Zhang Dingcheng

Did You Know?

• Zhang Dingcheng's tenure as Procurator–General from 1954 to 1975 remains the longest in the history of the Supreme Procuratorate.
• He discovered Marxism while teaching at the Qingxi Baoxu Temple primary school in Dapu County, Guangdong.
• The 1975 Constitution abolished the position of Procurator–General; it was restored three years later in 1978.

Biography

Zhang Dingcheng was born in 1898 in Yongding County, Fujian. After graduating from a teachers college in Dapu County, Guangdong, he worked as a primary school teacher. It was while teaching at the Qingxi Baoxu Temple primary school in Dapu that he encountered Marxist ideas, became involved in revolutionary work, and officially joined the Chinese Communist Party in 1927. He went on to lead units in the Chinese Red Army, attended the CCP Central Party School, and participated in the Long March, traveling with Mao to Yan'an. He saw combat in both the Second Sino-Japanese War and the subsequent Chinese Civil War. From 1949 to 1954, he served as both Governor and Party Secretary of Fujian Province. In 1954, he was appointed Procurator-General of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, a position he held for a record 21 years. During the Cultural Revolution, although some Red Guard groups publicly criticized him, his steadfast loyalty to Mao allowed him to keep his post. The 1975 Constitution eliminated the role of Procurator-General. After this, Zhang was chosen as a Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, a role he held until his death at age 83 in December 1981.