Who is Chang Shou-yu from Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China and what is their importance?

Chang Shou-yu is the name chosen by the Communist in charge of youth work in Jinzhou after the Communists take over the city and the man who would become the author's father. He was born in 1921 in Yibin, some twelve hundred miles from Jinzhou, and was the seventh of nine children. When he returns to Yibin, he's appointed leader by the Communist party. He reverts to a former version of his real name, Chang Shou-yu. "Yu" means being selfless almost to the point of being foolish.