Zhou Baozhong (; 1902–1964) was a commander of the

88th Separate Rifle Brigade The 88th Separate Rifle Brigade (, , ), also known as the Northeast Anti-Japanese Allied Forces Teaching Brigade or the 88th International Brigade, was an international military unit of the Red Army created during World War II. It was unique in t ...

and Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army resisting the

pacification of Manchukuo The Pacification of Manchukuo was a Japanese counterinsurgency campaign to suppress any armed resistance to the newly established puppet state of Manchukuo from various anti-Japanese volunteer armies in occupied Manchuria and later the Communis ...

by the

Empire of Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent fo ...

. After the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...

he was made Vice Governor of

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...

province in 1949.

Early life

He was born on 1902 in

Dali Prefecture Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture (; Bai: ) is an autonomous prefecture of northwestern Yunnan Province, People's Republic of China. Dali has an area of and its seat is located in Xiaguan, Dali City. Subdivisions The prefecture is subdivided into ...

. His birth name was Xi Liyuan. In 1915, he was admitted to the provincial Dali No. 2 Middle School with excellent results. After the second grade of junior high school, because of the attack of his hometown by warlords and bandits, he dropped out of school and went home to work in farming.

Military career

In February 1917, at the age of 15, he joined the army and participated in the

Constitutional Protection Movement The Constitutional Protection Movement () was a series of movements led by Sun Yat-sen to resist the Beiyang government between 1917 and 1922, in which Sun established another government in Guangzhou as a result. It was known as the Third Revolut ...

. From November 1922 to 1924, he studied military at the

Yunnan Military Academy Yunnan Military Academy was a military academy based in Yunnan, during the late Qing dynasty and early Republic of China. Along with Huangpu Military Academy (Whampoa Military Academy) and Baoding Military Academy, Yunnan Military Academy was o ...

. In 1924, he graduated from Yunnan Jiangwu School. In 1926, he participated in the

Northern Expedition The Northern Expedition was a military campaign launched by the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Kuomintang (KMT), also known as the "Chinese Nationalist Party", against the Beiyang government and other regional warlords in 1926. The ...

. In March 1927, Zhou served as deputy commander of the 56th Regiment of the Sixth Army of Cheng Qian's National Revolutionary Army. In 1927, he joined the

Communist Party of China The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...

Wuhan Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei, Hubei Province in the China, People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the List of cities in China ...

. After the fighting between the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...

and Communist Party led to

, he stayed in the Sixth Army of the

National Revolutionary Army The National Revolutionary Army (NRA; ), sometimes shortened to Revolutionary Army () before 1928, and as National Army () after 1928, was the military arm of the Kuomintang (KMT, or the Chinese Nationalist Party) from 1925 until 1947 in China ...

to perform secret work in accordance with the instructions of the Yangtze River Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China . In December 1927, he served as the deputy commander of the 18th Division of the Sixth Army. During this time, he engaged in troop movement and liaison work in

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

and other provinces. At the end of 1928, Zhou entered the special class of Communist University of the Toilers of the East in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

to study military affairs, where his classmate was future Marshal of China Ye Jianying. Later, he was transferred to the International Lenin School to study politics.

Second Sino-Japanese War

Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army SOLDIERS

After the September 18th incident in 1931, he returned to China and went to the

Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

, which was then part of the Japanese puppet state of

Manchukuo Manchukuo, officially the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of (Great) Manchuria after 1934, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China, Manchuria from 1932 until 1945. It was founded as a republic in 1932 afte ...

, to serve in the leadership of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army. He served as a member of the Manchuria Provincial Committee and Secretary of the Military Commission of the Communist Party of China. During this time, he changed his name to Zhou Baozhong. As chief of the general staff, he led the army in two battles to conquer Antu County and three battles against the city of

Ning'an Ning'an () is a city located approximately southwest of Mudanjiang, in the southeast of Heilongjiang province, China, bordering Jilin province to the south. It is located on the Mudanjiang River (formerly known as Hurka River), which flows north, ...

. In February 1934, he led the formation of the Suining Anti-Japanese Allied Forces, served as the chairman of the military committee, and led his troops to carry out guerrilla activities in Ning'an. Zhou successively served as the commander of the 5th Army of the Northeast Anti-Japanese Allied Army. The unit fought mostly within the Heilongjiang Province. In March 1937, he commanded troops to fight Yilan City, where they caused more than 300 Japanese casualties. In October 1937, the Fourth, Fifth, Seventh, Eighth, and Tenth armies of the Anti-Japanese Army was reorganized into the 2nd Route Army. Zhou served as the commander-in-chief of the Second Route Army of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army and secretary of the CPC Jidong Provincial Party Committee. The main guerrilla bases were located in more than 20 counties on the banks of

Songhua The Songhua or Sunghwa River (also Haixi or Xingal, russian: Сунгари ''Sungari'') is one of the primary rivers of China, and the longest tributary of the Amur. It flows about from the Changbai Mountains on the China–North Korea bord ...

and

Ussuri The Ussuri or Wusuli (russian: Уссури; ) is a river that runs through Khabarovsk and Primorsky Krais, Russia and the southeast region of Northeast China. It rises in the Sikhote-Alin mountain range, flowing north and forming part of the Si ...

Rivers. After the reorganization of the army in 1937, Zhou became the commander of the Third Route Army, which was active in the mountainous areas of eastern Jilin Province.Hiramatsu. Page 44-45. 1943-10-05-제88여단_대원

In 1940, the unit withdrew into the

for training, after suffering from massive losses due to Japanese retaliatory attacks. This was in accordance with the discussions between Zhou,

Li Zhaolin Li Zhaolin 李兆麟 (1910-1946), known earlier as Li Chaolan 李超兰, was the founder and leader of the 3rd Route Army, a division of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army in the Second Sino-Japanese War. Li was born in Liaoyang county, Liao ...

and Feng Zhongyun with the

CPSU "Hymn of the Bolshevik Party" , headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow , general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first)Mikhail Gorbachev (last) , founded = , banned = , founder = Vladimir Lenin , newspaper ...

Committee of the Far Eastern Territory and the Soviet Far Eastern Army at headquarters in

Khabarovsk Khabarovsk ( rus, Хабaровск, a=Хабаровск.ogg, r=Habárovsk, p=xɐˈbarəfsk) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative centre of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia,Law #109 located from the China ...

. During this time, he met and became acquainted with future leader of North Korea Kim Il-sung, who also served in Zhou's unit. In early August 1941, the teaching brigade of the Northeast Anti-Japanese Allied Forces was established in the Soviet Union, with Zhou serving as the brigade commander. In February 1942, Zhou Baozhong and

Zhao Shangzhi Zhao Shangzhi (; 1908–1942) was a Chinese military commander. Born in Chaoyang, Liaoning, he participated in the May Thirtieth Movement in 1925, and joined the Communist Party of China in the same year. In November 1925, he went to study in the ...

returned to the Northeast Second Route Army headquarters from Soviet Union. On August 1, the Northeast Anti-Japanese Army was reorganized into the

of the Soviet Red Army’s Far Eastern Front, and Zhou was appointed as its commander. In August 1945, following the Soviet invasion of Manchuria, Zhou led his troops in cooperating with the Red Army's march into the Northeast China. As a result, the troops were transferred from the Northeast to the

Eighth Route Army The Eighth Route Army (), officially known as the 18th Group Army of the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China, was a group army under the command of the Chinese Communist Party, nominally within the structure of the Chinese ...

and the New Fourth Army. On August 11, Zhou summoned troops to board the ship according to a predetermined plan and arrived in Heilongjiang to return home.

Chinese Civil War

Zhou returned to

Changchun Changchun (, ; ), also romanized as Ch'angch'un, is the capital and largest city of Jilin Province, People's Republic of China. Lying in the center of the Songliao Plain, Changchun is administered as a , comprising 7 districts, 1 county and 3 c ...

in September 1945, under the alias Huang Shaoyuan. He served as the deputy commander of the Soviet garrison headquarters in Changchun. In September of the same year, the Northeast Anti-Japanese Army was renamed the Northeast People's Self-Defense Force, and Zhou was appointed as its general commander. On October 31, the former Northeast Anti-Japanese Army and indigenous armed groups were combined to form the Northeastern People's Autonomous Army. Zhou was appointed deputy chief of staff under the command of Lin Biao.Hiramatsu. Page 60.Hiramatsu. Page 61. Zhou_baozhong_with_kim_il-sung

He also served as secretary of the Jihe District Party Committee, commander and political commissar of the Jihe National Army, and chairman of the Jihe Administrative Committee in Hubei. In November, the Jilin Provincial Working Committee and Jilin Military Region were established. Zhou served as a member of the Provincial Working Committee and commander of the Jilin Military Region. In January 1946, the Northeast People’s Autonomous Army was renamed as Northeast Democratic Alliance Army, and Zhou served as the deputy commander-in-chief of the Northeast Democratic Alliance Army and commander of the Jilin Military Region. On April 14, 1946, part of the main force of the Northeast Democratic Alliance Army, together with the Jilin Military Region, was divided into three columns under the command of Zhou to attack the Kuomintang units in Changchun. The battle led to the destruction of Kuomintang's Northeast Security Corps fourth and fifth units, leading to a major Chinese Communist military victory in the Northeast in October 1948. However, after the Democratic Alliance Army was renamed the Northeastern People's Liberation Army in January 1948, it was reorganized into the Fourth Field Army in November 1948 and on the same month, Zhou was dismissed as a deputy commander.Hiramatsu. Page 45, 51 In September 1949, Zhou Baozhong served as commander-in-chief and political commissar of the Northeast People’s Self-Defense Army, deputy commander-in-chief of the Northeast Democratic Alliance Army and commander of the Dongman Military Region, chairman of the Jilin Provincial Government, deputy commander of the Northeast Military Region of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army and commander of the Jilin Military Region. He also served as the Northeast Member of the Standing Committee of the Administrative Committee. During the

, Zhou led his troops to fought more than 800 battles against the Kuomintang and caused more than 40,000 casualties among the enemy troops. In October 1948, his unit played an important role in the second occupation of Changchun. On September 8, 1949, Zhou Baozhong went to Beijing. On September 21, he attended the

Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC, zh, 中国人民政治协商会议), also known as the People's PCC (, ) or simply the PCC (), is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of ...

and participated in the founding ceremony of the People's Republic of China. When he was about to go to Yunnan to take up his political post, he was admitted to a hospital in Beijing due to a heart attack. At hospital, he was visited by

Liu Shaoqi Liu Shaoqi ( ; 24 November 189812 November 1969) was a Chinese revolutionary, politician, and theorist. He was Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee from 1954 to 1959, First Vice Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party from 1956 to 1966 and C ...

and Premier of China

Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 J ...

who urged him to recover well and not rush to take office. In November 1949, Zhou went to Yunnan.

Political career

After the founding of People's Republic of China, Zhou was made Vice Governor of

province in 1949. He also served as the vice chairman of the Kunming Military Management Committee and political committee director of the Committee of Political and Civil Affairs. From October 1951 to May 1957, he concurrently served as the president of Yunnan University and as dean of the

Southwest University of Political Science and Law Southwest University of Political Science and Law (SWUPL) is a national public university located in Chongqing, China. It was founded in 1953 with the original name Southwest College of Political Science and Law. It was one of the first facultie ...

from August 1953 to October 1954. In 1954, due to severe heart failure and the recurrence of gallstones, the

Central Government A central government is the government that is a controlling power over a unitary state. Another distinct but sovereign political entity is a federal government, which may have distinct powers at various levels of government, authorized or dele ...

decided that Zhou would be recuperating in Beijing from August 1954. Prior to this, Zhou Enlai visited him in at the hospital in May 1954 and told him to recover from his illness with peace of mind. He advised him to write and sort out the historical materials of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army after recovery. Beginning in the second half of 1954, Zhou organized and wrote the history of the Northeast Anti-Japanese Allied Forces. During this time, North Korean leader Kim Il-sung met Zhou at the Summer Palace. In April 1956, he was elected as a representative of the Second National People's Congress and a member of the

State Ethnic Affairs Commission The National Ethnic Affairs Commission is a cabinet-level executive department of the State Council of the People's Republic of China under the formal leadership of the United Front Work Department that is responsible for relations between ...

. In September, he was elected as an alternate member of the Central Committee at the Eighth National Congress. In April 1959, he was again elected as a representative of the Second National People's Congress and a member of the National Ethnic Affairs Commission. At the beginning of 1964, Zhou was so seriously ill that he was bedridden. On April 21, 1964, he suffered another heart attack and a doctor was sent to provide him with medical assistance. Zhou died on next day in a hospital in Beijing, at the age of 62. Following his death, North Korean leader Kim Il-sung immediately sent a telegram of condolences and assigned the staff of the North Korean Embassy in China to attend Zhou's funeral services.

Personal life

Zhou was married to Wang Yizhi on October 6, 1939, at the temporary station of the Second Route Army headquarters. They had a daughter named Zhou Wei, who was born in the Soviet Union on 1942. Wang died on November 26, 1987. Zhou Wei was admitted to the

Second Military Medical University The People's Liberation Army Naval Medical University (), also known as the PLA Second Military Medical University (SMMU) (), is a public university in Shanghai, China. It was founded in September 1949 and named in July 1951. It is a national ke ...

of the People's Liberation Army in 1962, and worked in the

301 Hospital The People's Liberation Army General Hospital and Medical School (301 Hospital; ) is the central military medical institution of the People's Liberation Army and the largest comprehensive military hospital in China. The 301 Hospital located in B ...

of the Beijing Military Region in 1973. She successively worked in

anesthesiology Anesthesiology, anaesthesiology, or anaesthesia is the medical specialty concerned with the total perioperative care of patients before, during and after surgery. It encompasses anesthesia, intensive care medicine, critical emergency medicine, ...

and

hyperbaric oxygen Hyperbaric medicine is medical treatment in which an ambient pressure greater than sea level atmospheric pressure is a necessary component. The treatment comprises hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), the medical use of oxygen at an ambient pressure ...

medicine until her retirement. Due to the close relationship between her father and Kim Il-sung, she often visits North Korea to nurture relations between China and North Korea. An investigation by the ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' revealed that businesses connected to the Zhou's family helped enrich North Korea with its national income that contributed to its weapons development. Business records, official media reports and interviews connect Zhou's family with North Korean industries including mining, trade and consumer goods. A member of the family denied that they do business in North Korea.

Awards and decorations

*: **

Order of August the First (1st Class Medal) (1955) **

Order of Independence and Freedom 1st Class

Order of Independence and Freedom Order of Independence and Freedom () was a military award from the People's Republic of China. It was created in 1955, to give recognition to men who distinguished themselves "conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity" in combat with an enemy o ...

(1st Class Medal) (1955) ** Order of Liberation 1st Class

Order of Liberation The Order of Liberation (french: Ordre de la Libération) is a French Order which was awarded to heroes of the Liberation of France during World War II. It is a very high honour, second only after the ''Légion d’Honneur'' (Legion of Honour ...

(1st Class Medal) (1955) *: ** Order of Red Banner ribbon bar

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of th ...

(1945) **

Medal "For the Victory over Japan" The Medal "For the Victory over Japan" (russian: Медаль «За победу над Японией») was a campaign medal of the Soviet Union established on September 30, 1945 by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet ...

(1945)

Other honors

The Zhou Baozhong Memorial Hall was built in his hometown of Wanqiao village in

Dali City, Yunnan Dali City () is the county-level seat of the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture in northwestern Yunnan. Dali City is administered through 12 township-level districts, two of which are also commonly referred to as Dali. Xiaguan () formerly k ...

. A tall statue of Zhou was built in front of the museum.

In popular culture

In the 2015 Chinese TV series '' Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army'', he was played by actor Guanghui Shi.

Gallery

File:Zhou_Baozhong_in_Beijing.jpg, Zhou and his wife in Beijing (1957) File:Zhou_Baozhong_funeral.jpg, Zhou's wife and daughter stand next to his body during his funeral (1964) File:周保中穿过的雨衣，烈士馆.jpg, Zhou's raincoat and binoculars at the Northeast China Revolutionary Matyrs' Memorial Hall

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zhou, Baozhong 1902 births 1964 deaths People of the Northern Expedition Chinese military personnel of World War II People's Liberation Army generals from Yunnan People's Republic of China politicians from Yunnan Political office-holders in Yunnan People from Dali Chinese Communist Party politicians from Yunnan Academic staff of Yunnan University Presidents of Yunnan University Educators from Yunnan Vice-governors of Yunnan Bai people Communist University of the Toilers of the East alumni International Lenin School alumni Delegates to the 1st National People's Congress Delegates to the 2nd National People's Congress Members of the 3rd Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Members of the 2nd Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Members of the 1st Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Delegates to the National People's Congress from Yunnan Alternate members of the 8th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Chinese expatriates in the Soviet Union People of 88th Separate Rifle Brigade