Qi Xin

In this Chinese name, the family name is Qi.

Qi Xin
Qi in the 1940s
Native name
齊心
Born (1926-11-03) 3 November 1926
Kaoyang County, Hebei, China
EducationCounter-Japanese Military and Political University
Alma materCentral Party School of the Chinese Communist Party
SpouseXi Zhongxun
Children4, including Qi Qiaoqiao
Xi Jinping
Xi Yuanping
RelativesXi family (by marriage)

Qi Xin (simplified Chinese: 齐心; traditional Chinese: 齊心; pinyin: Qí Xīn; born 3 November 1926) is a Chinese Communist revolutionary. She is the second wife of Xi Zhongxun and mother of Xi Jinping, current General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party.

Early life

Qi Xin was born in Gaoyang County, Hebei on 3 November 1926. Her father, Qi Houzhi (齐厚之), was the head of the law bureau in the Nationalist government's Third Army during the Northern Expedition.[1] Qi's mother, Deng Yaozhen, was the daughter of a Qing dynasty military official.[2]: 73  The Deng family owned a pigment company and Deng Yaozhen used proceeds from the company to fund her children's political activity.[2]: 73  In 1936, Qi Houzhi separated from Deng Yaozhen, married an actress, and stopped providing financial support for Qi Xin and her siblings.[2]: 73  The next year, Deng, Qi Xin, and her younger brother moved to Gaoyang County in Hebei where they received financial support from Deng's siblings and Qi Houzhi's brother.[2]: 73 

In 1938, during the Second Sino-Japanese War, Qi was attending a girls' middle school in Beiping, modern Beijing.[3] After Beiping fell to the Japanese army, her elder sister Yun (Chinese: 云) took her to Tunliu County, Shanxi, where Yun joined the Eighth Route Army.[4] Yun sent her little sister to the schoolgirls' team of the Counter-Japanese Military and Political University, which had set up a branch school in Tunliu.[3]

Later in the winter of 1939, Qi transferred to the female cadre branch of the Cadres' School in Changzhi County, where she served as a team leader.[1] She participated in fighting at Yincheng and Xihuo town.[3] She narrowly survived an attack by artillery and cavalry.[2]: 75 

Qi entered the Central Party School of the Chinese Communist Party in 1941, then was sent to Yan'an University's middle school in 1942.[3][2]: 75  Qi became class president there.[2]: 75 

Career

Qi married Xi Zhongxun in April 1944, then after graduating from Suide Teachers' College later that year, Qi went to a rural village to do grassroots work with peasants.[4][2]: 78  In fall 1946, she became vice-secretary of Yihe Township.[2]: 79  Qi was based in Yan'an from 1949 to 1952, working as a researcher on agricultural issues for the Northwest Bureau.[2]: 79 

In 1952, Qi moved with her husband to Beijing so that he could serve as head of the propaganda department. In 1953, Qi enrolled in the Marx School of Communism. After graduating, Qi continued work at the institute, which was located quite far from the family home and required her husband to look after their children.[4] Qi visited provincial and county-level schools set-up by the communist government as a consultant.[5] It has been suggested that this position provided her family with relatively good protection during the Cultural Revolution, when her husband was denounced, but not imprisoned.[3] Qi was asked to accompany Xi to Luoyang in 1975, however, to look after him whilst he was still under investigation.[5]

A documentary about Qi was made in 2001, detailing her revolutionary background, titled Loyal and Dependable——Qi Xin wife of Xi Zhongxun (Chinese: 忠贞——习仲勋的夫人齐心; pinyin: zhōngzhēn——Xí Zhòngxūn de fūren Qí Xīn). The piece also emphasised the education she has given her children and the high expectations she had of their work.[6]

Personal life

Qi met Xi Zhongxun in 1943 whilst studying at the middle school in Suide County. At the time, Xi was still married to his first wife, Hao Mingzhu (Chinese: 郝明珠), with whom he had three children.[3] Later, the head of education at the Counter-Japanese Military and Political University wrote to Xi, introducing Qi Xin, after having met her sister and father. After sending Xi her own autobiographical introduction, the two married at the prefectural party office in Suide County on 28 April 1944.[4] The couple had their first child in 1949, a daughter named Qiaoqiao (Chinese: 桥桥), followed by another daughter in 1952 named An'an (Chinese: 安安), and two sons named Jinping and Yuanping (Chinese: 远平).[4] Following the births of each of her children, Qi only stayed at home until the baby was weaned before returning to her work.[7] She came home at most once each week.[7] The family led a frugal and austere lifestyle, not having shoes for the younger sons.[8]

Qi's younger brother, Qi Bu (Chinese: 齊步) (also known as Qi Ruixin (Chinese: 齊銳新)) (d.1987),[9] was vice party secretary of the China National Gold Group and a top official in the gold and mineral exploration arm of the People’s Armed Police.[10] CCP leader Xi Jinping considered him "very close".[11]

Qi's nephew and first cousin to Xi Jinping, the son of Qi Bu, Chai Ming (Chinese: 齊明) was the chairman of Shenzhen ZTE Zhongxing Keyang Environmental Protection Co., Ltd. and director of GQY Video. Chai gained media attention for gambling US$39 million at Melbourne, Australia's Crown casino in one period of 18 months.[11][10]

Family

Written works

  • Qi 齐, Xin 心 (2013). "习仲勋蒙冤十六年" [Xi Zhongsun has been wronged these past 16 years]. Dangjian Wenhui. Xiabanyue ban (in Chinese) (11): 48.
  • Qi 齐, Xin 心 (14 December 2011). "我与习仲勋风雨相伴的55年" [55 years of accompanying each other through trials and hardships: Xi Zhongxun and I]. Laorenbao. A28 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 29 May 2012. Retrieved 27 April 2017.

References

  1. ^ a b "习仲勋夫人齐心家事:父女分属国共两党" [The family politics of Xi Zhongxun's wife, Qi Xin: Father and daughters split between the Nationalist Party and Communist Party]. Lingdao Wencui (in Chinese) (24): 61–65. 2015. doi:10.13533/j.cnki.ldwc.2015.24.013.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Torigian, Joseph (2025). The Party's Interests Come First: The Life of Xi Zhongxun, Father of Xi Jinping. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. ISBN 9781503634756.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Mingjing 明镜 (14 February 2011). "习近平母亲能力超人 没有她就没有今天的"王储"(图)" [The superhuman powers of Xi Jinping's mother: without her, there would be no "crown prince" today (gallery)]. Wenxue City. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d e Xu 許, 心怡, ed. (27 May 2013). "習近平"家風"揭秘 齊心自述與習仲勛婚姻往事" [Xi Jinping's "family traditions" are unmasked: Qi Xin's autobiographical account of her marriage to Xi Zhongxun]. Renmin Wang (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 28 April 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  5. ^ a b Hu 胡, Shihou 世厚 (2013). "缅怀习老——纪念习仲勋同志诞辰100周年" [In commemoration of Old Xi: Remembering comrade Xi Zhongxun on his 100th birthday]. Dangshi Bolan (in Chinese) (5): 17–21.
  6. ^ Li 李, Ying 英 (10 April 2015). "远翠西里社区组织学员观看《忠贞—习仲勋的夫人齐心》纪录片" [Yuancui Xili Community Organisation members watch the documentary "Loyal and Dependable——Qi Xin wife of Xi Zhongxun"]. Dongxin Street Party Working Committee and Agency (in Chinese). Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  7. ^ a b Lary, Diana (2022). China's Grandmothers: Gender, Family, and Aging from Late Qing to Twenty-First Century. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. p. 69. ISBN 978-1-009-06478-1. OCLC 1292532755.
  8. ^ "资讯_凤凰网".
  9. ^ 編輯部 (6 March 2015). 第24輯: 習近平家中事. 調查雜誌社. ISBN 9781630328238.
  10. ^ a b Cave, Damien; Stevenson, Alexandra (2 August 2019). "The Gambling Investigation Scrutinizing Xi Jinping's High-Rolling Cousin". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  11. ^ a b Wen, Philip; Wong, Chun Han (30 July 2019). "Chinese President Xi Jinping's Cousin Draws Scrutiny of Australian Authorities". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
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