Zhu De
Zhu De (/ˈdʒuː ˈdeɪ/; also Chu Teh; 1 December 1886 – 6 July 1976) was a Chinese general, warlord, politician, revolutionary and one of the pioneers of the Communist Party of China. Born poor in 1886 in Sichuan, he was adopted by a wealthy uncle at age nine; this prosperity provided him a superior early education that led to his admission into a military academy. After his time at the academy, he joined a rebel army and soon became a warlord. It was after this period that he adopted communism. He ascended through the ranks of the Chinese Red Army as it closed in on securing the nation. By the time China was under Mao's control, Zhu was a high-ranking official within the Communist Party of China. He served as Commander-in-Chief of the Eighth Route Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War. In 1955 he became one of the Ten Marshals of the People's Liberation Army, of which he is regarded as the principal founder. Zhu remained a prominent political figure until his death in 1976. As the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress from 1975 to 1976, Zhu was the head of state of the People's Republic of China.
Zhu De | |
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朱德 | |
Marshal Zhu De (1955) | |
2nd Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress | |
In office April 28, 1959 – July 6, 1976 | |
President | Abolished (since 1975) |
Preceded by | Liu Shaoqi |
Succeeded by | Soong Ching-ling (acting) |
Head of State of the People's Republic of China as Chairman of the NPCSC | |
In office January 17, 1975 – July 6, 1976 | |
Premier | Zhou Enlai Hua Guofeng |
Leader | Mao Zedong |
Preceded by | Dong Biwu (as acting chairman of the PRC) |
Succeeded by | Soong Ching-ling (acting) |
1st Vice Chairman of the People's Republic of China | |
In office September 27, 1954 – April 27, 1959 | |
Chairman | Mao Zedong |
Succeeded by | Soong Ching-ling and Dong Biwu |
Vice Chairman of the Communist Party of China | |
In office 28 September 1956 – 1 August 1966 | |
Chairman | Mao Zedong |
Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection | |
In office November, 1949 – March, 1955 | |
Preceded by | Li Weihan |
Succeeded by | Dong Biwu |
Commander-in-Chief of the People's Liberation Army | |
In office November 28, 1946 – September 27, 1954 | |
Preceded by | Post established |
Succeeded by | Post abolished |
Personal details | |
Born | Yilong County, Sichuan | 1 December 1886
Died | 6 July 1976 89) Beijing | (aged
Political party | |
Spouse(s) | Xiao Jufang
( m. 1912; death 1916)Chen Yuzhen
( m. 1916; death 1935)Wu Ruolan
( m. 1928; death 1929) |
Children | Zhu Qi Zhu Min |
Awards | More... |
Military service | |
Allegiance | |
Branch/service | |
Years of service | 1927–1976 |
Rank | |
Battles/wars | Northern Expedition
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Zhu De | |||||||||||
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Chinese | 朱德 | ||||||||||
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Courtesy name: Yujie | |||||||||||
Chinese | 朱玉阶 | ||||||||||
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Life
Early life
Zhu was born on December 1, 1886, to a poor tenant farmer's family in Hung, a town in Yilong County, a hilly and isolated part of northern Sichuan province.[1] Of the 15 children born to the family only eight survived. His family relocated to Sichuan during the migration from Hunan province and Guangdong province.[2][3][4] His origins are often given as Hakka, but Agnes Smedley's biography of him says his people came from Guangdong and speaks of Hakka as merely associates of his.[5] She also says that older generations of his family had spoken the "Kwangtung dialect" (which would be close to but probably different from modern Cantonese) and that his generation also spoke the "Szechwan dialect" - Sichuanese, a distinct regional variant of Southwest Mandarin that is unintelligible to other speakers of Standard Chinese (Mandarin).[6]
In spite of the family's poverty, by pooling resources Zhu was chosen to be sent to a regional private school in 1892. At age nine he was adopted by his prosperous uncle, whose political influence allowed him to gain access to Yunnan Military Academy.[7] He enrolled in a Sichuan high school around 1907 and graduated in 1908. Subsequently, he returned to Yilong's primary school as a gym instructor. An advocate of modern science and political teaching rather than the strict classical education afforded by schools, he was dismissed from his post[4] and entered the Yunnan Military Academy in Kunming. There he joined the Beiyang Army and the Tongmenghui secret political society (the forerunner of the Kuomintang).[8]
Nationalism and Warlordism
It was at the Yunnan Military Academy in Kunming that he first met Cai E (Tsai Ao).[9] He taught at the Academy after his graduation in July 1911.[10] Siding with the revolutionary forces after the Chinese Revolution, he joined Brig. Cai E in the October 1911 expeditionary force that marched on Qing forces in Sichuan. He served as a regimental commander in the campaign to unseat Yuan Shikai in 1915–16. When Cai became governor of Sichuan after Yuan's death in June 1916, Zhu was made a brigade commander.[11]
Following the death of his mentor Cai E and of his first wife Xiao Jufang in 1916, Zhu developed a severe opium habit that afflicted him for several years until 1922, when he underwent treatment in Shanghai.[12] His troops continued to support him, and so he consolidated his forces to become a warlord. In 1920, after his troops were driven from Sichuan toward the Tibetan border, he returned to Yunnan as a public security commissioner of the provincial government. Around this time he decided to leave China for study in Europe.[13] He first traveled to Shanghai, where he broke his opium habit and, according to historians of the Kuomintang, met Dr. Sun Yat-sen. He attempted to join the Chinese Communist Party in early 1922, but was rejected for being a warlord.[14]
Converting to Communism
In late 1922 Zhu went to Berlin, along with his partner He Zhihua. He resided in Germany until 1925, studying at one point at Göttingen University.[15] Here he met Zhou Enlai and was expelled from Germany for his role in a number of student protests.[16] Around this time he joined the Communist Party of China; Zhou Enlai was one of his sponsors (having sponsors being a condition of probationary membership, the stage before actual membership).[17] In July 1925, after being expelled from Germany, he traveled to the Soviet Union to study military affairs and Marxism at the Communist University of the Toilers of the East. While in Moscow He Zhihua gave birth to his only daughter, Zhu Min.[18] Zhu returned to China in July 1926 to unsuccessfully persuade Sichuan warlord Yang Sen to support the Northern Expedition.[15]
In 1927, following the collapse of the First United Front, Kuomintang authorities ordered Zhu to lead a force against Zhou Enlai and Liu Bocheng's Nanchang Uprising.[15] Having helped orchestrate the uprising, Zhu and his army defected from the Kuomintang. The uprising failed to gather support, however, and Zhu was forced to flee Nanchang with his army. Under the false name of Wang Kai, Zhu managed to find shelter for his remaining forces by joining warlord Fan Shisheng. He was soon named head of a new First United Front military institute in Nanchang.
'Zhu-Mao'
Zhu's close affiliation with Mao Zedong began in 1928 when, under the assistance of Chen Yi and Lin Biao, Zhu defected from Fan Shisheng's protection and marched his army of 10,000 men to Jiangxi and the Jinggang Mountains.[19] Here Mao had formed a soviet in 1927, and Zhu began building up his army into the Red Army, consolidating and expanding the Soviet areas of control.[20] The meeting, which happened on the Longjiang Bridge on April 28, 1928, was facilitated by Mao Zetan, who was Mao's brother serving under Zhu.[21] He carried a letter to his brother Mao Zedong where Zhu stated, "We must unite forces and carry out a well-defined military and agrarian policy."[21] This development became a turning point, with the merged forces forming the "Fourth Red Army", with Zhu as Military Commander and Mao as Party representative.[22]
Zhu's leadership made him a figure of immense prestige; locals even credited him with supernatural abilities.[23] During this time Mao and Zhu became so closely associated that to the local villagers they were known collectively as "Zhu-Mao"[24][25] In 1929, Zhu De and Mao Zedong were forced to flee Jinggangshan to Ruijin following military pressure from Chiang Kai-shek.[26] Here they formed the Jiangxi Soviet, which would eventually grow to cover some 30,000 square kilometers (11,584 square miles) and include some three million people.[27] In 1931 Zhu was appointed leader of the Red Army in Ruijin by the CPC leadership.[28] He successfully led a conventional military force against the Kuomintang in the lead-up to the Fourth Counter Encirclement Campaign;[29] However, he was not able to do the same during the Fifth Counter Encirclement Campaign and the CPC fled.[30] Zhu helped form the 1934 break-out that began the Long March.[31]
Red Army leader
During the Long March Zhu and Zhou Enlai organized certain battles in tandem. There were few positive effects since the real power was in the hands of Bo Gu and Otto Braun. In the Zunyi Conference, Zhu supported Mao Zedong's criticisms of Bo and Braun.[32] After the conference, Zhu cooperated with Mao and Zhou on military affairs. In July 1935 Zhu and Liu Bocheng were with the Fourth Red Army while Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai with the First Red Army.[33][34] When separation between the two divisions occurred, Zhu was forced by Zhang Guotao, the leader of Fourth Red Army, to go south.[35] The Fourth Red Army barely survived the retreat through Sichuan Province. Arriving in Yan'an, Zhu directed the reconstruction of the Red Army under the political guidance of Mao.[36]
During the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War, he held the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Red Army[37] and, in 1940, Zhu, alongside Peng Dehuai, devised and organized the Hundred Regiments Offensive. Initially, Mao supported this offensive.[38] While a successful campaign, Mao later attributed it as the main provocation for the devastating Japanese Three Alls Policy later and used it to criticize Peng at the Lushan Conference.[39]
Later life
In 1949 Zhu was named Commander-in-Chief of the People's Liberation Army (PLA);it is in this way posterity regards him as a principal founder of the PLA.[40] He also served as the Vice-Chairman of the Communist Party (1956–1966) and Vice-Chairman of the People's Republic of China (1954–1959).[41] Zhu oversaw the PLA during the Korean War within his authority as Commander-in-Chief.[42] In 1955, he was conferred to the rank of marshal.[43] At the Lushan Conference, he tried to protect Peng Dehuai, by giving some mild criticisms of Peng; rather than denouncing him, he merely gently reproofed his targeted comrade, who was a target of Mao Zedong. Mao wasn't satisfied with Zhu De's behavior.[44] After the conference, Zhu was dismissed from vice chairmen of Central Military Commission, not in least part due to his loyalty for the fallen Peng.[37]
In April 1969, during the summit of the Cultural Revolution, Zhu was dismissed from his position on the Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China, and the activity of the National People's Congress was halted.[45] However, due to the support of Zhou Enlai, he was not harmed or imprisoned. In August 1969, Lin Biao issued a command that dispatched important martial figures to distant areas due to the tension between China and Soviet Union, and Zhu De was driven to Guangzhou. In 1973 Zhu was reinstated in the Standing Committee.[46]
He continued to be a prominent elder statesman until his death on 6 July 1976.[47] His passing came six months after the death of Zhou Enlai,[48] and just two months before the death of Mao Zedong.[49] Zhu was cremated three days later, and received a funeral days afterwards.[50][51]
Personal life
Marriage
Zhu De was legally married four times, according to the unfinished biography written by Agnes Smedley; however, there is no evidence of his marrying the mother of his only daughter.[52] His known relationships were with:
- Xiao Jufang (Chinese: 萧菊芳 or Hsiao Chu-fen). Xiao was a fellow student of Zhu's at Kunming Normal Institute (昆明师范学院).[53] The pair married in 1912. Xiao died of a fever in 1916 after giving birth to Zhu's only son, Baozhu.[54][53]
- Chen Yuzhen (陈玉珍). After the death of Xiao Jufang, Zhu was advised to find a mother for his infant son. He was introduced to Chen by friends in the military. Chen had participated in revolutionary activities in 1911, as well as in 1916. Chen reportedly set the condition that she would not marry unless her future husband proposed to her in person, which Zhu did. The two married in 1916. Chen looked after the home, even building a study for Zhu and his scholarly friends to meet, which she furnished with pamphlets, books, and manifestos on the Russian October Revolution. In the spring of 1922, Zhu left his home to visit the Sichuanese warlord Yang Sen.[53] According to Agnes Smedley's biography, Zhu considered himself separated from Chen after leaving her and felt free to marry again, though there had been no formal divorce. Chen was killed by the Kuomintang in 1935.[55]
- He Zhihua (贺治华). He met Zhu in Shanghai and followed him to Germany in late 1922.[52] When Zhu was deported from Germany in 1925, she was already pregnant and later gave birth in a village on the outskirts of Moscow. Zhu named the daughter Sixun (四旬), but relations between He and Zhu had diminished and she rejected his choice, naming the baby Feifei (菲菲). He sent her daughter to live with her sister in Chengdu shortly after the birth. She then married Huo Jiaxin (霍家新) in the same year. He returned to Shanghai in 1928. She reportedly betrayed wanted communists to the Kuomintang, before being blinded in a gun attack by Red Army soldiers that killed her husband. After this, she returned to Sichuan, dying of illness before 1949.[18]
- Wu Ruolan (伍若兰 or Wu Yu-lan). Wu was the daughter of an Intellectual from Jiuyantang (九眼塘) in Hunan. Zhu met Wu after attacking Leiyang with the Peasant's and Workers Army. They married in 1928.[56] In January 1929, Zhu and Wu were encircled by Kuomintang troops at a temple in the Jinggang Mountains. Zhu escaped, but Wu was captured. She was executed by decapitation and her head was allegedly sent to Changsha for display.[57]
- Kang Keqing (K'ang K'e-ching or Kang Keh-chin). Zhu married Kang in 1929 when he was 43.[57] She was a member of the Red Army and also a peasant leader. Kang was highly studious and Zhu taught her to read and write before they married. Kang outlived him.[58] Unlike most women who joined the Long March, she did not become part of the propaganda unit marching at the rear. Kang fought by the side of her husband, distinguishing herself as a combat soldier, a markswoman, and a troop leader.[59]
Children
- Zhu Baozhu (朱保柱) was born in 1916 and later changed his name to Zhu Qi (朱琦). He died in 1974 from illness.[60]
- Zhu Min (朱敏) was born in Moscow in April 1926 to He Zhihua (贺治华). Zhu De named her Sixun (四旬), but she rejected this and choose Feifei (菲菲). Zhihua sent her daughter to her sister in Chengdu shortly after her birth, where she went by the name He Feifei (贺飞飞). She pursued higher education in Moscow from 1949-1953 before teaching at Beijing Normal University. She died of illness in 2009.[61]
Awards
Chinese Soviet Republic - Red Star Medal (1st Class) (1933)
People's Republic of China Order of August the First (1st Class Medal) (1955) Order of Independence and Freedom (1st Class Medal) (1955) Order of Liberation (1st Class Medal) (1955)
Works
- Zhu De (1986). Selected Works of Zhu De (1st ed.). Beijing: Foreign Languages Press. ISBN 0-8351-1573-9.
See also
- Chinese Red Army
- Eighth Route Army
- People's Liberation Army
- List of generals of the People's Republic of China
- History of the People's Republic of China (1949–1976)
References
Citations
- KleinClark (1971), p. 245.
- 朱德的祖籍家世. Archived from the original on 2014-10-09.
- 朱德故乡成为客家文化发掘焦点.
- 朱德《母亲的回忆》英译. 4 June 2010. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
- Smedley, The Great Road, p. 14 and 23.
- Smedley, The Great Road, p. 14
- Pantsov, Alexander V.; Levine, Steven I. (2012-10-02). Mao. ISBN 9781451654493.
- "The Manchu Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Internal Threats". Countries Quest. Retrieved 26 September 2011. Tongmenghui
- Platt, Stephen R. (2007). Provincial Patriots. ISBN 9780674026650.
- "V26N2 - Personality Profile: Zhu De [Chu Teh]". mindef.gov.sg.
- Shum Kui-kwong, Zhu-De (Chu Teh), University of Queensland Press (St. Lucia: 1982), p. 3-4.
- Wortzel, Larry M.; Wortzel, Larry; Higham, Robin (1999). Dictionary of Contemporary Chinese Military History. ISBN 9780313293375.
- Zhu De and his Marriages
- Shum Kui-kwong, Zhu-De (Chu Teh), University of Queensland Press (St. Lucia: 1982), p. 4-5.
- William W. Whitson, Huang Chen-hsia, The Chinese High Command: A History of Communist Military Politics, 1927-1971, Praeger Publishers: New York, 1973, p. 30f.
- Wortzel, Larry M.; Wortzel, Larry; Higham, Robin (1999). Dictionary of Contemporary Chinese Military History. ISBN 9780313293375.
- 马玉佳. "The legacy of overseas study for China's early leaders: Zhu De". china.org.cn.
- Wuyan xia guoke 屋檐下过客 (2 July 2014). 朱德第四任妻子贺治华的下场 [The part of Zhu De's fourth wife, He Zhihua]. 360doc. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
- Mao, Zedong (1992). Mao's Road to Power: From the Jinggangshan to the establishment of the ... ISBN 9781563244391.
- Daniel Morley. "The Chinese Communist Party 1927-37 – The development of Maoism – Part Six". In Defence of Marxism.
- Pantsov, Alexander; Levine, Steven (2013). Mao: The Real Story. New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 208. ISBN 9781451654479.
- Lawrance, Alan (2004). China Since 1919: Revolution and Reform : a Sourcebook. London: Routledge. p. 39. ISBN 0415251419.
- Zhu De Early History Profile
- Bianco, Lucien (1957). Origins of the Chinese Revolution, 1915-1949. Stanford Press. p. 64, note 10.
- http://chineseposters.net/themes/zhude.php Zhu De Biography
- "Ruijin Revolutionary Memorial". chinaculture.org. Archived from the original on 2005-12-04.
- "The Jiangxi Soviet". Chinese Revolution.
- Mao, Zedong; Schram, Stuart R. (1992). Mao's Road to Power - Revolutionary Writings, 1912-1949. ISBN 9781563244575.
- Wortzel, Larry M.; Wortzel, Larry; Higham, Robin (1999). Dictionary of Contemporary Chinese Military History. ISBN 9780313293375.
- Short, Philip (February 2001). Mao. ISBN 9780805066388.
- "The Long March 1934 to 1935". historylearningsite.co.uk.
- Kampen, Thomas (2000). Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and the Evolution of the Chinese Communist Leadership. ISBN 9788787062763.
- Benton, Gregor (1999). New Fourth Army. ISBN 9780520219922.
- "Chinese Revolution".
- Battle of Baizhangguan Pass
- CCTV Eyewitnesses to history: Yan'an
- "Zhu De". Encyclopædia Britannica.
- Song, Yuwu (2014-01-10). Biographical Dictionary of the People's Republic of China. ISBN 9781476602981.
- Zhang, Chunhou; Edwin Vaughan, C. (2002). Mao Zedong as Poet and Revolutionary Leader. ISBN 9780739104064.
- Gray, Bruce (2012). Distant Water. ISBN 9781936909353.
- Zhu De Concurrent Positions
- "Zhu De". Answers.com.
- "Marshal of People's Liberation Army: Zhu De". chinadaily.com.cn.
- Wortzel, Larry M.; Wortzel, Larry; Higham, Robin (1999). Dictionary of Contemporary Chinese Military History. ISBN 9780313293375.
- 共产党新闻网—资料中心—历次党代会. people.com.cn.
- 陈霞. "The Tenth National Congress (Aug. 1973)". china.org.cn.
- "Zhu De Death". chinadaily.com.cn.
- "Three Chinese Leaders: Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, and Deng Xiaoping - Asia for Educators - Columbia University". columbia.edu.
- "BBC ON THIS DAY - 9 - 1976: Chairman Mao Zedong dies". bbc.co.uk.
- Davies, Douglas J. (October 2010). Encyclopedia of Cremation. ISBN 9781409423171.
- http://politics.ntu.edu.tw/RAEC/comm2/InterviewItaly%20Sauro%20Angelini%20English.pdf Sauro Angelini Interview
- Chen 陈, Erpiao 贰飘 (ed.). 周恩来曾下令处决朱德原配贺治华 [Zhou Enlai once ordered the execution of Zhu De's original match He Zhihua]. Shuizhu Bainian 水煮百年. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
- Chang 常, Xuemei 雪梅, ed. (14 July 2006). 朱德与四位女性的感情经历 [The relationship experience of Zhu De with four women]. Communist Party of China News (中国共产党新闻). Retrieved 22 January 2017.
- Smedley, The Great Road, p. 106
- Smedley, The Great Road, p. 122 and 314
- Smedley, The Great Road, p. 223-4
- Chang 常, Xuemei 雪梅, ed. (14 July 2006). 朱德与四位女性的感情经历(2) [The relationship experience of Zhu De with four women, part 2]. Communist Party of China News (中国共产党新闻). Retrieved 22 January 2017.
- Smedley, The Great Road, p. 272-3
- Ho, Alfred (2004). China's Reforms and Reformers. Westport, CT: Praeger. p. 15. ISBN 0275960803.
- wangjing (25 October 2015). 朱德元师的简介 朱德元师有几个孩子 [Brief introduction to Marshal Zhu De. How many children did Marshal Zhu De have?]. Lishi Quwen 历史趣闻. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
- "Late Chinese marshal Zhu De's daughter dies at 83". China Daily. 20 April 2009. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
Sources
- English sources
- Pozhilov, I. "Zhu De: The Early Days Of A Commander." Far Eastern Affairs (1987), Issue 1, pp. 91–99. covers Zhu 1905 to 1925.
- Boorman, Howard L. (1967). "Chu Teh". Biographical Dictionary of Republican China Volume I. New York: Columbia University Press. pp. 459–465. ISBN 0231089589.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Klein, Donald W.; Clark, Anne B. (1971). "Chu Te". Biographic Dictionary of Chinese Communism, 1921-1965. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. pp. 245–254. ISBN 0674074106.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Agnes Smedley, The Great Road: The Life and Times of Chu Teh (Monthly Review Press, New York and London 1956)
- Nym Wales (Helen Foster Snow), Inside Red China (New York: Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc., 1939)
- William W. Whitson, The Chinese High Command: A History of Communist Military Politics, 1927-71 (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1973)
- Chinese sources
- Liu Xuemin, Hong jun zhi fu: Zhu De zhuan (Father of the Red Army: Biography of Zhu De) (Beijing: Jiefangjun Chubanshe, 2000)
- Zhonggong zhongyang wenxian yanjiu shibian, Zhu De Zhuan (Biography of Zhu De) (Beijing: Zhongyang wenxian chubanshe, 2000)
- Liu Xuemin, Wang Fa’an, and Xiao Sike, Zhu De Yuanshi (Marshal Zhu De) (Beijing: Jiefangjun wenshu chubanshe, 2006)
- Zhu De guju jinianguan, Renmin de guangrong Zhu De (Glory of the People: Zhu De) (Chengdu: Sichuan renmin chubanshe, 2006).
External links
- People's Daily Biography
- "Zhu De". chineseposters.net.
Preceded by Acting President of the People's Republic of China Dong Biwu |
The oldest current head of state January 17, 1975 – July 6, 1976 |
Succeeded by President of Vietnam Ton Duc Thang |
Political offices | ||
---|---|---|
New title | Vice President of the People's Republic of China 1954–1959 |
Succeeded by Dong Biwu and Soong Ching-ling |
Preceded by Liu Shaoqi |
Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress 1959–1976 |
Succeeded by Soong Ching-ling Acting |
Preceded by Dong Biwu as Acting President of the People's Republic of China |
Head of State of the People's Republic of China (as Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee) 1975–1976 | |
Party political offices | ||
Preceded by Xiang Ying |
Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Chinese Soviet Republic 1931–1936 |
Succeeded by Mao Zedong |
New title | Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection 1949–1955 |
Succeeded by Dong Biwu |
Vice Chairman of the Communist Party of China Served alongside: Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, Chen Yun, Lin Biao 1956–1966 |
Succeeded by Lin Biao | |
Military offices | ||
New title | Commander-in-Chief of the People's Liberation Army 1949–1954 |
Succeeded by Marshal Peng Dehuai as Minister of National Defense |