Cheng Zihua
statesman (1905-1991)
Cheng Zihua (Chinese: 程子华; June 20, 1905 – March 30, 1991) was a People's Republic of China politician and military general. He was born in Yuncheng, Shanxi Province. He was the 1st Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary and governor of his home province. He was a delegate to the 3rd (1964-1975), 4th (1975-1978) and 5th (1978-1983) National People's Congress. Cheng was an important part of the Third Front campaign to develop basic and national defense industry in China's interior.
Career
Early career
At 21 years old in 1927, Cheng joined the Communist Party. He participated in Jiangxi Soviet, was part of the Long March, and fought against Japan during the Second-Sino Japanese War and against the Nationalists during the on-going Chinese Civil War.
1949 and after
In 1949, Cheng became the Party Secretary of Shanxi. He later served as Minister of Commerce and Vice Director of the Planning Commission.
Third Front construction
Cheng strongly supported the Third Front campaign to develop basic industry and national defense industry in China's interior.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Cheng Zihua” is statesman (1905-1991). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Cheng, Zihua and statesman, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “statesman (1905-1991)” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 4, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q8299043. VIAF identifies the subject as 29378129. The Library of Congress control number is nr88012401. 2 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1905, 1991, 1964 and 1975.
A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Cheng Zihua”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Cheng Zihua primary sources, Cheng Zihua archive and Cheng research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Cheng Zihua”?
- How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
- Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Cheng Zihua” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.