Zhang Shenfu

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Zhang Shenfu (张申府), born Zhang Songnian (张崧年) and courtesy name Shenfu, was a Chinese philosopher, political activist, and an early founder of the Chinese Communist Party. He was born in 1893 in Xiaoduo village, Zhili (now part of Hebei). His father, Zhang Liangong, was a senior official.

In 1912 he studied at a middle school in Beiping (now Beijing) and in 1914 he entered Peking University to study philosophy and mathematics. After graduating, he taught at the university and helped librarian Li Dazhao.

When the Chinese Communist Party was founded in 1921 in Shanghai as a study group, Zhang helped organize a CCP group in France and introduced his fiancée Liu Qingyang and friend Zhou Enlai to the party.

In 1925, due to disagreements at the Fourth Congress, Zhang left the party. After the CCP won the Civil War, he worked as a researcher at the National Library with Zhou Enlai’s permission.

During the Anti-Rightist Campaign in 1957, Zhang was labeled right-wing. After Mao Zedong’s death and the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee, he was rehabilitated. He died on June 20, 1986, at age 93.