China's leaders have mourned the death of 109-year-old Communist Party elder, Song Ping, who served as a key figure in the country's political system and served in five generations of leaders. His political career spanned 1917 and included economic planner and party personnel chief during a period when reform-minded Deng Xiaoping took over China's second generation of leadership. Song was elevated to the top leadership in 1989 by Deng after a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square. He retired from the Politburo in 1992 and remained politically active after his retirement.