Hu Zulun

Hu Zulun, male, Han ethnicity, born in Zhonghe Township, Liuyang City, Hunan Province. His birth and death years are not known, but he died in May 1954. His family background was peasant; his father was a farmer and worker. He grew up in poverty during his early years. Hu Zulun’s father was the grandfather of Hu Yaobang; he died when Hu Zulun was only 14 years old, so he was raised by his uncle during childhood. Although he attended a private school, he did not complete formal schooling but was literate. As an adult, he mainly earned a living by hauling coal and supporting his family.

During his youth, Hu Zulun participated in the peasant revolutionary movement and continued farming. After getting married, he married Liu Minglun, a rural girl, with whom he had several children. The family faced financial hardships; there was little land, and life was impoverished. Among his children, the eldest son Hu Yaofen died prematurely; the second son Hu Yaoxiang died at age 20 due to osteomyelitis; the third son Hu Yaofu (also known as Hu Yaofu) and the fourth son Hu Yaobang survived; the fifth son Hu Yaojie and the sixth son Hu Yaoying also died early. Additionally, Hu Zulun and his wife had six daughters. The eldest daughter, Hu Shiying, died after marriage; the second daughter, Hu Juhua (colloquially "Third Sister"), married Zeng Lingqian and later remarried Li Xianzhao; the third daughter, Hu Jianzhong, married Wang Chaoyuan. Details about the other three daughters are not known.

In 1950, when Hu Yaobang served as the Secretary of the CPC North Sichuan District Committee and Director of the Administrative Office, Hu Zulun and his wife were relocated. They lived together with Hu Yaobang’s secretary, Lin Chenghan, in Nanchong, Sichuan, and later moved with Hu Yaobang to Beijing.

Hu Zulun died in May 1954 in Beijing. According to family tradition, children who died before age 16 are only recorded under the mother’s name, with no complete birth and death years.

Hu Zulun’s widow, Liu Minglun, passed away in April 1967. Among his children, the eldest daughter Hu Shiying unfortunately died young after marriage; the second daughter Hu Juhua, after her mother’s death, showed strong emotional attachment to her family. Hu Yaobang expressed deep sorrow upon his mother’s passing and conveyed his longing for her in the hospital.