Chinese communist politician. He held a
senior position in the party 1956-66 but was
demoted during the Cultural Revolution. He
was rehabilitated 1978, elected to the
Politburo 1982, and to the position of state
president 1988. The son of a wealthy Sichuan
landlord and a veteran of the Long March
1934-35 and the war against Japan 1937-45,
Yang rose in the ranks of the Chinese
Communist Party (CCP) before being purged for
alleged revisionism in the Cultural
Revolution. He is viewed as a trusted
supporter of Deng Xiaoping.