Zhang Hanzhi

▪ 2009

      Chinese diplomat and tutor

born 1935, Shanghai, China

died Jan. 26, 2008, Beijing, China

provided private English lessons to Chairman Mao Zedong in 1963 but fell out of favour during the early years of the Cultural Revolution, when she was forced to abandon her studies at the Beijing Foreign Studies University. In 1970, however, Mao summoned her back to work as a diplomat for the Foreign Ministry, and the following year during U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's confidential trip to China, she interpreted for Prime Minister Zhou Enlai. Zhang also served as an interpreter for U.S. Pres. Richard Nixon during his visit to China in 1972 for the signing of the Shanghai Communiqué. After Mao's death in 1976, Zhang was accused of having close ties with his fourth wife, Jiang Qing, and the Gang of Four, who were held responsible for causing social upheavals during the Cultural Revolution; Zhang was held under house arrest until 1980.

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