Want to create an interactive transcript for this episode?
Podcast: New Books in Biography & Memoir
Episode: Joseph Torigian, "The Party’s Interests Come First: The Life of Xi Zhongxun, Father of Xi Jinping" (Stanford UP, 2025)
Description: Xi Zhongxun’s career spanned the entirety of China’s modern history. Born just two years after the 1911revolution that overthrew the Qing Dynasty, Xi was an early member of the Chinese Communist Party, tookpart in the Second World War, became an early leader of the PRC, was purged, survived the CulturalRevolution, was rehabilitated, and helped jumpstart China’s opening up as a leader in GuangdongProvince.
He also happened to be the father of Xi Jinping, China’s current president.
Joseph Torigian has written an extensive biography of Xi Zhongxun, titled The Party's Interests Come First:The...