Sun Weishi

Sun Weishi
孙维世
Born	(1921-11-30)30 November 1921 Nanxi County, Sichuan, Republic of China
Died	15 October 1968(1968-10-15) (aged 46) Beijing Municipal Prison, Beijing, People's Republic of China
Cause of death	Torture and prison maltreatment
Nationality	Chinese
Other names	Li Lin (李琳)
Alma mater	Moscow Sun Yat-sen University
Occupation(s)	Writer, director, actress
Notable work	How Steel is Made The Inspector General Little Rabbit Uncle Vanya Joys and Sorrows Peach Flower Fan Portrait of One Hundred Clowns The Hatred of Black Slaves The Rising Sun
Political party	Chinese Communist Party
Spouse	Jin Shan
Children	1 (Sun Xiaolan)(adopted)
Parent(s)	Sun Bingwen (1885–1927) Ren Rui (1891-1949)
Relatives	Sun Yang (brother) Sun Mingshi (brother) Sun Jishi (brother) Sun Xingshi (sister) Zhou Enlai (adopted father) Deng Yingchao (adopted mother)

Sun Weishi (Chinese: 孙维世; 30 November 1921 – 15 October 1968) was the first female director of modern spoken drama (Huaju) in Chinese history. Sun's father was killed by the Kuomintang (KMT) in 1927, and Sun was eventually adopted by Zhou Enlai, who later became the first premier of the People's Republic of China. While in Yan'an, Sun aroused the enmity of Mao's wife, Jiang Qing, beginning a rivalry between the two that lasted throughout Sun's life until her ultimate death at Jiang's hands. During World War II, Sun lived in Moscow, studying theater. Lin Biao was also in Moscow at the time and proposed to Sun before returning to China in 1942, but Sun rejected him. Lin married another woman, Ye Qun, in 1943. Ye held a lifelong grudge against Sun for her earlier relationship with Lin.

After the end of World War II, Sun returned to China and became active in acting and directing in Chinese theater. In 1950, shortly after the founding of the People's Republic of China, Sun was invited to become the director of the China Youth Art Theater, and married one of the most famous actors then in China the same year. Over the next several years Sun staged performances that were critically well-received, some of which became famous across China. In 1956, Sun became the artistic director and vice-president of the Chinese Experimental Theater.

When the Cultural Revolution occurred in 1966, Zhou Enlai sent Sun and her husband to work in Daqing to protect them from political persecution, but Jiang Qing and Ye Qun conspired to have Sun secretly arrested in 1968 while visiting Zhou Enlai in Beijing. Sun was sentenced without trial, and was tortured in a secret prison for several months before dying. After Sun died, Jiang Qing made arrangements for Sun's body to be cremated before an autopsy could be performed, and for her ashes to be disposed of before Zhou or Sun's other relatives could take possession of them. Sun's husband was not informed of Sun's death until his release, in 1975.