fan (2016-05-06). "文革发动50周年纪念日临近 汕头文革博物馆被围封". Radio Free Asia (in 中文（简体）).
External links
This article "Peng Qi'an" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical. Articles taken from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be accessed on Wikipedia's Draft Namespace.