Li Congzhou

Li Congzhou was the grandfather of Li Zhanshu, former Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and former member of the CCP Politburo Standing Committee. He was from Dujiazhuang Village, Pingshan County, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province.

Li Congzhou devoted his life to education, serving as the headmaster of the village primary school. In the rural society of his time, becoming a school principal reflected both high literacy and local prestige. He played an important role in promoting education and nurturing talent in the community.

He had four sons, and the family held notable influence in the area. One of them, Li Zaiwen, joined the Chinese Communist Party while studying at university in Beijing and later became Vice Governor of Shandong Province after the founding of the PRC. Another, Li Zhengtong, served as a battalion commander in the PLA First Field Army’s Second Army and was killed in action during the 1949 Fufeng Campaign at the age of just 26, becoming a revolutionary martyr.

After Li Zhengtong’s death, his brother Li Zhengxiu (father of Li Zhanshu) endured a grueling journey of over 30 days to transport the coffin from Shaanxi back to their hometown in Hebei, a testament to deep brotherly love and perseverance. The following year, Li Zhengxiu had a son, whom he named Zhanshu—meaning “a letter from the battlefield”—to honor the memory of his fallen brother. That son would later become Li Zhanshu.

As the family patriarch, Li Congzhou not only laid the foundation for his descendants through education but also instilled in the family a tradition of duty and sacrifice, values that deeply influenced later generations.