Liu Fonian, a renowned educator and honorary president of East China Teachers' University (ECTU), died following a long illness here May 12 at the age of 87.

Liu, who was a member of the Communist Party of China, studied at Wuhan University, London University, Cambridge University and Paris University in his early years.

He served as ECTU vice-president, president and honorary president, as well as head of a number of national educational institutes, research centers and academic committees.
Liu compiled a series of academic works, including the popular "Education Science", which played an important role in reforming the country's educational system in the 1970s and 1980s.

He was a deputy to the Fifth and Sixth National People's Congress.