{{short description|Former Governor of Guangdong}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}} {{family name hatnote|[[Liu]]|lang=Chinese}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Liu Tianfu | image = File:Liu Tianfu.jpg | native_name = {{nobold|刘田夫}} | native_name_lang = zh-Hans | birth_date = October 1908 | birth_place = [[Guang'an]], [[Sichuan]], [[Qing dynasty]] | death_date = {{death date and age|2002|4|21|1908|10|df=y}} | death_place = [[Guangzhou]], [[Guangdong]], China | office1 = [[Governor of Guangdong]] | term_start1 = March 1981 | term_end1 = April 1983 | predecessor1 = [[Xi Zhongxun]] | successor1 = [[Liang Lingguang]] | module = {{Chinese |child=yes |t=劉田夫 |s=刘田夫 |p=Liú Tiánfū |w=Liu T'ien-fu }} | party = [[Chinese Communist Party]] }} '''Liu Tianfu''' ({{zh|s=刘田夫}}; October 1908 – 21 April 2002) was a Chinese Communist revolutionary and politician. He was a leader of the [[East River Column]], an anti-Japanese guerrilla force in [[Guangdong]] during the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]]. From 1981 to 1983 he served as [[Governor of Guangdong]], where he was a strong supporter of economic reform and worked to exonerate Guangdong cadres who had been unjustly punished during the "anti-localism movement" in the 1950s.
== Early life and wartime career == Liu was born in [[Guang'an]], [[Sichuan]], in October 1908, during the late [[Qing dynasty]]. He joined the [[Communist Youth League of China]] in 1934, and participated in anti-Japanese movement in [[Shanghai]]. In December 1935, he was arrested by the [[Kuomintang]] government for his activities.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://news.southcn.com/gdnews/nanyuetuijian/200204300146.htm|title=刘田夫同志生平|last=|first=|date=30 April 2002|website=Nanfang Media|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=25 September 2019}}</ref>
After Japan launched a full-scale [[Battle of Shanghai|attack on Shanghai]] in August 1937 at the beginning of the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]], Liu was released and enlisted in the 8th Group Army of the [[National Revolutionary Army]] to fight in the war. In May 1939, Liu transferred to [[Guangdong]] province, where he helped organize Communist guerrillas to fight the Japanese.<ref name=":0" /> He served as [[Political Commissar]] of the Guangdong People's Anti-Japanese Guerrillas,<ref name="Chan2009">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BU4zLLh3M0oC&pg=PA157|title=East River Column: Hong Kong Guerrillas in the Second World War and After|last=陳瑞璋|first=Sui-jeung Chan|publisher=Hong Kong University Press|year=2009|isbn=978-962-209-850-3|pages=157–158}}</ref> also known as the [[East River Column]], commanded by [[Zeng Sheng]].<ref name=":0" />
After the [[surrender of Japan]] in 1945, the East River Column moved north to [[Shandong]], and was reorganized as the Liangguang (Guangdong-Guangxi) Column of the [[Chinese Communist Party]]'s [[Third Field Army]]. Liu served as Deputy Director of the Political Department of the Liangguang Column. During the [[Chinese Civil War]], Liu fought in major battles including the {{ill|Battle of East Henan|zh|豫东战役}}, the [[Battle of Jinan]], and the [[Huaihai campaign]]. In September 1949, he moved with the Liangguang Column back south to participate in the battle for Guangdong.<ref name=":0" />
== People's Republic of China == After the founding of the People's Republic of China in October 1949, Liu was appointed Party Chief of [[Gaozhou]]-[[Leizhou]] prefecture, and organized logistical support for the [[Battle of Hainan Island]]. He worked in economic development of Guangdong province after 1956.<ref name=":0" />
Liu served as Secretary of Guangdong Provincial Party Committee from 1960 to 1965, as well as Vice Governor of Guangdong from 1963 to 1965.<ref name="CheungChung2016">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ww6mDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT146|title=Provincial Strategies of Economic Reform in Post-Mao China: Leadership, Politics, and Implementation: Leadership, Politics, and Implementation|last1=Cheung|first1=Peter T.Y.|last2=Chung|first2=Jae Ho|last3=Lin|first3=Zhimin|date=5 December 2016|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-315-29315-8|page=146}}</ref> After the [[Cultural Revolution]], when Governor [[Xi Zhongxun]] was transferred to Beijing in November 1980, he appointed Liu, then 72 years old, as his successor.<ref name="Chan2009" />
As governor, Liu advocated the cause of the Guangdong cadres who had suffered during the "anti-localism movement" in the 1950s. As an outsider who had worked for four decades in the province, he proclaimed that there were no anti-outsider sentiments among native Cantonese cadres. Without explicitly naming him, he blamed [[Tao Zhu]] for the unfair treatment of the Cantonese.<ref name="Chan2009" /> Partly due to intervention from Liu and [[Hu Yaobang]], the [[Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party]] set up a special committee to reinvestigate the matter. In 1994, the committee exonerated the victimized Guangdong cadres, especially their leader {{ill|Fang Fang (politician)|zh|方方 (中共)|lt=Fang Fang}}, who had died in prison during the Cultural Revolution.<ref name="Chan2009" />
Liu was a stalwart supporter of economic reforms and Guangdong's local interests.<ref name="CheungChung2016" /> However, he only served as governor for two years due to his advanced age. He was replaced by [[Liang Lingguang]] in 1983,<ref name="CheungChung2016" /> and became a member of the [[Central Advisory Commission]].<ref name=":0" /> Liu and his successors Liang and [[Ye Xuanping]] were all considered reform pioneers who propelled the economic development of Guangdong in the 1980s.<ref name="CheungChung2016" />{{rp|141}}
Liu was a member of the [[12th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party|12th]] and [[13th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party]]. He was also a delegate to the [[5th National People's Congress]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.people.com.cn/GB/shizheng/19/20020430/721382.html|title=刘田夫同志逝世|last=|first=|date=30 April 2002|website=People's Daily|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=26 September 2019}}</ref>
Liu died on 21 April 2002 in [[Guangzhou]], aged 93.<ref name=":1" />
== References == {{reflist}}
{{Guangdong leaders}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Tianfu}} [[Category:1908 births]] [[Category:2002 deaths]] [[Category:Governors of Guangdong]] [[Category:Chinese Communist Party politicians from Sichuan]] [[Category:Delegates to the 5th National People's Congress]] [[Category:Chinese military personnel of World War II]] [[Category:Politicians from Guang'an]]