Peng Dixian

Peng Dixian
Chinese: 彭迪先
Personal details
BornNovember 1908 (1908-11)
Meishan, Sichuan, China
DiedJuly 22, 1991(1991-07-22) (aged 82)
PartyChinese Communist Party
China Democratic League
EducationKeio University; Kyushu Imperial University

Peng Dixian (Chinese: 彭迪先; November 15, 1908 – July 22, 1991), originally named Peng Weilie, was a Chinese economist, educator, and political figure. He was a member of the Chinese Communist Party and the China Democratic League. Peng served as president of Sichuan University and later held a number of important political posts in the People's Republic of China, including vice governor of Sichuan. He was also a member of the National People's Congress for seven consecutive terms and a member of the Standing Committee of the 6th National People's Congress.[1]

Biography

Peng Dixian was born on November 15, 1908, in Meishan, Sichuan, China, into a scholarly family. His original name was Peng Weilie. In 1921 he was admitted to the affiliated secondary school of the Chengdu Higher Normal School, where he was strongly influenced by the educator Wu Yuzhang, whose progressive ideas shaped Peng's early intellectual development.[2]

After graduating in 1926, Peng went to Japan for further study. He first studied Japanese at Seijo School in Tokyo and at the East Asia School before entering the preparatory program in economics at Keio University in 1929. In 1932 he advanced to the undergraduate program in economics at Kyushu Imperial University. After completing his studies he remained at the university as an assistant while also pursuing graduate research. He completed his research studies in early 1937. During his years in Japan he closely followed developments in Chinese economic scholarship and sought ways to contribute to the revitalization of China's national economy.[3]

In the early 1930s, bourgeois economic theories—especially marginal utility theory—dominated Chinese academic circles. In response, Peng translated Hatano Kanae's work on modern economics into Chinese and sent it back to China for publication by the Commercial Press. The book provided a systematic introduction and analysis of major Western economic theories from the late nineteenth century to the 1930s and helped Chinese readers better understand the origins and development of modern economic thought. During the same period, Peng also published several articles in Chinese journals introducing and discussing Marxist economic theory.[4]

After the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, Peng returned to China and participated in the national salvation movement. Believing that modern warfare was fundamentally a contest of economic strength, he wrote extensively about the Japanese economy in order to dispel widespread fears of Japan's supposed invincibility. His book The Japanese Economy in Wartime (1937) analyzed the structural weaknesses of the Japanese war economy and helped strengthen public confidence in China's resistance.[5]

In 1938, Peng was appointed professor of political economy at the College of Law and Commerce of the National Northwest Associated University in Chenggu, Shaanxi. Political conflicts at the university soon erupted after the replacement of the college leadership, leading to student protests and repression by the authorities. Peng supported the progressive students and, as a result, was dismissed from his post in 1939 and forced to return to Sichuan.[6]

During this period he devoted himself to scholarly research and writing. In 1939 he completed Outline of World Economic History, a major work of about 300,000 words that combined global economic history with theoretical analysis and Chinese realities. The book filled a significant gap in Chinese scholarship on economic history and was widely reprinted after publication. He also wrote Outline of Practical Economics, a concise introductory work intended to help young readers understand the fundamentals of economics.[7]

In 1940, Peng was appointed professor of economics at Wuhan University, which had relocated to Leshan during the war. There he taught courses including foreign economic history, history of economic thought, political economy, and advanced economics. His lectures were known for their clarity, logical rigor, and strong grounding in Marxist methodology, which distinguished him from many other scholars of the time. After the end of the war in 1945, Peng accepted an invitation to join Sichuan University as professor and chair of the Department of Economics.[6]

During the late 1940s, Peng became increasingly active in democratic movements in Chengdu. As a prominent progressive intellectual at Sichuan University, he was involved in a number of political disputes with pro-government student organizations and authorities. He publicly criticized the economic policies of the Kuomintang, particularly hyperinflation and the issuance of the gold yuan currency. In 1947 he published Lectures on New Monetary Theory, which examined monetary theory and sharply criticized the Nationalist government's inflationary policies.[8]

In April 1949, Peng secretly left Chengdu to avoid persecution and participated in underground political activities supporting the peaceful liberation of Sichuan. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, he continued teaching at Sichuan University and served as dean of its law faculty. In 1951 he was appointed president of Chenghua University, and in 1953 he became president of Sichuan University.[9]

While serving as university president, Peng remained active in academic research. In 1955 he published Outline of Monetary and Credit Theory, a major study based on Marxist principles that analyzed the nature and functions of money under socialism and discussed issues relating to the Renminbi. In university governance he advocated academic freedom and the principle of "letting a hundred schools of thought contend", encouraging the development of elective courses and independent study in higher education.[10]

From the early 1960s, onward Peng devoted more time to political and public service. He served as chairman of the Sichuan Committee of the China Democratic League and later as vice chairman of the league's central committee. He also held several major governmental posts, including vice governor of Sichuan, vice chairman of the Sichuan Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the Sichuan Provincial People's Congress.[11]

Peng was elected as a deputy to the National People's Congress from the 1st through the 7th sessions and became a member of the Standing Committee of the 6th National People's Congress in 1983. Throughout his career he remained committed to the study and dissemination of Marxist economic theory.[12] He died on July 22, 1991.[13]

References

  1. ^ 中国当代著名经济学家 (in Chinese). 四川人民出版社. 1985. p. 365. Retrieved 2026-03-12.
  2. ^ 四川省情: 续集 (in Chinese). 四川人民出版社. 1987. p. 1430. ISBN 978-7-220-00120-8. Retrieved 2026-03-12.
  3. ^ 中国经济学百年经典 (in Chinese). 广东经济出版社. 2005. ISBN 978-7-80728-235-8. Retrieved 2026-03-12.
  4. ^ 中国人物年鉴 (in Chinese). 华艺出版社. 1992. p. 416. ISBN 978-7-80039-683-0. Retrieved 2026-03-12.
  5. ^ 中国大百科全书: 经济学 (in Chinese). 中国大百科全书出版社. 1988. p. 711. ISBN 978-7-5000-0232-1. Retrieved 2026-03-12.
  6. ^ a b 成都市志: 哲学社会科学志 (in Chinese). 四川出版集团巴蜀書社. 2006. p. 81. ISBN 978-7-80659-861-0. Retrieved 2026-03-12.
  7. ^ 張在軍 (2013-02-01). 堅守與薪傳: 抗戰時期的武大教授 (in Chinese). 新銳文創. p. 276. ISBN 978-986-5915-48-3. Retrieved 2026-03-12.
  8. ^ 中国经济学百年经典 (in Chinese). 广东经济出版社. 2005. ISBN 978-7-80728-235-8. Retrieved 2026-03-12.
  9. ^ 中国民主党派史丛书: 中囯民主同盟卷 (in Chinese). 河北人民出版社. 2001. p. 311. Retrieved 2026-03-12.
  10. ^ 辛亥以来人物年里录 (in Chinese). 江苏教育出版社. 1994. p. 970. ISBN 978-7-5343-2076-7. Retrieved 2026-03-12.
  11. ^ 中国民主党派史丛书: 中囯民主同盟卷 (in Chinese). 河北人民出版社. 2001. p. 331. Retrieved 2026-03-12.
  12. ^ 秦国生; 胡治安 (1990). 中国民主党派历史, 政纲, 人物 (in Chinese). 山东人民出版社. p. 334. ISBN 978-7-209-00722-1. Retrieved 2026-03-12.
  13. ^ 经济学家 (in Chinese). 《经济学家》 杂志社. 1991. p. 41. Retrieved 2026-03-12.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.