On July 17, 2026, Zhang Qizhi, the honorary president of Northwest University and director of the Chinese Institute of Thought and Culture, who was also a former teacher to Wang Qishan, the former Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, passed away due to illness. A commentator, Cai Shenkun, revealed that Wang Qishan, who is currently under house arrest, has lost the right to send a funeral wreath to his mentor.
Northwest University released an obituary on July 20, announcing that Zhang Qizhi passed away on July 19 in Xi’an at the age of 100.
On July 27, Cai Shenkun posted on the social platform X, saying, “Wang Qishan’s mentor, Zhang Qizhi, passed away on July 19 due to illness, which coincidentally was also Wang Qishan’s 78th birthday. While to most people, the death of the centenarian scholar Zhang Qizhi marks the completion of a long life, for those familiar with the Chinese political scene, Zhang Qizhi had another identity – he was the most respected teacher of Wang Qishan.”
In 1973, Wang Qishan, as a student of workers, peasants, and soldiers, studied history at Northwest University where Zhang Qizhi was his lecturer, an experience that deeply influenced Wang Qishan. In 2011, while serving as Deputy Premier of the State Council, Wang Qishan made a special trip to Xi’an to visit Zhang Qizhi. During his tenure at the disciplinary inspection commission, he also invited Zhang Qizhi to Beijing to give lectures, hoping to find lessons on anti-corruption and governance from Chinese history. At that time, Zhang Qizhi remarked, “It seems he has never forgotten history.”
Cai Shenkun expressed, “In just a few words, it encapsulates the decades-long bond between the teacher and student. With the passing of the centenarian professor Zhang Qizhi, the public is observing whether Wang Qishan, who is under house arrest, can make a public appearance, at least to publicly pay his respects, considering Zhang Qizhi’s status as the honorary president of Northwest University. However, what’s even more peculiar is that while several retired national-level leaders sent funeral wreaths, Wang Qishan conspicuously did not send one, prompting Zhang Qizhi’s students to send a wreath in Wang Qishan’s name and display it at the memorial hall for two days.”
He revealed that, “This incident quickly caught the attention of Beijing, and at the official memorial service, all floral arrangements sent by deputy national-level leaders were removed, with the official news release only mentioning wreaths sent by provincial and ministerial-level leaders, in order to avoid speculation that Wang Qishan is under house arrest or has lost the right to send a funeral wreath to his mentor.”
In response, historian, writer, commentator, and professor of the Department of Humanities at Feitian University, Zhang Tianliang, believes that if even sending wreaths is prohibited, Wang Qishan is truly in danger, suggesting that Xi Jinping is likely behind this decision as others would generally not dare to make such a call.
Zhang Tianliang analyzed on his self-media channel “Tianliang Shifen” that this incident also brings to mind Zhang Youxia. On January 15 this year, Wei Fulin, a former deputy chief of the general staff of the military, passed away, and Zhang Youxia should have sent a funeral wreath as Wei Fulin was his former superior. Wei Fulin served as the commander of the Chengdu Military Region from 1994 to 1995, when Zhang Youxia was just promoted to deputy commander of the 13th Group Army under the Chengdu Military Region.
Zhang Tianliang pointed out that it is said that at Wei Fulin’s funeral, Zhang Youxia’s wreath was sent but was later withdrawn at the last minute. This detail has been interpreted as a significant political signal, suggesting that being deprived of the right to send a wreath not only implies trouble but also imminent arrest.