Zhang Wanshu (1938-), also known as Zhang Qinghai, is a journalist and writer. Born in Feixi County, Anhui Province, Zhang began his literary career in 1958. In 1964, he became a reporter for the Anhui branch of Xinhua News Agency, and later served as the director of news gathering and editing as well as vice president; in 1983, he was transferred to the Xinhua News Agency headquarters and served as deputy director of the Domestic News Department, and later as a director. In 1992, he became president and Editor-in-Chief of the Xinhua Publishing House. Zhang is also a member of the China Writers Association and was a deputy to the 6th National People's Congress.
Zhang is the author of several books of poetry and prose. His best-known poem, “Huangshan Pine,” was written in 1962, which praises the Chinese people during the Great Famine. The book Introduction to the Classics of Red Poetry published by Wuhan University Press called Zhang Wanshu an outstanding patriotic poet and his works are considered as “red” poems–in other words, pro-CCP.
However, as the director of the Domestic News Department of China's most authoritative news agency in 1989, Zhang witnessed the June Fourth massacre and directly handled first-hand accounts of Xinhua News Agency's correspondents throughout the country.
Around the 20th anniversary of June Fourth in 2009, Zhang’s book The Big Bang of History: June Fourth Movement Record was published in Hong Kong. It provides an authoritative chronology of events leading up to the bloodshed. The well-known independent historian Yang Jisheng, who was also a reporter for the Xinhua News Agency at the time, considered the authenticity of Zhang Wanshu's accounts to be beyond doubt. He said, “His accounts are true and reliable because he was informed and in the know. He was the director of the Domestic News Department at the time and knew what was going on at the upper levels, and he participated in the discussions of the Xinhua News Agency's leadership group every night.”
