The Man Behind China’s National Anthem and His Persecution During the Cultural Revolution

Once a respected cultural leader and early member of the CCP, the lyricist of China’s national anthem was tortured to death in 1968.

A poster is displayed featuring how to deal with a so-called "enemy of the people" during the Cultural Revolution in Beijing in late 1966. Jean Vincent/AFP via Getty Images

Commentary

It’s well known that during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s and 1970s, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) persecuted countless intellectuals—many of them to death—including some of the nation’s most celebrated figures in literature and the arts. Yet few realize that among those tortured and killed was the man who wrote the lyrics to China’s national anthem.