An Ziwen (1909～1980) was formerly known as Zhihan, with the word Haoran, a native of Shuanghuyu Town in this county, an outstanding organizational activist of the Chinese Communist Party.
An Ziwen's father An Qingyun, whose name was Wu Fu, was born in the late Qing Dynasty and was a member of Shaanxi Province in the early years of the Republic of China. He was a decent person, and was often invited by the people tens of miles around to resolve disputes. An Ziwen was raised by a poor peasant mother surnamed Wang. He entered a private school at the age of seven. In the spring of 1922, he went to Mizhi county with his second brother, An Zhiming, lived in his grandmother's home and studied at a county high school. One year later, he was admitted to the newly established Suide Normal School.
After graduating from the Fourth Division of Suide in 1924, An Ziwen left his hometown and studied in Beijing and Baoding while actively engaged in revolutionary activities. He participated in the "May Thirtieth " Movement in 1925. On March 18, 1926, he participated in a demonstration led by Li Dazhao and others. After the "March 18" tragedy that shook the country happened, the party organization sent him to work in the Beijing Prefectural Committee of the Communist Youth League. In December 1927, after An Ziwen went to Kaifeng to report work to the Henan Provincial Party Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Henan Provincial Party Committee decided that An Huwen would be transferred from the League to the Party and assigned him as the head of the Provincial Party Committee’s Transportation Section. In March 1928, he was arrested and imprisoned as a traitor informant. Later he was rescued from prison by the party organization. In the autumn of 1928, the party organization sent him to Shanghai to serve as the transportation for the Party Central Committee, traveling between Shanghai, Wuhan, and Shashi, passing documents for the party and escorting important party cadres. In March 1931, he was arrested by secret agents and sent to prison in Tianjin. Persisted in the struggle in prison, he established a party branch in prison and served as a member of the party branch. In the winter of 1933, he went on a hunger strike in prison with a large number of loyal and unyielding communists such as Bo Yibo, Liu Lantao, and shattered all kinds of pressure from the enemy on political prisoners. After being rescued from prison by the party organization in 1936, he served as the organization minister of the Beiping Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China. In the spring of 1943, An Ziwen went to Yan'an and served as the deputy director of the Second Department of the Central Party School. In 1945, the party held the Seventh National Congress in Yan'an and An Ziwen was the official representative.
After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, An Ziwen was nominated by Chairman Mao to serve as the Deputy Minister of the Organization Department of the Party Central Committee. One month after taking office, Peng Zhen, the head of the Central Organization Department, was sent to work in the Northeast, so An Ziwen presided over the daily work of the Central Organization Department. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he served as the executive vice minister of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee. From November 1949 to March 1955, he concurrently served as deputy secretary of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. From September 1950 to September 1954, he served as Minister of the Personnel Department of the Central People's Government. From November 1950 to October 1954, he served as Party Secretary of the Personnel Department. From December 1951 to April 1955, he concurrently served as the first secretary of the Party Committee of an organ directly under the Central People's Government. From April 1955 to June 1956, he also served as the first secretary of the Party Committee of a central state organ. In September 1956, he was elected as a member of the Central Committee at the Eighth National Congress of the Communist Party of China. From November of the same year to August 1966, he served as the head of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee.
During the "Cultural Revolution", An Ziwen was persecuted. And after the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Party, the Party Central Committee completely vindicated him. At the Fourth Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Party, An Ziwen was by-elected as a member of the Central Committee and was appointed by the Party Central Committee as the vice president of the Central Party School. On June 25, 1980, An Ziwen died in Beijing.
Liu Jingxiong, the wife of An Ziwen, is the second daughter of Liu Shaobai, a well-known democrat in Shanxi. There are three children, An Li, An Min and An Guo.
The Biography of An Ziwen, edited by Chen Yeping and Han Jincao, was published in 1985, and Bo Yibo wrote the preface for the biography.
