Bian Zhongyun

Bian Zhongyun (Chinese: 卞仲耘, 1916, Wuwei County, China – 5 August 1966, Beijing) was a deputy principal at the Experimental High School Attached to Beijing Normal University, in Beijing, China. She was attracted to the Chinese Communisty Party during the Sino-Japanese War and joined the party in 1941, and before working for the high school in Beijing, she worked at an editor for the People's Daily then located in rural Hebei [1]. She became the first victim of the Cultural Revolution in 1966 during Beijing's "Red August", when she was beaten to death with wooden sticks by her students, who were led by Song Binbin.[2] Prior to her death, Bian had been the party leader at the school, but was denounced as a "counter-revolutionary revisionist" by Red Guards.

A documentary about her, Though I am Gone, was released in 2006. Song Binbin, the student leader who beat Bian to death, was sent to the United States to study on government sponsorship and invited back to Beijing Normal University as a prominent alumna. Song's father was the mayor of Beijing and a high member of the Chinese Communist Party. She has openly and widely spoken about her successful academic career, much before any formal or informal apology came forward.