Gao Gang (; 1905 – August 1954) was a Communist Party of China (CPC) leader during the Chinese Civil War and the early years of the People's Republic of China (PRC), before becoming the victim of the first major purge within the CPC since before 1949. The events surrounding Gao's purge, the so-called "Gao Gang Affair", are still the subject of debate: a limited amount of research has been done on the topic, partly due to the relatively small amount of information available. Born in rural Shaanxi province in 1905, Gao Gang joined the CPC in 1926 and led a revolutionary guerrilla base there during the Chinese Civil War. He was of peasant background with a low level of education: he is said to have not been very literate. Among his colleagues inside the CPC, he gained a reputation as having great confidence and ambition, as well as of being a womanizer. Trusted by Mao Zedong, Gao was dramatically promoted in the final years of the civil war to become the Party, state and military head of the key Northeast area (Manchuria) of China. In 1952 he was ordered to Beijing to become head of the State Planning Commission of China (SPC), where he later attempted a leadership challenge against Liu Shaoqi and Zhou Enlai. His attempt failed and he committed suicide in August 1954. Guerilla activities in Shaanxi When his friend since middle school Liu Zhidan led a failed insurrection in 1928, Gao joined him in remote Northwest Shaanxi, where together they built up a guerrilla base. The deaths of local guerrilla leaders in the Northwest region distinguished Gao as the symbol of the revolutionary base. Gao met Mao Zedong in 1935 when the Long March ended in Shaanxi. The two developed a close relationship based on personal friendship and their agreement on Marxism–Leninism ideological matters. Gao spent many years during the Chinese Civil War co-ordinating CPC activities and became one of the top commanders in the region. Northeast China In 1945 Gao joined the Politburo, and was transferred along with Lin Biao to northeast China (Dongbei), becoming head of the local Party (Northeastern bureau of CPC), state and military apparatus. By 1947 Gao was the most important cadre in the region. After the founding of the PRC in 1949, Gao was named one of the six chairmen of the State Council, under Mao Zedong. Influence from the nearby