Zhū Dé ' onMouseout='HidePop("65602")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Wade-Giles">Wade-Giles
Wade–Giles , sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a Romanization system for the Mandarin language used in Beijing. It developed from a system produced by Thomas Wade during the mid-19th century, and was given completed form with Herbert Giles' Chinese–English dictionary of 1892.Wade–Giles' was the main...
: Chu Teh;
zi: Yùjiē 玉阶; 1 December 1886 – 6 July 1976) was a
Chinese CommunistThe Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and the ruling political party of the People's Republic of China and the world's largest political party...
military leader and statesman. He is regarded as the founder of the Chinese Red Army (the forerunner of the
People's Liberation ArmyThe People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on 1 August 1927—celebrated annually as "PLA Day"—as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...
) and the tactician who engineered the revolution from which emerged the
People's Republic of ChinaThe People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the most populous in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately one-fifth of the world's population...
.
Early life
Zhu De was born in in
Yilong CountyYilong County is a county of Sichuan Province, China. It is under the administration of Nanchong city....
, a hilly and isolated section of northern
Sichuan' is a province in Southwestern China with its capital in Chengdu. The current name of the province, 四川 , is an abbreviation of 四川路 , or "Four circuits of rivers", which is itself abbreviated from 川峡四路 , or "Four circuits of rivers and gorges", named after the division of the...
province. His father, a Han Chinese Hakka, was born in Guangdong province. Zhu De's grandfather took his family and emigrated to Sichuan province. He was one of the thirteen children of the Zhu family. After a secondary education funded by his uncle, the only member of the family capable of doing so, and only after a family decision that he be the beneficiary of an education, Zhu felt obliged to enroll for the district examinations despite his dislike for the traditional Confucian education system. Zhu passed these examinations, to his surprise, and was awarded a xiucai degree.
Zhu hid these results from his family and traveled to
ChengduChengdu , located in southwest People's Republic of China, is the capital of Sichuan province and a sub-provincial city. Chengdu is also one of the most important economic centers, transportation and communication hubs in Southwestern China...
to study physical education. In 1904 he enrolled in a middle school and studied the Classics in preparation for the civil service exam. He then went to Chengdu to study physical education and in 1908 entered a secondary school. Shortly thereafter, he enrolled in the Yunnan Military Academy, where he was likely first exposed to the ideals of
Sun Yat-senSun Yat-sen was a Chinese revolutionary and political leader. As the foremost pioneer of Republican China, Sun is frequently referred to as the Father of the Nation. Sun played an instrumental role in overthrowing the Qing Dynasty in October 1911, the last imperial dynasty of China...
's
TongmenghuiThe Tongmenghui , also known as the Chinese United League or the Chinese Revolutionary Alliance, was a secret society and underground resistance movement organized by Sun Yat-sen and Song Jiaoren in Tokyo, Japan, on 20 August 1905...
(United League, predecessor to the
KuomintangThe Kuomintang of China , translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party, is a political party of the Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan since the 1970s. It is the founding and the ruling political party of the ROC...
[KMT, or Nationalist Party]), which he joined 1912. He also joined the
Gelao Hui, or Elder Brother secret society.
Nationalism and Warlordism
At the Yunnan Military Academy in
KunmingKunming is a prefecture-level city and capital of Yunnan province, in southwestern China. Because of its year-round temperate climate, Kunming is often called the "Spring City" or "City of Eternal Spring" ....
, he came under the influence of
Cai ECai E or Tsai Ao was a Chinese revolutionary leader and warlord. He was born Cai Genyin in Shaoyang, Hunan and his courtesy name was Songpo ....
(Tsai Ao), and taught at the Academy after his graduation in July 1911 from the academy's first class. Zhu was with Brigader Cai in the October 1911 expeditionary force attacking
ManchuThe Manchu people are a Tungusic people who originated in Manchuria . During their rise in the seventeenth century, with the help of Ming rebels , they conquered the Ming Dynasty and founded the Qing Dynasty, which ruled China until the Xinhai Revolution of 1911, which established a...
(Qing Dynasty) forces in Sichuan, and in 1915-16 was a regimental commander in the campaign to unseat
Yuan ShikaiYuan Shikai was an important Chinese general and politician famous for his influence during the late Qing Dynasty, his role in the events leading up to the abdication of the last Qing Emperor of China, his autocratic rule as the...
. When Cai became governor of Sichuan after Yuan's death in June 1916, Zhu was made a brigade commander.
Following the death of his mentor Cai E, and his own wife, Zhu developed a strong opium habit and in his depression fell into a life of decadence and warlordism. In 1920, after his troops were driven from Sichuan toward the Tibet border, he returned to Yunnan as a public security commissioner of the provincial government. Around this time, his second wife and child were murdered by rival warlords, which may have contributed to his decision to leave China for study in Europe. He first travelled to Shanghai where he broke his opium habit and apparently met Dr Sun Yat-sen. He attempted to join the Chinese Communist Party in early 1922, but was rejected due to his former warlord ties.
Converting to Communism
In late 1922, Zhu went to
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
, studying at Göttingen University in Germany from 1922 to 1925 at which point he met
Zhou EnlaiZhou Enlai was the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, serving from October 1949 until his death in January 1976...
and was expelled from the country by the government for his role in a number of student protests. Around this time, he joined the
Communist PartyA political party described as a communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government. The name originates from the 1848 tract Manifesto of the Communist Party by Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels...
. Zhou Enlai was one of his sponsors. In July 1925, he traveled to the
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
to study military affairs. In July 1926, he returned to
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
and undertook to persuade Sichuan warlord Yang Sen to support the Northern Expedition, but failed. Soon after, he was named head of a new military institute in Nanchang.
In 1927, following the collapse of the First United Front, KMT authorities ordered Zhu to lead a force against the
Nanchang UprisingThe Nanchang Uprising was the first major Kuomintang-Communist engagement of the Chinese Civil War, in order to counter the anti-communist purges by the Nationalist Party of China....
led by Zhou Enlai and
Liu BochengLiu Bocheng was a Chinese Communist military commander and Marshal of the People's Liberation Army.Liu Bocheng is known as one of the "Three and A Half" Strategists of China in modern history...
. However, as he had helped to orchestrate this uprising, Zhu and his army defected from the Guomindang and fought against them. The uprising failed to gather the support of the local working class, however, and he was forced to flee
NanchangNanchang is the capital of Jiangxi Province in southeastern China. Nanchang is famous for its scenic lakes, mountains, rich history and cultural sites.-Geography:...
with his army. Under the fake name Wang Kai, Zhu managed to find shelter from a warlord Fan Shisheng for his remaining regiment. He eventually expanded his force.
'Zhu Mao'
Zhu's close affiliation with
Mao ZedongMao Zedong was a Chinese revolutionary, political theorist and Communist leader. He led the People's Republic of China from its establishment in 1949 until his death in 1976...
began in 1928 when under the assistance of
Chen YiChen Yi or Chen I was a Chinese communist military commander and politician.-Biography:He was born in Lezhi, near Chengdu, Sichuan, into a moderately wealthy magistrate's family....
and
Lin BiaoLin Biao , born as Lin Yurong was a Chinese Communist military leader who was instrumental in the communist victory in the Chinese Civil War, especially in Northeastern China, and was the General who led the People's Liberation Army into Beijing in 1949...
, Zhu brought his army of 10,000 men to the
Jinggang MountainsJinggangshan 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...
where Mao had formed a soviet in 1927. From these humble beginnings, Zhu built the
Red ArmyThe People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on 1 August 1927—celebrated annually as "PLA Day"—as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...
into a skilled
guerrillaGuerrilla warfare is the irregular warfare warfare and combat in which a small group of combatants use mobile military tactics in the form of ambushes and raids to combat a larger and less mobile formal army....
force that consolidated and expanded the PLA areas of control.
Zhu was the military expert, and Mao was the political expert. They needed each other.
Zhu's bravery and skill in leading these men made him a figure of immense prestige. Locals credited him with supernatural abilities. During this time Mao and Zhu became so closely connected that to the local peasant farmers they were known collectively as "Zhu Mao".
In 1929 Zhu and Mao were forced to flee
JinggangshanJinggangshan 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...
to
RuijinRuijin 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...
to the East following Guomindang military pressure. Here they formed the
Jiangxi SovietThe 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...
which would eventually grow to cover some 30, 000 square kilometers and include some three million people. In 1931 Zhu was appointed leader of the Red Army in the
RuijinRuijin 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...
by the CCP leadership. Zhu successfully led a conventional military force against the Guomindang during the
Fourth Counter Encirclement CampaignThe Fourth Encirclement Campaign is an abbreviated name used for several different campaigns launched by the Nationalist Government with the goal of destroying the developing Chinese Red Army and its communist bases in several separate locations in China during the early stage of Chinese Civil War...
; however he was not able to do the same during the Fifth Counter Encirclement Campaign and reluctantly the CCP began to make preparations to flee the
Jiangxi SovietThe 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...
. Zhu helped to form the 1934 break out from the soviet that would begin the
Long MarchThe Long March was a massive military retreat undertaken by the Red Army of the Chinese Communist Party, the forerunner of the People's Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the Kuomintang army. There was not one Long March, but several, as various Communist armies in the south escaped to the...
.
Red Army leader
During the
Long MarchThe Long March was a massive military retreat undertaken by the Red Army of the Chinese Communist Party, the forerunner of the People's Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the Kuomintang army. There was not one Long March, but several, as various Communist armies in the south escaped to the...
, Zhu De and
Zhang GuotaoZhang Guotao was a founding member and leader of the Chinese Communist Party during the late 1920s and 1930s. He wrote several memoirs on the CCP that provide valuable information on its early history....
commanded the "western column" of the Red Army, which barely survived the retreat through
Sichuan' is a province in Southwestern China with its capital in Chengdu. The current name of the province, 四川 , is an abbreviation of 四川路 , or "Four circuits of rivers", which is itself abbreviated from 川峡四路 , or "Four circuits of rivers and gorges", named after the division of the...
Province.
In
Yan'anYan'an , is a Prefecture-level city in the Shanbei region of Shaanxi province in China, administering several counties, including Zhidan County, formerly Bao'an, which served as the Chinese communist capital before the city of Yan'an proper took that role....
, Zhu directed the reconstruction of the Red Army under the political guidance of Mao.
During the
Second Sino-Japanese WarThe Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany and the Soviet Union...
and the
Chinese Civil WarThe Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China . The war began in April 1927, amidst the Northern Expedition,. The war represented an ideological split between the Western-supported Nationalist KMT and the Soviet-supported Communist CPC...
, he held the position of
Commander-in-ChiefA commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the...
of the Red Army. In 1940 Zhu De devised and organized the
Hundred Regiments OffensiveThe Hundred Regiments Offensive was a major campaign of the Communist Party of China's Red Army commanded by Peng Dehuai against the Imperial Japanese Army in Central China.- Background :...
without the support of Mao. This campaign was very successful but has since been attributed as the main provocation for the devastating Japanese
Three Alls PolicyThe Three Alls Policy was a Japanese scorched earth policy adopted in China during World War II, the three alls being: "Kill All", "Burn All" and "Loot All". In Japanese documents, the policy was originally referred to as...
.
Later life
After 1949, Zhu was named Commander-in-Chief of the
People's Liberation ArmyThe People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on 1 August 1927—celebrated annually as "PLA Day"—as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...
(PLA). He was also the Vice-Chairman of the Communist Party (1956-1966) and Vice-Chairman of the People's Republic of China (1954-1959). In 1950 Zhu De oversaw the PLA during the
Korean WarThe Korean War is a war that started between North Korea and South Korea on 25 June 1950 and paused with an armistice signed 27 July, 1953...
. In 1955, he was made a marshal.
In 1966, during the onset of the Cultural Revolution, Zhu De was dismissed from his position on the Standing Committee of the
National People's CongressThe National People's Congress , abbreviated NPC , is the highest state body and only legislative house in the People's Republic of China. The National People's Congress is held in the Great Hall of the People, Beijing, capital of the People's Republic of China...
. However, thanks to the support of
Zhou EnlaiZhou Enlai was the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, serving from October 1949 until his death in January 1976...
he was not harmed or imprisoned. In 1971 Zhu was reinstated as the Chairman of the Standing Committee.
He continued to be a prominent and respected elder statesman until his death in July 1976.
See also
- Eighth Route Army
The Eighth Route Army was the larger of the two major Chinese communist forces that formed a unit of the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China which fought the Japanese from 1937 to 1945. In contrast to most of the National Revolutionary Army, it was controlled by the Communist...
- History of the People's Republic of China (1949-1976)
The history of the People's Republic of China is often divided distinctly by historians into the "Mao era" and the "post-Mao era". The Mao era lasted from the founding of the People's Republic on October 1, 1949 to Deng Xiaoping's grip onto power and policy reversal at the Third Plenum of the 11th...
- List of officers of the People's Liberation Army
External links