Ren Zhengfei - Biography

Biography

Ren's grandfather was from Jiangsu province and was a master chef who was an expert in curing ham in neighbouring Zhejiang province. His father (Ren Moxun, S: 任摩逊, T: 任摩遜, P: Rèn Móxùn) failed to complete university studies when his grandfather died a year prior to his graduation.

During the Japanese occupation, his father migrated south to Guangzhou to work in the Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party) arms factory as an accounts clerk. After 1949, his father was appointed as the president of No.1 Middle School of Duyun (S: 都匀一中, T:都勻一中, P: Dūyún Yīzhōng) where he met Ren Zhengfei's mother. The eldest of seven children, his mother was a senior teacher at the No.1 Middle School of Duyun.

After completing secondary school, he attended the Chongqing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, and then joined an People's Liberation Army (PLA) research institute to work as a military technologist. He was excluded from joining the Communist Party of China for most of his career in the military, due to his parents' social background and their ties to the Kuomingtang. During this time, Ren was responsible for a number of technology achievements that were recognized at various levels. For this reason, Ren was selected as a delegate from PLA to attend the National Science Conference in 1978. In 1982, Ren retired from the army due to a large PLA force reduction which impacted 500,000 active duty personnel. After becoming a civilian, Ren moved to Shenzhen and worked in the electronics business.