Wang Zuo
Encyclopedia
Wang Zuo 王佐 nicknamed Nandougu (南斗牯), (May 1898 - February 24, 1930) was a former bandit chieftain who operated in the mountainous area of Jinggangshan
in Jiangxi
province, China
, from 1923, and then joined the communists, becoming a protege of Mao Zedong
during their formative period in the Jiangxi Soviet
. However, this caused his own life in the following power struggle within the Communist Party of China
.
village in Suichuan (遂川) county, just south of Jinggangshan. Wang's family was poor and his father did when he was young. The family did not have enough money for the burial, and as a result, lost the tiny piece of land they had to a local landlord who provided the money in the form of usury
. Wang Zuo had to work as cowherd and gathering firewoods for the very landlord who provided usury. At the age of 15, Wang Zuo became a tailor
by trade, and it was during this time he became a student of a famous local kung fu master, Wang Dongwen (王冬文), and became an expert in martial arts
. Witnessing the hopeless struggle of local peasantry via legal means in the reign of corrupted Beiyang
warlord
s, the disillusioned Wang Zuo joined the "Green Forest" (綠林) bandits commanded By Zhu Deaf (朱聋子) in 1923 and rose in ranks, though his contact with bandits could be as early as in 1921 via his kung fu master, Wang Dongwen (王冬文). Wang was liked by everyone in the gang and soon supplanted the gang's leader, Zhu Kongyang (朱孔陽).
In 1924, Wang Zuo became independent and formed his own gangs, which occupied the village of Dajing, which controlled the passes up Mount Jinggangshan, as their stronghold. Wang himself commandeered the large house of a former landlord as his own. He was recognised as superior by smaller bandit groups and came to be known locally as the "Great King of the Mountain" (山大王). Around 1924, the "Horse and Sword Brigade", formerly subordinate to Wang, came under the independent leadership of Yuan Wencai
. In 1925, Wang's subordinate staged a coup and Wang was forced to flee to Yuan, who helped him to reestablish himself. Wang and Yuan became sworn brothers and their two groups maintained close ties and cooperated to defend against the county authorities, with Yuan's force was stationed at the foothills at Maoping (茅坪), while Wang's force was stationed in the mountains at higher elevation at Greater and Lesser Five Wells (Daxiaowujing 大小五井). Wang Zuo eventually developed the reputation of a local Robin Hood
. A peasant song from the 1920s celebrates his deeds:
However, Wang Zuo gained most of his fame for his martial arts
expertise in an ambush: once the unarmed Wang was along in a yard of a landlord and was suddenly besieged by more than a dozen members of landlord's militia
in the pre-planned ambush. Grabbing a bench as a weapon, Wang knocked out the landlord's militia members who were closest to him and jumped onto the roof from the ground, and safely escaped without any injury. Experience like this elevated Wang's status among the local populace.
, Wang Zuo came into contact with the local Communists in Suichuan (遂川) county around 1925, and his group were recognized as a peasant self-defence force in 1926. After the April 12 Incident
, Wang Zuo, like Yuan Wencai
, decided to stay with communist side, and became the only two surviving communist forces locally, each had around sixty rifle
s respectively. Both Yuan and Wang adopted new strategies when they resumed their banditry activities for survival in that they had only targeted the richest landlords and merchants who were mostly hated by the general population. In doing so, they had managed not only to win the support of lower and lower-middle classes, but also that of many members of the middle class
such as small business owners. Consequently, this successful practice also became the source of their crimes they were accused of in their subsequent downfall, when their future comrades accused them for being "Not carrying out the revolution completely" and "Being rightist".
Due to the popular support from those with better economic status, the communists were able to secure a steady supply of provisions needed via trade, and helped with properties confiscated from the richest local strongmen, the communists became bolder and concentrated on guerrilla warfare against local governmental forces which were incapable of exterminating Yuan's and Wang's forces due to the strong popular support the communists enjoyed. However, it must be noted that Wang and his men had heavier influence of banditry than Yuan and his men, and although Wang enjoyed almost exclusive popular support of lower class like Yuan, his popular support from the middle class was not as great as that of Yuan Wencai
. Because of this and his location deep in the mountains, Wang Zuo and his men were not as active as Yuan Wencai
and his men in their guerrilla warfare against the local nationalist
government. Nonetheless, in July 1927, under the order of communists, Yuan's men and Wang's men raided Yongxin
(永新) county, freeing over 80 Communist Party agents held in the local jail converted from a gaol. Although the town was briefly occupied, it was obvious that it was impossible for the token communist force to hold the town and thus they soon withdrew to the mountains to continue their guerrilla warfare
.
arrived at Sanwan (三湾) village of Yongxin (永新) county, just north of Jinggangshan
, with the remnants from the abortive Autumn Harvest Uprising
, and sent letters to both Yuan Wencai and Wang Zuo to ask their help to establish a communist base locally. On October 3, 1927, Mao's force reached the town of Ninggang (宁冈) and held a conference, at which Mao personally vetoed the suggestion to eliminate Yuan and Wang by force, and quickly established an alliance with Yuan Wencai
. Wang Zuo actively seek to establish contact with Mao and in the late October, 1927, he successfully did so. With the help of Yuan Wencai
, Wang met Mao Zedong
at the village of Greater Well (Dajing, 大井) on October 24, 1927. Wang Zuo was initially somewhat wary, but as with Yuan, Mao approached Wang with a large gift of seventy rifle
s and horse saddles, and the offer of Communist instructors to give his force military training, thus successfully convinced Wang to welcome him into Wang's base at Ciping (茨坪) on October 27, 1927. Wang provided Mao's men with 25 tons of rice and huge amount of money soon afterward. Mao Zedong sent only one cadre, He Changgong (何长工) to assist Wang Zuo as the trainer and communist party representative, and He Changgong (何长工) helped him defeat a landlord militia unit headed by Yin Daoyi (尹道一), which had been harassing his men, he was won over. As winter approached, Mao withdrew from his forward base of Maoping to defend Jinggangshan from Dajing.
In February 1928, the forces of Yuan Wencai
and Wang Zuo were officially incorporated into the regular communist army as the 1st Army
, 1st Division
, 2nd Regiment
. Yuan was named as the regimental commander, and Wang as the deputy regimental commander, with He Changgong as the communist party representative (何长工). On February 17, they participated in a successful attack at Xincheng on a battalion
of the Kuomintang
's Jiangxi
Army
, killing the enemy commander and taking more than a hundred prisoners. Wang Zuo joined the Communist Party of China
in April 1928. However, it must be said for Wang Zuo, it was more accurate to say he joined Mao Zedong's clique than the Communist Party of China
, since his loyalty was mostly to Mao personally, instead of to the communist party, which eventually caused his downfall and final death when Mao lost the power struggle with Li Lisan
and Xiang Zhongfa
.
Soon afterwards, Wang accompanied Mao Zedong to Lingxian county in southern Hunan
province in aid of Zhu De
. Jinggangshan had meanwhile been overrun by landlord militia and had to be reconquered. After Zhu De
's soldiers joined the Jinggangshan base, they were merged with the existing forces to become the Fourth "Red Army". Yuan and Wang's 2nd Regiment was renamed the 32nd Regiment. Later in the year, Zhu De
's 28th and 29th regiments crossed into Hunan. The 32nd Regiment was given the assignment of securing Maoping from the advance of the Kuomintang's Jiangxi units until his return.
In January 1929, the bulk of the Red Army left Jinggangshan to establish a new base at Ruijin
, leaving around 800 ex-Kuomintang
troops under Peng Dehuai
. Just after the New Year, it was agreed that Peng's men and the 32nd Regiment of Wang Zuo and Yuan Wencai
should stay behind to defend Jinggangshan. Under intense pressure for about a week, Peng gathered together his three surviving companies and broke through the enemy blockade with heavy casualties. For the next year Yuan Wencai and Wang Zuo survived with their men in the mountains and may have returned to banditry in their gurrilla warfare. The Kuomintang's repeated mop up operations against them proved to be futile because the communist forces only confiscated property from wealthy landlords, and distributing to peasants. As a result, such banditry was viewed positively by the local general populace, which refused to corporate with the Kuomintang forces.
were not immune to the power struggles within the Communist Party of China
in the early 1930s. Xiang Zhongfa
and Li Lisan
succeeded in rising to power under the direction and support of the Comintern
and their extreme leftist policy inevitably effected all communist bases in China
, including Jinggangshan. The extreme leftism of the new communist leadership included what Mao Zedong
called military adventurism, which included attempts to takeover the large cities, a result of unrealistic optimism on the Chinese
revolution and a direct copy of the Soviet model of urban revolution.
The new strategy was obvious unfit for China at the time, and many commanders such as Peng Dehuai
, Zhu De
and Chen Yi
voiced their opposition, Wang Zuo and Yuan Wencai included, but it was useless because the new leadership refused to change its policy. As a result, the communist forces met disastrous defeats in attempts to carry out this unrealistic policy. Mao Zedong strongly opposed the military adventurism of Xiang Zhongfa and Li Lisan, but lost and was temporarily forced out of the communist leadership and sent to southern Jiangxi
. Although Mao's new position appeared to have the equal rank, in reality Mao was demoted. Furthermore, during the 6th National Conference of Communist Party of China
held from June to July 1928 in Moscow
, the top brass of communists passed the resolution on the "Organizational Problems of Soviet Government" (关于苏维埃政权组织问题决议案), in which it clearly stated that the bandits could only be utilized before the success of uprising, but afterward, they must be eliminated. This resolution had provided excellent ammo for Li Lisan and Xiang Zhongfa in their power struggle against Mao, and people like Yuan Wencai and Wang Zuo were obviously targets.
However, the political struggle did not end at the top leadership of the communists. In contrast to the professional soldier Peng Dehuai who faithfully attempted to carry out the impossible missions by dutifully obeying the orders despite his personal opposition, which of course ended in obivous defeats, Wang Zuo and Yuan Wencai not only voiced their opposition in words, but also carried it out in action by simply refusing to obey the unrealistic orders from the new communist party leadership and continued to practice Mao Zedong's strategy. The result of their actions was the obvious success that enabled Wang Zuo and Yuan Wencai to have most of their force preserved. However, the relative success of Wang Zuo and Yuan Wencai not only proved to be useless in helping them within the communist party, but it also served as a catalyst of their downfall because their success of preserving their own forces was viewed as an urgent threat by the new communist leadership, since with greater military force, it was more difficult to remove them politically. With their primary supporter and protector Mao Zedong falling out from power, Wang Zuo's and Yuan Wencai's days were numbered.
When the resolution from the communist 6th National Conference held in the mid-1928 in Moscow
reached the communist base in Jinggangshan
, it was already winter. In the beginning of 1929, Mao held the Bailu (柏露) Conference to discuss the issue. Wang Huai (王怀), the communist party secretary of Yongxin (永新) county and You Chaoqing (尤超清), the communist party secretary of Ninggang (宁冈) county, who had been at odds with Yuan and Wang insisted on executing Yuan and Wang according to the resolution but their suggestion was once again vetoed by Mao. The resulting decision was a compromise that Wang would remain to command forces in the communist base, while Yuan would be named as the chief-of-staff and deployed with the communist force striking southern Jiangxi
.
After leaving Peng Dehuai's camp, the three immediately faked Mao Zedong's order to lure both Yuan and Wang to the supposed meeting to discuss the military situation. But once Wang Zuo and Yuan Wencai reached the meeting, they were shot in obscure circumstances, allegedly ambushed while trying to rebel. Wang managed to escape out a window but drowned while attempting to cross a river.
After 1949, both Yuan and Wang were marked as examples of ideologically reformed bandits who had been transformed into Communist soldiers. Both were recognised as martyr
s of the Chinese Revolution. In 1951 Wang's grave was moved to Dajing, where a monument was erected in his honour. Although Peng Dehuai was not directly involved in the death of Yuan Wencai and Wang Zuo, as proved by the history, that did not prevent Mao Zedong from blaming it on Peng, and Peng Dehuai was persecuted 30 years later, the death of Wang Zuo and Yuan Wencai was one of the alleged crime Peng committed against Mao, and this alleged crime again appeared during the Cultural Revolution
when Peng Dehuai was struggled by the Red Guards
.
Jinggangshan
Jinggangshan is located in the Luoxian Mountains , in the remote border region between Jiangxi and Hunan provinces of China. It lies at the junction of four counties - Ninggang, Yongxing, Suichuan and Lingxian. The mountains cover some 670 km², with an average elevation of 381.5 m above sea...
in Jiangxi
Jiangxi
' is a southern province in the People's Republic of China. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south, it shares a border with Anhui to the north, Zhejiang to the northeast, Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, Hunan to the west, and Hubei to...
province, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, from 1923, and then joined the communists, becoming a protege of Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
during their formative period in the Jiangxi Soviet
Jiangxi Soviet
The Chinese Soviet Republic , also translated as the Soviet Republic of China or the China Soviet Republic, and often referred to in historical literature as the Jiangxi Soviet , was a state established in November 1931 by the future Communist Party of China leader Mao...
. However, this caused his own life in the following power struggle within the Communist Party of China
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
.
Early life
Wang Zuo was born in a HakkaHakka people
The Hakka , sometimes Hakka Han, are Han Chinese who speak the Hakka language and have links to the provincial areas of Guangdong, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan and Fujian in China....
village in Suichuan (遂川) county, just south of Jinggangshan. Wang's family was poor and his father did when he was young. The family did not have enough money for the burial, and as a result, lost the tiny piece of land they had to a local landlord who provided the money in the form of usury
Usury
Usury Originally, when the charging of interest was still banned by Christian churches, usury simply meant the charging of interest at any rate . In countries where the charging of interest became acceptable, the term came to be used for interest above the rate allowed by law...
. Wang Zuo had to work as cowherd and gathering firewoods for the very landlord who provided usury. At the age of 15, Wang Zuo became a tailor
Tailor
A tailor is a person who makes, repairs, or alters clothing professionally, especially suits and men's clothing.Although the term dates to the thirteenth century, tailor took on its modern sense in the late eighteenth century, and now refers to makers of men's and women's suits, coats, trousers,...
by trade, and it was during this time he became a student of a famous local kung fu master, Wang Dongwen (王冬文), and became an expert in martial arts
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
. Witnessing the hopeless struggle of local peasantry via legal means in the reign of corrupted Beiyang
Beiyang
The term Beiyang originated toward the end of the Qing Dynasty, and it referred to the coastal areas of Zhili , Liaoning, and Shandong in northeast China....
warlord
Warlord era
The Chinese Warlord Era was the period in the history of the Republic of China, from 1916 to 1928, when the country was divided among military cliques, a division that continued until the fall of the Nationalist government in the mainland China regions of Sichuan, Shanxi, Qinghai, Ningxia,...
s, the disillusioned Wang Zuo joined the "Green Forest" (綠林) bandits commanded By Zhu Deaf (朱聋子) in 1923 and rose in ranks, though his contact with bandits could be as early as in 1921 via his kung fu master, Wang Dongwen (王冬文). Wang was liked by everyone in the gang and soon supplanted the gang's leader, Zhu Kongyang (朱孔陽).
In 1924, Wang Zuo became independent and formed his own gangs, which occupied the village of Dajing, which controlled the passes up Mount Jinggangshan, as their stronghold. Wang himself commandeered the large house of a former landlord as his own. He was recognised as superior by smaller bandit groups and came to be known locally as the "Great King of the Mountain" (山大王). Around 1924, the "Horse and Sword Brigade", formerly subordinate to Wang, came under the independent leadership of Yuan Wencai
Yuan Wencai
Yuan Wencai was a former bandit chieftain who operated in the mountainous area of Jinggangshan in Jiangxi province, China, from 1923, and then joined the communists, becoming a protege of Mao Zedong during their formative period in the Jiangxi Soviet...
. In 1925, Wang's subordinate staged a coup and Wang was forced to flee to Yuan, who helped him to reestablish himself. Wang and Yuan became sworn brothers and their two groups maintained close ties and cooperated to defend against the county authorities, with Yuan's force was stationed at the foothills at Maoping (茅坪), while Wang's force was stationed in the mountains at higher elevation at Greater and Lesser Five Wells (Daxiaowujing 大小五井). Wang Zuo eventually developed the reputation of a local Robin Hood
Robin Hood
Robin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes....
. A peasant song from the 1920s celebrates his deeds:
- Nandougu, a tiger sitting in the mountain,
- Beating the landlord, helping the poor.
- Famed in the mountains and on the plains,
- As a king on the mountain eating the wealthy.
However, Wang Zuo gained most of his fame for his martial arts
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
expertise in an ambush: once the unarmed Wang was along in a yard of a landlord and was suddenly besieged by more than a dozen members of landlord's militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
in the pre-planned ambush. Grabbing a bench as a weapon, Wang knocked out the landlord's militia members who were closest to him and jumped onto the roof from the ground, and safely escaped without any injury. Experience like this elevated Wang's status among the local populace.
Early communist era
Under the influence of Yuan WencaiYuan Wencai
Yuan Wencai was a former bandit chieftain who operated in the mountainous area of Jinggangshan in Jiangxi province, China, from 1923, and then joined the communists, becoming a protege of Mao Zedong during their formative period in the Jiangxi Soviet...
, Wang Zuo came into contact with the local Communists in Suichuan (遂川) county around 1925, and his group were recognized as a peasant self-defence force in 1926. After the April 12 Incident
April 12 Incident
The April 12 Incident of 1927 refers to the violent suppression of Chinese Communist Party organizations in Shanghai by the military forces of Chiang Kai-shek and conservative factions in the Kuomintang...
, Wang Zuo, like Yuan Wencai
Yuan Wencai
Yuan Wencai was a former bandit chieftain who operated in the mountainous area of Jinggangshan in Jiangxi province, China, from 1923, and then joined the communists, becoming a protege of Mao Zedong during their formative period in the Jiangxi Soviet...
, decided to stay with communist side, and became the only two surviving communist forces locally, each had around sixty rifle
Rifle
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
s respectively. Both Yuan and Wang adopted new strategies when they resumed their banditry activities for survival in that they had only targeted the richest landlords and merchants who were mostly hated by the general population. In doing so, they had managed not only to win the support of lower and lower-middle classes, but also that of many members of the middle class
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
such as small business owners. Consequently, this successful practice also became the source of their crimes they were accused of in their subsequent downfall, when their future comrades accused them for being "Not carrying out the revolution completely" and "Being rightist".
Due to the popular support from those with better economic status, the communists were able to secure a steady supply of provisions needed via trade, and helped with properties confiscated from the richest local strongmen, the communists became bolder and concentrated on guerrilla warfare against local governmental forces which were incapable of exterminating Yuan's and Wang's forces due to the strong popular support the communists enjoyed. However, it must be noted that Wang and his men had heavier influence of banditry than Yuan and his men, and although Wang enjoyed almost exclusive popular support of lower class like Yuan, his popular support from the middle class was not as great as that of Yuan Wencai
Yuan Wencai
Yuan Wencai was a former bandit chieftain who operated in the mountainous area of Jinggangshan in Jiangxi province, China, from 1923, and then joined the communists, becoming a protege of Mao Zedong during their formative period in the Jiangxi Soviet...
. Because of this and his location deep in the mountains, Wang Zuo and his men were not as active as Yuan Wencai
Yuan Wencai
Yuan Wencai was a former bandit chieftain who operated in the mountainous area of Jinggangshan in Jiangxi province, China, from 1923, and then joined the communists, becoming a protege of Mao Zedong during their formative period in the Jiangxi Soviet...
and his men in their guerrilla warfare against the local nationalist
Chinese nationalism
Chinese nationalism , sometimes synonymous with Chinese patriotism refers to cultural, historiographical, and political theories, movements and beliefs that assert the idea of a cohesive, unified Chinese people and culture in a unified country known as China...
government. Nonetheless, in July 1927, under the order of communists, Yuan's men and Wang's men raided Yongxin
Yongxin
Yongxin may refer to:*Shi Yongxin, a Chinese monk*Yang Yongxin, a Chinese psychiatrist*Yongxin County, in Jiangxi, China...
(永新) county, freeing over 80 Communist Party agents held in the local jail converted from a gaol. Although the town was briefly occupied, it was obvious that it was impossible for the token communist force to hold the town and thus they soon withdrew to the mountains to continue their guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
.
Joining Mao Zedong
On September 30, 1927, Mao ZedongMao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
arrived at Sanwan (三湾) village of Yongxin (永新) county, just north of Jinggangshan
Jinggangshan
Jinggangshan is located in the Luoxian Mountains , in the remote border region between Jiangxi and Hunan provinces of China. It lies at the junction of four counties - Ninggang, Yongxing, Suichuan and Lingxian. The mountains cover some 670 km², with an average elevation of 381.5 m above sea...
, with the remnants from the abortive Autumn Harvest Uprising
Autumn Harvest Uprising
The Autumn Harvest Uprising was an insurrection that took place in Hunan province and Jiangxi province, China on September 7, 1927, led by Mao Zedong, who established a short-lived Hunan Soviet....
, and sent letters to both Yuan Wencai and Wang Zuo to ask their help to establish a communist base locally. On October 3, 1927, Mao's force reached the town of Ninggang (宁冈) and held a conference, at which Mao personally vetoed the suggestion to eliminate Yuan and Wang by force, and quickly established an alliance with Yuan Wencai
Yuan Wencai
Yuan Wencai was a former bandit chieftain who operated in the mountainous area of Jinggangshan in Jiangxi province, China, from 1923, and then joined the communists, becoming a protege of Mao Zedong during their formative period in the Jiangxi Soviet...
. Wang Zuo actively seek to establish contact with Mao and in the late October, 1927, he successfully did so. With the help of Yuan Wencai
Yuan Wencai
Yuan Wencai was a former bandit chieftain who operated in the mountainous area of Jinggangshan in Jiangxi province, China, from 1923, and then joined the communists, becoming a protege of Mao Zedong during their formative period in the Jiangxi Soviet...
, Wang met Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
at the village of Greater Well (Dajing, 大井) on October 24, 1927. Wang Zuo was initially somewhat wary, but as with Yuan, Mao approached Wang with a large gift of seventy rifle
Rifle
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
s and horse saddles, and the offer of Communist instructors to give his force military training, thus successfully convinced Wang to welcome him into Wang's base at Ciping (茨坪) on October 27, 1927. Wang provided Mao's men with 25 tons of rice and huge amount of money soon afterward. Mao Zedong sent only one cadre, He Changgong (何长工) to assist Wang Zuo as the trainer and communist party representative, and He Changgong (何长工) helped him defeat a landlord militia unit headed by Yin Daoyi (尹道一), which had been harassing his men, he was won over. As winter approached, Mao withdrew from his forward base of Maoping to defend Jinggangshan from Dajing.
In February 1928, the forces of Yuan Wencai
Yuan Wencai
Yuan Wencai was a former bandit chieftain who operated in the mountainous area of Jinggangshan in Jiangxi province, China, from 1923, and then joined the communists, becoming a protege of Mao Zedong during their formative period in the Jiangxi Soviet...
and Wang Zuo were officially incorporated into the regular communist army as the 1st Army
Army
An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
, 1st Division
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
, 2nd Regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
. Yuan was named as the regimental commander, and Wang as the deputy regimental commander, with He Changgong as the communist party representative (何长工). On February 17, they participated in a successful attack at Xincheng on a battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
of the Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
's Jiangxi
Jiangxi
' is a southern province in the People's Republic of China. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south, it shares a border with Anhui to the north, Zhejiang to the northeast, Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, Hunan to the west, and Hubei to...
Army
Army
An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
, killing the enemy commander and taking more than a hundred prisoners. Wang Zuo joined the Communist Party of China
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
in April 1928. However, it must be said for Wang Zuo, it was more accurate to say he joined Mao Zedong's clique than the Communist Party of China
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
, since his loyalty was mostly to Mao personally, instead of to the communist party, which eventually caused his downfall and final death when Mao lost the power struggle with Li Lisan
Li Lisan
Lǐ Lìsān was an early leader of the Chinese communists, and the top leader of the Chinese Communist Party from 1928 to 1930, member of Polit Bureau, and later member of Central Committee.-Early years:...
and Xiang Zhongfa
Xiang Zhongfa
Xiang Zhongfa was one of the early senior leaders of the Communist Party of China .-Early life:Xiang was born in 1880 to a poor family living in Shanghai. He dropped out of elementary school to move with his parents to their ancestral home in Hubei...
.
Soon afterwards, Wang accompanied Mao Zedong to Lingxian county in southern Hunan
Hunan
' is a province of South-Central China, located to the south of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting...
province in aid of Zhu De
Zhu De
Zhu De was a Chinese militarist, politician, revolutionary, and one of the pioneers of the Chinese Communist Party. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, in 1955 Zhu became one of the Ten Marshals of the People's Liberation Army, of which he is regarded as the founder.-Early...
. Jinggangshan had meanwhile been overrun by landlord militia and had to be reconquered. After Zhu De
Zhu De
Zhu De was a Chinese militarist, politician, revolutionary, and one of the pioneers of the Chinese Communist Party. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, in 1955 Zhu became one of the Ten Marshals of the People's Liberation Army, of which he is regarded as the founder.-Early...
's soldiers joined the Jinggangshan base, they were merged with the existing forces to become the Fourth "Red Army". Yuan and Wang's 2nd Regiment was renamed the 32nd Regiment. Later in the year, Zhu De
Zhu De
Zhu De was a Chinese militarist, politician, revolutionary, and one of the pioneers of the Chinese Communist Party. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, in 1955 Zhu became one of the Ten Marshals of the People's Liberation Army, of which he is regarded as the founder.-Early...
's 28th and 29th regiments crossed into Hunan. The 32nd Regiment was given the assignment of securing Maoping from the advance of the Kuomintang's Jiangxi units until his return.
In January 1929, the bulk of the Red Army left Jinggangshan to establish a new base at Ruijin
Ruijin
Ruijin is a county-level city of Ganzhou in the mountains bordering Fujian Province in south-eastern Jiangxi.The name derives from the ancient God, Rui Jin. It is most famous as one of the earliest centers of Chinese communist activity...
, leaving around 800 ex-Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
troops under Peng Dehuai
Peng Dehuai
Peng Dehuai was a prominent military leader of the Communist Party of China, and China's Defence Minister from 1954 to 1959. Peng was an important commander during the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Chinese civil war and was also the commander-in-chief of People's Volunteer Army in the Korean War...
. Just after the New Year, it was agreed that Peng's men and the 32nd Regiment of Wang Zuo and Yuan Wencai
Yuan Wencai
Yuan Wencai was a former bandit chieftain who operated in the mountainous area of Jinggangshan in Jiangxi province, China, from 1923, and then joined the communists, becoming a protege of Mao Zedong during their formative period in the Jiangxi Soviet...
should stay behind to defend Jinggangshan. Under intense pressure for about a week, Peng gathered together his three surviving companies and broke through the enemy blockade with heavy casualties. For the next year Yuan Wencai and Wang Zuo survived with their men in the mountains and may have returned to banditry in their gurrilla warfare. The Kuomintang's repeated mop up operations against them proved to be futile because the communist forces only confiscated property from wealthy landlords, and distributing to peasants. As a result, such banditry was viewed positively by the local general populace, which refused to corporate with the Kuomintang forces.
Prelude to downfall
Jinggangshan and Jiangxi SovietJiangxi Soviet
The Chinese Soviet Republic , also translated as the Soviet Republic of China or the China Soviet Republic, and often referred to in historical literature as the Jiangxi Soviet , was a state established in November 1931 by the future Communist Party of China leader Mao...
were not immune to the power struggles within the Communist Party of China
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
in the early 1930s. Xiang Zhongfa
Xiang Zhongfa
Xiang Zhongfa was one of the early senior leaders of the Communist Party of China .-Early life:Xiang was born in 1880 to a poor family living in Shanghai. He dropped out of elementary school to move with his parents to their ancestral home in Hubei...
and Li Lisan
Li Lisan
Lǐ Lìsān was an early leader of the Chinese communists, and the top leader of the Chinese Communist Party from 1928 to 1930, member of Polit Bureau, and later member of Central Committee.-Early years:...
succeeded in rising to power under the direction and support of the Comintern
Comintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
and their extreme leftist policy inevitably effected all communist bases in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, including Jinggangshan. The extreme leftism of the new communist leadership included what Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
called military adventurism, which included attempts to takeover the large cities, a result of unrealistic optimism on the Chinese
History of China
Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...
revolution and a direct copy of the Soviet model of urban revolution.
The new strategy was obvious unfit for China at the time, and many commanders such as Peng Dehuai
Peng Dehuai
Peng Dehuai was a prominent military leader of the Communist Party of China, and China's Defence Minister from 1954 to 1959. Peng was an important commander during the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Chinese civil war and was also the commander-in-chief of People's Volunteer Army in the Korean War...
, Zhu De
Zhu De
Zhu De was a Chinese militarist, politician, revolutionary, and one of the pioneers of the Chinese Communist Party. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, in 1955 Zhu became one of the Ten Marshals of the People's Liberation Army, of which he is regarded as the founder.-Early...
and Chen Yi
Chen Yi (communist)
Chen Yi was a Chinese communist military commander and politician. He served as the 2nd Mayor of Shanghai and the 2nd Foreign Minister of China.-Biography:Chen was born in Lezhi, near Chengdu, Sichuan, into a moderately wealthy magistrate's family....
voiced their opposition, Wang Zuo and Yuan Wencai included, but it was useless because the new leadership refused to change its policy. As a result, the communist forces met disastrous defeats in attempts to carry out this unrealistic policy. Mao Zedong strongly opposed the military adventurism of Xiang Zhongfa and Li Lisan, but lost and was temporarily forced out of the communist leadership and sent to southern Jiangxi
Jiangxi
' is a southern province in the People's Republic of China. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south, it shares a border with Anhui to the north, Zhejiang to the northeast, Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, Hunan to the west, and Hubei to...
. Although Mao's new position appeared to have the equal rank, in reality Mao was demoted. Furthermore, during the 6th National Conference of Communist Party of China
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
held from June to July 1928 in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, the top brass of communists passed the resolution on the "Organizational Problems of Soviet Government" (关于苏维埃政权组织问题决议案), in which it clearly stated that the bandits could only be utilized before the success of uprising, but afterward, they must be eliminated. This resolution had provided excellent ammo for Li Lisan and Xiang Zhongfa in their power struggle against Mao, and people like Yuan Wencai and Wang Zuo were obviously targets.
However, the political struggle did not end at the top leadership of the communists. In contrast to the professional soldier Peng Dehuai who faithfully attempted to carry out the impossible missions by dutifully obeying the orders despite his personal opposition, which of course ended in obivous defeats, Wang Zuo and Yuan Wencai not only voiced their opposition in words, but also carried it out in action by simply refusing to obey the unrealistic orders from the new communist party leadership and continued to practice Mao Zedong's strategy. The result of their actions was the obvious success that enabled Wang Zuo and Yuan Wencai to have most of their force preserved. However, the relative success of Wang Zuo and Yuan Wencai not only proved to be useless in helping them within the communist party, but it also served as a catalyst of their downfall because their success of preserving their own forces was viewed as an urgent threat by the new communist leadership, since with greater military force, it was more difficult to remove them politically. With their primary supporter and protector Mao Zedong falling out from power, Wang Zuo's and Yuan Wencai's days were numbered.
When the resolution from the communist 6th National Conference held in the mid-1928 in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
reached the communist base in Jinggangshan
Jinggangshan
Jinggangshan is located in the Luoxian Mountains , in the remote border region between Jiangxi and Hunan provinces of China. It lies at the junction of four counties - Ninggang, Yongxing, Suichuan and Lingxian. The mountains cover some 670 km², with an average elevation of 381.5 m above sea...
, it was already winter. In the beginning of 1929, Mao held the Bailu (柏露) Conference to discuss the issue. Wang Huai (王怀), the communist party secretary of Yongxin (永新) county and You Chaoqing (尤超清), the communist party secretary of Ninggang (宁冈) county, who had been at odds with Yuan and Wang insisted on executing Yuan and Wang according to the resolution but their suggestion was once again vetoed by Mao. The resulting decision was a compromise that Wang would remain to command forces in the communist base, while Yuan would be named as the chief-of-staff and deployed with the communist force striking southern Jiangxi
Jiangxi
' is a southern province in the People's Republic of China. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south, it shares a border with Anhui to the north, Zhejiang to the northeast, Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, Hunan to the west, and Hubei to...
.
Death
In the late night of February 23, 1930, Peng Dehuai was awakened from his bed by Xiang Zhongfa's and Li Lisan's two lieutenants, the local party secretaries Zhu Changxie (朱昌偕) and Wang Huai (王怀), who told Peng that they had just received intelligence claiming Wang Zuo and Yuan Wencai had defected to Kuomintang], and thus they need Peng's signature to deploy troops to exterminate the traitors. Ironically, one of the supporters of Zhu Changxie (朱昌偕) and Wang Huai (王怀), You Chaoqing (尤超清), was the one who introduced Wang and Yuan to the communists. Knowing both Wang and Yuan would not do such thing, Peng initially refused and argued with them to defend Wang and Yuan. The three lieutenants of Xiang Zhongfa and Li Lisan then changed their story by claiming that the intelligence indeed appeared to be a rumor, and they were to be invited to a meeting to clear things up, some force would be deployed just in case. Sensing Peng Dehuai's opposition, the three also asked Peng not to be involved by staying where he was instead of going to the planned meeting, for the sake of not to agitate situation. This tactic finally convinced Peng Dehuai who give his signature, and the three men led over 300 troops away to plot their next move.After leaving Peng Dehuai's camp, the three immediately faked Mao Zedong's order to lure both Yuan and Wang to the supposed meeting to discuss the military situation. But once Wang Zuo and Yuan Wencai reached the meeting, they were shot in obscure circumstances, allegedly ambushed while trying to rebel. Wang managed to escape out a window but drowned while attempting to cross a river.
Legacy
As early as October of that year, Mao Zedong criticised the officials in power of the Jiangxi Soviet for the assassination of his old allies. Just who gave the order for the death of Wang Zuo, however, is still not clear, although a number of officials of the Jiangxi Communist Party were implicated. Wang Yunlong (王雲隆), Wang Zuo's younger brother and an officer of the 32nd Regiment, became the new leader of his brother's men, and defected to Kuomintang. After Wang Yunlong (王雲隆)'s death, Wang Zuo's son became the leader and it was not until nearly two decades later in 1949 when the communists were finally able to retake Jinggangshan.After 1949, both Yuan and Wang were marked as examples of ideologically reformed bandits who had been transformed into Communist soldiers. Both were recognised as martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
s of the Chinese Revolution. In 1951 Wang's grave was moved to Dajing, where a monument was erected in his honour. Although Peng Dehuai was not directly involved in the death of Yuan Wencai and Wang Zuo, as proved by the history, that did not prevent Mao Zedong from blaming it on Peng, and Peng Dehuai was persecuted 30 years later, the death of Wang Zuo and Yuan Wencai was one of the alleged crime Peng committed against Mao, and this alleged crime again appeared during the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
when Peng Dehuai was struggled by the Red Guards
Red Guards (China)
Red Guards were a mass movement of civilians, mostly students and other young people in the People's Republic of China , who were mobilized by Mao Zedong in 1966 and 1967, during the Cultural Revolution.-Origins:...
.